Well…
Tell me which you prefer.
Do you want the Short Answer or the Long Answer?
Why Does Discipleship Matter?
The Short Answer:
Because Jesus said so.
The Great Commission
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them [the eleven, v 16], saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 NASB
Why Does Discipleship Matter?
The Long Answer:
To show His love to the world.
34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34, 35 NASB
To learn true Faith (Obedience and Trust), even if you think you already know and believe.
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?
11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.
12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? John 3:9-12 NASB
To learn (and count) the cost of discipleship.
27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Luke 14:27-33 NASB
To learn the Word of God and to obey it.
28 But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Luke 11:28 NASB
To learn how to share the Word of God and to make Disciples.
20 “I do not ask on behalf of these [disciples] alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; John 17:20 NASB
To learn how to be with Him [learn from being with Him] in order to be sent out to preach [share about the Kingdom of Heaven].
13 And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him.
14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,
15 and to have authority to cast out the demons. Mark 3:13-15 NASB
To learn and understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, in order to be given even more understanding.
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
12 “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Matthew 13:10-13 NASB
To learn to be as spiritually mature as your discipler.
40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. Luke 6:40 NASB
To be taught, equipped, trained, prepared to be sent into the world, filled with and led by the Holy Spirit.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” John 20:21 NASB
What Is Discipleship?
Discipleship is the core of who we are as Believers and Followers of Jesus, as well as, the basis of our response to Him.
- Can we worship YeHoVaH if we don’t know the Father?
- Can we teach our children how to grow spiritually if we don’t know The Way?
- Can we seek out others to teach to come to know the Messiah if we don’t know Him personally ourself?
- Can we serve others with the love of God if we have not accepted His love as our own?
- Can we seek to share the saving Gospel with others if we are not assured of our own salvation?
Disciple is not a label you wear.
Disciple is not a class you take.
Discipleship is not a program.
Discipleship is not a ministry.
Discipleship is a way of life (WoL).
Discipleship is following He Who Is The Way (and The Truth and The Life).
The Way of
- Believing in Yeshua.
- Following the teachings of Jesus.
- Being a “learner,” being a disciple.
- Making disciples who make disciples
Jesus commanded His Disciples to make Disciples.
Can we who go by His Name today do less?
I think not.
As Believers, as Followers, we are called to become Disciples, and to make Disciples.
Models of Discipleship
Jewish Second Temple view of Disciples
In first-century Pharisaism, “rabbis were the teachers who had been given the authoritative role to interpret God’s Word for the living of a righteous life – defining what behavior would or would not please God.”
The Master – Disciple (Rabbi – Talmid) relationship was reciprocal. The Rabbi agreed to teach; the Talmid agreed to learn. However, as part of the relationship, the Talmid agreed to submit completely to the Rabbi’s authority.
The relationship was also “a continual daily relational living experience where either the rabbi would ask questions of the disciple as he closely observed the disciple’s daily life, or the disciple would initiate a discussion by raising an issue or asking a question based on some aspect of his daily life.” (emphasis original)
Jesus-Style Discipleship
Jewish-style discipleship was based on the Word of God: with the Torah as the authority.
Yeshua-style discipleship was based on the Word of God: with the Son of God as the authority.
“In the New Covenant, Jesus is the center of the universe, not the Torah (or the Bible).” Joseph Mattera
Discipleship is the method Jesus used to facilitate the spiritual growth of those He called unto Himself.
Discipleship is the model for spiritual growth that Jesus used from the beginning of His ministry.
Discipleship is the strategy we can use to grow spiritually today.
Discipleship is a way of life, a lifestyle, a mode of living in the manner established and taught by our Master, the Master, Yeshua the Messiah.
The Need Is For Relational, Intentional Discipleship
Learning to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ requires us to be intentional: both in disciple-making and in disciple-becoming, both in what is taught and in what is learned.
But, in addition, learning to be a Disciple of Yeshua Messiah requires relationship: relationship with the Holy Spirit and relationship within the Body, the church.
