“Go throughout the whole world and preach the Gospel to the whole human race. Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues; if they pick up snakes or drink poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people who will get well”. (MK 16:15-18)
Jesus also warned the disciples that they will face rejection along the way but he told them to shake the sand of your sandals and carry on. He also told them to not take bread, money, extra-shirt and a beggars bag but they could only take a stick and sandals.
“Don’t take anything with you on your journey except a stick, no bread, no beggars bag, no money in your pockets. Wear sandals, but don’t carry an extra shirt. If you come to a town where people do not welcome you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet”. (MK 6:7-12)
This shows us that discipleship is hard along the way and you must depend on God. You will also make sacrifices. Some people might not want you to stay in their house so you will face rejection. People will think that a disciple is a warrior and it is easy but being a disciple is hard.
To be a disciple you must be ready to give up everything you have your family, wealth, job and wealth. The cost of being a disciple is about the sacrifices you make. You must start a new life and forget about your old sinful life. You have to accept suffering and follow Jesus.
“If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self, carry his cross, and follow me”. (MK 8:34-35)
This clearly tells us that a disciple is aware of what they must do and they are prepared to face prosecution. Being a disciple isn’t all about suffering there are rewards also. Jesus said that you will get 100 times of what you give up and you will also receive eternal life.
“Jesus said to them, “and I tell you that anyone who leaves home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and for the gospel, will receive much more in this present age. He will receive a hundred times more houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields. And in the age to come he will receive eternal life”. (MK 10: 20-31)
He tells us that who ever leaves their brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers will receive much more other places around the world, people will take them into their homes and they will have homes all over the place.
There are some examples in St.Marks gospel of disciples. One of them is the widow (MK 12: 41-44). The story the ‘widow’ is about a poor widow who dropped two coins whilst other rich men dropped lots of money, which was there spare money. The widow put in what she has and she is poor but the rich men only put in their spare money. Jesus praised the widow because she has given in all she has and that means that the poor widow is offering more than the rich men and she is a widow.
“I tell you that this poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others. For the others put in what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, put in all she had – she gave all she had to live on”. (MK 12:43-44)
This story teaches us that part of being a disciple is that you have to give up what you have to help others like blind bartimaus who gave up what he had.
The rich man is a man who did not want to give up all he had. The story of the ‘rich man’ (MK 10:17-27) is about a man wanting to be a disciple and to enter the kingdom of God. He had obeyed all of the commandments ever since he was a little child. Jesus then told him that all he had to do was to sell all he has and give all his money to the poor. As soon as the rich man heard this he went away sad, because he was very rich and he wanted all of his money and possessions.
“You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me”. (MK 10:21-22)
This tells us that if you give up all your possessions and give your money to the poor you will have a hundred times that amount of money and possessions in heaven. The rich man couldn’t do what Jesus told him to do se he is not a disciple. This story makes it clear that it is really hard for rich people to sacrifice their possessions and money than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
The response of the widow contrasts with the rich man because the widow had given up what she had and she was a widow and she didn’t have that much and she gave up all she had. But the rich man had a lot of money and he couldn’t even spare some money.
