Learning to Breathe
When Jesus Called it Quits
written by Brooks Hamon
One of my favorite parts of the Bible is the ascension of Jesus, and how his disciples were not expecting what was about to happen...
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. (Acts 1:6-9)
The disciples were expecting Jesus take an earthly throne, and he just left. The disciples were so unprepared that they just stood there:
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)
Jesus had to send a couple of angels down to get them to move on.
At this point in time, the disciples didn't seem very ready to strike out on their own (and I think they would have agreed with that statement). But Jesus left them anyway. He called it quits and went back to heaven.
How did he know that the disciples didn't need him any more?
The Clock is Ticking
There's an old novel by Charles W. Chesnutt called The Marrow of Tradition. At the very end of the story, a character is urging a doctor to come treat a dying child, and the last line in the book is this statement to the doctor: "There's time enough, but none to spare."
That's how I often think about making disciples. God gives me enough time with someone to accomplish his purposes, but there's a sense of urgency.
I'm acutely aware of this urgency because I primarily disciple teenagers. I've been in youth ministry for over 10 years, starting out with a group of sixth grade boys and staying with them until they graduated high school. Then I kept working with high school students. The reality I constantly face is that every year a group of students graduate. Most of those graduates leave town to attend college. Unlike Jesus, I don't get to choose when I part ways with the students I disciple.
When students leave, I watch some of them thrive in college and grow as Christians. Sadly, I also see some of them pursue different paths.
I take heart in the fact that Jesus left before his disciples seemed ready. I don't know that anyone is ever truly ready for the adventure of following Jesus, but there's a point when they're ready enough. Jesus left his disciples at that point.
When Enough is Enough
I once heard a story about a pastor in Africa that went from village to village, discipling a person, then after a few weeks, the pastor would leave and instruct the disciple to plant a church in their village. Naturally, someone asked the pastor if he was afraid those disciples would fail or lead those church plants astray. The pastor replied, "they have the Bible and the Holy Spirit, what more do they need?"
For years afterwards, I always felt like that was true, but that something was missing. Now, I think that pastor assumed something that we can't always take for granted, and that's obedience. If, when someone reads the Bible, they do what it says, and if someone is obedient to the Holy Spirit's conviction and missional impulse, then I think they'll be alright on their own. They don't have to have everything in their lives right at the moment, they just have to be willing to be transformed as God brings things to their attention.
Jesus' disciples fit that picture. They had the Old Testament and lived through the ministry of Jesus. Then, Jesus instructed them to wait for the Holy Spirit, and once they received spiritual power, they were obedient. The disciples had everything they needed.
So, I would submit this as a guiding principle:
Obedience to Scripture + Obedience to the Holy Spirit = a mature disciple
Will there be room for growth? Oh yeah, definitely! We never stop becoming more like Jesus while we're alive. Does this mean we can set off by ourselves like a Lone Ranger? Not so fast. We always need others around us because following Jesus is a team sport.
My friend Ralph Moore is one of the most prolific disciple makers I have ever met. When he was in his twenties, he started by discipling three teenage boys. Eventually, his disciple making efforts led to over 2700 churches being planted. But fifty years later, he told me that he still keeps in touch with two of those three boys. Today, we don't usually have to cut ties with the people we disciple as abruptly as Jesus did – we can still be a phone call away – but all discipling relationships are temporary. It's our job as disciple makers to help people be ready enough to take on the world.
Reflection
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:8-11)