Jesus leads us to share
When Jesus commissioned us to go into the world and make disciples of all the nations, He didn’t leave us without instruction as to how we might accomplish that. Jesus, Himself, modeled how we should follow.
During His life on earth, Jesus was our ultimate mentor. He demonstrated how we could live in union with the Father. He chose 12 disciples to follow Him and demonstrated how to live life, teach others, and bring hope to the lost. This included explaining the Gospel in a clear, loving way.
Jesus was committed to prayer. He knew the relationship with His Father was critical to life and ministry. Large crowds surrounded Him, but Jesus always found time to withdraw and pray. Before He appointed the disciples, He escaped to a mountaintop to pray. He even gave the disciples a model, teaching them how to pray.
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Jesus didn’t go it alone. Ministry happens in community. He invited others to join Him. “He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:14, NIV). Then He commissioned 72 others to go, two by two, ahead of Him from town to town to prepare the way. Jesus chose people who had caught His vision. They were His representatives. His instructions were clear: “Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me, but whoever rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Luke 10:16, NIV).
Jesus modeled what to do. As the disciples walked with Jesus, He taught them by example. They watched Him teach the masses and perform miracles. He shared stories about the Kingdom of God and modeled how to share it with others. They learned how to minister to others by watching Him. Jesus often pulled them aside to teach them further. The people we disciple need authentic role models to follow, so they can learn by example how to put what they learn into practice.
Jesus told them to multiply. Learning how to walk this Christian life isn’t the end result. Jesus took His disciples one step further. He commissioned them to go, take what they had learned, and disciple others the way He had discipled them. The goal: train disciples in such a way that they could continue to share their faith and equip others to do the same. This was the last command Jesus gave them before leaving the earth to ensure that His work would continue. And it has to this day.
Jesus gave us a model for everything God calls us to do so that we can model it to others. As we study His life and grow in our Christian walk, we have an opportunity to model that to others and help them grow in their walk with Jesus. And as we share the Gospel, we can also model and equip others to share their faith as well.
Rev. John B. Sorensen, D.D. is the President/CEO of Evangelism Explosion International, headquartered in Arden, N.C. EE has been a leader in equipping Christians to share their faith for more than 55 years. For more free tips and resources, visit evangelismexplosion.org.
