Jesus Taught A Way Of Life To His Disciples
The ability to do what Jesus did was never something that happened to people in some kind of instant spiritual download. Jesus taught a way of life, of intimacy with the Father and empowerment by the Spirit, that issued out into kingdom living and could be passed on to the next generation.
Jesus had three close friends named Peter, James, and John. They spent more time with him than anyone else did, and they all played significant roles of leadership in the early days of the Church. Then Jesus had another wider circle of 12 friends, including the first three, that have been known as âdisciplesâ or âapostles.â He often withdrew from public ministry to spend time teaching, mentoring, and developing these leaders. They were a motley group from various walks of life and social spaces.
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Extending The Ministry Of Jesus
Jesusâ commissioning was not limited to his closest three friends or to the disciples. Some biblical passages talk about a group of 72 people that he commissioned and empowered to be ministers of the kingdom. Other passages mention larger groups of âfollowersâ who also seem to have been commissioned not only to experience the ministry of the kingdom, but also to extend this ministry.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are told a group of 120 believers obeyed Jesusâ instructions to wait for the Holy Spirit to empower them for further ministry. The remainder of the New Testament makes it clear that very quickly, thousands more were commissioned with the power of the Spirit. Jesus had promised this would happen: âyou will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere â in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earthâ (Acts 1:8).
On the day of Pentecost, thousands were baptized into the ministry of Jesus. Churches began springing up all over the Roman empire â in Ephesus, Colossae, Antioch, and even the imperial capital of Rome. Among Jews and Gentiles, men and women, poor and rich, educated and uneducated, people came to faith in Christ and discovered through the Holy Spirit the empowerment to do the same kingdom works as Jesus.
The Church Is Not Always Perfect
2,000 years later, we have a rich record of how the Church has expanded all over the globe through everyday people being empowered to extend the kingdom of God. Of course, it hasnât always been pretty. Jesus promised that one day he would return and bring the kingdom in all its fullness. Until that day, we experience the kingdom of God as an âalready and not yetâ reality. We have stories of God using his people to bring healing, salvation, and hope down through the generations. We also have stories of the Church being corrupt and hijacked by the powers of the day. People of faith mourn the ânot yetâ moments of the kingdom, but believe that God still has hope for the Church to be the community of power and love Jesus meant for it to be.
