The final words Jesus spoke to His disciples were not rushed, sentimental, or abstract. They were spoken by the risen Lord, standing on the far side of death, addressing men who were about to be scattered into a hostile world with no institutional power and little cultural leverage. His words were calculated, specific, missional, and authoritative;
‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18 to 20)
This is not a marketing strategy. It is not a growth model. It is not a suggestion offered casually to those who may be interested.
It is a command rooted in universal authority.
And at the centre of that command is not the going, baptising, or even teaching in the abstract sense. The centre is this phrase, often softened by familiarity but sharp in its original force.
“Teach them to obey”
Not to admire Jesus.
Not to quote Jesus.
Not even merely to believe the right things about Jesus.
But to obey Him.
The Meaning of Discipleship
A disciple, in the world Jesus lived in, was not someone who occasionally listened to a lecture. A disciple was a ‘life-student’, someone who placed themselves under the authority of a teacher in such a way that their entire way of living was gradually reshaped.
“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Luke 6:40 ESV
It’s about becoming like Jesus.
Disciples sought to become like their teacher, so they followed their teachers closely enough to notice patterns. They paid attention to habits, priorities, tone, restraint, courage, and compassion. They learned not only what their teacher said, but how their teacher lived.
This is why Jesus did not simply deliver content and move on. He invited people to walk with Him, eat with Him, rest with Him, watch Him pray, watch Him suffer interruption, watch Him confront hypocrisy, and watch Him love the unlovely without flinching.
When Jesus calls people to follow Him, He is not calling them into an information stream. He is calling them into a shared life.
This is also why discipleship cannot be reduced to a class or a curriculum, however helpful those tools may be. Discipleship is learned through proximity, time, imitation, and obedience, and it always unfolds slowly.
Love and Obedience Belong Together
One of the quiet distortions of modern Christianity is the subtle separation of love and obedience, as though love is something we feel toward Jesus and obedience is an optional response for particularly serious believers; fundamentalists.
Jesus never makes that separation. Obedience to Jesus is as fundamental to Christianity as love.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
This is not a threat, and it is not emotional manipulation. It is a description of reality. Love, in the biblical sense, is not merely affection or admiration. Love is loyalty expressed in action.
Jesus continues this theme with unsettling clarity.
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” (John 14:21)
In other words, obedience is not the way we earn love from God, but it is the way love becomes visible and concrete in a human life. James says it like this;
“But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
James 2:18 ESV
‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Heb 11:6) and without works faith is nothing more than dead empty words. So to love God and please him is to obey him, for ‘faith works by love’ (Gal 5:6).
This matters pastorally, because many sincere Christians live with a low level of quiet anxiety, unsure whether their love for God is real or imagined. This is because they’re searching their feelings for evidence instead of taking James’ advice and searching their actions.
Jesus does not direct them inward to examine their feelings. He directs them outward toward faithfulness. Assurance rests in the heart of those who desire to obey the Lord, even when, or perhaps especially when, it hurts.
At the end of time, when we stand before Jesus, he will not ask you whether you felt love for him. He will ask how you lived and whether you were known to him, and were your works for him (Mat 7:23; 25:31-46).
Do you keep His word, imperfectly, repentantly, persistently? Do you hate it when you miss the mark, fall into temptation and sin? Do you search scripture to see how else you can bring your life into closer alignment to Jesus’ teachings?
Then you are not faking your love. You are living it. And He is with you.
Abiding. Fruit. Faithfulness.
Jesus connects discipleship to fruitfulness, and fruitfulness to abiding.
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:8 – emphasis added)
Fruit is not spiritual busyness. It is the visible outcome of a life rooted in Christ over time. It grows slowly, often unnoticed, and it cannot be forced without damage. When fruit is forced, it is experienced by others as being fake. True fruit is a result of something specific; abiding.
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.” (John 15:10)
Abiding is not mystical detachment from the world. It is settled faithfulness within it. To abide in Christ is to remain where He is, doing what He does, loving what He loves, and refusing to separate spirituality from obedience.
