On Being a Disciple of Jesus

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


The word "disciple" has been around for thousands of years, but today it is mainly used within Christianity. Originally, it simply referred to someone who was either gaining in knowledge or improving a particular skill. In the earliest days, among the Greeks, a disciple would be like an apprentice - the learner depended totally on a teacher who was known to have superior knowledge. One example given is that the one learning to play the flute was a disciple of the flute teacher. However, very important in this understanding was the relationship between the student and the teacher, the disciple and his master. The ancient master would gather his disciples around him and grant them fellowship, allowing them to share in his teachings. In turn, the disciples became very devoted - they were called "zealots" of the master, determined to propagate the master's teachings even after his death.

So from the beginning, we find three key elements of discipleship:

    disciples were learners,

    great importance was placed on their personal relationship with the teacher, and

    there was a full commitment to spread the message of the master.

When it comes to the Bible, the idea of disciples is almost exclusively found in the Gospels and a few places in the Book of Acts. Most of the time, "disciples" referred to the Twelve men called and appointed by Jesus, although there are a few places in the Bible where we hear of people being disciples of someone other than Jesus.

    John the Baptist had disciples, and even coached some of them to become disciples of Jesus (Matthew 11:2). Long after his death, there still were people who considered themselves to be disciples of John, i.e., Apollos (Acts 18:25), and the Ephesus Twelve (Acts 19:1-3).

    From Matthew 22:16 we know that the Pharisees had disciples, and they in turn considered themselves to be disciples of Moses (Matthew 23:2; John 9:28).

    Paul once identified himself as having been a disciple of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).

    Some recent translations of Acts 9:25 suggest that at least in the early part of his ministry, Paul had disciples.

The questions for each of us are: "Whose disciple am I? Who am I learning from, someone with whom I have a personal relationship, and someone whose message I am zealously promoting? Who am I following?"

    Dan Hanley is 33 years old, and one of the 150 American students training at the Vatican in Rome, in a seminary called the North American Pontifical College. This is the pope’s own school for Americans -- the West Point of seminaries -- more than half of the cardinals in the United States are alumni of the college, leading some of America’s largest archdioceses in New York, Baltimore and Detroit. What was of special interest to me as I learned about this college was that the students there call themselves "John Paul’s Soldiers."

    When Dan Hanley was questioned about the use of this term, "John Paul's Soldiers," he said, "I like to use more, 'we're followers of John Paul II'. But I would say you'd be hard pressed to find any guy, in any seminary, either here or in the United States, that's not a follower of John Paul II. So, talk about his legacy. His legacy will continue in each one of us, you can be sure of that."

In Acts 11:26 we learn that "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." Sometimes I feel that it was a mistake to change this designation from Disciples to Christians. Perhaps it would have been better for the church if it had stayed with the idea and designation "Disciples," and not let go of the fact that Jesus calls all those who would believe on Him to be His Disciples.

However, before we talk more about what it means for us to be a disciple, let's briefly mention some possible problems.

    Even among Christians, the temptation to become idolaters is ever present. For example, some people are guilty of "bibliolatry," exalting to divine status the book without taking the time or making the effort to read, understand, and live by its directives. There can also be a form of idolatry that worships a building, thinking that brick and mortar are sacred.

    But the account just referenced concerning followers of the Pope points out the danger of "personality idolatry." Just the other day I heard someone observe that most people need something, or someone to look at. We smile at the frightened little girl, who was told by her parent not to be afraid because God was with her, and the girl quickly answered, "but sometimes I need God to have skin on." Of course it's important for all of us to actually feel the warmth of a caring person. But just as in the entertainment world we now have "America's Idol", I worry that the same thing all too easily happens in the religious arena. The result is that we become disciples of men (or women) instead of maintaining our identities as disciples of Jesus, after all, it's easier to follow someone who has "skin on."

    On the other side of the coin, there's always available an ample supply of religious leaders willing, or perhaps even eager, to accept the adoration and even total submissiveness of potential idolaters.

    Not too many years ago the church of Jesus went through a very destructive time called the "Shepherding Movement" (also called the "Discipleship Movement"). The title sounds innocent enough, but the leaders of this movement urged their followers to become totally, unquestionably submissive to those who were "over them in the Lord." This led to all sorts of abuses as gullible disciples of these leaders lost sight of the fact that as disciples of Jesus there is only One to whom we should ever pledge total submission.

    There was also a time when leadership classes taught Christian leaders to "duplicate themselves." Evidently they forgot that when Jesus said "go into all the world, and make disciples," He meant to bring them into His band of disciples, not our own.

Now let's go back to our discussion of the Biblical understanding of being a disciple.

