Jesus Christ Disciple Maker
A mature disciple is someone who understands scripture and has a zeal for the Lord. Someone who knows it’s hard to be a disciple but going through with it anyways. It’s a process that will take our entire lives, but when comparing the difference from a maturing to mature disciple, we see a couple things that are different about them. They become someone who tries their best to view things as the Lord does. Understanding how to go about conflict. They also are a guide to those who seek to either become a disciple or need guidance in their lives.
In the book Jesus Christ Disciplemaker by Bill Hull, he focuses on multiple points of becoming, being, and recruiting disciples of Christ. The author starts off the book by explaining the way Jesus was able to recruit disciples without threating or demanding them to follow Him. By simply stating “come and see,” Jesus offered each person who came to Him a chance to seek the rumors and stories they had heard from others about Him. Bill describes this period as the “Come and see” phase of Jesus’ ministry. This is just the first of the four phases Bill introduces. In John chapters 1-4 Jesus uses this method to invite five men to become disciples of His ministry. Not by force or threat but by welcoming them to hear and see what they’ve been intrigued by. He started by showing a miracle or others have heard of His miracles and status. For example, the disciples of John the Baptist were told about Jesus and His ministry by John. When they had went to seek Jesus, they were intrigued but a bit skeptical. Jesus’ answer to their curiosity? “Come and see.” He didn’t question their curiosity or told them to simply have blind faith in what they have heard. He simply told them to follow Him, and they will see.
Some principles we could follow to recruit more disciples are, giving potential disciples a taste of the ministry, make it easy for them to say no, show that you know where you’re going, and give them time to make final decisions. Like Jesus, when potential disciples were intrigued about Him and His ministry. He didn’t tell them to just have blind faith and believe in Him. He showed them what His ministry was like and offered a taste of His ministry. Jesus also made it easy for those to say no. He didn’t make it complicated; He didn’t make them sign a contract, He didn’t demand that they follow Him, and He didn’t manipulate them into thinking they had to just simply believe Him. He gave an open invitation to those interested and made it easy to say no. He also showed where He was going in His ministry. Jesus would often tell His disciples what exactly He was doing at any given point. However, often they didn’t fully understand Him, they soon came to know mystery of God’s will through Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus never once left His disciples guessing. He told them plainly that He was a nomad with no permanent place to stay, went to cities He knew He would be persecuted in, healed the sick, and displayed immense levels of patience with His followers. Jesus never questioned His disciple’s anxiety, fear, impatience, and doubt. While He did ask why they felt the way they felt, He never made them feel excluded because He knew their heart posture. They wanted to pursue Him but often had doubts. This is where His immense patience comes into play. He never became impatient with them. Rather, He was patient in helping them and continuing to show His faithfulness and truth. He often answered their questions with actions and words. Displaying He is always in control, and they should have no fear but full faith in Him.
Next is Jesus’ “Come and follow me” phase. During this time, He would invite people who were interested to come and follow Him, live like Him, act like Him, and love like Him. Jesus didn’t stop at just inviting people into His ministry, He asked for their obedience. Jesus would show them how to do the things He did and when to do it. For example, He constantly showed love and care for those that were needy. Those that felt far and in need of a savior, the humble not the prideful. He showed mercy and gentleness to the needy and humble, but with the prideful He rebuked them and yearned for them to change their wicked ways. Jesus knew His disciples didn’t automatically know what to and when to do things. He was patient in teaching and correcting them.
Some principles we could follow to help potential disciples are calling those whose hearts are prepared, taking responsibility to train them yourself, establish priorities, lead by example in prayer during good and bad times, expecting to be persecuted, and establishing that faith pleases God. Calling those whose hearts are prepared for discipleship and ministry is critical to the flow and fruitfulness of the ministry. Not everyone has a heart for discipleship and ministry. As seen with some of the early disciples, not everyone stayed and followed Jesus. When He stated that it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows to follow Him, and there would be great persecution and not even the messiah Himself had a consistent place to rest. Most who were initially drawn in left due to their hearts not being prepared. Jesus mentions multiple times how following Him would be difficult but gratifying in the end. This can also be seen with the religious leaders of that time. They didn’t follow Jesus around because they liked His ministry. They followed Him in attempt to find anything to prove Him wrong or to catch Him saying something that would contradict them so they could punish Him. They weren’t doing this out of sincere concern but out of envy and pride. Jesus also took responsibility for His own sheep as a shepherd would and as He often used a shepherd and his sheep to symbolize Him and His disciples. He established the priority that He is the truth, the life, and the way to heaven. That no one gets to the father except through Him. Establishing that faith in Him matters more than anything else in the world. He led by example in prayer during times of harvest and joy, while also bowing down in prayer in times of hardship. For example, He prays to His father and thanks Him for all the good yet also prays and thanks His father during times of trial like the garden of Gethsemane. He also told His disciples multiple times that they would be persecuted for His name’s sake, but to not resist. For in times like those it is their faith in knowing Christ is king and, be willing to lay down their life for Him pleases God.
Next is the “come and be with me” phase of Jesus’ ministry. During this time Jesus would send His disciples out in pairs to minister to the world. While still being there and leading by example, He began to let His disciples go out and mimic Him and draw more to Him. He wanted them to deploy them into their own ministry and minister to others. Some principles to follow when attempting to help disciples go and minister are establishing a team, making sure they understand the priority of ministry, teach them how to handle rejection, and show them how to proclaim the word properly. When sending disciples out to go and minister it is important to remember that they should go by themselves. Jesus modeled this by sending His disciples out in pairs. He also knew they understood the priority of ministry, that even when things got uncomfortable, they still stayed faithful and obedient to Him. He taught and modeled out to handle rejection. Jesus was often rejected, even in His hometown where He grew up. He also demonstrated how to proclaim the word properly during His ministry when referencing scripture and using it.
The final phase of Jesus’ ministry is the “remain in me” phase, also known as the great commission. This can be summed up as preparing those to go out and continue the ministry while remaining obedient to the Lord. The disciples know the importance of obedience to Jesus and are aware of the hardships to come. Jesus did not shy away from telling His disciples what was to come. He made sure they knew about the coming trials and persecution, but their hearts were ready. Jesus knew this and trusted them to continue the ministry without Him physically there. The love of Christians for one another is one of the most powerful forms of evangelism. The disciples remained obedient and their love for one another never dissipated. This is the discipleship every Christian should aim for, and this is the leadership every Christian leader should aim for.
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