“And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” Ephesians 4:11 ESV
When was the last time you talked to someone about Jesus? And when I say that, I don’t just mean the last time you said, “Praise God,” in front of someone or the last time you mentioned how much you love Crowder’s new song, “Good God Almighty,” to your friend. I mean full on, telling someone—particularly someone you don’t know—about Jesus.
For many Christians, including myself, it’s not very often, if at all. It’s just not something we do on a regular basis. After all, the whole idea of talking to a stranger makes a lot of us uncomfortable, and then when you add religion to the mix, it feels like you’re just asking for a heated debate.
Now, let me emphasize this again, I’m no expert at this either. As an introvert, talking to anyone outside my immediate sphere makes me nervous. And even those within my sphere who I know aren’t born again Christians, talking to them about Jesus gets my heart racing.
That’s why we leave things like evangelizing to the “experts.” Pastors, church elders, theologians. After all, they’re the ones who have been called to shepherd God’s flock, we’re just here to go where they tell us and give them an occasional word of encouragement. If God truly wanted everyday people to go out and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in His name, He would have told us.
Oh, wait, He did. After Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, He gave them what has since been penned the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20 we read, “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”
Yeah, but surely that doesn’t apply to us, does it? After all, Jesus was talking to the apostles, guys like Peter, James and John. They were great teachers and leaders who were bold in their faith and performed miracles in Jesus’ name (Mt. 10:1; Lk. 9:1-2; Acts 2:43, 3:1-10, 14:8-10). Those are the kinds of people who Jesus has called to make disciples, not us “uneducated” people.
Let’s look at some history, shall we?
What did Peter, James and John do before Jesus called them? They were fishermen (Matthew 4:18-22). Not exactly a prestigious job.
Where did they attend seminary? Nowhere, but they did listen to Jesus, the greatest teacher of all (not to mention God in the flesh), as they walked with Him in everyday life.
Who denied Jesus not once, but three times while He was being questioned by the Jewish rulers? Peter (Luke 22:54-62).
Okay, okay. These guys had their faults, sure, but they’re Peter, James and John. They lived with Jesus for 3 years! They were obviously more equipped to make disciples than those of us not pastoring a church today.
Take a look at history again. Who was Paul, previously known as Saul before Jesus changed his life (Acts 8:1-3, 9:1-31)? Who were Timothy, Titus, Barnabas, Luke, the Samaritan woman, Priscilla and Aquila, Lydia, Silas, Tychicus, Nympha, Aristarchus, Demas, Archippus, Lois, Eunice, and so on? They were everyday people whose lives were changed by Jesus and were set on telling others about Him. They weren’t one of the original 12 who followed Jesus during His three-year ministry. They weren’t educated in the Law, some of them were women and therefore not allowed to attend school.
They were tentmakers and doctors. They were women and young in years. They were outcasts and murderers. Who they were—especially who they were before they met Christ—didn’t matter. What mattered was Who had changed their lives and the mission He gave them.
The mission Jesus gave the 11 apostles after His resurrection is the mission He wanted them to pass on to those they met. If God had only intended for pastors to fulfill the Great Commission, He would have said so. Somewhere in His speech, Jesus would have said, “Only those who have attended seminary and have the official title of pastor or reverend are to go out and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Everyone else, they are to stay back and just listen.”
Doesn’t sound like Jesus, does it?
Jesus doesn’t call only a select few to carry out the sole purpose of His people. He calls every single person who believes in Him and has been born again to answer the call. Are we all equipped when He calls? By no means! But remember, God equips the called, not calls the equipped.
Don’t believe me? Search through the Bible yourself, it’s literally full of ordinary (and considerably flawed) people who God used to do extraordinary things. Yes, there are those who many have heard about, people like Moses, David and Elijah, but there are countless others who were used by God in equally great ways, people like Mordecai, Deborah and the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah. Not all of us may know their stories, but God does, and He used every single one of them, exactly as they were, to serve His purpose.
None of us are going to attain a high enough status, gain enough knowledge or live a perfect enough life to ever be the ideal disciplemaker. That’s not what God is asking.
In fact, He’s not asking anything at all. He’s commanding. He’s commanding every single person who has confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior to go out and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
How will we know what to say? God will tell us (Luke 12:11-12, 21:14-15; John 14:6). Who will help us? God and the people He’s called to equip us (Deut. 31:6, Matthew 28:20, Romans 8:38-39, Eph. 4:11). Where are we supposed to go? All the nations (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15).
The call is for each of us. How are you going to answer?
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). Crossway Bibles.