Discipleship (30 min)

Good afternoon! It’s wonderful to be here—I am excited to talk to you about discipleship; it’s one of those words that can be commonly used but perhaps widely misunderstood. It’s possible that even within a single church different understandings and expectations of discipleship exist. Hopefully tonight helps bring some clarity to this vital topic.

What is a Disciple?

Perhaps the simplest definition is that a disciple is a learner.

Lexham Theological Wordbook μαθητής

The term mathētēs occurs very frequently in the NT. Its fundamental meaning is one who seeks to learn from another. A disciple is not only a partaker of information, but also one who seeks to become like his or her teacher (Luke 6:40). In this way, discipleship is about modifying one’s entire lifestyle.

So although the Greek word used in the NT means learner, it’s perhaps different from how we might understand learner because when we think of a learner we probably think of a student at school or in university. The student may seek knowledge from their teacher but probably not relationship.

Being at school: I definitely didn't want to be like my teachers!

However, this Greek word implied both: knowledge and relationship, teaching as well as a pattern of life that should be imitated.

This was the prevailing view of discipleship in Greco-Roman culture at the time (Wilkins, 1992: 78). Disciples were learners who were committed to a master who provided teaching as well as a lifestyle to imitate. This is why Jesus says what he does in .

Luke 6:40 NIV

The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.

So disciples are committed to learning Jesus. It seems like a bit of a strange phrase, but it helps capture the relational dimension to discipleship. Disciples are people who are committed to learning Jesus, to imitating Him. So let’s take a look at a passage where we see who Jesus is and what he calls his disciples to do.

This passage comes just after the disciples have realized that Jesus is God’s promised Messiah; God’s promised Saviour. But having realised this, Jesus does something unexpected...

Luke 9:21–27 NIV

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

The surprise here is that Jesus is a suffering Messiah: many first century Jews expected a politically powerful Messiah, one who would end Roman rule. They expected a powerful political warrior who would deliver them from oppression. Instead, Jesus tells them that he is a suffering Saviour, a saviour who will not kill his enemies, but die for them.

This, of course, has implications for the disciples! Because they have to follow his example! Like Jesus, the disciples must deny themselves—they must abandon their own goals and ambitions. They must “take up their cross” which is a rather shocking picture of crucifixion. The point, I think, is that we should imitate Jesus. We must take on the mission of Jesus, denying ourselves and counting the cost—even to the point of death.

Luke: An Introduction and Commentary 3. Taking up the Cross (9:23–27)

There is nothing self-indulgent about being a Christian. The disciples had probably seen a man take up his cross, and they knew what it meant. When a man from one of their villages took up a cross and went off with a little band of Roman soldiers, he was on a one-way journey. He would not be back. Taking up the cross meant the utmost in self-denial.

A disciple is a learner who is devoted to imitating Jesus, even at great personal cost.

Example of costly discipleship?

One final thing before we move on: notice that being a disciple requires a daily death-to-self. This attitude of self-renunciation needs to be renewed on a daily basis.

When Trova had tucked the last child into bed, she stood with one hand in the small of her narrow back and walked to Grit. “What do you need?” the dame asked. Grit gestured toward the restful children.

“How do you do it? Day after day, night after night, how do you care for all of them?” Trova’s voice was slow and firm. “I do it by a million tiny deaths every single day. I do it because to sacrifice myself for them is a better death than to become as those who deny the value of another’s life.”

“I do it by a million tiny deaths every single day. I do it because to sacrifice myself for them is a better death than to become as those who deny the value of another’s life.”

Lisa Dunn, Child of Thresh

So this is what a disciple is: someone who is learning Jesus; someone who is committed to imitating Jesus; someone who is dying to their own interests and seeking to reflect Christ to those around them. I guess my question to us is: are we disciples? And what does our discipleship look like?

Single professional: when you could be completely selfish with your time and money, what does being a disciple look like?

Young parent: when your kids require your assistance for the 1000th time that time, what does it look like to be a disciple?

Student: when you are tempted to prepare for a career in order to become rich, what does being a disciple look like?

Young parent: when your kids require your assistance for the 1000th time that time, what does it look like to be a disciple?

Whoever we are—what impact does being a disciple have on how we think about our lives? Our careers? Our time? Our money? Our relationships?

Are we following Jesus?

How do I become a Disciple?

Baptism

When someone puts their faith in Jesus for salvation, their sins are forgiven. They are cleansed; their old life is gone and their new life is here. Baptisms represents this decisive turning away from an old life and an embracing of a new life. Baptism looks back to Jesus’ metaphor for repentance: self-crucifixion (; ; ), and recognizes in baptism the moment when the convert does indeed, publicly, take up his or her cross. Baptism symbolizes dying with Christ to self, and rising with him to a life constantly renewed by his resurrection power ().

R. E. O. White, “Baptize, Baptism,” Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 52.

Augustine: It is not I.

Have you been baptised? More importantly: have you put your faith in Christ? it’s the first and necessary step in becoming a disciple.

Yoke

The other potent symbol of becoming a learner is the yoke—a metaphor for service, submission, and obedience. Like oxen, who would accept the authority of their masters, would be yoked together to plough. So to take the yoke of Jesus is to submit to yourself to his authority, so that you can learn from him and become like him.

Yoke illustration?

But why is his yoke easy? A yoke by definition restricts and guides, and we’ve seen that Jesus calls us to self-denial. So why is his yoke easy? Because of who He is: Jesus’ yoke is not a burden, it is liberation. His yoke brings a paradoxical freedom: freedom from the heavy burden of sin through forgiveness, and freedom to now learn a whole new way of living that is fit for the Kingdom of God. The yoke of Jesus is a form of service and submission that is restful and free—it involves a whole new way of life in which the learners become like their teacher.

Finally—there’s another reason His yoke is light. When we see what He did for us, when we see what kind of a Master He is, we realise how much He loves us. He calls us to take up our cross, but only after he first takes up his. And his cross, his burden, was much heavier. He had to pay for our sins so that we could be forgiven. Our burden crushed Him, so that His burden could liberate us. To the degree that we see that, to the degree that we see Him taking up the cross for us—to that degree will we be motivated to take up the cross for him.