Discipleship Teachers around the time when Jesus lived thought that learning was such that the people who wanted to learn should come to them to be taught. But Jesus felt differently and rather than waiting for people to come to him, he went out to find them and then chose them to be his followers. He called them disciples and this word means one who learns. But Jesus chose his disciples carefully as we are told in Mark 1:16-20 and also in Mark 3:13-19. In the first passage, Jesus appoints his first four disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John. They were two sets of brothers and were all fishermen. Jesus said to them “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17) Immediately, they left their things and followed a man they hardly knew. This shows that they were willing to give up everything for someone who they knew they could trust. In Mark 2:13-17, Jesus calls up the fifth disciple, Levi who was a tax collector, and Jesus later renamed him Matthew. But Levi was not called in the same way as the other four disciples. Jesus was with him at the tax collector’s booth and Jesus simply said, “Follow me” (Mark 2:14) and he rose and followed Jesus. These five men responded immediately to Jesus and this is very surprising as he is a man who they have never met before. But it appears that Jesus has some sort of authority, which causes them to respond immediately. The first five disciples were told to leave everything and just follow Jesus regardless of the value of the things they were leaving behind. They abandoned their families, homes and possessions for a man who they had never met before. It is quite clear that this idea of discipleship for the first disciples is very important and that Jesus is planning on building his faith in them and he wants them to spread the word around to the people. “He appointed twelve-designating them apostles-that they might be with them and that he might send them out to preach.” (Mark 3:14)Jesus appointed 12 disciples in total and this number was significant because each one represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel. He chose them because he wanted to replace the old way of teaching with a new way in which the disciples were involved. After they had been chosen, they were called to meet him onto the top of a mountain, and he told them they were to be apostles, meaning one who is sent. (Mark 3:13-19) Jesus gave them the authority to cast out demons and preach to his people and they were known as his companions. It seems strange for him to choose those specific people as his twelve because he could have chosen from many of his disciples, but he chose a specific twelve to be his companions and apostles. When Jesus chose his apostles, there were two unusual choices: Levi and Simon the Zealot. Levi was a strange choice because he was a tax collector who had managed to get more money out of people than they need pay and so many people hated him and many other tax collectors. Simon the Zealot was an unusual choice because he was a zealot and although
they had a strong belief in God, they hated the Romans, and being ruled by foreigners. In the mission of the twelve, Jesus calls them to him and sends them in two’s saying that they have the authority over evil spirits. (Mark 6: 7-13) They were sent out in two’s for their own safety but also so that they had a companion. He then said, “Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag and no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you ...
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they had a strong belief in God, they hated the Romans, and being ruled by foreigners. In the mission of the twelve, Jesus calls them to him and sends them in two’s saying that they have the authority over evil spirits. (Mark 6: 7-13) They were sent out in two’s for their own safety but also so that they had a companion. He then said, “Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag and no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town, and if any place will not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet.” (Mark 6:8-11) They were told all these things because they had to rely on other people and if they were to need something, they should go to someone for help. They were to have faith that their needs would be provided for them. They were told that when they arrived at someone’s house and that person did not welcome them, then they should shake the dust from their feet. This was an old tradition as the Jews would do this as they crossed the border in to their own country, so that the Holy Land would not be contaminated by Gentile dust from their feet. By saying this, he was reminding them that this persecution might set them free.The mission means that the disciples must face either rejection or acceptance and we can see many qualities displayed by the twelve disciples. They have to rely on other people and as it is said in Morley’s passage on discipleship, “For they set out with nothing but the word of God in their hearts.” When Jesus tells the disciples about the cost of discipleship (Mark 8:27-33) he means that they should be prepared to put God and his commandments first before anything else, and they must be prepared to suffer for their beliefs. Jesus told them that the most important commandment is “Love God and your neighbour as yourself,” (Exodus 20: 3-17) and many disciples throughout the ages have made many sacrifices to try and put this teaching into practise. When the words of the cost of discipleship were first said by Jesus, they had a very strong meaning, but now these words do not have that meaning as they have been simplified and the mission is not in the same context. When Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, they must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,” (Mark 8:27-33) he means that by denying oneself they must put themselves last in everything, have no care about their own life, and have no desire for rights or privileges, except that of belonging to God. When Jesus said to take up the cross, we can assume that because we all have a cross to bear, we should take up our vocation, and that means for us to follow Jesus regardless of the sacrifices we have to make. When we are told we should follow him, it means that we should travel down the same road as Jesus and suffer the many trials of being a disciple. But, in Mark 10:29-31 we are told about the rewards of discipleship and the strange reward they receive for their suffering. “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or their family for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age, and in the age to come – eternal life,” Mark 10:29-30. Jesus says this to the disciples after he tells them the story of the Rich Young Man. In this passage, the rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him that he must give up his wealth, but the man is unable to do so. The disciples are amazed at this story and then Jesus tells them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10: 24-25. Jesus tells the disciples this because they feel that they have given everything up to be with Jesus, but really, what they have given up is nothing in comparison to the harder things that some people who want to in the kingdom of God have to give up. In the story of the Widow’s Offering, the rich man puts a large amount of money into the collection box but the widow puts in all she has. It is clear that the widow is offering more because she is giving up all she has. But it is not the money that is the most important; it is the selfless giving that is of much more significance.On many occasions the disciples misunderstand the path they are supposed to follow