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8/10/2019 How to Discipleship Vision Preview

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The Big Picture

HOW TO DISCIPLE How to Be Jesus Disciple: A Vision for Discipleship

Resource

Understanding Jesus

culture helps us

understand what

discipleship truly means.

Our culture isnt exactly friendly to the concept of discipleship. In a culture where

friendships and communicaon can be said to be cheap, it is no surprise that a

relaonship expensive in terms of me, energy, and care is dicult. In order to

truly understand discipleship, we have to look beyond the current climate of our

culture today. We need to discover the true meaning of discipleship in Jesus day in

order to nd out what it means for us today.

To understand discipleship, you have to understand the ancient Jewish way of

educang children. For the Jews, educaon was one of their highest values. It was

the way that they passed on their faith to the next generaon. In parcular, their

educaon centered on the study of the Old Testament. In fact, rabbis in Jesus day

would argue about how early a child could begin memorizing the Bible. The

Talmud, an ancient Jewish teaching document, states, Under the age of six we do

not receive a child as a pupil; from six upwards we accept him and stu him (with

Torah) like an ox.

Jesus would have started His educaon at a school called Bet Sefer or House of the

Book, a Jewish equivalent of primary school for those who were 6 to 10 years old.

From the ages of 6 to 10, educaon focused on one thing: memorizing the Torah

Genesis, Exodus, Levicus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. For people in an oral

culture, memorizaon was much easier. Humans sll have this ability todaywe

just choose to memorize dierent subjects, the lines from popular movies and

songs, for example.

At the end of Bet Sefer, only the best of the best students would connue their

educaon. Those who were the best at memorizing would go on to Bet Talmud or

House of Learning from the ages of 10 to 14. Here, they would focus on memorizing

the rest of the Jewish Scriptures. In fact, there are sll Jewish men and women who

do this today.

If you were the best of the best at the end of Bet Talmud, you would present

yourself to a Rabbi and enter Bet Midrash. The students here would be elite

students similar to Ivy League students today. The rabbi would ask you quesons to

see if you were really the best of the best. This was extremely important for


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Resource

the rabbi. Rabbis had a parcular way of interpreng and teaching of the Scriptures

called their yoke. Jesus refers to this in the Gospels when he says, My yoke is

easy and my burden is light. In order to spread this yoke, the rabbi would want only

the best disciples. He would ask them quesons like, How many mes does the

word well appear in the book of Genesis? or, How many mes does Habakkuk

reference Deuteronomy 17? O the top of their heads, the disciples would recallthe memorized words and count them. These were the law school or GMAT

quesons of their day.

If the rabbi believed that you had what it takes, he would say the two words in

Hebrew every disciple would want to hear, Lek HackeriCome follow me.

Upon hearing these words, the disciple would leave his family and his village and

follow the rabbi wherever he went. A blessing developed: May you be covered in

the dust of your rabbi. The hope is that the disciple would follow behind the rabbi

so closely behind that the dust from the rabbis sandals would cover him.

If the rabbi prayed a certain way, then the disciple also prayed that way. If a rabbi

told a certain story, then you learned how to tell the story. If the rabbi ate a certain

way, well, you get the picture.

Now, if you didnt have what it takes, the rabbi would say: You know the Torah

well, but you dont have what it takes. Go back to your village. Go and make babies

and hope they become rabbis. Go and ply your trade.

How does this system relate to the Scriptures we know? Turn to Mahew 4 and

read about the me when Jesus calls His rst two disciples, Peter and Andrew.

Somemes we can read the Gospels as if they were about another world. We dont

queson them. We just assume instead that this is just the way things work. If we

stop and imagine that the disciples are normal people, it is prey odd that they drop

their nets and follow Jesus just because He says, Come follow me.

But if you understand their system of discipleship, the scene makes a whole lot more

sense. Jesus, as the rabbi, says the two words every Jewish boy would want to hear,

Lek HackeriCome follow me. But, Jesus is not your typical rabbi. Peter and

Andrew arent in Bet Midrash. They are plying their trade. They were not the best of

the best of the best. And yet, Jesus sll calls them. They follow because a rabbi

thinks they are good enough. The rabbi thinks that they can be like Him.

What does this following by the disciples of Jesus look like in the Gospels? When do

the disciples try to be like Jesus? Turn to Mahew 14 for one example. There, the

disciples encounter a prey odd sightJesus is walking on water. The disciples have

seen a lot of really crazy things, but this one has to be the

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We cannot let our own

imperfecons and

inadequacies hold us back

from following aer

Jesus.

