In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus told the disciples to “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.”
Jesus doesn’t say to make believers or to make followers; He says to make disciples. What’s the difference? Or is there any?
One can believe and yet not follow. James is writing to early Jewish Christians in James 2:19 and states, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” So just make believers isn’t what Jesus commissions us to do.
What if I make followers? Jesus tells us to follow Him, so surely it’s enough to make followers, isn’t it? Following is an act I choose, but it doesn’t reach outward. Jesus wants me to follow, but following can’t be just about me. Why? Because Jesus includes an “and.” Matthew 4:19 and Mark 1:17 both state, “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “AND I will send you out to fish for people.”
So once I’m a follower, I fish for people to become followers, and as they become followers they fish for people to become followers…but how does that happen? By discipling them. What does discipling mean? To teach, to train, to mentor, to guide someone. Inherent in discipling is proximity and familiarity. So once one believes, is baptized and follows, one must still be taught to obey everything Jesus commanded. That’s not an event, that is a journey. It’s ongoing. We never stop learning. Then through community we live out Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Together, one by one, we carry out the Great Commission by being a disciple who makes disciples.