and they misunderstand their role as disciples, and on many occasions, Jesus has had to correct them. Their role was a very difficult one and they were not always able to deal with a situation on the correct way. In Mark 9:33-37, the disciples are arguing about who is the greatest disciple and Jesus has to tell them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9:35. It was here that Jesus taught his disciples the difference between greatness and humility, and that they were here on earth to serve others. Another example of the disciples misunderstanding their role is when James and John ask that Jesus reserve a place for them in heaven, at his left and right hand. Jesus has to correct them and tell them the places are not granted by him, but “These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” Mark 10:40. It is here that Jesus tells them that there is a clear difference between his suffering and their suffering and he tells them this after he predicts his death for the second time. Jesus then had to begin to teaching of discipleship to them again after they misunderstood their real role. Peter was probably the disciple who Jesus felt most strongly for. Peter was the first disciple that Jesus chose and his name was changed from Simon to Peter, a name meaning ‘rock’. Peter is not really an important character in Mark’s gospel until we reach Mark 8:27-30. In this passage, Jesus takes his disciples around various villages and whilst they are travelling, he asks them “Who do you say I?” Many disciples replied with names such as the Messiah, Elijah. Jesus then asked them again and Peter said, “You are the Christ.” This shows us that Peter had a strong faith in Jesus for him to say that Jesus was the Christ. Peter was very devoted and committed to Jesus and he always had a strong devotion to God. Peter made some mistakes but he always learnt from them and went back to Jesus to ask for forgiveness. When Jesus is explaining about the rewards of discipleship, Peter misunderstands and because of Peter’s dismay, Jesus has to explain the meaning, and the extent of the suffering for a disciple in order for that person to have eternal life. Jesus named the first church, and it was named after Peter because his name means the rock (Matthew 16:18) and in the end Peter dies for his faith.The word ‘disciple’ is used to describe the very first followers of Jesus, those people who left everything they had, to follow Jesus and to learn from him. The term ‘disciple’, although it means one who learns, also applies to anyone who calls them self a Christian. Christians are modern day disciples and we should try to learn from the example, which has been put down for us. One of the most important teachings of Christ is the passage of the Cost of Discipleship (Mark 8:34-35). This means that anyone who wants to be a disciple must be prepared to put God and his commandments first, and as a result be prepared to suffer for their beliefs. The modern day discipleship vocation is about us dedicating our lives to others and there are many people who do this, e.g. People in the priesthood, religious orders. These people are required to turn their backs on their personal wishes and devote themselves to God, regardless of the cost. People who are able to do this must have a great amount of courage and a lot of support from the people around them. Thousands of people have suffered martyrdom for their faith and there are many unknown martyrs who have lost their lives for their faith in previous centuries. Oscar Romero was a Roman Catholic priest from South America and he was shot whilst celebrating mass. He was very much an important figure in El Salvador and he felt that he had to speak out after his friend had been shot by a military firing squad. He inspired many people with his speeches and gave the people some hope. The mission, a passage very important for the disciples still has a place in the Christian religion. It remains as the mission of the church and many modern day disciples still go out to preach repentance. There are Christian organisations, which carry the mission of the twelve disciples in a modern way. The parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) is very important fro organisations like Cafod and Christian Aid because they make it a priority in their modern day work that the hungry should have food and those who are naked should be clothed. Cafod works all over the world tackling the problem of poverty, regardless of race or religion. Religion has become ‘unfashionable’ in many areas of society and things like drugs can be a barrier between a person and discipleship. But there are people who manage to become good disciples in the modern world. There are some people who make great sacrifices to follow Jesus and one example of someone who did do this is Mother Theresa of Calcutta. It is still very difficult for someone to be a modern day disciple because so many things hinder the want and possibility of being able to be one. But the rewards are still great but in a different way, and if the person’s faith is strong enough then they will not allow social attitudes to interfere with their chosen path.I think that it is extremely difficult to be a modern day disciple because many people take the modern lifestyle for granted and the mission now has a different meaning to the one in Jesus’ time. I think it is difficult to relate to the Cost of Discipleship (Mark 8:27-33) in the modern world because so many people are judged by many different aspects of their lifestyle. They are usually judged in a positive way about their possessions and general lifestyle but they are judged in a negative way about their religion. Religion has become very ‘unfashionable’ and this is not just because it is considered a waste of time but it is also because Jesus’ teaching methods were unfashionable. Today’s world is so materialistic and people would not judge someone kindly if abandoned their family responsibilities to become a disciple. Many people suggest that by living in the western world we will not suffer for our beliefs, but many people still suffer great persecution and rejection. Being a modern day disciple has many implications for every area of a person’s life and nearly every word or action is as a result of Jesus’ influence on modern life. A modern day disciple would find it difficult because our world is so materialistic and it would be extremely difficult for a person to give up the wealth gained from a job. Many items in society like drugs can be a barrier between a person and their path towards discipleship. But I do think that some people’s faith is strong enough to enable them to be a modern day disciple, even though it is not in such literal terms. There are many people who have made great sacrifices to follow Jesus and do his work in our world today. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a strong believer in Christ and she is an example of a disciple in the modern world. Society does appear to hinder a person’s path towards discipleship but a true disciple should be able to overcome that difficulty. Being a disciple of Jesus has many implications for every area of a person’s life and this is because their every action is influenced by Jesus’ example. St Teresa of Avila (a 16th century RC Carmelite nun) once said, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours.” This means that we are on earth to represent Jesus’ and he lives in us and this is another way of us being disciples of Christ. In our lifetime today we are charged with a very important mission and that is to serve Jesus during our time on earth and be disciples, and also preach the word of Jesus to the people who do not yet know.
