Simply Jesus Pt. 17: “… Teaching Them to Observe All That I Commanded…”

Every night it’s the same routine with our daughter. We tell her to take her shower, use the restroom, brush her teeth and put on lotion. Every. Single. Night. Imagine how you, the parent, would react emotionally if this fictional scene unfolded before you…

Dad: Hey Boo, I need you to get ready for bed. So go shower, use the restroom, brush your teeth and put on lotion, please.

Daughter: 15 minutes later bursts out of the bathroom like Simone Biles after sticking a landing. “I did it! I’m finished!”

Dad: You’re all finished?

Daughter: Yes! I’m all done! I’m all clean and ready for bed.

Dad: You’re all done? So you took a bath, brushed, used the toilet and put on lotion?

Daughter: Well, I washed my hands until they were SO clean.

Dad: So let me get this straight. You were in the bathroom for 15 minutes, and all you did was wash your hands?

Daughter: Yeah. Just like you told me. I got clean and ready for bed.

So, if you were the dad in that fictional story, what would your emotional reaction be to your daughter’s actions?

Astonishment? Bewilderment? Frustration? I ask, because I sometimes I wonder how Jesus feels about the way His modern day disciples approach His commands.

After Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, not too long before He ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, King Jesus gave His disciples this solemn charge, also known as the Great Commission:

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. – Matthew 28:18-20

This passage is loaded with spiritual insight, but the main phrase I’d like to highlight is, “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.”

Look at the simplicity and passion with which the early Christians interpreted this phrase:

The Lord, when, after His resurrection, He sent forth His apostles, charges them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you.” And the Apostle John, remembering this charge, subsequently lays it down in his epistle: “This is how we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that says he knows Him and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” … This is to be a confessor of the Lord. – Cyprian 250CE, Volume 5, p. 536 [CD-ROM]

As I wrote in my book, "What Jesus says in the Great Commission is so plain it takes an elementary school education to understand and a seminary degree to confuse. Jesus actually expects His followers to obey all His commands, because that’s what followers of Jesus do."

But, like the daughter in the story above, Christians are frequently found rewriting Jesus' commands on our mission statements and websites, and then we expect rewards in heaven for living out a comfortable version of His words.

For instance, Jesus didn’t just tell us to make disciples. He told us to make disciples of all people groups. Jesus didn’t just tell us to love God and love people. He told us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves.

Jesus said to repent. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do not worry. Follow Him.

Mr Rogers and the Mission Field

Like many children over the last couple of decades, my first hero was a man named Fred Rogers, or as many of us knew him, Mr. Rogers.  Mr. Rogers quickly became my hero because I could see something very warm and kind in the way he treated people. 

So the day I learned Mr. Rogers had a fan club, a letter was immediately written and put out in the mail in hopes that I would have the privilege of becoming a member.  As far as I knew, there weren’t any responsibilities of being a member of his fan club, but I did receive an autographed picture and letter from the man himself! 

The term ‘member’ is often attributed to people who join a church, but I’m not sure this word best conveys the main purpose Jesus has for those who desire to follow Him.  A friend of mine who once started a church in the Galveston area offered a different label to those who wanted to join his congregation.  Rather than members, they were called missionaries. 

What a wonderful concept!  Too frequently we think of missionaries as people who go off to some foreign country to live in poverty and constant danger, when in reality a missionary is simply someone undertaking a mission, and especially a religious mission. 

Matthew 28:19-20 informs us that as Christians, Jesus has given us the mission to make disciples of all people groups.  He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

This passage from Matthew also instructs us to teach the nations to obey all that Jesus has commanded. As it is often said, though, most lessons are better caught than taught. So as missionaries, we need to be modeling Jesus’ commands for those we are trying to teach them to, and modeling how Jesus’ commands aren’t burdensome, but are actually life and peace.

Origen shows that as we faithfully live on mission, we are actually serving as ambassadors for King Jesus.

And as Paul said, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us,” so would we in the same spirit and language earnestly desire to be ambassadors for Christ to men, even as the Word of God beseeches them to the love of Himself, seeking to win over to righteousness, truth, and the other virtues, those who, until they receive the doctrines of Jesus Christ, live in darkness about God and in ignorance of their Creator. – Origen 225CE, Volume 4, p. 1132 [CD-ROM]

Origen says that as God’s ambassadors, our heavenly Father has given us the mission to urge the world to embrace His love. Mr. Rogers spoke eloquently about love when he said, “Love isn't a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like ‘struggle.’" Being an effective missionary and ambassador for God is going to entail a life of struggle. But seeing people come into the kingdom of God is worth dying for. If we love Him we will embrace the struggle.

