What is a Disciple?

We’ll be jumping through 2 Corinthians this summer, looking at some of the illustrations or word pictures that Paul uses to talk about who we are as disciples of Jesus. We use that word “disciple” a lot in the church – in fact, the majority of the adults at River City are in “Discipleship” Groups. That has the word “disciple” in it, so we should probably be pretty clear on what a disciple is, or else we don’t really know if we’re hitting the correct target, right? So that’s where we’re headed today. I want to lay out a clear definition of what a disciple of Jesus is, based on the times that word is used in the gospels, so that as we dive into the word pictures of 2 Corinthians, we know the target we are trying to hit.

PRAY

When I was a young man, 22-23-24 years old, I was heavily involved in our church in Kalona as a worship leader for our weekly Sunday evening worship service. And somewhere along the way, I had come across this musician who was leading worship down in Texas – a guy named Chris Tomlin. And being from Texas, his music had a little country flavor to it, and was so singable and catchy – I ate up every single song he released, including a secret country album that was never released.

And when he linked up with pastor Louie Giglio to help start a movement for young adults called Passion Conferences, I drove to Peoria IL a couple times to see him when the tour came through, went to Nashville and Atlanta to conferences he was at – and when I led worship back home, I started imitating his moves on stage (the look-away and smile, the saunter back to the mic); I would use his jokes, mannerisms, the way he played guitar, even trying to emulate his voice. Whenever I led one of his songs, I wanted to do it EXACTLY the way he did, because it made me feel like I could do whatever he could do. I bought his books and read every article he ever wrote. I became a rep for his record label so I could get the new music before anyone else.

I looked into buying the same kind of guitar he had, but that would have cost more than 1/3 of my yearly construction salary, so that didn’t work out – but minus the guitar, I was going to be the MidWest version of Chris Tomlin and I was going to put Kalona Iowa on the map because of it. In Jesus’ name.

Chris Tomlin has no clue who I am. Never met him. Never shook his hand or got his autograph. But I became a better leader and better musician, because in studying him, I had to actually think about what I was doing, how I was presenting the song, how I was engaging the audience. I learned to lead worship by watching him. I learned the difference between showmanship and genuine leadership. I learned the heart behind his songs – I picked up on the “why” behind the “what.” I followed his every move, hung on every word, and my version of success was when the people in the room did for me what his crowds did for him.

Now, there was no doubt some idolatry in that. But boiled down, I had become a disciple of Chris Tomlin. The Greek word in the New Testament that is translated as “disciple” is mathetes, and it literally means, “student of a teacher.” A disciple is following someone, emulating someone, studying someone. In the ancient Greek world that Jesus stepped into, every philosopher and teacher had disciples. So it wasn’t something unique to Jesus. This was par for the course. In Matthew 9, John the Baptist had disciples. In Matthew 22, the leading religious teachers in the Temple – the Pharisees – had disciples. So having people follow you around wanting to be like you isn’t a new thing today, or a new thing with Jesus.

But a disciple isn’t just someone who follows someone online or wants to learn from a teacher. Just because you have a favorite podcast preacher or YouTube channel doesn’t mean you’re a disciple of that person. A disciple isn’t only interested in picking up information, but also one who is wanting to become like his or her teacher – to emulate his or her life. In this way, discipleship is about modifying one’s entire lifestyle (Byrley). Luke 6:40 tells us that, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”

So if you’re a disciple of Jesus, the correct target that we aim at with discipleship is that we look more like Jesus – that we treat people like he treated people; that we give value to the outcast like he did; that we honor Yahweh, obey the scriptures, and respect authority like he did; that we pray like he did; that we get alone to spend time with the Father like he did; that we trust the will of the Father like he did; that we lay down our lives like he laid down his life; we honor God as holy like he did; that I’m self-controlled like Jesus was; that I’m patient like Jesus was; that I’m compassionate like Jesus was – you get the idea.

We tend to compare ourselves to the people sitting next to us, right? We look at Jon over here and think, hey I’m at least as good as Jon, so I should be okay. It’s the reason there’s gossip in the church. It’s the reason Christians are easily judgmental. Comparing yourself to the person next to you is just like Matthew Emmons hitting the bullseye of the wrong target. You’re taking some great shots, but you still scored a zero on the scoreboard. Because the target of discipleship, Jesus says in Luke 6, is that my life looks like Jesus. And if it doesn’t look like Jesus in a certain area, I still need people in close proximity to my life that can point me to Jesus.

