Another quality displayed in the disciples is determination. We learn in the story of Jesus sends out the Twelve, that the disciples were sent out in groups of two. They were to take nothing but their staff, no bag, no bread and no money. This could be dangerous as there were long walks between the towns and villages and the people in some towns could be violent if they did not want the disciples there. This also shows physical bravery.
Although not an exact quality a disciple has to be prepared to give up his or her life for the Gospel and God. In Mark chapter 8v34-38 we see exactly what has to be done to be a true disciple. From Jesus we can see that a man or women has to do the following things to become a disciple:
“He must deny himself and take up the cross and follow me.” (8v34)
This shows that a disciple must deny himself all luxuries that are not needed and try to avoid temptations to spoil themselves. They also must believe in Christ with all their heart and not go against God. Finally they must follow Jesus and believe His word.
In the story of the Widows offering (12v41-44) we learn that to be a true disciple you have to give everything you have and own. An old widow gives a small amount of money to the temple treasury but Jesus praised her, saying:
“This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, gave everything-all she had to live on” (12v43-44)
This shows that although the old widow did not have much she gave everything she had, which may have meant starving for a week. The other people at the Temple obviously put in a large amount, but that meant nothing as when they went home they would have plenty more money which they didn’t give. The old widow may have thought that God would protect her through not having any money.
As well as doing wonderful things the disciples remained human and at times showed human weakness. An example of this is Peter Denial. When Jesus was
arrested and taken to the high priests House Peter pursued Jesus closely and went to the courtyard to take a closer look at what was happening. As Peter was looking a servant girl came over and said:
“You are also with that Nazarene Jesus” (14v67-68)
Peter denied this and pleaded he did not know what she was talking about. The servant girl then turned to others and told them that Peter was ‘one of them’. Again Peter denied all knowledge. Finally for the third time of asking one of the men said to Peter:
“Surely you are one of them?” (14v70-71)
By now Peter was beginning to become angry and he began to ‘call down curses’ on himself and swore to them:
“I don’t know this man you are talking about!” (14v71-72)
After he had said this Peter heard the cock crow twice, immediately he remembered what Jesus had said. Peter then broke down and wept, he was obviously very upset and sorry for what he had done.
Peter had obviously not shown all the qualities a disciple should show. He failed to show commitment to Jesus, he only thought of himself and not Jesus. He believed that if he told lies he would not be harmed. The story is also important in the view that not all disciples are perfect at all times. Peter was not perfect but Jesus still forgave him for his mistake and this proved to be a valuable lesson to everyone.
On another occasion two of the main disciples, James and John, came to Jesus with a very selfish request. Their request was about true greatness. They asked Jesus if both of them could sit at his left and right hand side in heaven. Here James and John were obviously asking for an important place, almost demanding special treatment. Jesus replied to this request:
“Can u drink the cup I drink or be baptised with the baptism I am baptised
with?” (10v38-39)
James and John were confused at this response as would anyone because Jesus uses imagery to describe what he means. The cup here means the suffering and death which God the Father would soon hand out to Jesus Christ. The baptism also refers to suffering and death. Jesus would soon be baptised or submerged in suffering but James and John are confident that they would be able to share in this. They clearly underestimated the magnitude of this problem. His response to them was:
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (10v43-44)
Jesus is saying that a disciple must be different from those around him and look to the interests of others above their own, the quality of selflessness. We can look to Jesus as an example of a person who is like this. He served others, washed the feet of his disciples and then lastly, gave his life for them. He said:
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
When Jesus spoke these words, he underlined the fact that a true disciple is a servant to all.
Having discussed that definition of discipleship and reviewed some of the problems experienced by the first disciples I am now going to compare those with modern day Christians.
A modern day man who is widely believed to have mirrored the early disciples in his lifetime is Martin Luther King. I shall attempt to prove that there is no difference between the first disciples and King. I have already looked at some of the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the first disciples and I am now going to relate this to Martin Luther King.
Whilst becoming one of the best known public figures, King displayed many personal qualities that we have come to expect from a disciple. The qualities which I have already mentioned above include commitment, trust, selflessness, a willingness to learn and courage, both moral and physical.
Martin Luther Kings campaign for equality during the 20th century revolutionised many peoples lives, especially the black people. King was disgusted with the way black people were treated in Memphis and the rest of America, he decided that a drastic change was needed.
Jesus said that to be a true disciple it is necessary to be different from those around you and to care about those other then yourself. King lived up to this quality in every way, he stood up to society which would have taken a lot of courage. His speeches were not just ordinary speeches. People were absolutely amazed at his words, they moved people to cheer at almost every word which was spoken. The content of his speeches challenged how society was organised, this required both mental and physical courage. His most famous speech, the I Have a Dream speech, was written out infront of him, but when he had finished it he was ‘on a roll’ he carried on with the “I have a dream”.
King was hated by many people in America, most of them white. His ideas threatened to change the way people lived and many did not want that. King never gave up his fight although he knew he was risking his life and his family’s. This reminds us of what Jesus said to James and John, that to be as good as He was they would have to risk their life which is what Jesus did eventually.
King showed many other qualities such as endurance. He protested peacefully which meant that when he was faced with violence he had to endure it with peace and he kept calm although he knew he was in danger. He also displayed trust in God. Although he knew that he and his family were at risk, God would look after them and keep them safe from dangers harm. We have already seen that King was a good speaker, this of course was and still is vital to a disciple, they need to be able to express the good news and be able to keep their audiences attention and to make them believe.
I would like to conclude by looking at all the points I have made and attempt to explain the meaning of discipleship for, the first disciples and for the Christians today.
In this essay I have looked at the different qualities that the earliest disciples displayed and compared these to a modern day disciple. Looking back, both were faced with similar tests in their lives. Peter was put to the test when he was questioned about Jesus and similarly Martin Luther King was hated by many in his native country but still carried on for what he believed in. Discipleship is about having the personal qualities I have described. It is about the type of person you are and how you live you life.
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“It is not possible to be a true disciple of Jesus in the modern world” Do you agree or disagree. Give reasons for your answer showing that you have considered more then one point of view.
If it were possible to hold a survey which posed the question “Is it possible to be a disciple in modern day?” I believe that the results would come out fifty percent for and fifty percent against illustrating the wide difference of opinion. I hope to argue in support of the question and I seek to prevent evidence of my views.
What is meant by the term ‘a true disciple of Jesus’? Different definitions have been offered in question 1 above but I suggest that it correct to define the term as someone who believes the following and teachings of Jesus. It is not necessary to have been alive at the time of Jesus and to have been one of the few selected by him to become a disciple.
I would like to start by analysing the ‘against’ side of the argument.
In the question that I tackled above I discussed the qualities it took to become a disciple and I did this by looking at how the disciples acted and what Jesus said. One of the qualities that I picked out was commitment. I believe that it has not changed since the times of the earliest disciples, you still need a lot of commitment, belief and strength to become a true disciple. If someone wishes to become a true disciple they need to read the Bible and take note of how the early disciple acted and how they coped under bad conditions. They also need to take note of what Jesus tells us abut becoming a good disciple. We then need to draw from these experiences and think back to them when we too are challenged.
