All That Jesus Taught Bible Study - Part 10 — Zac Poonen

The Great Commission: Making Disciples and Teaching Jesus’ Commands

Once again, we turn to continue our study on the subject of all that Jesus taught. We base that on Matthew 28 and verse 20, where Jesus has commanded us to go into all nations, make disciples, and teach them to do every single thing I commanded or taught until he returns.

To the end of the age it says, there in verse 20. So this is what we've been doing in all our sessions so far, looking at the words of Jesus, what he taught and commanded. We've been looking at Matthew chapter 4 so far.

And the last time we saw Matthew 4 19, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. We saw what that meant. And in further down, we read that Jesus went about, verse 23, in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of this kingdom.

This is the gospel of the kingdom of heaven that he proclaimed that we are to proclaim and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. It didn't matter what that disease was.

Jesus’ Unique and Attesting Healing Ministry

There was not a sickness that he could not cure. There was not a disease that he could not heal. And the news went about into all Syria, outside of Israel. And they brought to him all who were ill. This is even people who are non-Jewish people.

They brought them from Syria, outside of Israel. And they brought people with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics, and he healed them. There was nobody who was not healed. Now we have never seen a healing ministry like that at any time since that time.

Jesus was the only one who healed in such a miraculous way that every single disease, every single sickness, every single paralyzed man was healed. Now, nowadays in so-called healing campaigns, people are excited if one out of the thousand people walk out of a wheelchair.

But so many people go away disappointed from these healing meetings with their diseases and with their sicknesses. Many of them who are proclaimed healed die a few days later. This is not a repetition of the healing ministry of Jesus.

A lot of it is just a mighty deception, fooling people in order to collect their money. We shouldn't be fooled by that and don't ever think that that is a repetition of the healing ministry of Jesus. If you want to see the healing ministry of Jesus, read it here in Matthew 4 verse 22 and 23 and see if you have seen anything comparable to that, comparable to even 0 .001 of that anywhere.

We haven't. Nowhere does it happen. Why did Jesus heal like this? We read in Acts chapter 2 that the Apostle Paul says, Apostle Peter, sorry, says to the multitude, Acts 2 22, men of Israel, listen to these words.

Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst. The miracles and the healings Jesus did were an attestation by the Father that this was my son which was needed before he went to the cross so that people would know that this was indeed the Son of God dying for the sins of the world on the cross.

It was an attestation from God. It was not something that every one of his disciples were supposed to do because there's not a single disciple who could do what all that Jesus did in this area of healing.

The Limits of Apostolic Healing

Even the great mighty Apostle Paul, yes, he raised a dead man once you read in Acts 20, but we also read that he could not heal a simple thing like Timothy's stomach aches. Now, where's the comparison between a stomach ache and a dead man?

Paul could raise a dead man in Acts 20, but he says to Timothy in 1 Timothy and chapter 5 and verse 23, he says, for your frequent stomach aches, take a little medicine. Take a little wine as medicine.

Don't you think Paul laid his hands on Timothy and prayed for him? I'm sure he did many times, but Timothy was not healed. Timothy would have gone to Paul and said, hey Paul, I'm having frequent stomach aches.

Can you pray for me? Paul prayed for him and nothing happened and Paul said, okay, just take some medicine. Do you think Paul didn't pray for Trophimus? He read in 2 Timothy and chapter 4 and verse 20, this colleague of mine, Trophimus, I prayed for him, but he's still sick.

I left him sick at Miletus. Otherwise, he could have traveled with Paul, but he was sick. So we must be realistic when it comes to this. The miracles and healings of Jesus were total, but they were an attestation from God as to who he was, the Son of God who had come to die for the sins of the earth and we must keep this in mind so that we don't get an unrealistic idea of what Jesus commanded us to do.

What Mark 16 Says About Healing Signs

Jesus has not commanded us to go into all the world and heal all the sick people. No, we need to understand that. There will be healings, there will be confirmation with healings as we read in Mark 16.

He says, go and preach the gospel to all creation and these signs, Mark 16, 17 will accompany those who have believed. Now we need to read scripture slowly, carefully, exactly. In my name, they'll cast out demons.

In my name, they will speak in new languages. They will pick up serpents and if they drink deadly things, it will not hurt them. And they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. Now who is going to do this?

Not every single believer like it's often taught. No. It says the group of people who believe in me, verse 17, the body of people who believe in me in their midst, these signs will be there. That means it's enough of one person out of the thousand, do it.