We’ll be looking at 2 Corinthians this summer on the topic of discipleship, but the word “disciple” is never used in there – in fact it’s never used in any of the letters of the New Testament, even though it’s not a very far stretch to say all of the letters of the NT are about discipleship. The word is everywhere, though, in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. So that’s where I want to start to lay the foundation today. So I went all the way back to the beginning of Matthew. Back to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and looked for the places where that word “mathetes” was used, just so we have a biblical understanding of what a disciple is before we get too far into 2 Corinthians.

And here’s what I found: Being a disciple starts with following Jesus.

Some of those who followed Jesus were chosen by him directly. Matthew 4:18–22 “As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, preparing their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

For them, following Jesus begins with a simple act of obedience. Follow me. And look at this: Immediately they left their nets and followed him. In those days, a teacher or a rabbi would go around to local schools and like an NBA scout, choose the brightest and the best students to follow him. These young men were busy helping their dad with the fishing business, so it’s probable that they weren’t the brightest and the best, and the popular rabbis had passed them over in favor of others – so they had nothing else to do but work the business with dad. So when this rabbi named Jesus shows up and says “I want you”, there was no hesitation.

For others, they followed Jesus because they were drawn to either his teaching, or just drawn to his celebrity. Turn with me to Luke 14 if you’re not there already – Luke 14:25 that Tom read for us started off with saying, “Now, great crowds were traveling with him.” It seems like a lot of people followed Jesus, but really, most of the time the gospel writers use the term “disciple”, they are referring to the immediate 12 disciples that Jesus called. But Jesus spoke to the crowds often about discipleship, so we’re going to look at six statements Jesus made about being his disciple – three of them are in the negative sense, where he says you cannot be my disciple if you’re not willing to do this or that, and the other three statements he says in the positive, that if you do this or that, people will know that you are my disciples.

So, first up are the three where Jesus said in verse 28 that in the same way that we don’t start a building project, like we’re looking to do here at River City, without first adding up all the hours and materials and land cost and seeing if we can afford it, we should also be aware from the beginning that it could potentially cost you everything to be a disciple of Jesus. For the first 12 disciples – and for the testimony we heard last Sunday – it meant leaving home. Leaving family. For the apostle Peter, being a disciple– meant being away from his wife – probably a lot.

So here in Luke 14, Jesus turns to the crowds that are following him, and here’s his first statement from verse 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And you’re like, hold up – I don’t hate my mom. What is that? I don’t want to hate my spouse or my nieces and nephews, my brothers and sisters. Is Jesus crazy?!? Well, Jesus doesn’t mean you should hate them, like you want harm for them, or want them dead – that wouldn’t be consistent with who he is. It’s a Hebrew way of speaking that means your love for Jesus should make family love look like hate by comparison. In other words – your loyalty to Jesus now outpaces your loyalty to your family. If you think that verse 26 is a bit of a jolt to your modern sensibilities, here’s another one - this one from Matthew 8:21–22 where someone was asking to follow Jesus. “Lord,” another of his disciples said, “first let me go bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Back then funerals were a year-long process, where at the end of the year of grieving, the oldest son had the responsibility of moving the bones of his father to their permanent burial site. Ancient Jews believed this was one of the ways you obeyed the 10 Commandments – honor your father and mother with proper burial. And Jesus says, skip it. Is Jesus telling this guy to not keep one of the 10 Commandments? Are we sure Jesus isn’t crazy??? No. Actually, Jesus is making a much bigger statement. In the Law of Moses, Deuteronomy 12, it says your commitment to Yahweh trumps your commitment to your family. So when Jesus says your commitment to him must be greater than your commitment to your own family, it’s his way of saying he is God. He is the most important relationship you have if you’re going to be his disciple.

Following Jesus also meant leaving behind certain expectations in life, because being a disciple meant you leave behind certain wordly ambitions and dreams – it means that if you live with Fear of Missing Out, you’re going to have to get over it and trust that following Jesus is worth it. Because following Jesus may involve dying to that stuff. That’s the second statement from the very next verse, Luke 14:27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” That phrase has been misused a lot of times, as if bearing your cross means, well, I have thankless job, but that’s my cross to bear. Or I’ve got this chronic illness or disability or a bad relationship or things just aren’t going my way – I guess that’s my cross to bear. That’s not what Jesus meant here. When people watched the Romans carry out execution by crucifixion, no one thought of the cross as an annoyance, or something to tell people, hey man, just tough it out. The cross meant death. Humiliation. Pain. Carrying your cross meant you were about to die.