Disciple-becoming depends on being intentional in what a disciple-maker teaches.
Disciple-becoming requires being in a relationship with a disciple-maker.
Discipleship/ Disciple-making/ Discipling, as modeled by Jesus, is to be both intentional and relational.
Jesus called the Twelve to come into a relationship with Him – that of a Master and His Disciples, a Rabbi and His Talmidim.
Each of the Twelve responded to His call by accepting the invitation to be in relationship with Him,
In addition, Yeshua was intentional in what He taught to these He specially asked.
He intentionally took the Twelve aside to explain and expound on His teachings.
Yes, Jesus was the perfect disciple-maker.
And He commanded His Disciples to make Disciples.
Yeshua did not command His Church to make “converts.”
Yeshua does not want “converts,” nor just Believers, nor even mere Followers.
He wants Disciples who make Disciples!
Created in His Image
We are made in the image of Elohim.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them . Genesis 1:26, 27 NASB
We were created to be Relational.
In “Becoming a Disciple of Jesus: He Demands Our All,” published in Knowing & Doing, by the C S Lewis Institute, 2011, William “Bill” Kynes, Ph.D. writes
… God has created us to prosper as human beings in a relationship with himself which is by definition, exclusive and unconditional. Anything less is a poor imitation of the real thing.
YeHoVaH wants a relationship with us.
We are not the ones who initiate a relationship with God.
No, God seeks us.
The Father Himself draws us to the Son, through the Spirit.
44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 NASB
Relational Discipleship
It is not enough to be in a relationship with the Father.
We are to be in relationship with His Body: the church.
12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
20 But now there are many members, but one body.
25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 1 Corinthians 12:12-28 NASB
We are to be in relationship with other Believers, other Followers, other Disciples, other Disciple Makers.
Intentional Discipleship
It is not enough to be in a relationship with the Father and the Body of Christ, the church.
If that were all that was needed to make disciples, then the church today would be full of disciples. (But it’s not!)
No.
Discipleship must be Intentional.
Disciple making must be Intentional.
Discipleship cannot have ambiguous, vague, unclear goals.
Discipleship cannot be merely head knowledge of scripture and historical events.
Discipleship cannot be assumed to occur due to age or church position.
Discipleship must have clear, specified, unmistakable goals.
Discipleship must have planned, tested processes.
Discipleship must have replicable, reproducible methods.
Discipleship must have repeatable results.
Why Be a Disciple?
Because Yeshua said to be a Disciple, and make Disciples.
Consider these worlds from Timothy J. Keller, D.Min. in his essay The Call to Discipleship in “Knowing & Doing” published by the C. S. Lewis Institute, 2011:
First, discipleship is not an option. Jesus says that if anyone would come after me, he must follow me. … There are not two kinds of Christians: regular Christians and people who are really disciples. There’s only one: to be a Christian is to be a disciple. To have anything to do with me is to follow me in the way I define it: setting a new priority, finding a new identity, experiencing living out of a new mercy.
Second, having said that it’s not an option—on the other hand, it is a journey…
To go on the journey means saying, “I will obey you, Lord, and I’ll get rid of all the ifs. Not ‘obey you if,’ but obey. Period. … However, after your decisive beginning, the fact remains that it’s a journey. It’s a process that takes time. You’re not going to have it all together. …You’re not saved because you’re a disciple; you’re a disciple if and only if you understand what he has done to save you. There is one last thing. The sign of true, growing, gospel disciples is their gentleness
Do you agree with Pastor Keller?
What is your response to the idea that discipleship “is not an option”?
Even if we all are (or are to be, as above) disciples, in order to talk about the journey of discipleship, I think in terms of stages of discipleship development:
- Believer
- Follower
- Disciple
- Disciple Maker
However, the response to the Great Commission can only be: to be Disciples who make Disciples.
Are you a Disciple?
Are you becoming a Disciple through Relational, Intentional Discipleship?
Please share your ideas on Discipleship in the comments.
Blessings,
TLThomas
© 2020 by the author