This quality would be useful for Jesus’ followers today because selfishness is always a bad quality and if Jesus’ followers could love their neighbours as themselves then it would set an example for other people to do the same.
Mark 3:15. The quality in this story is to have authority. Jesus gave his disciples the authority to drive out demons.
In this story Jesus asks some of his disciples to go up a hill with them. Out of those disciples he chose twelve to become his apostles. He said he had chosen them to be with him, to preach and to drive out demons.
“I will also send you out to preach and you will have the authority to drive out demons”
I think Jesus looked for this quality because if his apostles had the authority to drive out demons then it would show that they had the power of God working through them and it was also a sign of the Messiah.
This quality would be good for Jesus’ followers today but the authority would not be used in the same way. Authority would not be used to drive out demons because people do not believe in demons any more. Authority would be used to teach people about God. They would need authority because not everyone believes in God so they would not listen to them teaching. They would need authority to get people to listen to them preaching about God.
Mark 8:34-35. The quality in this story is to be selfless.
In this Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to follow him. he said that if anyone wanted to follow him then they must forget themselves, carry their cross and follow him. He said that whoever wanted to save his own life would loose it but whoever lost his life for Jesus and the gospel would save his own life.
“He must forget self, carry cross and follow me.”
I think that Jesus looked for this quality in disciples because they would need to be selfless to help other people before themselves and to follow Jesus taking only the necessities with them. Following Jesus would be hard and they might even have to follow Jesus to death. If they were selfless then they would be prepared to do this.
I think that to be selfless would help Jesus’ followers today because they would have to sacrifice a lot of things to follow Jesus. Today it would harder to resist money and comforts when there are so many about.