'Jesus made a mistake in choosing his disciples, they all failed miserably.'

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Anna-Marie Treloar 10 Campion

Part Three of Three Year Ten Coursework

‘Jesus made a mistake in choosing his disciples, they all failed miserably.’

Initially, this statement presents many views and arguments, as it is a very controversial one. I am trying to weigh up and examine these opinions in order to then form my own based on my initial views and feelings.

It is definite from Mark’s Gospel that the disciples did fail on many occasions. Stories in the bible show us the nature of their failure and we can decide form this whether Jesus intended them to fail. In The story of Peter’s promise and denial, (Mark 14:26-31) several things are shown to us. On one hand, the argument of Jesus being all knowing is presented when he predicts his own resurrection and the disciple’s failure. Peter especially denies that he would ever do something like this, saying he would die with Jesus, only later to deny him three times in the face of death. This in itself provides a good lesson to us about the challenge of discipleship. It is not anything to be taken lightly, as even St Peter could not stay strong in the face of death. Peter’s attitude also shows Christians how seriously we should take our role, and that we should be prepared to suffer death because of it. In Mark 14:66-72 we are shown another very key part of discipleship: the nature of failure. Peter failed and disowned Jesus, but following this went and wept, repenting what he had done. The repentance and trust in God’s forgiveness should be a characteristic of every disciple’s life.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Mark 14:32-42 Jesus asks his disciples to stay awake with him just one hour. The disciple’s exhaustion is too much and they could not keep awake. Jesus’ disapproval displays the need for us all to stay and watch with Jesus and make sacrifices of our own for him. ‘Judas the betrayer’ shows a disciple who had gone so badly wrong he was willing to sacrifice the life of his friend. To avoid this, a disciple must keep Jesus the key of his life and always follow what they feel as his will for them.

The ...

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The disciples also mistook what Jesus wanted at many points in the Gospels. The story of Jesus and the Children in Mark shows a big confusion of what Jesus’ mission was about. After witnessing the transfiguration, Peter’s offer to build tents and glorify the Lord shows misunderstanding about the way in which God’s mission was one of humility, and in their own requests for power (story of James and John) they showed their misunderstanding of the humble role of a disciple and the whole nature of the Kingdom of God. Their basic misinterpretation of many of the parables show how we must pray to God the for understanding and faith which the disciples lacked, in order to be able to pass this love, faith and understanding onto others. Now, having presented these failings, I shall try to realize whether they were due to Jesus’ failing.

Firstly, I shall look at a powerful argument that contradicts what is implied by the statement above; that Jesus did not know what would happen by picking these disciples and he made a mistake. A basic view of Jesus for many Christians is one of an omnipotent God who would never make mistakes. In this argument, the statement above would break down, but this argument in itself relies of many other ‘facts’ being true. Did Jesus have divine powers? This enters many other arguments, so I shall not examine it further. Its truth relies on which teachings about Christ you wish to follow.

Then, many people would argue that the disciples making mistakes was predictable and intentional. To have perfect disciples and role models for a Christian church under persecution would have been very uninspiring as the Christians would have felt an inability to follow this example. A perfect disciple would also not have shown them any of the key points about discipleship above and the importance of keeping true to them.

Another view is that Jesus never wanted this perfect image, as humans can never be perfect - only God can. Being chosen by God does not make you perfect, and the disciples, if they had been perfect, would have not had to learn and follow God in the way they did, an would have led Christians away from the true role of a disciple as ‘one who learns’ and would have also led less people towards God by being too perfect and making Jesus look more human and ordinary next to them.

In conclusion, I feel that Jesus never wanted perfect disciples that nothing could be learnt from and no one could hope to follow in the footsteps of. I agree with the view that Jesus was all knowing and knew they would fail, and chose them because their failings could teach us. I also feel that their failure shows us many things about God including his willingness to forgive and his love for everyone, even the Judases of today. This love, mercy and forgiveness are what makes the Christian message so unique and has kept it strong for 2000 years.