Month / February 2011

by johnkking

Hearing and Obeying Jesus

A follow-up question was written that asks me to share what effects the implications of what I have written will have on a different passage written to a different context by a different author. While the question is certainly legitimate, and has the potential to prompt a second-level investigation, it also risks derailing the call. Here is the next question:

John, would you say that the Ephesians 4 pastor-teacher still only teaches others to obey Jesus teachings, or is it more?

Because of my understanding of Matthew I am convicted that I am not obeying Jesus’ final command (in the first gospel) unless I am discipling disciple makers. Teaching to obey all of Jesus’ commands includes his last command which is to make disciples.

Jesus is incredibly intentional and thorough in his teaching in Matthew. There are those five blocks of oral teaching that are recorded in the first gospel (a little similar material appears in Luke in the sermon on the plain) giving this gospel some of its uniqueness. I am convinced Matthew’s five great teaching sections grapple with core issues of discipleship:
• chapters 5-7 the teaching on the mount in Galilee
• chapter 10 the sending of the twelve
• chapter 13 the parables on the Kingdom
• chapter 18 the teaching on greatness in the Kingdom
• chapters 24-25 the teaching on the mount of Olives

Strangely enough, the word “disciple(s)” never appears after Acts. The concept is certainly in the epistles and Revelation, but the word is absent. “Disciple(s)” seems to serve a special function in the narrative sections, while the meaning attached to it is communicated in other ways as communities or individuals of believers are addressed in the letters.

I believe it is far more fruitful to involve people in a process of discovering Jesus’ teaching than in trying to teach it ourselves. Much of our so-called disciple making (here in North America) is teacher centered more than Jesus centered—in my opinion. Jesus has done a wonderful job of discipling those who will open themselves to hearing him and then obeying. At the close of the Matthew 7 he says those who hear his words will fall into the categories of “wise” or “foolish.” What determines this for each of us is whether or not we obey. Do we practice what Jesus teaches? here is the real test of a disciple.

If you want to make disciples, be sure to teach them to obey Jesus’ teaching—all of it. Never underestimate the value of modeling obedience as you teach them to obey.

by johnkking

Hearing Jesus

Interesting things happen when you confine your study of “teaching” (διδάσκω) to Matthew. Jesus has a three-fold ministry of preaching, teaching and healing. He involves the 12 in preaching and healing in Matthew 10, when he sends them out two by two. But only Jesus teaches in the first gospel. Matthew 28:20 is the first time (in the first gospel) where the disciples are included in teaching. Even then what they teach is restricted to teach the disciples they make to obey all of Jesus’ commands.

My study of Matthew leads me to the conviction that Jesus is the only teacher for disciples. As sent out disciple makers we are to point others to Jesus. What we teach them is to obey Jesus’ teaching. It is Jesus who defines what disciple making looks like by the way he makes disciples. His disciples are contrasted with those of John the Baptist and the disciples of the religious leaders. The disciples at the heart of the first gospel are people who have responded to Jesus’ call to follow. It is at its basic core a submissive relationship with the Son of God. Jesus provides the content for all his disciples.

You don’t get this nuanced perspective from the other biblical authors, but only Matthew uses that phrase “make disciples.” We need to be sure we use that phrase in ways consistent with what he reveals about what that entails. Don’t begin by going to Luke-Acts, Mark or John.

I originally posted most of the preceding comments in a discussion area considering the question, “How are we to define the word ‘teaching’ in the Great Commission?” The query sparked much dialogue. My desire was to answer the question by looking to the context where the word “teach” appears. The immediate context of the last four verses is significant, but it is inadequate to know how the term is used by the first evangelist. You only get that from what Jesus has already said and revealed through his actions about the nature of disciple making

by johnkking

Hearing Jesus

One of the first classes I took in Bible College was “The Life of Christ.” While we were told that our text would be Luke, we actually were required to purchase The Fourfold Gospel: A Harmony of the Four Gospels. Every word of the first four books of the New Testament were chopped up and arranged chronologically to tell the story of Jesus.

Maybe every believer needs a chronological overview of Jesus’ life, but I suspect there are significant unintended consequences that arise from such an approach (e.g., venting the smoke, from the cooking fire, out of the grass hut in Africa allows mites to invade):

  • Knowing about Jesus replaces hearing Jesus.
  • We fail to understand and appreciate the nuanced gospeling that the Spirit gives us through the early church.
  • We perpetuate the “string-of-pearls” hermeneutic which is modeled for us.
  • We fail to perceive the power of contextualization.

Before you take a section from one gospel (or any New Testament author) and join it with one from another, you should make sure you understand what the first author means. Context deals with more than the paragraph or chapter.

Let me illustrate my point by raising two issues. The word “disciple(s)” is very significant in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts. It never appears in the rest of the New Testament. You must grapple with the function of the word “disciple(s)” in the narrative sections. While the epistles and Revelation deal with the concept of discipleship, they never use the word.

Only Matthew contains Jesus mandate to “Go, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded.” What does “make disciples” mean here? You have to understand the model of disciple making that Jesus has used with these men. You cannot just drop into the first gospel at this point and know. You will import a connotation from somewhere else if you are not careful. Over the next couple of weeks I plan to share from my study of hearing Jesus and being obedient.

by johnkking

Guest Posts Schedule

My guest posts are scheduled to go live on the Brett’s blog

http://jamesbrett.wordpress.com

on February 9, 10, 11(Wed., Thur. & Fri.).  Each post will publish at 7:00 am Central Standard time. I encourage you to subscribe to Brett’s blog, since he’s an interesting writer and he is attempting to do some of the things I write about here. He and his wife, Christie, are part of a team that has lived in Tanzania for the last two years.

It is still my intention to post some connected thoughts here. My last-minute preparations for a trip to Asia are making this harder than I hoped, but I am still working to make this happen.