He Died Just for Me… Really?

When you actually believe Jesus’ words and realize Jesus’ worth, then you understand that his aim is not simply to be your personal Lord and Savior and that his death on the cross did not revolve around you alone.

Christians sometimes say, “When Jesus died on that cross, he died just for me.” Without question, there is truth here, for Jesus personally died for you and me. But we must not stop there. According to Jesus’ own words, he died so that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.”114 Far beyond just dying for you and me, Jesus was dying to purchase people “for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Disciples of Jesus know that he is not merely a personal Lord and Savior, worthy of someone’s individual approval. Disciples of Jesus know that he is the cosmic Lord and Savior, worthy of everyone’s eternal praise.

So disciples of Jesus can’t help but make disciples of all nations. If we truly believe Jesus’ words and know Jesus’ worth, then we are compelled to be part of this task. Together, we spend our lives telling hundreds of millions of people in America and Europe to turn from sin and trust in Jesus because he’s worthy of their worship. We make disciples in Africa, where there are over three thousand animistic tribes worshiping all kinds of suspicious spirits and false gods, who do not deserve glory. We make disciples in Japan, Laos, and Vietnam, where there are 350 million Buddhists following Buddha’s practices when Buddha does not merit their praise. We make disciples in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, where there are over 950 million Hindus worshiping millions of worthless gods. We make disciples in China, North Korea, and Cuba, where over a billion people have grown up in Communist environments that deny the very existence of the God who reigns above all. We make disciples in Central Asia and the Middle East, where over 1.5 billion Muslims are following a false god. We make disciples among all of these peoples and among the toughest of these places because we know in our minds, hearts, and lives that Jesus has died on the cross and risen from the grave and that he alone deserves to be exalted as Lord.

David Platt and Francis Chan, Follow Me: A Call to Die. a Call to Live. (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2013).

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