It should have been front-page news. The world should have been rejoicing and shouting praises to God. All of Israel should have been awakened to Jesus as He begins His ministry of salvation to Israel and eventually to every tribe, tongue and nation.
Yet Jesus started by fulfilling God’s prophetic word by shining His light in the darkness of Zebulon and Naphtali as foretold by Isaiah 9:1-2, 42:7. Who had ever heard of such a remote region in Galilee except the Jews who lived in Israel? Here among the people who sat in darkness, the light of His truth and glory begins to spread.
Jesus had come to save His people from their sins. So He started with two men, Andrew and Peter, then two more brothers, James and John. “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19, Mark 4:17). In Matthew’s Gospel as in the other Gospels, Jesus’s heart is for people. The best way to express His love and hope for our salvation is discipleship of men and women.
Should that not teach us where our hearts should be—in ministry and in life? He calls us to pour our lives into others for the cause of Christ. Jesus ends His time on earth by telling His disciples, “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen” (Matt. 28:19-20).
We are to fulfill God’s vision for humanity by going into the world to witness to who Jesus is, then leading people to make a decision to follow Jesus demonstrated by being baptized. The third aspect of this Great Commission of our Lord to His followers is to teach them all Jesus gave us in order to obey Him.
I have found men and women hungry for God all over the world. They will forsake all to follow Jesus, to sit at His feet, and learn to live for Him in love and obedience. Through this master plan, the hope of glory has spread across the globe. Soon Jesus will return for His precious bride.
In the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” We are there today in this moment of history. Faithful disciples have taken the Gospel to all the world. The season for His return is upon us. What a glorious day in which we live!
Let us follow Jesus’ example and obey His command by pouring our lives into others as we await His coming. Now is the time to step up our pace. Pray for God to use you to make disciples. Into whom can you pour your life? Build relationships centered in Jesus Christ and grow together in spiritual maturity. You will live the greatest adventure in life as you prepare for the age to come.
P.S. Every hungry follower of Jesus should read and study Dr. Robert Coleman’s book, The Master Plan of Evangelism. It will change your life and how you live it. {eoa}
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