Religious Education: Coursework Essay on Discipleship

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Religious Education: Coursework Essay on Discipleship

First Disciples

Discipleship is usually thought of as following Jesus, being a preacher, teacher. Somebody who believes in something, or who believes in someone, and leaves everything behind them to try to make others believe the same is my personal definition of a disciple. In actual fact, the Old Testament word 'Talmid' is a 'learner', and more obviously in the New Testament, a 'Diskipolos' is a 'follower'. The other crucial area of discipleship is serving others. When a disciple is healing a person, he is serving them, as he serving Jesus and God. So discipleship can be summed up; to follow, to learn, to preach, to believe, to serve. All factors are crucial to be a true disciple. But to be a disciple, you must be a Christian, 'one who belongs with Christ', 'Christ's one'. The disciples share Jesus' faith, and his freedom to rise above all immediate concerns.

The disciples of Jesus received their 'call' from Jesus, and they responded with immediate willingness. Jesus called, and the disciples went to him. "Jesus said to them, come with me, and I will teach you to catch people. At once they left their nets and went with him". (Mark 1:17-18) In Mark Chapter Two, verse fourteen, Jesus tells Levi to "Follow me"; "Levi got up and followed him". The response to Jesus' calling is clearly that of a wanting to follow, to be with Jesus. When Jesus chose the twelve disciples in 'Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles', all twelve were willing and went ahead to preach the word of Jesus Christ.

Their mission was simple. To do as Jesus does. Jesus gave his disciples authority over evil spirits and ordered them to take as little as possible, to leave all behind and go ahead to preach and heal (Mark 6:7-11). The disciples had a very real mission, and Jesus told them when he chose them, "I will send you out to preach, and you will have authority to drive out demons" (Mark 3:14). And yes, the disciples did heal, they did preach and they did cast out evil. "The apostles returned and met with Jesus, and told him all they had done and taught" (Mark 6:30) and "They went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them" (Mark 6:12-13). Both of these quotes show us that the disciples did the requested, they followed instructions and didn't do a bad job.

However, their understanding of Jesus and his teachings wasn't very good at all. They understood neither the amazing powers Jesus possessed nor the wonders he could perform. Even though he "would explain everything to them", in situations such as The Calming of the Storm and when Jesus walked on water, they just didn't have the strength to believe or the depth to understand. When the boat was filling with water in the Calming of the Storm (Mark 4:35-41), the disciples awoke Jesus to say "Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?", Jesus said back to his disciples "Why are you frightened? Have you still no faith?" The story in Chapter 6, verses forty-nine to fifty is similar. "It's a ghost!", the disciples screamed when they saw Jesus walking on water. "They were all terrified when they saw him". This shows both a lack of trust, understanding and belief on the disciples part, even though everything was explained in great depth to them, they still couldn't get their heads around Jesus and his way of life.

Obviously faith is the most important aspect of believing in Jesus and God, so when we read that both Peter and Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, we can conclude that faith wasn't always present on the disciples part. Peter said that he would never betray Jesus, "I will never leave you, even though all the rest do!", he said. When Jesus said to Peter, "I tell you that before the cock crows twice tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me". Peter answered strongly, "I will never say that, even if I have to die with you!" We then see that in Chapter 14 of Marks Gospel, Peter does deny Jesus when questioned about knowing Jesus. He said three times that he didn't know Jesus, and when he realised that he had done as Jesus had predicted, he "broke down and cried". There was just no dedication, commitment, FAITH, towards Jesus. "Have you still no faith?", Jesus asked his disciples in the Calming of the Storm. Sadly, even after Jesus' death, the disciples still didn't believe. They didn't believe he had risen from the dead, or that he would rise from the dead. (Mark 16:12-13)
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When Mark wrote the gospel between AD65 and AD75, he did so for the Christians who were suffering persecution at the time. He wanted to reassure them that they weren't the only ones to experience suffering, and he wished to remind them and tell them about what Jesus went through. The Rich Man (Mark 10:17-29) is a parable that explains exactly how Mark placed so much importance on suffering in his gospel. It explains the suffering that must occur to enter the kingdom of God. The rich man wanted to know what he must do to receive eternal ...

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