But what will they do? They'll cast out demons, they will speak in unknown tongues, it's all happening even today and when they are hurt by serpents or poison, they are protected supernaturally. That also happens in that, you know, when they travel to preach in unknown regions, there's so many dangers they face and God protects them and in their midst, there will be some who recover from sickness.

These signs will accompany that group of people, those who have believed, the group of people. It's not something that every believer does and that does happen even today, but it's not like the ministry of Jesus where every single person was healed.

You read that a number of times in the Gospels, He healed them all, He healed them all. So we must have a realistic approach to this matter of healing and Jesus did not tell us to go into all the world and heal everybody.

He told us to go into all the world and make disciples in Matthew 28 and baptize them and teach them to do all that I commanded you. Not to heal everybody who was sick, not even to heal every believer who was sick.

So if we try to add to Scripture, we get into problems. Now, this is different from the commission that Jesus gave in Matthew chapter 10, which was given before the new covenant was established. And then you see He tells His disciples in Matthew 10 when He called them, He said to them, first of all, the very first thing He said to them was, Don't go to the nations.

Matthew 10 and Its Limited Commission to Israel

Matthew chapter 10 verse 5. Now, if you take the commands in Matthew chapter 10 for yourself, then you must begin with the first command. Don't go to the nations. Don't go to the Samaritans. Go only to the Israelites.

Isn't that very clear? It couldn't be clearer than that. But there are people who ignore that first part and take the rest of it and say that's for us. Well, and it doesn't seem to work. In so many cases, they just deceive believers who don't read the Scripture carefully.

So read it slowly and carefully. Don't go to the nations, to the people of other nationalities. Don't even go to the Samaritans who are half Jews and half Assyrians. But go only to Israel, to the people of the real people of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And when you go to them, what shall you preach? Today, this is not our message. We don't preach today the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We say kingdom of heaven is here. Get your sins forgiven. Turn to Christ.

But their message was the kingdom of heaven is near. All that you read there is a preparation for what was coming in the future. And then he said to them, Heal the sick, where? In Israel. Raise the dead, where?

In Israel. Cleanse the lepers, in Israel. Cast out demons, in Israel. Freely you receive, freely you give. And listen to this. Don't ever acquire any gold or silver. How many preachers have you seen who follow that command?

Don't acquire any gold or silver. And don't carry any money with you. Where have you seen preachers following that? You see, people are selective. They pick and choose from different verses and say this is for us and this is not for us.

And that's playing the fool with God. And playing the fool with scripture. Either take the whole thing or dump the whole thing. This is not for us. This is what Jesus told them to do when they went to Israel.

And then he said, Don't even take a bag for your journey. Don't take two coats. How many preachers have you seen like that? Don't take an extra pair of sandals or a staff because wherever you go the Lord will provide for you over there.

And he goes on giving them further descriptions as to what they should do. And when he finally commissions them at the end of his life he says in Luke chapter 22 now it's very interesting to see this because he cancels out the instructions he gave in Matthew chapter 10.

Luke 22 and the Transition to New Covenant Ministry

That's what many people haven't seen. Luke chapter 22 he says to them in verse 35. Luke 22, 35. When I sent you out you remember those days three years ago I sent you out without a purse, without a bag without an extra pair of sandals did you lack anything?

Didn't you find that your sandals probably never wore out and you always had some somebody provided your needs supernaturally no purse, no bag no sandals you lacked nothing. But now but now we are entering a new phase of ministry and those rules I gave to you in Matthew chapter 10 heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead don't apply now, don't take a purse don't take sandals, no it doesn't apply now but now, what should you do?

Take a purse with you this is new covenant ministry take a purse with you if you don't have a bag take a bag with you, get one and if you don't have a sword listen to this, he never told them to go with a sword in Matthew chapter 10 if you don't have a sword it's better to sell your robe and buy one because you are going to face all types of dangers, you need to defend yourself.

You don't use a sword to attack people, but you need to have a sword to defend yourself for I tell you it's going to be fulfilled that he was numbered with the transgressors and they said, Lord, here are two swords.

They had two swords with them and he said, that is enough. What was he telling them to take swords for when they went to get semen you know Peter took out one of those swords and chopped off somebody's ear and Jesus healed that ear and told Peter, put your sword back.

