Chapter 3 – JESUS’ LAST WORDS ON EARTH
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 28:18-20 NASB)
‘TO DISCIPLE’ IS A COMMAND FROM JESUS… AND THE COMMAND IS A VERB THAT RESULTS IN A NOUN
Jesus’ last command to his followers before he ascended to the Father was to disciple others. Those who loved Jesus were charged with the task of teaching people how to follow Jesus. They were to do this by baptizing them and teaching them to do the things that Jesus commanded.
I’m writing this in 2026. The world has not turned to Jesus after 2,000 years. Pockets of the world seem to be more Christian than others, but large portions of the world are not only far from Jesus, they are far from even recognizing YHWH as God the Father. Some latest research states that those who answer polls and identify as Christians comprise roughly 1/3 of earth’s population. (Pew Research, June 2025) Of those, Roman Catholics and Catholic sects form roughly 50%, Protestants 37%, Orthodox 12% and smaller denominations the other 1%.
Pew Research in 2025 also stated that in the United States, roughly 62-68% of the population say they are Christians, with Protestants forming the highest group followed by Catholic and Orthodox Christians. So, I have a few questions.
- If Jesus’ last command on earth was to disciple all nations, how do today’s churches think they are doing in fulfilling his command?
- Are today’s churches doing the work of evangelism – proclaiming the gospel to the nations?
- Do the today’s churches have other priorities that surmount the last words of Jesus on earth?
- Do today’s churches know how to disciple others, or is this simply the best we can do?
- What challenges are today’s churches facing to accomplish Jesus’ command to disciple others?
Think about your church. Is it doing what is necessary to fulfill Jesus’ last words? It seems to me that in the last fifty years, the Western church has somewhat strayed from its primary function. We presently live within a post-Christian culture, and it feels like today’s churches are losing the spiritual battle to make disciples. In my community, church involvement (not just attendance) has increased in people ages 18-25, but has seriously waned in the group of adults above forty years old. Perhaps, what churches did in the last part of the 20th century wasn’t the most effective use of time and resources. Perhaps the seeker-based services and moves toward a mega-church model was flawed in their philosophy and inception. These churches may have moved the needle temporarily, but the long-term results are less than stellar.
In the mid-20th century, Protestant churches had something called “Christian education” as a part of their ministries. Most Christian education consisted of a Sunday school class and perhaps a weekly Bible study. Sunday night services were often dedicated to studying a particular book of the Bible. They also offered opportunities for visiting ministries to share their ministries – choirs, outreach ministries, service ministries. Missionaries also availed themselves of Sunday night services to share their work on the foreign mission field. Many churches had a Wednesday night prayer meeting focusing on the needs of the church and then offering a time for dedicated prayer. All of these functions had less attendance than the morning worship services. (Wednesday night prayer meetings were the least attended of all the services.) For the most part, these programs and meetings educated people about what the content of the Bible and developed a community within the church that served the church.
However, very few churches specifically concentrated on something that looked like “focused discipleship” where small groups of men and women would meet to challenge each other to live a more spiritual Christian life. Individual discipleship was even more rare. And apart from a few people in the church who practiced personal evangelism, churches varied in their efforts to accomplish the goal of leading people to Jesus and transforming them into devoted followers. Some churches focused on foreign missions. Others depended on the world seeing their good deeds to bring people into the church where they could hear the gospel. And a few churches had concentrated evangelistic activities.
Perhaps the biggest indicator of this church weakness were two ministries that fourished in the last half of the 20th century. These ministries filled the breach left in many churches. following World War II, Billy Graham Crusades were held throughout the United States offering new life in Jesus to hundreds of thousands. These evangelical crusades took place in tent meetings, and later due to the expansion of his ministry, Billy held meetings in baseball parks, arenas, and stadiums. The other ministries that did the work of the church were campus groups like Campus Crusade for Christ, Youth with a Mission, and Young Life. As students headed back to college after the war, these ministries thrived because they filled a vacuum that existed in the North American and European Protestant churches. The largest evangelistic/discipleship conference of the 70s, EXPLO ’72 (The International School of Evangelism), also called “The Christian Woodstock,” was organized primarily by Campus Crusade for Christ, yet featured speakers and musicians from many denominations and theological backgrounds.
Churches where theology leaned more charismatic tended to be more open about sharing their faith in the world, and the Jesus Movement of the 70s cannot be denied as having an impact on both Americas and Europe. Large evangelistic meetings sponsored by Calvary Chapels worldwide are most notable.
