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Tibetan Bible བོད་ཀྱི་གསུང་རབ།
Sowing and Reaping – Part 5
All of us are called to partake of the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
In Matthew 28 Jesus was speaking to His disciples in His resurrected form and His words were not just convincing but authoritative.
By that time those disciples who continued with Him knew for sure without any doubt that this Jesus is the Messiah chosen of God to redeem us from sin and death.
Those were the disciples who witnessed the crucifixion and death of Jesus on the cross; they knew where He was buried, and met with the resurrected Lord for about 40 days before Jesus ascended to heaven.
Therefore Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts used the phrase “infallible proof“ about Jesus the Messiah!
Disciples make disciples.
Jesus’ instruction was delivered to those who had been through those few years of public ministry with Him and had encountered what Jesus taught and showed forth as the power and authority of the kingdom of God.
Jesus’ resurrection is key evident of His power and authority over sin and death.
The disciples remembered what Jesus said about judgement and His call for repentance cannot be disputed. All those disciples who received the Great Commission from Jesus in person knew this is the Messiah who will give them the gift of eternal life.
God’s plan for redemption comes with rewards of eternal life and the promises of God for restoration and salvation is fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The Great Commission simply involves repeating and following the same teaching Jesus had taught to His disciples, so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
The mechanism of teaching as part of the Great Commission follows exactly Jesus’ Parable of the Sower
Matthew 13:1-9
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
We are all called to be part of this world wide effort to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we also need to be prepared that not everyone will receive. Not everyone will become disciples and followers of Christ.
Although the salvation plan of God is made available to all men but not everyone will trust and obey. As much as we pray and hope many more will be saved but the Parable of the Sower by Jesus already forewarned us of rejection.
Our hope and encouragement is among those who will receive and bear fruits and this is where we find good purpose and meaning to sowing and reaping for the kingdom of God.
Jesus Himself was leading the example of sowing and raping the Gospel.
John 4:34-38
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
It should be interesting to note that this incident in John 4 happened in the area belonging to the Samaritans who were generally despised by Judean Jews who had issues with Gentiles.
Perhaps Jesus’ disciples had been discouraged by resistance and negative responses from their own country folks and the overwhelming positive faith from these Samaritans would have startled them in a good way.
Don’t give up, continue sowing and reaping.
Jesus was showing by example to His disciples that His livelihood is about preaching the words of God and calling for repentance which is the will of God for sowing and reaping for the sake of the Gospel.
With Jesus leading the way we are not discouraged even in times of difficulties, resistance, limited resources and manpower, for we must trust in the promises and provisions of God, amen
2 Corinthians 9:10
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Yes we are working for “the harvest of righteousness” and these are what glorify God.
We are almost there as we draw near to the return of our Messiah.
We must continue working, sowing along the way, as we await the return of our Lord and Savior.
Revelation 14:15
And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”
Jesus is returning soon, real soon!
David Z
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