What is a disciple?
Thought about the whole disciple thing and went to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew was sitting at work, minding his own business, and Jesus comes by. "Hey, you! Follow me!" Jesus summons Matthew without even saying 'please.' Essentially, Jesus tells Matthew, a stranger, that he should walk away from life as he knows it to do something radically different. No payment is promised. No blessing is discussed. No explanation is given. No conversation is had. "Follow me." (Matt 9:9) That's all there is.
Matthew is probably not known for being the most eloquent of the Gospels, but surely the writer could have managed a simple conversation. Jesus had them all the time. Why wouldn't the writer think that an explanation was warranted? Could it be that Jesus simply meant "follow me"? Do what I do. Get like me.(wasn’t that a game awhile ago?). Give yourself up for me. One preacher said leave all, lose all and give all for the cause of Christ. I like to think of the emptying that we must do to make room for Christ. The word enosis comes to mind. It is what Christ did to become like us, to show us the process from human to divine or I would say more accurately from base animal to human to divine. We must empty ourselves totally in order to become like Christ. That is what makes a disciple. It's not a great class. It's not consistent church membership. It's not a big bank account. It's walking away from the known to follow Christ. It's faith.
Just think about Matthew. He didn't have Scripture. He didn't have Christian television or radio. He didn't have a pamphlet. He was truly walking by faith. He was literally following Christ around learning what it meant to be Christ-like. He didn't know how the story would end. God is calling us to be followers. So what if the world makes us think we have to always be in the lead; that's a trick of the enemy. God is saying "follow me" and God is the leader. He has given us the example in Christ. He has given us the ending of the story in His Word. We are victorious. We must remember that the world does not set the standards. God has done that. Christ lived a life of service. That's the standard. Wow! Matthew was at work and Christ said leave that job and follow me. He never made Matthew any promises about financial blessings or any kind of blessings. He did not talk about what would happen if he followed. He simply told him to follow. The call in Mark 1:17 is similar. The only additional information is that He would make them fishers of men. Not a whole lot to go on there. None of the typical bargaining that one might expect when someone is asking you to leave your job. "Follow me."
Jesus says it. He commands it and men follow. They follow. They give up everything. They lose everything. They learn to love. They learn to serve. They learn from the Master. They become disciples.
Matthew is probably not known for being the most eloquent of the Gospels, but surely the writer could have managed a simple conversation. Jesus had them all the time. Why wouldn't the writer think that an explanation was warranted? Could it be that Jesus simply meant "follow me"? Do what I do. Get like me.(wasn’t that a game awhile ago?). Give yourself up for me. One preacher said leave all, lose all and give all for the cause of Christ. I like to think of the emptying that we must do to make room for Christ. The word enosis comes to mind. It is what Christ did to become like us, to show us the process from human to divine or I would say more accurately from base animal to human to divine. We must empty ourselves totally in order to become like Christ. That is what makes a disciple. It's not a great class. It's not consistent church membership. It's not a big bank account. It's walking away from the known to follow Christ. It's faith.
Just think about Matthew. He didn't have Scripture. He didn't have Christian television or radio. He didn't have a pamphlet. He was truly walking by faith. He was literally following Christ around learning what it meant to be Christ-like. He didn't know how the story would end. God is calling us to be followers. So what if the world makes us think we have to always be in the lead; that's a trick of the enemy. God is saying "follow me" and God is the leader. He has given us the example in Christ. He has given us the ending of the story in His Word. We are victorious. We must remember that the world does not set the standards. God has done that. Christ lived a life of service. That's the standard. Wow! Matthew was at work and Christ said leave that job and follow me. He never made Matthew any promises about financial blessings or any kind of blessings. He did not talk about what would happen if he followed. He simply told him to follow. The call in Mark 1:17 is similar. The only additional information is that He would make them fishers of men. Not a whole lot to go on there. None of the typical bargaining that one might expect when someone is asking you to leave your job. "Follow me."
Jesus says it. He commands it and men follow. They follow. They give up everything. They lose everything. They learn to love. They learn to serve. They learn from the Master. They become disciples.
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