However, long-term focused discipleship appears to have dissipated in many churches. It’s a shame that, after some important books were published and became popular about making disciples in the late 70s and early 80s, more churches did not maintain a focus on relational discipleship. Discipleship almost became a fad instead of a way of life, being replaced by the next new trend in modern Christianity. The consumerism that drives western culture leaked into the church, and people, looking for the next new thing, moved on from Jesus’ command to disciple others to other Christian practices.
Discipling others is not as complicated or involved as some make it to be. A person merely spends time with other people doing the things of God. And when I say “the things of God,” I do not mean that these things are stuffy or religious. The things of God are as simple as sharing a meal or taking a walk, yet within the context of doing those things, you take time to focus on God. As you read through this book, you will begin to understand this concept. Following God’s commands are not burdensome. Remember that Jesus said “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30) Following God’s command to disciple others is His will for your life and is fully attainable.
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A WORD ABOUT “MAKING DISCIPLES”
I don’t know what is wrong with the term “to disciple,” but I recently read a New York Times bestseller about spiritual disciplines that attempted to explain Matthew 28 and get rid of the word. The only problem with the explanation was that the author made an egregious error when he translated the main verb of verse 19 – “make disciples.” He stated that “disciple” is a noun, but not a verb. I think because the author was trying to introduce “apprentice” as a substitute for “disciple,” he did some grammatical acrobatics to get there. This is what happens when teachers try to explain what the Bible says based on translations instead of the original languages. (According to a footnote, using the Blue Line Study Bible Software, he did a search of “disciple” and did not find a single use of it as a verb (Even though the footnote denotes it as a verb.) Because most English translations state that we should “make disciples,” he made the error of defining the word “disciples” solely as a direct object, and therefore, a noun. That is incorrect! I don’t know how he could make such as error about one of the most important commands of Jesus – and he went to seminary and studied Greek. “Disciple” is a verb, actually an imperative verb, and a noun. So, it is important that I spend a little time explaining Matthew 28:18-20.
(Greek language explanation ahead.) The New Testament was originally written in a language called koiné Greek or common Greek. Koiné Greek was the street language of the common people in the first century. Everyone spoke it, and a few could write it. Because of trade throughout the Mediterranean areas of the Roman Empire, it was the language that everyone spoke. Koiné Greek was also used to write the New Testament. It differs from the classical Greek used by Plato and is also different than the language used today in Greece. And it is far superior to the English language used today. Like many languages of its kind, the nuances of the tenses of a word is accomplished by adding prefixes and suffixes to a root word.
Matthew 28:18-20 – the last words that Jesus said to his disciples before his ascension to heaven – is also known as The Great Commission. Verse 19 contains four verbs – one command and three participles (-ing words.) In English, it appears that “go” is the main verb of the command, but “go” is better translated as “going” or “having gone.” The main verb of The Great Commission is “disciple” or “make disciples.” It is the imperative/causative form of the word “disciple.” That means that it is a verb which is also a command that causes results. The results are “disciples.” When you disciple people, you create disciples. It could be translated “Go, therefore, and disciple disciples.”
The command is directed at “you-plural.” (In the southern U.S., they would say “you all” or “y’all.”) Jesus took a common noun mathētēs (disciple), and he made it both a verb and a noun, mathēteúsate – and not just a regular verb, but an imperative verb – a command! (Can you see the root word of “disciple” and its suffix?) Using the word, “disciple” in this way, Jesus must have jarred the ears of his followers. Because the suffix added to the root word mathētēo also implies a causative effect, in this case, if you disciple a person he or she becomes a disciple, and essentially makes “disciple” both a command and a direct object. Translators emphasize this causative effect, thus translating the word “make disciples.”[i]
I personally believe Bible editors and translators have done a disservice to the church by using “make disciples,” even though you make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them. Most English translations render mathēteúsate as “make disciples,” which gets the point across, but making disciples involves a relationship which seems to get lost in English translations. “Making disciples” involves teaching, but it is more than that. Even the first English translation of the New Testament emphasized the action of teaching. Discipling others is the prominent idea of this command.[ii] Some have treated “making disciples” as merely bringing people into the kingdom of God and place their emphasis here. Some see “making disciples” as missions since it is to be done of all nations. Others see disciple-making as education, a school-based system of kingdom building. Discipling is more than all of these and will be fully explained in further chapters.
