Explain the meaning of discipleship.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Discipleship

A01

A disciple is a follower of someone or something. In the gospel this means to follow Jesus’ example, to care and love for other people and never turn anyone away in any circumstance. Each generation has heroes or idols to follow and look up to. This was the same two thousand years ago. Jesus Christ was in demand for so many people.

Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee when he called the first four disciples. He saw Simon and his brother Andrew fishing, “Come follow me”, Jesus said “and I will make you fishers of men” Their response was immediate; they left their nets and followed him. He then came across James, son of Zebedee and his brother John, preparing their nets. He called them and without delay they left their father in the boat and followed Jesus. This shows that God’s call to them was stronger than anything on earth.

The 12 apostles Jesus chose were Peter, Andrew, James, John, Matthew, Bartholomew, Phillip, Thomas, Simon, Jude, James and Judas. His choices were unusual because they were simple, ordinary men with no particular rank or race. They were not holy, educated, rich or successful men and some of them had sinned, for example Matthew was a tax collector and Simon was a freedom fighter. What was important to Jesus was that he could see their potential, their ability to change and he could see into their hearts to their good qualities. Becoming a follower of God does not require a life without sin because these can be forgiven if they devote themselves to their faith.

When Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him he told them “If anyone wants to come with me he must forget self, carry his cross, and follow me”. By this he meant the cost of discipleship was to put other people before themselves, to accept the suffering and burdens of being a disciple, and to devote their lives to their faith. An example of the cost of discipleship is the story of the widow’s offering at the temple. There were two types of people at the temple, the poor widow and the rich men. The widow gave two very small copper coins and the rich people gave large amounts of money. Jesus praised the widow because she gave out her poverty and everything she had to live in and the rich men gave out their wealth. Christians can learn from this story that the nature of discipleship is about total commitment.

Very few people in modern day life are prepared for discipleship because they have commitments to family and to their jobs. The story of the rich man is a good example of how people care too much for their possessions. The rich man said to Jesus “Good teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?” The man had obeyed all the commandments since he was young but when Jesus told him he had to give all the money he owned to the poor for him to have all the riches in heaven, he was not prepared to do ...

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When Jesus sent the disciples out on their mission to spread the gospel he sent them in pairs for safety. He told them they could only take a walking stick and that they were to wear sandals. He told them that they could not take any food, bag, money or another coat. He gave them such harsh instructions because heavy luggage would have slowed them down and the disciples had to learn to depend on God. The three jobs that Jesus asked of them were to tell people that they should repent of their sins and turn back to God, to drive out evil spirits and to anoint sick people with oil and heal them. He also told them that “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved and whoever does not believe will be condemned.

When Peter said to Jesus “ Look, we have left everything and followed you”. Jesus told them about the rewards of discipleship and how they would receive much more than they had given up and be blessed with eternal life.

The disciples had weaknesses, for example Peter had a lack of faith in Jesus in the story of the calming of the storm, he also fell asleep in the Garden Of Gethsemane when Jesus asked him to keep watch and ran away when Jesus was arrested. Jesus was prepared to accept these weaknesses because they were true followers; they gave their lives for him. Matthew, Phillip and Jude were all Martyrs; they died for their faith.

A02

Today discipleship is still present and people still follow Jesus. Some people view discipleship as vocation in life, they think of the vocation as how much they give, not get in return. There is still a lot of modern discipleship in the world today.

There are many kinds of Christians. Some types are as willing to suffer and to give up their lives for their faith, as Jesus was; yet other types of Christians are not. Peter left his family, some people think this is irresponsible because the importance of family means a great deal to most Christians. Every parent is important because families provide stability for society.

One of the people who felt strongly about the call of God was Mother Teresa. She worked tirelessly to help the poor and sick in India. She knew that she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ. She became a nun but was then given permission to leave her convent. She worked with Calcutta’s poorest. She started a religious order called the Missionaries of Charity, which provided food for the needy, operated hospitals, schools, youth centres, orphanages and shelters for lepers and the dying poor. She saw the need to respond to God’s call; she saw God in every human being and thought that it was her job on earth to serve him. Her work was recognised and acclaimed throughout the world.

Another person who demonstrated his Christian faith through his work and actions was Martin Luther King. He campaigned to change the way black people were treated in America. He was a non-violent man and believed that all people were equal in the sight of God and that it is the duty of Christians to spread this message. Jesus told his followers to love their enemies and do good to those who persecute them. Even when his own home was bombed and his family received death threats, Martin Luther King worked to put this teaching into practice. Jesus taught that violence only leads to more violence and death. Martin Luther King was influenced by Jesus’ attitude to violence and would not support violence in any circumstance, so he used marches and protests to put the message across. Martin Luther King practised the Christian teaching of “loving your neighbour as much as you love yourself”. He said, “Together we must learn to live as brothers or we will be forced to perish as fools”.

In the modern world we can use these examples of Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King’s work. There are many ways a Christian can put the teachings of Jesus about helping the less fortunate into practice. They can learn to show their faith through their actions and illustrate that they are true disciples of Jesus. For example they might: Support and give to charity, work against injustice and racism, help the old and disabled and to show respect to family and friends.

AO3

“Children can’t be disciples so they can’t be Christians either”. This quote asks us to agree that being a disciple is the same as being a Christian and that you can’t be one without the other.

The quote uses the example of children as people who can’t be disciples. This point of view could be supported by the fact that the responsibility and sacrifice is too great for children and that they may regret it later in life. I would argue against this because I think that children may not necessarily be true disciples, but they can show examples of discipleship by attending church and being kind to others.

Secondly it suggests that being a disciple is the same as being a Christian and that you can’t be one without being another. The definition of a disciple is a follower of someone or something but the definition of a Christian is different because it is someone who believes in Jesus. If you are a disciple then you are following the example of Christ. If you do not follow Jesus’ example, this does not mean you do not believe in him so therefore can’t be a Christian. It is possible therefore to be a Christian without being a disciple.

Some people may support the quotation because Jesus was willing to sacrifice his life for us so we should do the same for him. They believe that if you are a Christian then you must be a disciple and follow him in the same way.

In conclusion, I do not agree with the point expressed in this quote. This is because a lot of people show their love for Jesus and put others before themselves, but do not devote their whole lives to him because of other commitments such as their families. You can still be a Christian because you believe in Jesus. The difference is between believing and following.