A Knock in the Night

My whole family heard the knock on our front door that night in late February, and we all looked at each other with puzzled expressions. There was no car outside that we could see. So who in the world would be knocking on our door after sundown on a Friday night?

 

I pushed our two dogs out of the doorway and walked on the porch to see what looked like the spitting image of my son two or three years from now. It was uncanny. The young man explained how he was selling candy for a program that helps him stay busy after school so he doesn’t sell and do drugs anymore.

I was only halfway listening. All I could think about was how much this kid looked like my son, only two years older. I was thinking about my son possibly making bad decisions like I did and getting into drugs and alcohol at an early age.

Right then I said to myself, “I know I’m probably never going to see this kid again, so I’m going to talk to him like he is my son from two years in the future.” That might sound weird, but that’s what I did.

I asked him if he was a Christian, and he said he went to church but had never been baptized. I asked why not, and he said he didn’t think he was ready. So I asked what he would say if he had to stand in front of God to face judgment that night. He said he would tell God that he loves his mom.

I’m sorry, but that was one of the funniest responses to that question I’ve ever heard. After we both stopped laughing, I asked if he had ever stood in front of a judge. He said no. I have, so I told him about my experience of getting an MIP when I was 20. And I said how my love for my mom was of no consequence to that judge.

A crime was committed and I justly deserved the punishment of a fine, community service and several mandatory AA meetings. Similarly, if we have lied, stolen things, sinned sexually, and other forms of not loving our neighbors as ourselves, we deserve the just punishment of eternal death and destruction (See 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 & Revelation 21:6-8).

Next, I asked him if he had ever heard the phrase that Jesus is our lawyer. He said yes. So I told him that Jesus is better than any lawyer that anyone could ever meet, because Jesus won’t just stand up in court for you and plead your case. Jesus is much better than that.

Jesus is a defense attorney who willingly gets on death row so we can walk out of the courtroom free. Jesus lived the life that we should have lived and died the death that we should have died. And if we’re willing to give our lives back to Him, He will give His life into us in the person of the Holy Spirit to transform us to be like Him. That is an amazing attorney bringing incredibly good news! 

We spent about 20 minutes talking outside on the porch. I didn’t buy any candy from him, but I did give him some money and pray with him. It was awesome how quickly God took me from a place of frustration to compassion. It was also a good reminder of how everyone, even that person at the door, needs to hear the gospel, and how God will give us the words if we will give them the time.  

From Jerusalem, twelve men went out into the world. These were uneducated and of no ability in speaking. But by the power of God, they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach the word of God to everyone. – Justin Martyr 160CE, Volume 1, p. 175

Excerpt from Ch. 16 - New: Wineskins and the Simple Words of Christ

This is the story of how the First Baptist Church of Rankin, TX became integrated:

"My mother’s parents, Horace and Alto, were committed Christians who lived in the West Texas town of Rankin during the early 1960s. One day, the small Baptist church where most of the African American community attended burned down, leaving them without a church home. Alto, feeling this was what Jesus wanted them to do, invited an African American child to go with her and Horace to the all-white First Baptist Church of Rankin, where they attended. 

This happened before laws were passed to end segregation, and needless to say my grandparents’ decision caused quite a stir in the church and in the town. Yet they continued to bring this girl. Soon, African American children from two families were coming with them each week, and eventually several Hispanic children came with them as well.

Sunday after Sunday, my grandparents brought these children to church despite subtle and not-so-subtle resistance from church members and friends. One day, the oldest girl told my grandmother she wanted to give her life to Jesus and be baptized. Once again, this was a problem for the majority of white members who felt they had already made significant strides in allowing these children to attend their white church. After all, getting baptized at First Baptist Rankin meant membership. 

My grandfather, a deacon, dug in his heels and stood up for this new daughter of the King of kings. The pastor said he would meet with the others and thought things would be all right. When the deacon body met, they voted to allow the child to be baptized into the church. And so she was.

In spite of intimidations and persecutions, First Baptist Rankin was integrated, and my grandparents became living examples of how the power of the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost enables us to walk as Jesus walked. It is a tall order “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). It can often feel like an impossibility to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Jesus (see Matthew 16:24). It is a tremendous task to go into all the world making disciples of Jesus, teaching them to obey everything He commanded (see 28:19-20). However, those whom God calls He equips."

http://www.amazon.com/NEW-Wineskins-Simple-Words-Christ/dp/1940269792/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1454645688&sr=8-4&keywords=NEW+book+Phil+Baker