The meaning of Discipleship – R.E.      Kit Calcott-James

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"              -  16:10-11

The number of disciples Jesus chose to follow him is a significant number to the Palestinians, twelve was also the number of Jacob’s sons, the heads of the tribes upon which the nation of Israel was established. Jesus may have had this in mind when he chose his followers.

The first passage I have chosen to examine is 'Jesus calls four fishermen' (1: 16-20) In this passage Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee where he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. He called them saying, "Come with me and I will teach you to catch people." A little further on he saw the Sons of Zebedee, James and John, he called them also. In both cases the fishermen immediately and unquestioningly abandoned what they were doing and followed Jesus.This shows that the disciples had the ability to make a big sacrifice. They were able to leave their homes, jobs, families and obligations. This showed courage, trust and faith in Jesus, who at this time was no more than a stranger, it also displayed that they were prepared to face the unknown with bravery and courage.

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Another passage which is relevant is 'Jesus calls Levi' (2: 13-17). This is a passage similar to Jesus calls four fishermen. Jesus had returned to the shore of Lake Galilee and as he was walking along he spotted the tax-collecting outcast Levi. He said to him, "Follow me" and at once Levi got up and followed him.

Levi has shown the same qualities as the four fishermen and he has also had to change himself to follow Jesus, he had to do this to be able to work with the other disciples, as he was a hated tax-collector, however the other disciples ...

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