Good Shepherd Lutheran

Go! – Mark 6:7-13
You know you’ve heard about Jesus over and over, and it occurs to you that maybe, on some level, you’ve become just a little too familiar with him. Maybe you’ve heard the Gospel message so often that you’ve kind of become immune. It’s kind of like getting an inoculation for the mumps or measles. You get a little bit of it in you, and you develop resistance.
So, maybe you’ve said yes to following Jesus in the past, but you’ve become complacent. You’ve forgotten what that really means. You’ve developed an “I know Jesus is my friend and savior and that’s all I need” mentality. But you’re realizing that even though you called on Him as your Savior a long time ago, you just haven’t had the faith to pick up your cross and follow lately.
So, what does it take? Coming to Jesus isn’t just coming to church. Coming to Jesus isn’t just coming to communion. Coming to Jesus is being sorry for your sin, calling on His name. and having the faith to actively follow, sharing the Gospel with others.
Up to the point when you repent and have the faith to follow, Jesus keeps telling you to “come.” Come even if you think you’re unworthy. Come if you’re weary. Come all of you who are thirsty. Come and you will be filled.
But once we’ve come to Jesus, then He adds another verb. Go. Mark 6:7-13 tells us Jesus sent his disciples. He sent them with power and authority, and He sends us, too.
Those of us who follow Jesus came to follow Him because of others. The ones He sent out who told others, who told still others, who then told others, who finally told us. And then once we’ve been told, once we’ve come to Jesus, it’s our turn to go and tell others, too.
Go into the world. Go make disciples. Go feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and go visit the lonely. Go love the world. Jesus tells us, “By this they will know you are my disciples.” John 20:21 says, “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’”
We’ll know that we’ve truly come to Jesus when we go. We’ve truly come to Jesus when we obey His command and go into the world making disciples. When we come to Jesus, He equips us and sends us. And the world will know we’ve come to Jesus, too, when they see us coming to them.
Jesus is telling us to go. Go and offer the hope of Christ. Go until the work is done. Go until you can’t go any more. Go until He calls you home. Just…Go!