The author in question goes on to state: “If disciple is something that is done to you (a verb), then that puts the onus of responsibility for your spiritual formation on someone else, like your pastor, your church, or a mentor. But if disciple is a noun – if it’s someone you are or are not – then no one can “disciple” you but Rabbi Jesus himself.” (Comer, Practicing the Way, 13.) This statement is illogical. Spiritual formation IS the responsibility of your pastor, your church – and you. It is the biblical role of the church, the pastor, and the mentor to teach you. In Matthew 20, Jesus commands, “…teaching them…” The discipler is the mentor. (I discuss this in Chapter 6.) However, having a mentor does not remove the responsibility for your own spiritual walk from you any more than you being a student in school removes the responsibility of completing assignments and getting good grades. Further, if you follow the author’s logic to its end about “no one can disciple you but Rabbi Jesus himself,” we enter an entirely new quagmire of theology regarding the role of the Holy Spirit in our learning and the spiritual gift of teaching which is given to the body of Christ. The first 60 pages of this book are muddled and confusing. There are simply better books about discipleship than this one, and they should be sought out.
Discipling is a command given to every believer – not just pastors, not just the “professionals.” It is directed at “y’all!” The entire church is to disciple others. This is the last command Jesus gave us before going back to his Father. If Jesus said it, he meant every word of it, and he expects every believer to do it. It is a command.
Perhaps some consider “disciple” has become an antiquated word, and in an effort to reach a new audience they have offered new words, as they authors mentioned above did. “Students” or “apprentices” are often substituted, but the dynamic of the meaning of “disciple” suffers when these words are used. Students can be anyone who is taught by a teacher, and no relationship is inferred other than teacher-student. Apprentices, in the historical sense, means those who learn a craft by emulating a crafts person, yet no relationship is inferred here, either. Further, apprenticeship ends at some point, and the apprentice becomes a journeyman, but a disciple remains a disciple forever.
Discipleship involves not only a teacher-student relationship, but because the persons involved are united by their relationship with Christ, a family/friend connotation is inferred. Often, disciples end up teaching each other in the discipleship process, so the teacher-student relationship evolves into something deeper. Discipler and disciple become friends, in the same way that Jesus’ relationship with his disciples evolved into a friendship. (See John 15:15) “Disciple” is the word that best captures the meaning in this context – not just a pupil or someone learning a skill – but a devoted, family-related, friend and follower of Jesus.
If I haven’t belabored this enough, here is one more point. There is no need to find a new term for “a disciple.” Apprentices learn skills and may or may not pass them on to others. Disciples are devoted followers who learn and obey the commands of Christ and are commanded to pass them on to others. Disciples never stop learning; apprentices do. Peter and Andrew were not called to be apprentices. Jesus called these men to follow him. “And he [Jesus] said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” (Matthew 18:19) Peter did not literally fish for men. He learned something deeper, internal. Matthew was not first called to emulate the things Jesus did. He was called to follow. “And he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9) Jesus called Matthew to something more important than merely doing the things he did. They all learned deeply spiritual things that were internal. While his disciples did prophecy, cast out demons, and do miracles, these are not core things to which they were called. (Jesus’ opinion of these skills are pretty evident in Matthew 7:23-24.)
Jesus’ disciples were called to sacrificially follow him. When Jesus called his disciples, they left something behind to follow him. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’” (Matthew 16:24) Jesus called his disciples to self-denial, to sacrifice, to servanthood. As they learned more about what was required of them, it became apparent that, for some disciples, the sacrifice of laying down your life was necessary. No apprentice is ever called to lay down his or her life. In fact, an apprentice seldom gives up anything to work with a master; the entire exchange profits the apprentice. Jesus called his disciples to follow his example of sacrifice, to lay down their lives, to follow him to the death. These are the things of God; these are deeply spiritual and internal. An apprentice has never been called to die for the things his master taught him. (Though I imagine some apprentices may have died for not delivering goods that were adequate for the king or queen.) The things learned by the disciples were only things that could only be learned by following and devoting themselves to Jesus. That is what it means to be a disciple.
So, after all that, here’s my clumsy, yet instructive, translation of Matthew 28:19-20:
Having gone into the world, therefore, [you all] disciple, with the effect of making disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, even until the end of the age.
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BUT… BUT… BUT…
I can hear it now. The excuses for not discipling others begin… and I’ve heard a few. Here are a couple that I’ve encountered over my years of ministry. This first one comes a professor of theology, a person entrusted with teaching people what the Bible means.