Elizabeth Elliot was a popular author and speaker whose husband was murdered by the native tribe they were trying to take the gospel to in Ecuador; then she remarried and lost a second husband, worked as a Bible translator and had all of her language work stolen, and then suffered from dementia the last 10 years of her life. She was no stranger to suffering, and she said this: “To be a follower of the Crucified means, sooner or later, a personal encounter with the cross. And the cross always entails loss.” So Jesus would appear to be saying to his followers here in Luke 14, if you’re not willing to suffer loss, if you’re not willing to die to the world, and this one is pretty tough, if you’re not willing to be humiliated for the sake of Christ, then you can’t be his disciple.

But the cross of Jesus leads to an empty tomb. Any farmer or gardener knows that a seed that’s put into the ground has to die before it can grow and produce fruit. Elizabeth Elliot would also go on to say, “Life comes out of death. I bring God my sorrows, He gives me His joy. I bring him my losses, he gives me his gains. I give him my sins, he gives me his righteousness. I bring him my deaths, he gives me his life.” So we don’t need to be afraid of the cross. On the other side of it is resurrection. Fruit. Life, and life eternal!

That leads to statement #3, a few verses later, Luke 14:33 “In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” If you’re a disciple of Jesus, there can’t be anything holding you back. Nothing attached to this world. You’re all in, or you’re not in.

Now, Jesus isn’t guaranteeing that you will have to give up family, reputation, or possessions. You may never be called to a ministry that means moving to Thailand away from your parents, siblings, and friends – but if you’re not willing to be called to that, you won’t be able to follow Jesus. You may never be called to endure verbal or physical humiliation and or pain because of your faith, but if you’re not willing to be humiliated, you won’t be able to follow Jesus. You may never be asked to sell everything you own and live very simply, or even in poverty – but if you’re not willing to be, you can’t follow Jesus.

This is tough stuff. I told someone the other night that the sermon isn’t coming along very well this week. They said, oh, is it a difficult text and I said, well, unfortunately it’s pretty cut and dry, and it’s beating me up. I mean, I like my stuff, I don’t like being humiliated, and I love my family. And Jesus would shrug and say, okay, well, that’s fine, but if you’re not willing to give those things up, then you’re not going to be able to be my disciple.

In John 6, many of those who were following him said, okay, peace out. Forget that. Can’t do it. Leave my family? Nah. Renounce everything I’ve worked so hard for? Nah. Give up control of my life, give up my plan for my life to live for someone else’s? Nah.

But the reality is that the possessions of this earth are miniscule compared to the glories of heaven. You won’t be in heaven 10 seconds, and wish, man, I wish we had been able to get to Spain before we got here. Man, I wish I had played more golf, or got that dream vacation, or that dream vehicle. Man, why was I so generous. Man, I wish I hadn’t had to be sick for so long. Man, I wish we could have done this or that. Here’s what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, which we’ll get to in a month or so – he said, For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory! And I know it doesn’t feel momentary, it feels like our affliction lasts forever. I know it doesn’t feel light. It threatens to crush us. But once again - compared to the eternal weight of glory that is coming to those who endure, those who continue in his word, those who willingly die and give themselves for the sake of others, the afflictions we go through are not even worthy of being in the same sentence.

Jesus told Peter and the 12 in Luke 18 that any of you that has left homes, wives, children, etc, will receive many times more at this time, and eternal life in the age to come.” Not more wives, or more homes, or more kids – but something many times more valuable in this life, AND you’ll get eternal life in the age to come. In other words – having Jesus is worth everything you might have to lose to find him.

So Jesus isn’t afraid to openly admit that following him is going to be challenging. He’s not embarrassed by that. It’s not like Jesus has to have some awkward sit down conversation with his guys, and he’s all apologetic – I’m really sorry guys, I know you’re not going to want to hear this, you know I really like you guys and I want to keep you around, so, you know… It’s not awkward to him. It just is the reality. Either you follow Jesus wholeheartedly, no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, or you cut ties and bail.

That’s what he meant in John 8:31 “Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples.” One of the ways you know if you’re a genuine disciple of Jesus is whether or not you continue in his words. He goes on to say, if you do that, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Then he turns to the Pharisees and says, the reason you’re trying to kill me is because you don’t want anything to do with my word! John 8:47 “The one who is from God listens to God’s words. So follow me around all you want, but if you’re really with me – if you’re really a disciple, if you really believe I am the way, the truth, and the life, you’ll have my words in you. You’ll listen and obey and stick with the words of God.

