What can a study of St Marks Gospel tell Christians about the nature of discipleship?

Authors Avatar

Anna Gillespie

What can a study of St Marks Gospel tell Christians about the nature of discipleship?

In Mark 8:34-38, Jesus says, ‘ If anyone wants to come with me he must forget self, carry his cross and follow me.’ This means that whoever wants to follow a Jesus and spread his word, in other words become a disciple, would have to forget about themselves, and must think of others first instead of being selfish and self centered. They would have to accept whatever difficulties or problems a person may experience, and they would have to hold the values that Jesus stood for.

A disciple is someone who follows or learns from a leader. A Christian is someone who follows the way and teachings of Jesus Christ. Therefore, a Christian disciple is someone who follows or learns from the example of Jesus Christ.

Jesus chose outcasts and people, that on the surface, you would not want to touch. This group of 12 were not the kind of people we would choose to set up a successful business or enterprise.  Some had made serious mistakes in their lives, others were un-reliable. Never the less, Jesus chose these people because he realised that people could change. He forgave and he showed that people deserved another chance. To be a disciple, you did not have to be perfect.

Join now!

When Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew, fishing and said to them, ‘Come with me and I will teach you to catch men’ so the brothers followed Jesus straight away. Then he saw James and John, Jesus called them and they too left straight away. Jesus then went up a hill; called all of the names he wanted and chose 12.  But Jesus chose people such as Levi, a tax collector, who was hated, because of his profession. Jesus didn’t choose perfect people because he wanted to teach people to ...

This is a preview of the whole essay