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The Challenge

HOW TO DISCIPLE How to Be Jesus Disciple


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Resource

strangest. Again, the disciples are normal people. What would you think if you were

in a boat and your teacher was walking on water? The disciples reacon was sheer

terror (Mahew 14:27).

But Peters reacon is much dierent. He asks, If it is you, Lord, tell me to come out

on the water. Why would he do this? If his rabbi is able to walk on water, thenPeter as a disciple can do this too. And sure enough Jesus says, Come.

There is an interesng queson in the midst of all of this: How old were these

disciples? Usually, we think of them as grown men with beards. We know that Peter

is older because he has a mother-in-law (Mahew 8:14). Jesus also discusses the

temple tax with Peter. Only those 20 and older pay the temple tax, so Peter was

most likely over this age. How old were the other disciples? Jesus worked within a

parcular context and culture. As we saw above, disciples were usually called

around the age of 14 or 15. Some rabbis had a lead disciple who was older than the

rest. He helped train the other disciples. If this scenario was the case for disciples, it

would make sense that Peter, as the eldest, would be seen as the leader.

Before we get too carried away, however, stop and think about whom Jesus chooses

to be His disciples, to be people like Himperhaps, 14 or 15 year old boys on the B

team. They were young men who werent the best of the best. And yet, Jesus sll

believes in them. He sll believes that they can be like Him. He sll calls them out on

the water.

All of this background has radical implicaons for our own discipleship.

First, we are all individually called to be disciples of Jesus. It is easy to shoot holes in

our own character and talents. And yet, Jesus sll believes in us. In return, He is

asking for us to trust in Him. Will we drop our nets and follow Him?

Second, it helps us understand what a discipleship relaonship is supposed to look

like. For those who disciple others, you dont have to be the rabbi. Jesus is our rabbi.

Youre not a doctor and theyre not the paents. You arent a therapist or a spiritual

director. The disciples are not obedient to you. They are obedient to Jesus Christ and

the Church. You are an older disciple helping other disciples to know how to follow

the rabbi. The discipler lives out St. Pauls words: "Imitate me as I imitate Christ" (1

Corinthians 11:1). Youre an older brother or sister helping them drop their nets.

Third, discipleship is more than just teaching others, it is a way of life. Our culture is

very much concerned with acquiring skills in order to perform tasks. Skills arentbad, but le on their own, they will not amount to much. More important than skills

is the character we possess and the way we integrate our faith in Jesus Christ into

everything that we do. Pope Benedict XVI once said, To evangelize meansto teach

the art of living. Discipleship is not a one-hour lesson once a week. It is sharing our

very selves (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

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Resource 4

1. What stood out to you t

most about Jesus meth

of discipleship?

2. Why do you think that

Jesus didnt choose the

best of the best?

3. Do you think the idea of

discipleship is dicult i

our culture today? Why

Why not?

4. What element of

discipleship applies moto you today?

For Discussion

FOCUSequip is based on Ephesians 4:12 for the equipment of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for building up the

body of Christ. These materials seek to equip you for lifelong Catholic mission.

We would love to hear your feedback at: [email protected]

Copyright 2011 FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students)

Do not use or make copies without wrien permission from FOCUS.

End


Finally, dont underesmate the power of discipleship. Jesus was totally dedicated to

these 12 men for 3 years. As a result, 11 of them were willing to spread the Gospel all

over the world. Ten of them died as martyrs. While it is more dicult in our culture,

discipleship can nevertheless be even more powerful today because of its radical na-

ture. Never before has there been such a need to serve as examples for others. Disci-pleship is crucial to carrying on the faith in our generaon.

(Note: This whole concept of Jesus as rabbi isnt a secret teaching. In fact, Jesus is

called rabbi, somemes translated teacher, several mes throughout the Scrip-

tures (for instance, John 20:16; 3:2; 3:26; 6:25). Because we dont understand the cul-

ture, the meaning throughout the Gospels is lost on us. Much of this arcle was in-

spired by Rob Bell and a chapter called Dust in his book Velvet Elvis. For more on this

subject, see the website: www.followtherabbi.com)
http://www.followtherabbi.com/http://www.followtherabbi.com/http://www.followtherabbi.com/

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