He who takes the sword will perish with the sword. They could have said, Lord but you are the one who told us to bring these swords he would have told them I never told you to bring swords to attack people, no what I meant was, if the Roman soldiers take out the sword to attack you, you don't have to lift up your hands and get cut in the hand lift up a sword, so that you defend yourself with the sword, in other words you can use the sword for defence but never for attack.

Now, when we don't understand the words of Jesus clearly, we can go to an extreme position, like a lot of people have here, that we never take a sword at all, that's trying to be more spiritual than Jesus Christ himself.

If somebody attacks you, you have every right to defend yourself, but you are not to attack someone, if somebody takes you to court, you have a right to defend yourself, but you don't go taking other people to court, that's the point, you don't attack people but you can defend yourself.

We have a right to do that. When people slap Jesus, he said if I have spoken the truth, why do you slap me? So, we have a right to defend ourselves but never to attack. So, if we understand this, we realize that our calling today, is not what we read in Matthew chapter 10, because Jesus didn't tell us to go and do what I have done.

Following Jesus in His Life Rather Than Replicating His Ministry

What is the command in Matthew 28? Go into all the world and make disciples and teach them to do all that I have done? No all that I have commanded. If you read scripture exactly we find that it literally gets fulfilled, we can do everything that Jesus commanded but we cannot do everything that Jesus did.

And all those preachers who pretend to tell you that they are doing everything that Jesus did, in the realm of miracles and healings, are deceiving you. We need to understand what Jesus meant here go and teach them to do all that I commanded and not all the ministry that I did.

When Jesus said follow me he was not telling us to follow him in his ministry but in his life. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. He said in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1 be followers of me as I am of Christ.

There are two people in the new testament who said follow me. No old testament prophet could ever say follow me. Their life was not an example to be followed. Not Isaiah, not Moses. Nobody. They could only proclaim hear what God has said through me.

These are God's words. But not one of them could say follow my example. Moses quarreled with his wife and disobeyed God in not circumcising his son. They were not all good examples in their life but they could proclaim God's word accurately thus said the Lord.

But in the new covenant we don't just say thus said the Lord, we don't just say come and hear what God is saying. They say come and see what God has done. Which is different from the old testament prophet saying come and hear what God is saying.

The new testament prophet says come and see what God has done in my life. Come and see what God has done in my family. Come and see what God has done in me. Now I want to teach you to obey what Jesus has commanded so you can do the same thing in you follow me.

Jesus was the first person in the bible to say follow me. And then we read Paul saying follow me as I follow Christ 1 Corinthians 11 1. And he goes on to say in Philippians 3 verse 17 brothers, follow my example and not only my example and observe others who are walking like me.

And you can follow their example too because I'm following Christ. It's like Christ is the person who has climbed to the top of the mountain. Let's say a mountain of 30 ,000 feet, 10 ,000 meters. He's reached the top and we're following and Paul is probably ahead of us.

Maybe he's gone 3 -4 ,000 meters and he says to those behind him, follow me. Maybe I've gone only up to 500 meters. I can say to people who are still further lower down in the mountain, follow me. And I can follow the example of others who are ahead of me, who are following Christ to the peak, the peak is total likeness to Christ.

That's the goal not to heal all the sick people in the world but to become totally like Jesus Christ. And from that life an overflow of ministry. We need to understand this. He did not command us to go and tell people to do the same ministry he did.

We cannot follow. When Paul said follow me, he was not telling us to become apostles. How can everybody be an apostle? How can everybody be a prophet or an evangelist like Paul was. He was saying follow me in my life.

Imitate me in the way I imitate Christ. Even the apostle Paul could not imitate Christ's ministry of healing all the sick walking on water, feeding 5000 with 5 loaves. There were times he says in 2 Corinthians 11 when he himself was hungry and when he was in need he shivered in the cold and he asked Timothy to bring a blanket for him, you read in 2 Timothy 4 so he struggled.

The early Christians suffered in many ways. They were not protected when they were thrown to the lions but they followed Jesus who was refused to protection when he was being crucified. It is in his life that we are to follow him.

We cannot follow Jesus in his ministry. And the clearest example of that is his ministry included dying for the sins of the world. How in the world can we follow him in that ministry. So it is in his life.

Jesus’ Life, Ministry, and the Will of the Father

We need to distinguish between Jesus' life and his ministry Jesus did. In one sentence he can say he did the will of his father in his life and in his ministry. And we can do the will of God for us in our life and in our ministry.