Look at that word “continue”. If you “continue” in my word. It implies that this is going to be a process that is ongoing. It won’t happen overnight. It’s going to involve hardship. It’s going to involve effort. One way you might say it is “you have to put in the work.” The language the Bible uses is a big word called “sanctification.” It’s the process of spiritual growth. I love the way the disciples word this in John 6:69 “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” We have come to believe. We didn’t at first. We had a ton of questions, still do. But after following you around, watching you work, watching your miracles, listening to your teaching, seeing your authority – we have continued in your teaching, and it’s worked! We have come to believe AND KNOW that you are the Holy One of God.

This thing of continuing is what you find in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, if you want to turn there, which says this, starting in verse 3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. And then Paul basically says, look, here’s how God works – I go through something difficult, and God comforts me. That can happen through encouragement from other people, it can happen by reading the Word, it can happen when the Holy Spirit reveals something to us or convicts us of sin, and then when I see you all going through something difficult, God uses me to comfort you! Then he wraps that thought up with this –– If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer.”

Patient endurance. Continuing. Not giving up. That’s one of the markers that you are a disciple of Jesus.

This comforting each other, caring for each other in affliction is also one of the ways we know we are Jesus’ disciples. That leads to statement number 5 from Jesus, which is in John 13:35 – By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Now the context of this verse is very interesting, because Jesus made this statement as his last supper, right after he washed his disciples’ feet. So this wasn’t just him saying this to crowds of people – this was very directed at 12 men who on paper would never have been friends. And Jesus said, the way people will know that you belong to me, is by how committed to each other you guys are - despite your differences, despite seeing the world differently, despite experiencing Jesus differently. Once again, play the opposite. If you despise each other, if you judge, backstab, or ignore each other, it’s proof that you are not his disciple. So people will know that you are my disciples by how well you (fellow disciples) love and serve one another, the same way Jesus has loved and served you.

4. And the outcome of that is statement #6, from John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.”

When we talk about a tree bearing fruit, what we mean is that it produces something that benefits others at the same as proving what kind of tree it is. You can look at a tree and say, I think that’s an apple tree, I’m almost 100% sure, but it’s not until an apple shows up that you’re going, aha, I was right. So when we talk about being a disciple of Jesus, we look at someone’s life, we’re not just looking at what they say – you’re looking for fruit that benefits others and proves what kind of tree it is. When you look at someone’s life and you see self-control where there didn’t used to be any, that’s fruit. When you look at someone’s life and they love the people they used to despise. When you see patience and mercy where there used to be anger and bitterness, where you see faithfulness and gentleness, when you see someone continuing in the word when it would be much more convenient or understandable for them to bail – you’re seeing the evidence that proves you are learning from Jesus! You’re growing in him! And that glorifies the Father! It points to his brilliance, his wisdom, his goodness, his justice, his mercy, his deliverance and rescue – all of it full bore at the same time.

So pulling this all together – what is a disciple of Jesus? According to these six statements from Jesus, a disciple is someone who holds their people, possessions, and their plan for their own life loosely, continues in the word, and is committed to serving other believers, as they themselves are transformed by the Spirit.

That’s the target we’re aiming at. And maybe you’re like, good grief, I can’t do that. I want to, but I have failed so hard at every one of those things. Well, guess what? Join the team. No one has been able to pull this off perfectly. In fact, the reason Jesus stepped down onto the planet in the first place is because no one could get following Yahweh right. God said, be holy like I am holy, and no one could do it, and as a result, we all deserved to die. But that’s one of the reasons Jesus came. He came to live the life we couldn’t live and die the death we deserved. And God raised him from the dead to prove that Jesus’ life and death worked! It accomplished what it was meant to accomplish.

The reason to go all in as a disciple of Jesus is because he’s worthy of it. Chris Tomlin was and still is a great guy, good worship leader, and I learned a lot from him – but he’s not worthy of my allegiance. He didn’t die for me. He didn’t offer me a place in his family – he didn’t even invite me over for dinner. But Jesus did. Even if he never answered another prayer, never healed another sick person or performed another miracle, Jesus is still worthy of us picking up our cross to follow him because He’s the one who picked up his cross for us. He’s the one who willingly left his Father in heaven to become poor so that we could become rich with every spiritual blessing, and know his Father as our Father. He’s the one who willingly became a servant, so that we could be reconciled to God, and call him Father and Friend even while we fear his name. Jesus is the one who considered the things of the world to be nothing compared to the joy of obeying and glorifying his Father. He’s the one who sent the Holy Spirit to indwell everyone who believes. He’s the one who is interceding for us right to this moment, who has loved us with an everlasting love, who has shown us the Father’s heart.

So don’t give up. Keep leaning in. Keep seeking.

For prayer today, I want to just leave you with this:

Lord