Christian discipleship is a concept that was born when Jesus Christ
hand-selected His first followers. A disciple, by definition, is a
convinced adherent of a school or individual. In the case of Jesus, His
disciples were those who followed Him while He was on earth, as well as
those who continue to follow He and His teachings today.
Christian discipleship began, according to John's Gospel, the
day after Jesus was baptized (John 1:35-39). According to this passage,
the first two men to follow Him heard John the Baptist declare that
Jesus was the Lamb of God. Andrew and his friend (most likely John)
believed what they heard and followed Jesus. Before long, they were
telling others about this amazing Man of God!
Andrew recruited his brother Simon (whom Jesus called Peter);
the next day Jesus found Philip in Galilee; Philip found Nathaniel and
soon a movement was born. Not everyone came easily or willingly at
first. However, before long, Jesus had twelve disciples. Why only
twelve? We don't really know that answer, but twelve has become a
symbolic number of completion in Scripture. From Jacob came the twelve
tribes of Israel, so it's possible this number was intended to
represent each tribe.
discipleship is summed up in the Great Commission. After the
resurrection and before He ascended into heaven, Jesus appeared one
last time to His disciples (they were eleven in number at that time,
since Judas Iscariot had betrayed Jesus and hanged himself). This is
the moment that He delivered the famous calling for disciples known as
The Great Commission:
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them
to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18b-20)
Christian discipleship is more than being a believer - it's about being a follower! Once we make a decision for
Christ, then just like Andrew, John and Peter, we must become His disciples and follow Him. Have you chosen to follow Christ? If
so, then you are a modern-day Christian disciple! "But I can't learn personally from Jesus like they did!" you might say. Oh, but you can!
Thanks to the faithfulness of those apostles, who clearly understood their role as messengers of Christ, we have their gospels and letters
to go by. Later, when Paul was added to their number (by virtue of his Road to Damascus encounter with the risen Christ), he wrote letters to
all the churches he helped create. These books and letters became the New Testament of God's Word, and unlike those first disciples, we have all
of Christ's instructions at our fingertips!
