"REFLECTING ON DISCIPLING"
Matthew 13.51-52:
51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
There are wonderful ingredients found in these two brief verses, three ingredients that come together in a marvelous way to show us applicable truths related to the Great Commission, which are the marching orders the Lord Jesus Christ left for us.
First, we see the Discipler discipling.
This, obviously, is the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the master discipler. And for some three and one-half years the Lord Jesus Christ poured His life into those various groups of men which comprised His band of disciples.
Notice that I refer to various groups of disciples. In the inner circle were three men: James, Peter, and John. Those three were closer to the Lord Jesus than all the others. It was those three, you’ll remember, who saw His glory on the mount of transfiguration. And it was those same three men who were closest to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Evidence suggests that the Lord’s most intensive discipleship training was given to those three men. Then there were the twelve, which included the first three. They are the apostles we are so familiar with. With the twelve, the Lord Jesus founded the Church. And it was to the twelve that most of the instructions and training found in the Gospel record were given. Then there were the seventy and the one hundred twenty.
The point that I am making is that surrounding the Lord Jesus Christ were ever-widening concentric circles of disciples. Three, twelve, seventy, one hundred twenty. And it may very well have been that the three and the twelve themselves had concentric circles of men they were discipling in turn that comprised the seventy and the one hundred twenty.
So, we see the Lord Jesus Christ as the great discipler, taking personal time to supplement His preaching and teaching ministry. He made sure those exposed to the truth actually understood it and incorporated it into their daily lives.
With that understood, these two verses, in microcosm, show the conclusion of a step in discipleship. Our Lord Jesus had taught them publicly, and He had taught them privately. Now, in Matthew 13.51, He quizzed His men to make sure they understood what He was teaching them.
It is likely that Matthew has not recorded every word of this particular conversation. I say this because the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Master Teacher, knows very well that students do not necessarily know something just because they have said, “Yes. We understand.” Therefore, it is highly likely that the Lord Jesus not only asked them if they understood, but also queried them to make sure they did, indeed, understand what He had taught. Only when the student understands has teaching actually taken place.
Next, we see the disciples being discipled.
The making of disciples cannot occur unless and until there are those who are willing to submit themselves to someone who is willing to disciple them. We see, in the lives of the apostles and others, a humble willingness to submit to the Lord Jesus Christ for the purpose of being discipled. An unwillingness to submit to discipleship, I have found, is traceable to a proud spirit that will not acknowledge the need to be discipled by someone else.
Take it on faith now, and let me illustrate in a few moments that discipling and teaching are not the same activities. Teaching occurs when facts are imparted from the teacher to the learner and when those facts are understood. But discipling occurs when both teaching and training are accomplished.
There is a world of difference between knowing and doing, between knowing what to do and doing what you know. Training is what bridges the gap between merely knowing facts and actually living the life that reflects those truths. The whole process of teaching facts and then training someone to implement those truths into daily living is what is referred to as discipleship.
The disciples, willing to be both taught and trained and to submit to the Lord Jesus Christ to be discipled, provided an underestimated but critical element in the discipleship process. Until you are willing to allow someone to disciple you, until you are willing to allow someone to both teach you and train you to live for Christ, your Church will not and cannot obey the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although Christians may make Christians, only disciples make disciples.
Our commission is not to win people to Christ, but to make disciples, Matthew 28.19-20:
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
And disciples are made when sinners are brought to Christ, #1, baptized, #2, and then taught to obey all things Christ has commanded, #3. Notice that. Taught to obey. That’s teaching and training both.
