Explain what a study of St Marks Gospel can tell Christians about the nature of discipleship.

A study of Mark’s Gospel also tells a Christian that the nature of discipleship is self-denial and it is imperative to put others needs before your own.  In Mark 8:31-38, Jesus tell his disciples that to be a true disciple they must ‘deny self’ meaning that discipleship involves putting others before yourself and not being concerned about social positions or material possessions.  The nature of true discipleship is to spend your life caring for others instead of trying to gain wealth and power.  

Another very important characteristic of a Disciple is sacrifice.  In the story of the cost of discipleship (Mark 8:31-38), Jesus says that ‘You must take up your cross’ which means that by committing your life to following Christ, it is inevitable that your faith will one day result in persecution as Jesus’ life did and true discipleship means being prepared to accept this suffering.  People who do not become Christians to shield their lives from mockery are only losing their lives to sin.  

Marks Gospel also teaches Christians that being a true disciple involves serving not only Christ but also humankind.  In Jesus’ ministry he taught the disciples the importance of servitude for example when he told them ‘whoever wants to be first must place himself last and be the servant of all’ meaning that a quality of a disciple is being a humble servant.  With his ministry Jesus brought a new idea of servitude and to be a true Christian Disciple you must accept this and live accordingly.

Somebody who wishes to become a true Christian Disciple cannot do so without having complete faith in Jesus and trust in God – without this, even becoming a Christian is impossible.  Having faith means believing in the power of God and his love and never doubting him.  An example of this faith is the woman with the haemorrhage who had tried all of her life to cure herself with doctors but with no success and yet she believed that one touch of Jesus’ cloak would heal her, which it did.  After she was well again Jesus told her that “your faith has healed you”, showing the importance of faith not only for this woman but also for all Christians.  Without faith, nothing is possible.  

The unimportance of perfection is also a very important part of discipleship, but what goes in hand with this is repentance and forgiveness.  Disciples are allowed to make mistakes, such as Jesus’ disciple Peter who denied Jesus 3 times at his death, but they should repent them afterwards and be truly sorry for what they have done. Peter immediately repented his sins when he heard the cock crow for the third time and was forgiven by Jesus because he was truly sorry.  Peter is an example to all Christian disciples as he demonstrates that no matter what wrongs we have committed, as long as we truly repent and attempt to put things right we will be rewarded with forgiveness.    

By studying Marks Gospel it is possible to learn the true nature of discipleship; the necessary characteristics include commitment, self-denial, sacrifice, servitude, faith and the ability to repent any possible sins.  Only by gaining all of these characteristics and introducing them into your daily lifestyle can true Christian discipleship be achieved.