Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, (10:21)
This shows that disciples of Jesus must live a life of more or less poverty if they wish to be his follower or gain entry into heaven.
In the Cost of Discipleship, Jesus gives another example of what his disciples should do. He calls his people as well as his main disciples to him, so this proves that the cost of discipleship is aimed to all of his followers:
‘If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine,
let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.’
Another part showing the cost of discipleship is in the mission of the twelve.
And he instructed them to take nothing for the Journey
Except a staff- no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses (6:8)
Jesus told the Disciples to travel in a poor way. This enforces the idea of poverty.
Apart from meaning that they must give up everything, he may mean that his disciples would have to give up their lives and die for their faith.
Perhaps the most clear account that Jesus gives is given in 8:34.
Anyone who wishes to be a follower of mine must leave self behind; he must take up his cross, and come with me.
When Jesus says ‘to leave self behind’ he means going without certain pleasures in life . He also means that they have to put themselves behind in everything. The person must have no care of their position, life or esteem. They must have no desire or privileges.
‘must take up his cross’ has a deep, frightening meaning. It means that the person may have to give his life for his faith.
When Jesus says ‘come with me’ the text before it needs to be read if it is to be fully understood. In the text before, Jesus states that he has gone through great suffering; that he will be rejected by Jewish leaders and put to death. When he says ‘come with me’ he is asking people to travel the same road.
The Rewards of discipleship are made clear in Marks Gospel also. In ‘Rewards of Discipleship’ Peter asks Jesus what they will be given for their faith. Jesus replies:
I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel (10:29)
Who will be repaid a hundred times over (10:30)
Here Jesus gives an example of how much peoples faith will be repaid in the kingdom of God.
The missions of the Disciples are told in the Appointment of the 12. He picks the 12 special men and tells them to:
- to be Jesus’ companions
- to preach
- to cast out devils (cure sickness)
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Question 2: Explain how this teaching about Discipleship might affect the life of a Christian today.
The teachings that Jesus gave in the Bible seem to have less meaning today. However, it mainly depends on how the teachings are looked upon to what people believe. Some people may take Jesus’ teachings literally, and some may take them not so literally, but do the best they can to fit them in around ordinary life.
As explained in Question One, in the call of the fist disciples Jesus tells people to give up their life and possessions. This calling is still evident in society today. Some people give up their lives to follow this teaching. The word Vocation means exactly this. People who have vocation to priesthood must commit themselves to God totally, even at great cost. Good examples of these would be monks, Nuns and Hermits. They take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience ensuring that they receive no personal wealth, that they turn their backs on personal wishes. They even have to take a vow of celibacy so that they do not perform any sexual related actions.
Vocation could have a broader sense to others as people may see things like giving money away to the poor, marriage and relationships with others.
In question 1 it is shown that Jesus picks the 12 main disciples and tells them why he chose them. In effect, many people today still do as he said here. Modern disciples still do preach to people, in churches, or some do preach in the streets. The way people approach that people approach this may be different but the principle of what they do still remains the same. Modern day Christians care for the sick, feed the hungry, fight against evil injustice in many countries and preach the message of God through many means, in Church, through schools, pamphlets and books etc. The ways in which people do these vary; organizations are set up like Cafod, Christian aid and Salvation Army. In ordinary life people send money, old clothes etc to these organizations. Still, in a broad sense, all these people are carrying out the mission of the 12 disciples.
When Jesus gives the statement about leaving self behind, taking up the cross and going with him, it has a very deep meaning, but today, these things have been somewhat degraded. Although some Christians still do have to give their lives for their faith, many do not have to make these sacrifices, especially in the Western worlds. Christians do, however, do their best to follow Jesus, it would not involve the hardships of the time of Jesus.
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Question 3: Children can’t be Disciples so they cant be Christians either.’ Do you agree or disagree?
There are many different views on whether children should be deemed disciples or not, some churches e.g. the Roman Catholic Church, believe that children should be allowed to become one when born, as they are baptized at a very young age. But we must consider what a disciple is. A good un religious definition of a disciple would be a follower of another person, a great leader for example. A religious definition would be a follower of Jesus or God; they do their best to perform their master’s wishes in the Bible.
There are some children in the past, however, who do exactly this. A good example would be Dominic Savio, who was born in 1843 and died at the age f 14. He was sainted.
There are many parables also that show children as being allowed to become baptized. For example in ‘Jesus and the Children’ A group of children try to go to Jesus and are stopped by the Disciples, as children were considered worthless in society. Jesus got angry and told off the disciples saying:
Let the little children come to me
He then goes on to say:
I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
He then proceeded to give the children his blessing. He says that people must take on the personality of a child to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Some churches, like the Evangelists involve an adult decision, and therefore children cannot be made disciples or baptized. The person cannot be a true disciple until they have declared their faith, allowing them to be baptized.
I believe that children should be baptized as a child so that they are temporarily a disciple of Christ. The child should be taught about God until they reach their confirmation where they decide if they wish to continue as a disciple. I have personal experience of this as I had God in my life up to my confirmation; I then chose to be confirmed.
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