The Worldwide Blessing of Discipleship (Matthew 10:1-15)

[Stephan Choe]

January 22, 2015

Key Verse 1: “And he called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.”    

At the end of chapter 9, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest” (9:37).

Jesus intends to redeem all people in the world. How will he fulfill his purpose?

Chapter 10 tells us that Jesus sends out twelve people to invite others to himself. We want to learn why discipleship is God’s way of blessing all people.    

1. Jesus' Call to Fellowship (1-4)  

At the end of chapter 9, Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out more laborers" (9:37-38).

What was Jesus' intention in choosing the Twelve?

Mark 3:14 explains Jesus' intention as follows:

"And he appointed twelve, whom he also called apostles, to be with him and to send out into the world."

So Jesus called them with two intentions:

first, to be with him, and then to be sent out to preach.

Let's take a closer look at these two intentions.  

His first intention is that they be with him.  

Jesus called the Twelve to be with him for three years. The disciples were to have fellowship with him. That is his first intention. What is the meaning of fellowship with Jesus?

There are different meanings. I will mention three of them:  

The first meaning is to be with him.

We can determine who a person is through the fellowship. During the fellowship, a businessman talks about business, and a student talks a lot about their studies. Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ. Therefore, he speaks of the Kingdom of God. In this way, the Twelve learn that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ and that his word is the word of God.

When Jesus once asked his disciples, “Do you also want to leave?” Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:67-68).

So, during their time together, the disciples have fellowship with Jesus and hear God’s word.  

The second meaning of fellowship with Christ is to experience the divine omnipotence of Jesus.  

Once, they are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Because of the storm, they are on the verge of drowning. But as soon as Jesus threatens the wind and the sea, all becomes still.

On another occasion, Jesus takes Jairus's dead daughter by the hand and brings her back to life. Thus, the disciples conclude that Jesus must be the almighty God.

Therefore, John says, "No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is God and is in the bosom of the Father, he has revealed him" (John 1:18).  

The third meaning of fellowship with Christ is to experience God's forgiving, redeeming grace.  

He warmly welcomes outcasts like tax collectors and prostitutes and eats with them (Mark 2:16).

All who come to him can experience his warm acceptance and his holiness. Therefore, they repent of their sinful lives and begin a sanctified life.

Zacchaeus, for example, becomes a completely new person because Jesus warmly accepted him.

Jesus says to us, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).

Through their fellowship, his disciples experience that Jesus is merciful, almighty, and holy. They witness his prayer in Gethsemane and his death on the cross. And then they witness his resurrection and his ascension.   In this way, they come to know Jesus Christ personally, recognize him as the Son of God and Christ, and enjoy fellowship with him.  

Fellowship with Christ is our primary goal. One can follow Jesus for various reasons. For example, one might follow him to receive some kind of help. But that cannot be the true goal. Our greatest goal must be fellowship with Christ. Through fellowship, we are to recognize Jesus as the Son of God and Christ and to have fellowship with him. This is our goal both on this earth and in heaven. Where we enjoy fellowship with Christ—there is the Kingdom of Heaven.    

Jesus' first intention in calling the Twelve is that they should be with him.

His second intention in calling them is to send them out as messengers of the Gospel (Mark 3:14).

Verses 5-7 tell us that Jesus sends out the twelve disciples to spread the Gospel and make people his disciples. We can call this the reproduction of the disciples. Jesus does not want to have fellowship only with the twelve disciples. Rather, he wants to have fellowship with all people on earth. That is why he sends his disciples out into the world. They are to introduce people to Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God so that they will believe in him and have fellowship with him. He wants to invite all people to fellowship with him through his disciples.  

There are different kinds of news in the world. Take, for example, the news from July 13, 2013. At that time, all Germans rejoiced over winning the World Cup. In contrast, all Argentinians were sad about losing the World Cup to Germany. Thus, most news is good for one group but not good for another.

But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is different. It can bring joy to all who accept it. Jesus truly wants to make all people happy. Therefore, Jesus wants to send his disciples into the world so that they can proclaim the good news to people.

Therefore, after his resurrection, he says to us, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-19a).  

Jesus has called us to proclaim the Gospel to all people of the world. But we are not only to share the Gospel but also to bear credible witness to Jesus Christ through our way of life.

That is why Jesus says to us, “You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16).  

Jesus needs numerous disciples to lead all people of the world to faith. A few great preachers like Billy Graham, David Cho, or Reinhard Bonnke alone cannot lead all people of the world to faith. Jesus needs many disciples who bear witness to Jesus through their words and lives.  

Do you know how many people live on this earth today? The world population is currently estimated at 8.2 billion. 8.2 billion people—that's an astronomical number. Faced with this astronomical figure, we ask ourselves, "What can we do for the evangelization of the world?"  

How many people can one disciple help so that they, too, become good disciples?

Discipleship training is a slow path to world evangelization, but it is an effective one.

To explain this, I want to compare discipleship training to a chain reaction.  

A neutron splits an atom into two parts. Each part of the split atomic nucleus is in turn split into two parts by a neutron, and so on.

Nuclear Fission [1]  

In a nuclear reactor, this fission process happens very slowly. But if this process happens quickly, it becomes an atomic bomb.  

Discipleship is "the reproduction of disciples." Discipleship is comparable to the nuclear fission of an atomic bomb.

If every disciple teaches two people as disciples of Jesus in their lifetime, each of the new disciples then educates two more disciples, and so on, all people on Earth can become disciples of Jesus after 33 generations.  

I want to illustrate this mathematically. The world population in 2024 was 8.2 billion and we assume that the population remains constant at all times, and that each disciple educates two more disciples during their lifetime. How long will it take to make disciples of all people in the world?  

After 33 generations, 8,509,935,232 people will become Christians; that is, the entire population of the world (approximately 8.5 billion will be Christians.  

Jesus' ultimate goal is that as many people as possible become his disciples, have fellowship with him, and become like him. This is God's will in Jesus Christ.    

2. Sending the Disciples Out for Ministry (5-15)  

Jesus sends his disciples out for ministry. They are to go first to the Israelites and preach, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (7).

They are also to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons (8). The disciples are to take neither money nor two shirts with them on their journey, but to rely on God's provision. If the people welcome the disciples, they are to stay with them until they move to another city.  

Jesus tells his disciples that on the day of judgment, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah will be better off than those who reject the gospel (15).  

We should understand why Jesus trains disciples and sends them out. He wants to save as many people as possible from the greatest misfortune and invite them into fellowship with him. Today, Jesus invites us to become his disciples and to experience the divine blessing of fellowship with him. We should also invite others to become Jesus' disciples and to experience the divine blessing of fellowship with him. We should take Jesus' intention to heart and fulfill his wish. He is very happy about it.

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[1] webenergie.ch