Get Working

This is part of a Easter Sermon. First, read the passage and the last 2 posts below.



Jesus also reveals in Matt 28, that for Easter to outlive the holidays we must see that while His work is finished, Easter means that our work has just begun.

It might sound a bit funny to put it this way but after 33 years on earth, Jesus left a lot of loose ends. A lot of unfinished business.

He secured salvation for the whole world but he never left his backyard.
He left that responsibility for you and for me.

There is an emphasis in how Matthew wrote these words. The main verb, is ‘make disciples’. The other verbs in the sentence, the words ‘go’, ‘baptize’ and ‘teach’ are all servants to the imperative ‘make disciples’.



Let’s start with baptize.

On one level I think it is ok to take this at face value, to be baptized is a great and biblical symbol of new birth.
However, it is quite likely that Jesus is using the word ‘baptism’ as shorthand here to say that making disciples is about bringing people to repentance.

Do you remember John the Baptist at the start of the gospel account?


We are told that John came with a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John was not concerned so much with the water, he wanted people to turn from their sin so they could turn to follow Jesus. Baptism was the symbol of repentance, of doing a complete 180 so that you would stop worshipping yourself and start worshipping God.

Our work is not finished until we call all nations to repentance.

Another element Jesus mentions in ‘disciple making’ is to teach them to obey everything Jesus had taught his first disciples.


Making disciples is not just about conversion. It’s about growing them in obedience to the words of Christ. Jesus it seems, is not as worried about quantity as he is about quality. If we want to be serious about making disciples of all nations, and making disciples of ourselves, then we will feed off the words of Jesus, not just for knowledge, but primarily for obedience.

Our work is not finished until we teach all nations to live in obedience to Jesus.

And then of course is that little word ‘go’.


Because the scope of Jesus command is so wide – all nations – it’s not surprising that we will have to go if we are to apply Easter as Jesus commands us to. So whether you go to China or go to your university, going is unavoidable is you want to make disciples for Christ. It won’t happen by osmosis – we as individuals and we as a church will have to get off our backsides and ‘go’ for it.

Our work is not finished until we go.



Last point to come