A Visa to Make Disciples

“Passport!”  I obediently slide my document across the counter and through the small opening in the Plexiglas window.  The immigration officer flips through the passport, looking for the visa that will let me enter his country.  That visa gives me permission to proceed.  That visa is my way in.

That visa carries authority.  About two weeks after his resurrection, Jesus gathers the disciples for a retreat at a mountain in Galilee. (See Matthew 28:16)  There in the undistracted quiet of a scenic getaway He gives them the third and most extensive installment of instructions.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, 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 28:18-20)

“All authority…has been given to me.”  Jesus establishes His reach into the world!  There is nothing that can stop Him.  Nothing that overrules Him.  He gives a visa that trumps all other commands.  The principle of submission to any lawfully constituted authority (See Ephesians 6) is only suspended when that authority demands that we compromise our commitment to Christ and disobey His commands. (See Acts 4:19-20; 5:29)

Governments may say we have no right to engage their people with the gospel, but Jesus gives us absolute authority to “make disciples of all nations.”  “All authority” provides the context for the focus of mission. Digging a well, building a school, and offering hope to the marginalized is all to be done with a desire to “make disciples.” All our giving and going and praying, all our teaching and building and baptizing, is to focus on making disciples of all nations.

Jesus doesn’t just give us a task and send us out.  Like bookends, His authority and His presence support His great commission.  His authority determines our direction and purpose.  His presence provides the power and encouragement to carry out that task.  Christ’s presence is not a cheerleader beside us or behind us, shouting encouragement as we face perplexing languages and unfamiliar cultures.  Jesus is right out in front clearing the way, arranging the encounters, orchestrating the circumstances, and empowering the message.

Under His authority, and with His continuous presence, we are to make disciples, disciples of ALL nations. We’ve been handed a visa to go, to teach, and to baptize.  The outcome we seek is fully devoted followers of Jesus who worship at the throne of grace.  This was the challenge He put before the disciples at that retreat.

This is the challenge each generation must rise up and take.  You’ve got the visa.  Where are you going with it?