“Look at me. My best efforts at discipleship are stained with pride and sloth. I’m hardly a person that Jesus would trust to help him usher in the everlasting kingdom of righteousness and peace. I want to be, but even my wanting is halfhearted and fleeting.”
I have no complaint about a person realizing that he or she is a flawed being, a vessel of clay in need of unending grace and mercy. However, when that becomes an excuse for not obeying the commands of Jesus, there is a problem. Focusing constantly on a glass-half-empty theology is detrimental to a believer’s journey with Jesus. It’s debilitating. More than that, it denies the working power of the Spirit of God who lives inside each believer.
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline.(2 Timothy 1:7)
Power to do the things God requires comes from God himself. Remember that at the end of Jesus command to disciple is a promise that he will be with us until the end of the age.
Pay attention to this truth: God gives us the power to do the things he commands.
God has entrusted us with the task of discipling others to follow in His ways. Discipling others is not rocket science. Discipling is not beyond the reach of every believer in Jesus. (I will address this in a couple of chapters from now.) Discipling is as easy as Larry Crabb’s suggestion to “turn our chairs toward each other.” Discipleship is as simple as meeting with other believers and talking about God and the things of God, caring for each other, and praying for each other. And we do all of that in grace, realizing that we are fallen beings, carnal and sinful, yet knowing with certainty that God saved us, forgave us, and promised us eternal life.
Another excuse commonly heard comes from those who seem overwhelmed by the amount of information associated with being a believer in Jesus.
What if a person I’m discipling asks me a question, and I don’t know the answer? I’m not a Bible scholar. I’m not a pastor. I’ll never be able to answer all the questions.
Here’s the cool thing. Other people have been asked the same questions you are going to be asked. The answers are all available to you. Other people you know may know the answers, too. Your pastor, your Bible study leader, and other believers you know all have experience with the information you require. Also, you can research the answers. Resources abound! Books, videos, and articles have the information you need. Many study Bibles include answers to commonly asked questions. Answering questions to which you may not know the answer is exactly the way you learn the information.
Pay attention to this truth: Your pastors are tasked by God to answer your questions.
Let me caution you against simply Goo-goo-ing the question. Many answers in online search engines are correct, but some answers may have an anti-God bias, be simplistic, or information may just be false. A breathing person can address the nuances of the answers you need and share their experience answering similar questions.
If someone asks you a difficult question – How did Noah get all the animals to walk onto the ark? – simply say, “You know, I’m not really sure about that. Let me do a little research, and I’ll get back to you.”[iii] Then, do the research and get back to them.
We have a command from Jesus to make disciples and to disciple them. It is the last command he gave to his followers while on earth. You are a result of Jesus’ disciples following his command. So, let’s get to it! Onward, forward!
[i] (mathēteuō), “to make disciples,” is an imperative/causative verb meaning “to cause someone to become a disciple.” The root word is causative. The verb used here is a second-person plural imperative (μαθητεύσατε, mathēteúsate) meaning “you (all) make disciples,” indicating a command directed to the apostles and, by extension, the church. So, a literal translation = you all disciple (v.), and therefore create disciples (n.)
[ii] The original English translation of the word “mathēteúsate” by Tyndale was “teache” indicating that action was needed in order to make disciples. (Go therfore and teache all nacions, baptysinge them in the name of the father, and the sonne, and the holy goost: Teaching them to observe all thynges, what soever I commaunded you. And lo, I am with you alway, even vntyll the ende of the worlde.) Even this translation communicates an active verb and supports the idea that disciple-making involves effort. But teaching disciples is just one part of discipling and does not always guarantee that teaching them content equals transformation in their lives. Applied teaching and the power of God is what transforms.
[iii] Do you have pets? How do you get them to do what you want them to do? Do they answer your call? All animals love to eat. Perhaps Noah just called them or perhaps Noah had their first meal ready to go for them. God, as their Creator, also had complete control over them and could have simply said, “Go to Noah. Get onboard, or you’re going to get wet.” Bear in mind, animals do not have free will as humans do (even cats). They must do what their Creator tells them to do. And Noah may not have had to call too many species aboard the ark. Recent DNA studies of animal species presently alive have resulted in findings that are shocking to the scientific community. There may not be as many species as were listed even fifty years ago, and the variation within species can be described as nothing less than astounding. For example, the modern hyena has more in common with cats and meerkats than dogs, with which they were grouped as ancestors for years. (https://www.dnazoo.org/post/no-laughing-matter, Dudchenko, 2019)