When we abide, fruit is not forced. It is a byproduct of our relationship with Jesus. Just as a branch does not ‘work’ to produce fruit, neither is our fruit to be forced.
Here is a dilemma; are we meant to work hard at being fruitful or not? Am I meant to strive to grow and be transformed, or do I just ‘abide’ and let God sort out the fruit?
Paul makes an interesting statement about his own life that helps us understand this tension;
“For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
1 Corinthians 15:9-10 ESV
So which was it Paul, Grace or Hard Work? Yes!
This is the point James was making. We must work, but it is not to be saved, nor is it to earn grace, rather our hard work is in response to grace and is therefore empowered by grace.
Grace is given so that we might abide, and as we do, we are moved and motivated by Jesus to carry out his commands in loving obedience. When this becomes a lifestyle, transformation will be the fruit that is produced.
For those who feel weary, or aware of their own inconsistency, this is not meant to crush you. It is meant to ground you. Abiding is not perfection. It is staying planted while resisting the pressure from the world that seeks to uproot you. It’s clinging to Jesus. Trusting his Word, and then working with all the strength He gives you to obey his commands.
Love as the Public Mark of Discipleship
Jesus tells His disciples how the world will recognise them, and His answer is not power, influence, or even doctrinal precision.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)
This love is not vague warmth or general niceness. It is shaped by the cross. It bears with weakness. It tells the truth without delighting in damage. It refuses to abandon the community of faith when it becomes costly.
This has deep pastoral implications, because many believers have been wounded in church contexts and are understandably cautious. Jesus does not minimise that pain. But He still locates discipleship within the shared, imperfect life of His people.
You cannot learn to love one another in abstraction. You learn it by staying. Abiding with Christ is also to abide with his people. In the face of suffering and persecution, the writer of Hebrews exhorted the believers,
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV
Obedience Touches Ordinary Life
When Scripture speaks about obedience, it does not confine it to spiritual activities. It’s not a short list of give, fast, pray; done (although it includes these things).
Discipleship takes shape in the relationships and responsibilities of everyday life, day in, day out.
In families, disciples learn patience, submission, faithfulness, and sacrificial love.
In the church, disciples learn to serve, to bear burdens, to use gifts for the good of others rather than personal recognition.
In the wider world, disciples learn to love neighbours, serve the vulnerable, and refuse retaliation even when wronged.
Jesus takes it further still and commands love not only for friends, but for enemies.
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
This is not idealism. It is costly obedience, and it is meant to be.
Discipleship that costs nothing changes very little.
What does it mean to be obedient to Christ in your marriage?
How is love for Jesus expressed in the way you relate to your parents?
What works does faith require concerning your relationship to the local church?
What does scripture say about how I live that requires me to depart the wide road of the culture around me, in order to love obediently to the commands of my Lord and Saviour?
Discipleship Is Transmitted Through Lives
Paul reminds Timothy that discipleship is not passed on through teaching alone.
“You have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness.” (2 Timothy 3:10)
Notice that teaching and conduct are inseparable. Doctrine and life belong together.
Scripture itself exists for this purpose.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
Training implies practice. Correction implies humility. Growth implies time.
This is why Jesus does not tell Peter to build systems or protect influence. He tells him to shepherd.
“Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17)
Shepherding is slow, personal, and often unseen. It requires presence, patience, and love that does not withdraw when results are unclear.
A Necessary Question
Jesus says plainly,
“You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:14)
This is not harsh. It is honest.
So the question before the church is not whether we are busy, growing, or visible. The question is whether we are forming people who actually follow Jesus in the ordinary shape of their lives.
Disciples obey.
Disciples imitate.
Disciples learn to order their loves, with God first and self no longer at the centre.
Not flawlessly, but faithfully.
And the promise that accompanies this command is not pressure, but presence.
“I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The work of making disciples is slow. It is demanding. It exposes our own inconsistencies even as we try to walk with others.
But it is not ours alone.
We are called to follow, and to help others follow, trusting that Jesus Himself walks with us as we do.
And it all starts with an unwavering commitment to scripture, for that is where the commands of Jesus are found.
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