25/01/2002 Prashanthini The Cost of Discipleship Jesus’ mission was to spread the good news and the Word of God to the people. To achieve this, Jesus needed the help of a few men. The first thing Jesus did at the start of his mission was to choose men from among his followers to be disciples. A disciple is someone who in and helps to spread the teachings of another. It is someone who learns from a religious leader, and who wishes to live life according to the leader’s wish and commands. In Mark’s Gospel, the disciples are called apostles wherever Jesus sends them out on a mission of teaching and healing. Jesus wanted his disciples to be close to him and to learn from him. They were called for three main reasons: To be rained for the task of sharing in Jesus’ mission.To be the first group of followers who would bring others into the community.To be the ones to continue Jesus’ mission after he had gone. Jesus often taught the disciples privately; he explained his teachings in great depth when they were alone. He also found the time to teach them away from the crowds on what it means to be a disciple (8:31-10:52). In the first chapter of the Gospel, Jesus calls upon the four fishermen to drop what they are doing and follow him: “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me’, Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men’. At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. (1:16-20)
