After his resurrection, Jesus gave an interesting command to his disciples, and, as readers of his words, to us: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20). The interesting aspect of his command is where he commands obedience to everything he has commanded.

Why does Jesus focus on what he commanded? Why doesn't he command them to obey what they've learned in the law, or in the scriptures? Does Jesus have a negative view of the law? Does he not think the law upholds God's desire and intent? And, when he clearly says, "Do not think I have come to abolish the Law...; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them...," (5:17) what does he mean?

Jesus is calling for discernment and understanding of his message. He's calling back his earlier teaching, for example, in Matthew 5-7 or even in his teaching about divorce and remarriage, where he challenges his hearers to go beyond the mere words they have "heard" (5:21, etc.) to the depths of what Jesus "tells" us (5:22, etc.). In these teachings, Jesus upholds the law, but for him, the law isn't about mere words and doing those things in a minimal way. The law is about the means by which we evaluate our hearts and our desire to actually do what God wants.

We stop short of God's intent and desire for our lives when we keep commands in a minimal way. So Jesus challenges us to obey his commands because his commands permeate deep into our lives, cut through our resistances, and pull us past the idolatry of the law-keeping we can be guilty of today.

So make disciples that are focused on following Jesus. Make disciples that are pleasing to him. Make disciples by teaching people to obey Jesus' commands, which address the heart, not laws, which address performance.