In our life it is to follow Jesus. Exactly that's what Paul did in our ministry. It is to fulfill that particular function in the body of Christ that's given to us. If we understand this distinction between the life of Jesus and the ministry of Jesus we'll find that we are protected from deception and save ourselves from a lot of unreality and hypocrisy.

There is a lot of hypocrisy in Christians who pretend that they are doing the same things that Jesus did. Then people can say what does it mean when Jesus said in John 14 after the last supper truly truly I say to you John 14 12 he who believes in me the works that I do shall he do also.

And greater works than these shall he do because I go to the father and I'm going to ask the father to send the Holy Spirit verse 16. So what he was saying is when the Holy Spirit comes you're going to be able to do the works that I did and greater works.

We need to understand that now if you were to ask somebody what are the works that Jesus did they'll immediately talk about healing the sick raising the dead walking on water, feeding the 5 ,000 with 5 loaves.

But I say you're talking about the last 10 of Jesus' life. What he did in the last 3 .5 years. Is that all he did? What about 90 of his life. What did he do in 90 of his life. Weren't they also works that he did.

What did he do 90 of his life. What did he do in 100 of his life. In one sentence he did the will of his father like he himself said in John 6 ,38. I came from heaven not to raise the dead and heal the sick and walk on water.

I came from heaven to deny my own will and to do the will of my father. That in a nutshell are the works of Jesus. He came to say no to his own will and to do the will of his father. And the will of his father included preaching the sermon on the mount included healing all who were sick sometimes healing only one person like in the pool of Bethesda.

And the will of his father included walking on water and making Peter walk on the water and feeding the 5 ,000 5 loaves. The will of the father for Paul did not include walking on the water or feeding 5 ,000 with 5 loaves or raising someone who had been dead for 4 days like Lazarus but fulfilling the will of the father.

That is the point. The works that Jesus did was in one sentence the will of God. And Paul did that for him the will of God was to travel around plant churches write scripture. Jesus never wrote any scripture but Paul did it.

We are not called to write scripture but we are called to do the will of our father. Those are the works of Jesus. You know his obedience to Joseph and Mary at home. If Mary asked him to go and bring a bucket of water from the well he would bring a full bucket of water.

Those are the works of Jesus to obedience to the father in the little things and the big things. And all of us can do that. That in a nutshell is the works that he did and say we can do that. The opposite of that is living in sin doing our own will.

And he was saying there you don't have to do your own will. You don't have to live in sin anymore. You can do the works I did. You can live in purity doing God's will. And greater works than these shall he do.

The Greater Work of Unity in the Body of Christ

What is that? There was one work that Jesus could never do when he was on earth and that was make people one. He had preached to his twelve disciples for three and a half years. But in the last supper they were still arguing as to who is the greatest who is going to be the leader after Jesus dies.

And he says you are going to do a greater work than that. And the reason why Jesus couldn't make them one was not because of any failure on Christ's part because they did not have the Holy Spirit within them.

And when people don't have the Holy Spirit even Jesus cannot make them one. So he said after I go and I ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit John 14 -16 then the Spirit of God will come upon inside all of you inside your hearts.

Then you will become one. And then you will do a greater work which is building the body of Jesus Christ not a congregation of people like in the Old Testament unrelated to each other but believers born again believers one with each other exactly like the members of this body functioning together.

Those twelve disciples did not function like the members of this body because they didn't have the Holy Spirit within them. But once the Holy Spirit came Jesus said you are going to be able to do a greater work than even I have done.

And that's why building the church building the body of Christ is the greatest work that anybody can ever do on this earth. And for that we have to obey the command in Matthew 28 verse 19 and 20 go and make disciples in every nation.

You can't build a church without disciples. And you can't build a church if you don't teach them to do every single thing that Jesus commanded. So I hope that makes it clear as to what exactly it means to be a servant of God in this new covenant age.

Discipleship as the Primary New Covenant Calling

And I hope it clears this fog of confusion concerning healing ministry. We believe in praying for the sick like it says in James 5. But primarily our calling is to teach people to do all that Jesus has commanded.

If we come across demon possessed people we have to deliver them in Jesus name. I've done that myself often we need to do that. But my primary ministry is to lead people to obey all that Jesus commanded.

Because that's the only way we'll be able to build the church as the body of Christ which is God's ultimate goal a church against which the gates of hell will never prevail. Let's pray heavenly father.

We thank you for the clarity of your word. The simplicity of it is so clear for those who have years to hear even little children can understand. Help us. We pray to be gripped by these truths so that we can live a worthwhile life on earth before you return.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen.