Disciple and Discipleship-II (Jesus and His Disciples)
Jesus’ disciples were not learned men, and could not be expected
to spread their religion by art or talents. They were not men of wealth, and
could not bribe men to follow them. They were not men of rank and office, and
could not compel people to believe. They were just average people - plain men,
of good sense, of fair character, of great honesty. Jesus promised to be with
them until the end of the age. He did this by blessing them with the power of the Holy Spirit.
According to Luke 10:1 the maximum
number of disciples Jesus had ‘’appointed” was 72. There could have been more,
and the number had been fluctuating during our Lord’s ministry of 3.5 years.
Those who stayed with Him until the last were twelve – those who were later
called apostles (along with Paul). The temple authorities and the experts in
the law derisively referred to them as ‘uneducated’ but there were educated men
among them.
Jesus’ twelve disciples were not ‘perfect’ men. They were impulsive, lacking in understanding
and insight. They had no clear understanding of the mission
they were chosen for, during their master’s lifetime on earth. They had
completely misunderstood the concept of his kingship and kingdom. They had
overlooked the Old Testament prophecies that present Jesus’ credentials for
being king of the world – not a military or political leader, but a spiritual
king who could overcome all evil and rule in the hearts of every person. That’s not what they have been taught traditionally.
They expected Jesus to make the right ‘political moves’ when at the right time
and confront the Roman rulers. When He kept talking about dying, they all felt
various degrees of anger, fear, and disappointment. They didn’t understand why
they have been chosen if Jesus’ mission was doomed to fail. This might explain
why the count of disciples had dwindled to 12.
Jesus made it clear that those who aspired to become His
followers must be ready to reject the world and all it had to offer (carry their
crosses) and follow Him. The gospels
tell about many who aspired to become His disciples but could not make
it. These were drawn from a cross-section
of early Jewish middle class, ordinary people with average dreams. He shows us
what they lacked and why they were all rejected. He brings out in their stories
different aspects of discipleship that were essential in order to follow the
Master. I have four bad examples and two good examples of discipleship below:
1. Matthew 19: 16-22 Just
then, a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do
to obtain eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “If you want to enter eternal life, keep
the commandments.” “Which
ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, Do not commit
adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, honor your father and
mother, and love your neighbor as yourself. “All these I have
kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?” Jesus told
him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.
This man had apparently been obeying all Ten Commandments or
thought so, now he needed another commandment from Jesus to make sure. All the six Jesus referred to were
commandments that related to others. When Jesus told him if he wanted to be
perfect, he must sell his possessions and give to the poor, his weakness was
exposed. In reality, his wealth was his God, his idol and he wouldn’t give it
up. This violated the first and greatest commandment. See Exodus 20:3-5. “You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in
the heavens above, on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them”.
God doesn’t want all believers to sell everything and follow
him. We have a responsibility to take care of ourselves, to take care of the
families. But we should be willing to give up everything and follow him if God
asks us to do so. This kind of attitude will allow nothing to come between us
and God. We mustn’t let our wealth become our idol. Our job, our talents, our
family, our friends, our social position, etc must take a second place after God.
We are only wayfarers and aliens in this world. We mustn’t develop a dangerous attachment to
this world, by becoming too comfortable down here.
2. Luke 9:57, 58 As they
were walking along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever
You go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
The man had sought Jesus and made the offer voluntarily. Jesus
put him down with a curt reply: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man
has no place to lay his head.” Do you still want to go? – was the unasked
question. His offer might have been sincere, but he must have been nurturing
romantic dreams. Probably he expected he would be placed at a position of honour
in Jesus’ kingdom if he made the commitment early enough. Remember, this issue
has been a sore point even among the twelve.
Jesus’ reply also shows that the disciple-aspirant had probably
not counted the cost of discipleship.
Animals and birds have their places of habitation but the Son of man has
nowhere to lay his head. Was he ready to give up everything and put up with a
condition like this? A true disciple has
no home on earth. The Lord is his priority, his wealth and inheritance. Probably
he went away in disappointment like the rich young above.
