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Discipleship

Research Paper: Discipleship

Because I became a Christian at an early age, there are many terms and ideas used in the church that I never
pondered upon; I simply accepted them. For example, the term "disciple" I identify as one of Jesus' twelve closest
followers, one of the paper characters placed on the felt board during Sunday school. Through my research, I have
discovered that while accepting Christ through faith alone grants us salvation, to become a disciple of Christ, or
practice discipleship, requires work and commitment from the believer.
The word disciple, or the Greek word mathetes, is used over 220 times in the Gospels, but not once in the Epistles,
those letters written right after Christ's resurrection ("A Church-speak, n. d.). As customary for the Greek usage of the
word, mathetes refers to a student who has personal interaction with their teacher. This offers one explanation as to
why the word disciple is not used in the Epistles. No one had direct contact with Jesus anymore
because He had gone on to Heaven to be with God. Another explanation for the absence of the word in the Epistles is
that the churches that these letters were directed to were aware of Jesus' teachings about discipleship. It is possible
that the writer did not mention discipleship because it would have been redundant to do so (Haines, 1999).
According to the lecture notes, a disciple is a "student" or a "pupil" and the act of discipleship is "advancing the cause
of the kingdom". During Jesus' time on earth, He had many who followed Him and accepted Him so that they would
receive eternal life. Many also applied the teachings to their own lives and proclaimed them to others in order to
spread Jesus' message. These people became Disciples of Christ, or "obedient believers".
James 1:22 tells us, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves." This scripture is
speaking directly to Christians today. We do not have the benefit...

Discipleship

Discipleship

At the mention of the word "disciple", the image most people conjure up is that of a faithful pupil, a person more than
willing to follow the teachings of their leader without question. However, the early disciples didn't always conform to
this stereotype. In fact, they sometimes showed a complete lack of faith, finding it extremely hard to accept Jesus'
 word in their hearts.
Jesus appointed twelve disciples to symbolize each of the twelve tribes of Israel. In doing so, it were as if he were
replacing the Old Judaism with his new covenant. This symbolized a new, more personal relationship with God
through his Son Jesus Christ.
In choosing his apostles, Jesus showed us that the call is open to all of us, as his chosen twelve all had a different
trade, and led varying ways of life. With such a mixed group, it is no wonder there were a few differences of opinion. A
good example is the relationship between Simon the Zealot, and Matthew the tax collector. While
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Zealots were political freedom fighters, tax collectors were the hated collaborates of the Romans. Therefore you can
imagine that tax collectors and zealots, if left to their own devices, were normally sworn enemies. However, Matthew
and Simon still managed to live relatively peaceful lives together, putting into practice the commandment "love thy
neighbor as thyself". They were called, and rose to the challenge of that call by their commitment to respond.
It was not necessary to posses any special quality to be a disciple of Jesus, and they were all of them far from perfect.
Take Peter for example. He wasn't particularly quick-witted. In fact, he often had trouble grasping the message Jesus
was trying to get across, as shown in the Parables, where in the Parable of the Sower, (Mk 4:1-9), he found it no easier
then the rest of the disciples to understand God's message. Neither did he have unquestionable faith. He
demonstrates this (as did the other disciples) when they were all in a boat...

Discipleship

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. Jesus said to them "Come, follow
me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Mark 1:17) 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
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 this is very surprising as he is a man who they have 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. (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. (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...