Matthew 28 contains what is often cited as the "great commission" of Jesus. I have no idea why this is 'greater' than other commissions of Jesus, such as to feed the hungry, wash the feet of others, or forgive etc. It just has gotten that name in the modern era.
Anyway, the other day I ran across the "great" commission again and I thought for a second what if we have misunderstood this? I am not saying we have, just go with this thought for a second.
Jesus says to the disciples to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I noticed that Jesus does not say to go into the world and make disciples in all nations but make disciples of all nations. Put another way, Jesus does not say to make disciples of Jesus but of all nations.
What does it mean to be a disciple of all nations?
What does it mean to learn from all the nations? What does it mean to respect others in such a way that you feel that you have something to learn from them? What does it mean to be a disciple of the world?
What if Jesus was telling the disciples to no so much make more disciples of Jesus, but what if Jesus is calling the disciples to make disciples of the world.
Christian history can be seen as a religion that has forced others to be like us. Under the banner of "making disciples" we have justified our actions as a Church in the past to make others convert to our way of being. Out of love we try to convince others to abandon their way of life and become like us. It takes a posture of being one who has truth and the gatekeeper of truth and others who are not like us do not have truth.
If however, just for a moment, we entertain the idea that we are to make disciples of all nations, are we being called to make people who are learners of the world? Disciples of the world in such a way that the Christian is one who is not the keeper of truth, but a seeker of truth. A Christian is not one who tries to convert but one who tries to commune with their neighbor. A Christian is not one who tries to make clones of ourselves, but one who acknowledges the worth of others an even (gasp) learn from them?
What if making disciples of all nations was a call to humility and not conversion?
Anyway, the other day I ran across the "great" commission again and I thought for a second what if we have misunderstood this? I am not saying we have, just go with this thought for a second.
Jesus says to the disciples to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I noticed that Jesus does not say to go into the world and make disciples in all nations but make disciples of all nations. Put another way, Jesus does not say to make disciples of Jesus but of all nations.
What does it mean to be a disciple of all nations?
What does it mean to learn from all the nations? What does it mean to respect others in such a way that you feel that you have something to learn from them? What does it mean to be a disciple of the world?
What if Jesus was telling the disciples to no so much make more disciples of Jesus, but what if Jesus is calling the disciples to make disciples of the world.
Christian history can be seen as a religion that has forced others to be like us. Under the banner of "making disciples" we have justified our actions as a Church in the past to make others convert to our way of being. Out of love we try to convince others to abandon their way of life and become like us. It takes a posture of being one who has truth and the gatekeeper of truth and others who are not like us do not have truth.
If however, just for a moment, we entertain the idea that we are to make disciples of all nations, are we being called to make people who are learners of the world? Disciples of the world in such a way that the Christian is one who is not the keeper of truth, but a seeker of truth. A Christian is not one who tries to convert but one who tries to commune with their neighbor. A Christian is not one who tries to make clones of ourselves, but one who acknowledges the worth of others an even (gasp) learn from them?
What if making disciples of all nations was a call to humility and not conversion?