Defining Discipleship
Step Two - Calling
As we continue our walk through the gospels looking at what it means to be a disciple, the inescapable next step is calling.
In Mark's gospel we see this as a direct follow-on from Jesus heading out to preach the good news.
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’
Jesus calls his first disciples
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’
Mark 1: 14-17 (NIV)
Called to follow
Jesus message to Simon and Andrew is the same as his message to James and John (Mark 1: 20), Matthew (Mark 2: 14) and Philip (John 1: 43). "Follow me".
This is not a rhetorical statement. It is a genuine request. We see that in the disciple's response.
At once they left their nets and followed him
Mark 1: 18 (NIV)
In case we are in any doubt about this there are also a number of occasions in the gospels when people did not obey and follow him.
He said to another man, ‘Follow me.’
But he replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’
Luke 9: 59-60 (NIV)
Jesus leaves us in no doubt that when he calls us, he expects us to follow him.
“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me”
John 12: 26 (NIV)
Salvation may be a free gift, but there is a cost to discipleship. In accepting the call of Christ, in repenting from our old habits, there are things that we mus physically leave behind. And yet these costs are small compared to the benefits.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”
Jim Elliot
Called to obedient discipleship
“If you love me you will keep my commands”
John 14: 15 (NIV)
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”
Matthew 16: 24 (NIV)
In order to be Jesus' disciple, therefore, we must obey his call. We must be prepared to stop what we are doing and do what he asks of us. For some people that may mean physically leaving jobs or moving locations. For others it will involve stepping out in faith in the circumstances he has already placed us in. We each need to be responsible for working out our own calling, and we need to be quick to follow it.
Would you benefit from someone walking through this with you? Get connected with a mentor
Called to pray
As I was writing this article, there were a number of other things that struck me from within the Gospel accounts concerning Jesus calling his disciples.
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles
Luke 6: 12-13 (NIV)
Two interesting points arise from these verses:
- Jesus prays before choosing his disciples. It is important in our discipleship journey to pray for the people we are discipling, and to ask him who we should be challenging to move deeper.
- The second thing is, he didn't call everyone. He selected twelve from among them. We need to wrestle with this. Ask ourselves if we are called? And if so to what? Each person is created with a different set of gifts and abilities. So what is the thing that we were created to do, and how do we ensure that we are doing it?
We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do
Ephesians 2: 10 (NIV)
We can also take encouragement from this. Jesus was fully God, but in human incarnation he restricted the number of people he worked directly with.
As leaders we need to be asking God who we should be discipling. We need to pray for those people. And we need to ask them to follow. Maybe not to follow us, but definately to follow him?
Take Action
- What is God calling me to do?
- When and how will I obey?
- Ask God who you should be discipling
- Challenge people to follow him