We acknowledge that there were many people in New Testament days who were called Disciples of Jesus, other than the 12 Jesus would call as Apostles. For example the blind man healed by Jesus was thought by others to be a Disciple (John 8:28), and the man who provided the burial tomb for Jesus' body, Joseph of Arimathaea, was called a Disciple (Matthew 27:57). In the "upper room" of Pentecost fame, there were 120 people, men and women who were all Disciples (Acts 1:15). Acts 6 talks about the "multiplying" of Disciples. Ananias, instructed by the Lord to minister to Saul (Paul) when he arrived in Damascus, was called a Disciple (Acts 9:10), as was Tabitha (9:26), and Timothy (16:1).

The point is, if all these people, after the death of Jesus, could be called Disciples, why not us? And what would that mean?

Remember what was explained earlier about the three key elements of discipleship? (1) Disciples are learners, (2) the personal relationship with the teacher is paramount, and (3) there's a full commitment to spread the message of the master.

1. Now if we're to be Disciples of Jesus, how can we learn anything from Him when He's been gone for nearly 2,000 years? Of course this was not a problem for the Jews of Jesus' day who considered themselves to be disciples of Moses, and in the Greek world, Socrates considered himself to be a disciple of Homer who lived 250 before him. And by the way, Jesus didn't leave a will demanding that his writings be burned - as far as we know, He never had any! For us, we do have the opportunity to learn from Jesus through the teachings passed on to us by His first disciples, and we need to take more seriously what they have provided in the Gospels.

2. But there's another way to learn from Him, that is to pray, which actually leads us to the second important aspect of discipleship, maintaining and developing a close personal relationship with our teacher. Prayer is nothing more or less than talking to God, and believing that He talks back to us, and because Jesus is God, there's no reason why we can't have a growing personal relationship with Him through prayer.

3. Then there's the last part, proclamation. The reason you and I today even have had the chance of becoming disciples is because someone introduced us to Jesus. It's much like the story of Philip as told by John in the first chapter of his Gospel. Philip had a friend back in his home town of Bethsaida, his name was Nathanael. Right after meeting Jesus, and responding to His call to be His Disciple, Philip found his friend and told him about this One he believed to be the Messiah. But here's the key, Nathanael didn't become a Disciple just because of Philip's recommendation. No, in fact he was rather skeptical, being aware that there was no prophecy about the Messiah coming from Nazareth. However, he did accept Philip's invitation to come and meet Jesus for himself. And when He did, in minutes, Jesus had convinced Nathanael of His identity, and Nathanael believed, and became a Disciple.

You see, the only way a person becomes a Disciple is by way of a personal encounter and relationship with Jesus. When one prays a sincere prayer to Jesus, He responds by making Himself known. Yes, an acknowledgment of sin and repentance is required, but with this simple prayer of wanting to know Jesus, the relationship begins. Once a Disciple, the teaching begins, the relationship grows, and with it a desire to tell other people.

Many people have promoted the idea that to be a Disciple is to try to be like Jesus, to imitate Him. We have earlier pointed out that this ultimately will fail, because no matter how hard we try, in our own strength, it is not possible to obtain this likeness. Becoming like Jesus will come about as a byproduct of our relationship with Him, but not by merely trying to be like Him. WWJD ("What Would Jesus Do?") may be helpful in some situations, but rather than asking ourselves that question, and trying to figure out the answer, better to go directly to Him and ask, as did Paul on the road to Damascus, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10)

Today, the question is, do you want to be a Disciple of Jesus? Before you answer, consider this sobering caution given by Jesus in Luke 14:25-33:

    "Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters -- yes, even his own life -- he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

    "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

    "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

    In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."

Simply put, to be a Disciple of Jesus is to place Him in the number one spot, placing Him above everything and everyone. This is the challenging question, are you ready to do this today?

Discussion Questions
On Being a Disciple of Jesus

1. How does the word "apprentice" help us in our understanding of "disciple"?

2. What are the three key elements of discipleship?

3. What are some Biblical examples where we hear of people being disciples of someone other than Jesus?

4. In Acts 11:26 we learn that "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." Why is the suggestion made that changing the designation from "Disciple" to "Christian" is unfortunate?

5. What are some possible problems with the contemporary usage of "discipleship"?

6. Who are some of the people in the New Testament, other than the Twelve Apostles, were called "Disciples"?

7. What examples can be given, other than in Christianity, where people are considered to be disciples of some one who has long been gone?

8. How do we today fulfill the three key elements of discipleship, learning, relating, proclaiming?

9. Can someone become a Disciple of Jesus merely by hearing about Him from other people? If not, why not?

10. What are the limitations "What Would Jesus Do?" (WWJD)?

11. What sobering caution concerning discipleship was given by Jesus?

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