Discipleship Part 2: Jesus’ Process
Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27; 16:24; 9:37-38; 10:1-5; 16-20; 22; John 6:53-66
Introduction:
Last week in part one of this series I gave you Webster’s definition of disciple which included the two key words pupil and follower. As a pupil, we are under the direct supervision of a teacher. I used the example of our experiences in the first grade. As a follower, we move from being a pupil where we must learn certain things without having a choice to being in a position where we can choose what teachings we will learn and follow. As a pupil we may have chosen at times to do enough just to get by; but as a follower, we are attentive to the teachings of the one we are following to ensure that we get it right. To be a follower (of someone, even if it is your own ideas) is a conscience choice that every person will make.
Last week I shared with you from the fourteenth chapter of the gospel of Luke that Jesus told us that we need to count the cost of being His disciple. Not everyone who desires to be a disciple is willing to pay the price necessary to accomplish the job. As I shared with you last week, this is the reason there are many who believe in Christ and are pupils; but few who are actually followers, meaning that they are following His teaching despite what the world tells them.
This morning in part two of this series, we will examine the process that Jesus implemented in developing His disciples. Jesus’ process is a training method that is still used today and consists of three steps: teach; demonstrate; release. Turn with me to Matthew chapter five.
I. Step 1: Teaching
In Matthew chapter five, Jesus had already called several of His disciples. After He began His ministry, He first called two brothers named Peter and Andrew. Next He came upon two other brothers named James and John. With these four men now following Him, the first thing He did to prepare them was to teach them. Jesus taught them publicly and in private. Jesus first sermon was given on a mountain and is called “The Sermon on the Mount.” In this sermon Jesus began to teach His disciples how to live. There are three primary areas that Jesus focused on: beatitudes (declarations of blessedness); ethical admonitions; and the contrast between His ethical teachings and the Jewish legalistic traditions.
In the beatitudes Jesus discusses what it means to blessed, or happy. If you recall, happiness in most of our minds is an emotion often dependent on an outward circumstance. In His first message to His disciples, Jesus began to let them know of the ultimate well-being and distinctive spiritual joy of those who share in the salvation of the kingdom of God. This would represent a change from what they were accustomed to as men who were considered to be in the lower class of society. As Jesus transitions His message, He instructs them about their role in the earth; their personal relationships; giving to the poor; prayer; fasting; true treasures/wealth; worrying; judging other; sacrifices (personal); false prophets and finally the two foundations. If you follow this one sermon to its conclusion, Jesus methodically walked them through how their lives would be changed if they became followers of Him. (Remember, a true follower chooses to follow the teachings of their teacher even when those teachings go against the norms of society. This is what makes being a follower of Christ difficult – it goes against the norm.) In this message Jesus gave them an overview of lessons that He would go into deeper during the next three years that they would be together. Let’s take a moment and focus in on the conclusion of His first teaching to His disciples.
Matthew 7:24-27 says the following: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall.”
In these verses, Jesus uses the example of two different individual building a house. Now keep in mine that here He is talking about building on a foundation that will sustain you in the midst of a storm. These two individuals had a couple of things in common. First they both had the finances necessary to build their house and they both had the same opportunity to choose its foundation. When they chose to build their homes, one built his house on a solid foundation – a rock. The second, for whatever reason built his house upon the sand. The second thing that these two individuals had in common was the storm they faced. Each person went through a storm; but because of the foundation of which their houses were built, the outcome was vastly different. The first man’s house which was built on the rock withstood the storm; however, the second man’s house which was built on sand was destroyed. They experienced the same storm, but the outcome was different because of the foundation. If the foundation is solid, what is built upon it will be solid. If the foundation is weak, what is built upon it will be weak.
