Christian

Discipleship
Objectives:
1. TO UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT
OF DISCIPLESHIP.

2. TO REALIZE AND APRECIATE THE

VALUES OF BEING A FOLLOWER OF
CHRST.
A Disciple

Is a follower, one
who accepts and
assists in spreading
the doctrines of
another.
A Disciple

“Is one who lives

under the
discipline of a
particular Teacher
and teaching”
Examples:
Buddhism
Lao Tzu
Taoism
Islam
Christianity
The men who followed Jesus
were first called “disciples,”
From the context of Jesus in Aramaic
word :
Discipleship probably meant
“apprentice” or “understudy,”
From this framework discipleship
means: “a disciplined preparation
for the service of the Kingdom of
God.”
Discipleship is a process of maturity in
the presence of Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit, in our hearts.
 to overcome the pressures and
trials of life…… to become more
Christ like
This process requires believers:
to examine their thoughts, words and
actions and conform them to the Word
of God.
in the Word daily studying it, praying
over it, and obeying it.
always ready to give testimony for the
hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15), to
disciple others to walk in His way.
 Christian Discipleship
Is following and knowing Jesus our
master. Besides knowing the master,
most importantly believing (accepting)
His preaching and teaching.
“In the Gospels there are three
groups of people who are called
disciples.”

Bishop. Teodoro Bacani

Three groups of disciples:
1. Jews were the first who believed in
him and his message.
Those initially followed Jesus
were the common people who
started to call him “rabbi”
(teacher) although Jesus did
not experience formal
schooling in a rabbinical
school like the scribes.
2. “The seventy” (Lk 10: 1, 17-19)
As called by Luke, this bigger circle of
disciples summoned and commissioned
temporary by Jesus.
3. “The Twelve” (Mk 6:12-13).
disciples in the strict sense
John. 15: 15- 16
I have called you friends,  because I
15  [a]

have told you everything I have heard

from my Father.  It was not you who
16 

chose me, but I who chose you and

appointed you to go and bear fruit
that will remain, so that whatever you
ask the Father in my name he may
give you.
Deuteronomy. 7: 6 (Old
Testament)

For you are a people holy to

6 

the LORD, your God; the LORD,

your God, has chosen you from all
the peoples on the face of the earth
to be a people specially his own.
The Parable of the Wedding
Feast. (Matthew 22: 1-14)

Many are invited, but

“ 

few are chosen.”

 The Call to Discipleship

The call of Jesus is in

the form of invitation

An Invitation is whether
to accept or reject by
the one being invited.
The Lord’s First Disciples are those who:
• Personally lived and trained by Jesus,
• Personally heard and saw the words
and actions of Jesus,
• Personally received instruction from
the Lord,

And became Pillars of the Church of

Christ.
•Jesus recognized his limitations when
he assumed human nature, this maybe
is the reason why he intended to
accumulate many disciples as Luke said

“The harvest is abundant but the

laborers are few; so ask the master
of the harvest to send out laborers
for his harvest” (Lk. 10:2).
 According to Mark, Jesus made his
first call of disciples in the town of
Capernaum in province of Galilee.
He summoned two pairs of
brothers:
Simon and his brother Andrew they
were fishermen. Jesus said to them,
“Come after me, and I will
make you fishers of men.”
A little further He saw James and his
brother John the son of Zebedee.
(Mk. 1:16-20)
The Fifth disciple
According to Mark was
Levi the son of Alphaeus,
also known as Matthew.
He was called while
collecting taxes for Rome
in Capernaum, a publican,
considered by Jews in
Jesus’ time as public
sinner.
The other seven disciples
James the Younger,
Jude also called Thaddeus,
Philip,
Bartholomew also called Nathaniel,
Thomas also called Didymus,
Simon the Zealot or Cananite, and
Judas Iscariot (betrayed Jesus) replaced by
Mathias, (Acts 1:26)
The twelve apostles are probably
already familiar to Jesus when they
decided to follow him.
However, when they followed him
closely for three long years, hear what
he said, saw all his actions, that is the time
they knew who Jesus really is.
 William Barclay (The Mind of Jesus)
At least two reasons why Jesus choose the Twelve,

1. To continue his mission in the world.

•He knew that being faithful and true to his divine
calling, the realization of the Kingdom of God on
earth, there would be “cross” at the end (Lk. 4:29).
If his work is to continue, he had to gather an
inner circle of men who would come to
understand his purpose and task and willing to
carry it further without him.
 William Barclay (The Mind of Jesus)
At least two reasons why Jesus choose the Twelve,

2. To extend his mission to the world.

•In his days on earth Jesus was under all the
human limitations of space and time. Jesus needs
men to go where he could not go and to speak
where he could not speak. They were to be his
“body” so that in them and through them he
might continue his work and extend it in time to
all men
 Eleven of the twelve were
Galilean. Thus the first group of
“Christians” may well be called
“Galilean Fellowship”
The Conditions of Discipleship
The Conditions of Discipleship (Mk.
8:34)
Jesus open the challenge and what lay ahead
of following him……
He summoned the crowd with his disciples
34 

and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come

after me must deny himself, take up his
cross, and follow me.
The invitation of Jesus is addressed to all.
The condition is very challenging that need
1. Commitment. Every Commitment is a
choice and it also involves a promise.
Selfhood comes to be primarily by choosing. By
failing to choose, by remaining in state of
indecision, a parson’s spirit is vaporous and as it
were apart from him, hovering. While the one
making a promise is expressing his faith in his
own power to do what he wills to do.
 2. Detachment to material things,
Jesus knew that attachment to material
things will be a hindrance to become
effective worker in the Kingdom of God.
•Ex. The rich man who wish to follow Jesus
(10: 21).
•A Scribe approached Jesus saying his desire to
follow him and Jesus shown him the hardship
of following him (Mt. 8:20).
 Jesus responding to request from one of
His followers who asked to be excused
from his responsibilities to go and bury
his father…… Jesus answered
“Follow Me, and let the dead bury their
own dead.” (Matthew 8:22).
Here Jesus encouraged the disciple to
focus on his spiritual calling of higher
value than any material thing.
3. Must Sacrifice!

In following the will of God, one

must be willing and ready to
sacrifice for the sake of the
kingdom.
4. Must be Decisive!
What is your ultimate desire?
What is that you wanted to get and
enjoys in life or something that would
last for a lifetime?
Discipleship therefore is following the
Lord totally and wholly.
 Following the Lord means one will
lose his/her life and allows the Lord
to rule in his/her life.
 Following the Lord is denying
oneself and radically following him,
a total submission of oneself to God
alone.
To take the path of Jesus, the Son of
the Father, who wanted to build the
kingdom of God on earth.
Following Jesus has a cost, similar
to Jesus’ sacrifices, the price is high.
By denying oneself and taking up the
cross for the sake of God will lead one
to his/her own passion and death.
Jesus told his disciples……

“the Son of Man will come with his

angels in his Father’s glory, and
then he will repay everyone
according to his conduct.” (Mt.
16:25).
Let us then follow Jesus truly and
joyfully for authentic discipleship
requires genuine commitment and
dedication to do the will of God today.