3. Luke 9: 59, 60 speak about
another person who received Jesus’ personal call. He was flattered that Jesus
had called him, but was not quite ready to take up the responsibility. The man’s
reply was dubious, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father”. If the father
had just died, the man would not have been there on the street. His reply can
have only one meaning: “Lord, allow me to stay at home and take care of my
father until his death”. The Jewish culture also demands such an attitude from
a male offspring. The answer might also imply “Let me put off the decision
until I inherit the father’s property’’. His presence would have been necessary
if there were contenders.
Jesus’ answer: “Let the dead bury their own dead,” obviously
cannot be taken literally. The Word of God had come to this man. That set him
apart from all others who were still living in spiritual darkness. Paul writes
to the Ephesians they were earlier dead in transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1). All of us also lived gratifying the cravings
of our sinful nature and following its desires; in that sense, we were all dead
in thoughts and spirit, but because of his great love for us, God made us alive
with Christ.
4. Luke 9:61, 62 contains another
volunteer’ story. His request to be allowed to say goodbye to his family
seems reasonable to us, but in Matthew
10.37 Jesus said: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than I is
not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me.”Jesus told him “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then
looks back is fit for the kingdom
of God
Jesus wants our total dedication, not half-hearted
commitment. We can’t pick and choose among Jesus’ ideas and follow Him
selectively. We have to accept the cross along with the crown. We must count
the cost and be ready to abandon everything that threatens our love for Jesus. This
man wants an “escape clause” and return to his family if things don’t work out
his way. With our focus on Jesus, we must not allow anything to distract us
from following him. St. Paul says in Philippi 3:12-14
“I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus
first possessed me. Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies
ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize
for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us”.
In His answer to the above person, Jesus uses the image of a
farmer ploughing his field. In order to make his furrows straight, one must
look ahead, not back. The picture may have been inspired by the Old Testament story of Elijah’s call of Elisha. Elisha also made
a similar request to say goodbye to his family. (1Kings19:19-21). We get the impression
that he never did. His decision to follow Elijah was carried out
in the most radical manner possible. Elijah found Elisha engaged in active agricultural work in
his large farmland. Elijah and went up
to him and threw his cloak around him. That did it! ‘Let me kiss my father and
mother good-bye,’ he said, ‘and then I will come with you.’ ‘Go back,’ said
Elijah.
What happened next has no parallel in the Bible.
Elisha went back to the field, took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them.
He burned the ploughing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people,
and they ate. Then he joined Elijah to become his attendant. Elisha
heard God’s call clearly and responded with alacrity. The only way that
appeared to Elisha in the situation was to “burn his bridges” completely and
move forward. How resoundingly successful that momentary decision was, has been
proved by history.
Virgin Mary’s
obedience to God’s call is
stupendous. As a young woman engaged to be married, she would have been making
plans for a quiet life with her new husband. Then the archangel appears and
drops a bombshell: “You are going to conceive a child”. “How can this be,” Mary asks the angel, “since
I am a virgin?” As Gabriel explains, her response demonstrates remarkable
faith: “I am the Lord’s servant, May it happen to me according to your word”.
In the first century Jewish society, if an unmarried woman is
found to be pregnant, her father was obliged to report it to the High
Priest. After verifying the facts the
priest would take the townspeople to her home, drag the girl outside the city
and stone her to death. Mary knew all this and yet she says “May it happen to me according to your word”.
Jesus didn’t mince his words: "If anyone wants to come with
me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross every day, and follow me
continually’’ (Luke 9:23, 24). Why? “Because whoever wants to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for
my sake will save it”(Matthew 10:39). For
it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but
also to suffer for Him (Philip 1:29).
All of his disciples died martyrs defending their faith. More
Christians were killed for their faith in the 20th century than in the
preceding 19 centuries put together.
><><><><><><><><><
.jpeg)
Comments
Post a Comment