Tag: disciple

Defining Disciple

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot,

Mark 3:13-19

This is the passage in Mark 3 where Jesus chooses the 12 disciples who would eventually become the apostles of the early church. If a brand new believer were to read this passage and one were to ask them, “What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus today,” what would be their reply? Taken directly from this passage, this might be their response.

A disciple is:

1. called/invited by Jesus to follow Him (and they say “Yes!”).

2. to “be with” Jesus.

3. sent out to preach the gospel.

4. given authority to do the works that Jesus did (including driving out demons).

We see something very similar in a related passage of scripture in Matthew’s Gospel.

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Matthew 10:1-8

If a brand new believer were to read this passage in Matthew and one were to ask them, “What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus today, ” what would be their reply? Taken directly from this passage, this might be their response.

A disciple is:

1. called/invited by Jesus to follow Him (and they say “Yes!”).

2. given authority to do the works that Jesus did (including driving out demons and healing every kind of disease and sickness).

3. sent out to proclaim the message of the Kingdom.

4. commanded to freely receive from the Lord and then freely give to others.

Can you see the pattern? Can you see the similarity?

There seems to be four main component parts of being a disciple. First, we are invited to surrender our lives to following Jesus, and we say “Yes” to Jesus with our whole life.

Secondly, we are invited to just “be with” Jesus so that, in the midst of increasing intimacy with Him, we can freely receive from Him. Because we freely receive, we can turn and freely give.

Third, there is an aspect of our life that includes the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, the good news of the gospel declared with our words.

Fourth, we have the authority of Jesus to enact the demonstration of the Kingdom of God, the good news of the gospel shown through our actions. We have authority to do what Jesus did.

Are all four of these aspects of being a disciple of Jesus part of our own life? Are we missing one or two? If we’re missing something, ask the Lord to show you what it looks like to take the next step.

COVID-19 and The Gospel

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:15-20

The gospel and being filled with the Holy Spirit were always meant to spread like a virus, not unlike COVID-19. One person can “infect” a whole group of people. Yet, what are the preventative measures that stop the spread? Masks, hand sanitizer, social distancing, and inoculation.

Masks = when people hide their face, when they are afraid to be transparent about their life

Hand sanitizer = when people refuse to get their hands dirty, when they want their Christianity tidy and neat and don’t want the mess that comes with the Holy Spirit and a servant-life of following Jesus

Social distancing = lack of connection, lack of community, relational distance

Inoculation = vaccines work by exposing the immune system to part of the virus without being exposed to the whole thing. People get inoculated from the gospel and the Holy Spirit when they get a partial exposure but don’t experience the whole thing. This leads them to believe they have experienced the whole thing, and they are not impressed when it is offered again. They’ve built up a hardness of heart, an immunity.

By far the strongest preventive measure against a virus is a vaccine. Likewise, the strongest preventive measure the enemy can enact against the gospel and the filling of the Holy Spirit is partial exposure without full exposure.

I see this with the gospel when people say, “Oh yeah, I grew up in church.” What they often mean is, “I already know all about Jesus and the church and I don’t want any part of it.” But of course, that isn’t true. They were exposed only partially to the Kingdom and all that comes with following Jesus. If they knew the whole thing, they’d want all of it.

I also see this with the filling of the Spirit, mostly from those who have some experience (usually bad experience) with the charismatic tradition. People saw a charismatic televangelist or went to a charismatic. church for a time in their life and had horrible experiences with that. They now believe they are an expert on the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Spirit. They reject so much of the Spirit’s work in the world because “they already know.” But if they really knew the fullness of the Spirit, they would be running around telling everyone about it. They’ve become inoculated with just enough exposure to leave a bad taste in their mouth but not enough exposure to see what all the fuss is about.

This is why it is vital for churches and Christians to be “all in.” When we give people a partial exposure to the gospel or a partial exposure to the gifts of the Spirit, we run the risk of eventual inoculation. We must be all in ourselves, sold out for Christ, and invite people to an uncompromised experience of the Kingdom and the Spirit.