In this message Jesus was stressing to His disciples that it was important that they just not hear His words, but they must act on what they hear. Their acting on His words would establish their spiritual foundation. This is one of the key differences between a follower and a pupil. A follower takes the teaching and acts on them while a pupil learn the teachings and just keep it as knowledge without any long-term actions attached to it. The follower develops a strong foundation based on the teaching while the pupil will have a weaker foundation as they do not internalize the teachings. When the storms come, both the follower and the pupil will have a different response based on the teachings that they have internalized and became their foundation. Jesus stressed that the man who hears what He says and does not act on it would be like the man who built His house on the sand and here is the key to being a disciple/follower. As I shared with you last week to be a follower we must begin to understand the teachings of Jesus and then follow them. It is our relationship with Him and our knowledge of Him that will keep us when we are going through those difficult times. If we do not have a proper foundation, during difficult battles we are subject to cut and run versus staying in the battle. As we continue our walk in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances, we are like the man who built his house on the rock – it withstood the storms as shall we. Our foundation is Jesus Christ and without Him as our foundation, we are subject to be tossed to and fro with every storm. In this first step, Jesus begins to lay the proper foundation through His teachings.
Let’s move on to the second step of how Jesus established His disciples. In the first step Jesus taught His disciples; in the second step He began to demonstrate His teaching to His disciples. In step two Jesus demonstrated what they would eventually begin to do themselves. Turn to Matthew chapter nine.
II. Step 2: Demonstrate
The eighth chapter of Matthew opens with Jesus healing a leper and the centurion’s servant. As we go through this chapter, we find Jesus healing others including Peter’s mother-in-law. Jesus also cast our demons and strengthened the disciples’ faith as they witnessed Him calming a storm. In chapter nine Jesus continued to heal individuals; called Matthew to be a disciple and continued to teach His disciples. Now look down at Matthew 9:37-38. “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Jesus took time to demonstrate and/or illustrate His teachings to His disciples. After His initial teaching session, He began to heal the sick and to have compassion on multitudes of people. After this brief introduction, Jesus told His disciples that the work that He was doing was needed (the harvest being plentiful) but there were not many laborers. He told them to ask that more laborers be sent into the harvest. Jesus was preparing His disciples, unbeknownst to them, that they were these laborers that would be going out into the harvest – they truly would become fishers of men.
In step three, Jesus released His disciples. He did so only after teaching them and giving them a demonstration/example to reference. In His first release, this was a test run for what would take place after His death. He knew He had a limited amount of time to get them to a point where they could function after He was gone and He wasted no time. Let’s turn to Matthew chapter ten.
III. Step 3: Releasing
Matthew 10:1, 5a says “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness….These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them……” Jesus taught His disciples and then demonstrated His teachings by healing the sick and casting our demonic spirits. After He demonstrated this to His disciples, He called them together and “empowered” them to go out and do the same. Can you imagine how the disciples felt when He sent them out? They probably wondered if they could truly do what Jesus said they could. Their confidence grew as they began to see some successes as they went out. Luke chapter ten recounts Jesus sending out the seventy and when they returned they were amazed at what they had accomplished (Luke 10:17). Keep this in mind for later because some of these same disciples later walked away from Jesus. When someone is taught to do something and given the hands on training to do it; when they are on their own they have confidence in their ability to do the job. This is what Jesus was accomplishing through His teaching; demonstration; and finally releasing His disciples. The Church today is full of Christians who are being taught and witnessing the demonstrations of those following Christ. But sadly, only a few have stepped up to being released to go out and do fulfill the rest of the mission.
When Jesus sent His disciples out, He sent them with authority, the same authority you and I have today. Releasing them to go out on trial basis was just a continuation of their training because He also gave them a warning. In Matthew 10:16-20, 22 Jesus gave this warning to His disciples: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you…..You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
Jesus let His disciples know up front that following Him was going to cost them something. As He prepared them to go out He told them the following:
o They would be sheep in the midst of wolves. What happens when sheep encounters a wolf? The wolf will attack in an attempt to kill the sheep. Jesus could have sent His disciples (and us) out as wolves as surely He had the authority to do so; but again, His ways are not our ways. He did not want the disciples to force anyone to accept Him; followers of Him must choose to do so under their own will. The wolves Jesus was referring to were not the common people they would encounter, but the very religious ones. Do we not witness this same mentality among religious people today? We truly eat our young. We have little tolerance for our baby Christians who make mistakes as they grow in their relationship with Christ. Jesus told His disciples as He sent them out that they would be sheep among wolves and they were to respond to situations with a sheep’s mentality – not the aggressive mentality of a wolf.
o He also told them to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. These two seem to contradict themselves, but they do not. To be shrewd is to be sharp or clever in practical matters. He did not want them to be fools; but He wanted them to understand fully what they would be walking into and to handle themselves accordingly. Being innocent as doves was about how they reacted to the world around them. Someone who responds to people as a dove will draw more people to them versus someone who responds to people like a bat. We invite doves to be a part of our marriage ceremonies, releasing them at a certain point during the ceremony. When they are released, people look at them and smile at their beauty. Now consider doing this same thing with bats. I have never witnessed a bat being invited to a wedding or anything else but I can imagine what would happen. If bats were released at a wedding, there would be pandemonium as people screamed and ran for cover. We can get a lot further with a dove’s mentality versus that of a bat (strictly because of the bat’s reputation.)
o Jesus also warned them about how they would be treated by men; how they would be brought before governors and kings for His sake; and how they would be beaten in the synagogues. When you listen closely to what Jesus was telling them this does not sound like the life of someone who is a disciple of Christ today. If you knew this would be your treatment today for signing on with Christ, would you still have signed on? There are parts of this world where Christians are very much treated like this and are killed daily. Just because we live in a place where that does not take place does not mean it cannot happen.
o Now I want you to consider the blessing. Jesus told His disciples not to worry about what they would say when they were brought before governors and kings for His sake. He promised them that at the moment they were required to speak, the Holy Spirit would speak through them. They did not have to worry about coming up with a story that would make sense to those persecuting them; all they had to do was open their mouth and the Holy Spirit would take over from there.
Let focus for a moment on what Jesus told His disciples in verse twenty-two. He said: “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” His disciples were definitely hated; many of them were killed for their faith. Jesus told them that the one who endured to the end would be saved. He wanted them to not give up as others had. Remember, not everyone who started out with Him stayed with Him. Remember the seventy that Jesus sent out who came back rejoicing about the demons being subject to them? Turn to John 6:53-66.
When Jesus explained to His disciples (all of them, not just the twelve who stayed) that they must take of His flesh and His blood if they were to truly follow Him, some of them found His words offensive. They did not wait to gain the full understanding of what He was explaining to them; their response was immediate and quick. Let’s start reading at verse sixty: “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, ‘This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, ‘Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, ‘For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father. As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” (John 6:60-66)
Did you see what happened here? We often talk about the twelve disciples who stayed with Jesus but rarely do we spend time on those who started out with Him and then left Him. Even those who left Him were considered to be His disciples while they were with Him. As you read these verses, you find that Jesus knew, as He does today, who was truly with Him. The disciples who left Him had operated in the same power as the disciples that stayed. They believed in Jesus and followed His teachings – as long as it was something they could accept. While they were following Jesus, they had the authority to cast out demons; heal the sick; and do everything else that Jesus did. We confirmed this in Luke 10:17. As long as they followed Jesus, they operated in His power. But the first time some of them disagreed with something He told them, they walked away. They stopped being a disciple; a follower of Christ. We are not told what happened to them; maybe some came back after Christ rose from the dead and they understood more; maybe not. What is clear is that the authority they had walked in was no longer available to them when they stopped believing in Jesus. We cannot walk in His authority without believing in Him and following His teachings.
In my message last week I gave the definition of a disciple as someone who is a pupil and/or follower of a teacher. I told you that we all start out as pupils because we are in a learning mode. We must learn certain things in order to develop. However, being a follower is different from being a pupil. When you’re a follower you have decided to follow the teachings of the teacher. That decision is a conscious choice made with conviction. When making that decision, Jesus stated that we must count the cost to understand what we are getting into. When Jesus called His disciples, He took them through a simple process. Some of His disciples did not complete the process and ceased to follow Him. But for those who stayed, He taught them; demonstrated what it was that they would eventually do; and then empowered them to go out into the world and do as they had witnessed Him doing.
As a Church we will begin developing disciples through our simple process. We will follow Jesus’ example of teaching; demonstrating; and releasing. We have spent years teaching/learning and more is to come. We have demonstrated what Christ has called us to do but we need more to do so. As we move forward, we will begin to not just walk in our relationship with Christ within these four walls, but we will also go out into the world. We will cease to wait for people to find us; we will go out and find them. This cross will not be for everyone and we must recognize that; but for those who choose to carry this cross; count the cost. If you will carry your cross, you will surely be a blessing to others in Jesus’ name.
Next week we will continue with part three of this message – our spiritual diet. Until then, may God bless and keep you is my prayer.
