Disciple.
That one word summons up so many different images and meanings. It makes me think of Peter, James, John and the other nine men who followed Jesus about. Fishermen, tax collectors, the necessary and the unwanted.
It also makes me think of the crowds that followed Jesus. They were also referred to as his disciples. After rereading some of the gospels recently I now see this larger crowd of people that continually followed him. Not the five thousand mind you, but more than just the twelve. There were at least a few women as Luke tells us in his gospel. (Luke 8:1-3)
“The Twelve were with him, and also some women…”
There are so many other images that disciple paints in my mind. Some good some bad. The difference is what teacher the disciple is following.
The word disciple comes from a Latin word, discipulus, meaning “pupil,” This word came from discipere. Broken down dis meaning apart, asunder, separate; capere to take, grasp, lay hold of. So a disciple is one who takes hold of things that are apart. They grasp things that are not together. One who learns. A student.
So what is discipleship? The act of learning or teaching depending on which side of the proverbial desk you are sitting on.
Jesus was called “rabbi” or teacher. His followers were called disciples. His followers 2,000 years ago, and those who follow him today.
Disciples.
You. Me. That smelly guy at the end of the counter you passed entering a local diner for breakfast. That guy in the shiny car and tailored suit. The waitress I didn’t leave a tip for because she didn’t refill my Dr. Pepper enough.
That’s the incredible thing about being a disciple of Jesus. Anyone, anywhere could be one. God doesn’t just teach people who walk into the halls of what is called a “church.” Disciples can be found anywhere. There is no one centralized place people go to become disciples of Jesus.
Disciples can learn in a house, a coffee shop, a tattoo parlor, a sun washed beach, a storm shattered house in the US Mid-West, a street corner in Europe, an Aids deathbed in Africa.
It’s not the place, the clothing, or the trappings that make a disciple. It’s a soul yearning for a connection to it’s maker. A heart ready to learn, grow, change, and give. Discipleship is not restricted by age, wealth, social status, education, gender or what kind of music you listen to.
Jesus taught fishermen, tax collectors, people who had been demon possessed, rich, poor, young, old, men and women, Jews and Gentiles. Israel and the Jewish people were his entry point, and when he left he sent his disciples to the world. To continue on what he started. To teach as he had taught and carry it into all the world.
We could get into all sorts of depth about the different meanings behind the four gospel commissions, and how they contrast or relate to the Creation command, but there are others who know more about that, and have already written about it. (ie Jonathan Dodson - http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001678.cfm)
What I find to be the same in all of them, and at the very core of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is that we are to “go.” No where does it say, “stay where you are and build up programs and palaces of worship and attract people to Christ.” No. Jesus tells us to go. For some, that is down the street to mentor and disciple a neighbor. For others it’s traveling to prisons, or schools. For others still it’s getting on a plane and going to another country.
The Commission
There is a physicality and movement to the command “go.” There is nothing sedentary about it. The command is simple. Matthew 28:18-20 (NASB)
18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Go. Make. Baptize. Teach.
Verbs. Actions. Jesus’ last words to his disciples, his students, were a call to action. Some were still struggling with belief of what had happened after his death. Yet he tells them to go out. They have believed, in faith. Now they were to teach, in faith.
I’ve heard it said that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.
Jesus’ students are told to go into the rest of the world and told to; wash, rinse, repeat.
Step 1:
Go, move, leave where you are to be somewhere else. Next door, or around the world.
Step 2:
Make students. People who will grasp things that are separate. Like Sin and Grace.
Step 3:
Baptize them in the name of God: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Step 4:
Teach them to obey, follow, adhere to, the commands Jesus gave. Including, Go.
Step 5:
Repeat. Because 11 people didn’t make disciples of all nations on the first go.
This isn’t meant to be a formula or code to follow. I’m just breaking down the verbs of the Commission.
Discipleship
Discipleship is not a 3 week class held on Sunday mornings for 30 to 45 minutes. It’s not a book with a clever plan on “how to.” As a disciple of Jesus we never stop learning or growing. There is no graduation or achievement levels. There is no standardized testing, with multiple choice and No. 2 pencils.
Discipleship is a way of living. It is continual learning and growing in our relationship with Jesus, and others whether they share the same faith or not.
There are many books and teachings about how to disciple. I won’t really recommend one over another partially because I haven’t read enough of them to offer opinions on the methods.
What I will tell you is this, discipleship is both simple and complex. The way to do discipleship can be very simple and uncomplicated. But there will be complex conversations and questions. And the very nature of what is being taught is complicated.
Jesus was our example of how to teach disciples. He pulled it off with out a single youtube video, powerpoint presentation, sporting arena, or even a megaphone. He taught from his heart what he knew the Father wanted us to know. It’s all laid out for us in scripture.
Making a disciple requires very few physical things. A teacher, a student and a Bible. It can be that simple. There also needs to be a desire to learn and grow in both parties, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. It’s the Spirit that makes the growth happen. It’s the Spirit that opens up the complexities and mysteries of the Word to the hearts of both teacher and student.
Teach the Word. Not traditions. As one teaching, you must be as deep or deeper in the Word than the one being taught. Dive in. Breathe deep the fragrance of life that springs from it’s pages. Teach others to be like Jesus by living the way Jesus lived.
You must first be a disciple if you want to make a disciple.
To be a disciple of Jesus is to take hold of the grace and promises of God and join them to what is separate from them, our sinful nature, our hearts, minds and souls. This is only possible because of what Jesus accomplished for us through his death and resurrection.
Jesus didn’t wait for humanity to come to Heaven. He left everything he was took on the pain and suffering of being human so he could be with us. He wanted to be with us so he could teach us how to live, and love, and serve the Father.
He came to us.
And so those who follow him, must also go, make, baptize, teach…repeat.
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