NEXT: The Journey After Easter — Week 1
The Great Commission & the Mandate to Make Disciples
After the joy of Easter morning, many followers are left asking: what happened next?
Jesus didn’t immediately ascend and leave His disciples alone. For the next 50 days before Pentecost, He continued to teach, encourage and challenge those who had witnessed the empty tomb. This first message in our NEXT series explores the very first thing He did—issuing a mandate that still shapes the church today.
Looking Back to Look Forward
When the women arrived at the tomb they were told: “He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee”. The resurrection answered the question of Jesus’ identity—He is exactly who He claimed to be. But His mission didn’t end with an empty grave. In the weeks that followed, He appeared to hundreds, confronted doubts, restored the broken, instructed His followers to wait and, finally, ascended. All of it set the stage for Pentecost.
The Mandate: Make Disciples
The risen Christ gathered His disciples on a mountain in Galilee and declared: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. With that authority He gave one imperative: make disciples. How?
Go – move toward people rather than waiting for them to come to you.
Baptize – publicly identify new believers with the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Teach – help them obey everything He commanded.
Trust – He promised, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age”.
Notice what He didn’t say. He didn’t simply command us to attend church, join a group, tithe or pray. Those are fruit of discipleship, not the root. The directive is clear: intentionally invest in people so that they become apprentices of Jesus. Everything else flows from that.
Why Discipleship Matters
The apostle Peter wrote that the Lord is patient, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”. Discipleship isn’t optional because it’s the way God’s heart for the lost becomes reality. At PPC we’ve sought to be intentional about this: bringing in mentors to envision us, training leaders, structuring life‑groups around apprenticeship and even shaping children’s ministry to form disciples. We do it because the eternal fruit is worth the effort.
Celebrating Baptism
As Jesus commanded, baptizing new believers is part of making disciples. Baptism is the first act of obedience after repentance, a public identification with Christ’s death and resurrection, a spiritual “circumcision of the heart,” and an outward proclamation that Jesus is Lord. Scripture reminds us that heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents. Today we celebrate alongside those being baptized at PPC, acknowledging that their stories are evidence of faithful discipleship.
Looking Ahead
For the next four weeks we’ll explore what else Jesus did in those days between resurrection and Pentecost—confronting doubt, restoring the broken, instructing His followers to wait and finally ascending. Each moment reveals more of His heart and shapes who we are as a church. Our prayer is that as we journey through this series, each of us will take the next step in following Christ and helping others do the same.