“And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God. (Luke 24:49-53 NASB)
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “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 28:17-20 NASB)
Have you ever been bored? When we consider that we’ve got all the people-groups of the world in whom to make disciples, how could we be bored. And yet, I’m bored more often than I care to admit. How can that be?
The “Great Commission” of Matthew 28 has a counterpart in Luke24. While the one in Matthew is familiar, we often miss some important elements. For instance, we’re supposed to go and make disciples. If you would like some clarity on what that means, check out my blog entry on the topic of disciples here. It’s not as nice and easy as it might sound.
In Luke 24, the commission sounds slightly different. In verses 47 through 48, the commission is to proclaim repentance into forgiveness of sins to all nations in His name. The concept of “disciples” isn’t mentioned. That the proclamation goes into all nations is consistent. In reality, though, repentance is what disciples do, and do for the rest of their time here on earth. So, actually, the two commissions have more in common than appears on the surface.
All this to come back around to my original question. Have you ever been bored? As I mentioned, I am bored in a shameful frequency. The sad truth is that those living close to me are probably not disciples, nor have they had “repentance into forgiveness” proclaimed to them. At least they haven’t heard this from me.
I’m simply thinking that I can’t be bored while my neighbors haven’t heard. If they’ve heard and reject, that’s one thing. But if I haven’t even tried, then why would I be bored? If I really believe Jesus is all I teach in this blog, then I should be busier telling others about repentance into forgiveness.
What’s your view through your knothole this morning?
Knothole Theology 