I Want to be Radical

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

There are parts of the bible that I read, there are parts that I skim, and then there are parts that I dissect and truly let sink into my heart.

The Great Commission is part of the bible that I just kinda… read. Just to say that, yeah, I’ve read it.

But this week at camp, we kinda went deeper than just reading.

Thursday (yesterday) was the last full day of camp, and I was teaching the lesson to the campers. It’s weird to think that Jesus completed his radical mission on earth, not with the crucifixion and resurrection, but with his deep and real relationships with the twelve men that he surrounded himself with. The disciples.

⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

John 17:4-5

I’d venture to say that here, Christ is saying he’s completed his mission of making disciples, because next he says…

⁶ “I have revealed you^[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

John 17:6-10

Jesus is praying for his HOMEBOYS! The guys he ate with, drank with, lived life with… that’s what his mission was. Yeah, sure, he came to save the world from the darkness and from death… but all that torture and pain and crucifixion stuff would be pointless if Christ hadn’t have invested everything he had into those guys.

The disciples were charged with telling the whole entire world about Christ. Obviously, back then, those guys didn’t have the internet or newspapers or cell phones to text “Jesus died 4 U 2day.” The disciples had to go out and talk to people – they had to face ridicule and jokes and guys who spit on them and at their feet. They walked past whispering groups, they got yelled at, they were called names. But they still did their job. Jesus completed his mission of making disciples to spread the gospel, and the disciples did their job. And to think – if they hadn’t done their job, no one would even know about Christ. And the crucifixion and resurrection would be pointless.

How hard must it have been for the disciples? How tough would it be to not have any friends? How hard would it be to face so much opposition?

What if you were in the shoes of the disciples? Wouldn’t that be hard? But couldn’t you do it, because Jesus told you to? Because he commanded you to tell the world?

Well… uhhh… big news for you… You ARE a disciple of Christ if you have accepted him as your Lord and Savior. You ARE called to tell the world. You ARE commanded to spread the Gospel.

So can’t you do it?

Can’t I do it?

Why don’t I?