How Jesus Trained His Disciples

Let’s imagine two people, we’ll call them Jim and Joe. Jim has been a believer for a long time. He’s read his Bible somewhat consistently for several years, and has a stable marriage with respectful children. Though he attends church regularly, he senses a growing stagnancy in his walk with the Lord. As he gets older, he feels less involved, less known, less needed. A sense of purposeless begins to settle in like a thick fog. Church attendance has become more routine, and he increasingly feels like he comes to see what “they” are doing.

Joe, on the other hand, is trying to figure this Christianity thing out. He is saying he believes in God, but he’s not quite sure what that means, or what God is like, or how to know him. He’s been coming to church because he’s hungry to learn more about these big questions and has a high respect for the Bible, even though he doesn’t really know what it teaches. He’s been searching online for answers, but youtube videos and blog articles only do so much. He wants a person - someone in the flesh - to help him.

Both of these men are at critical points in their lives. Jim is at a crossroads. He could settle into a church-attending routine, become a spectator, and waste his golden years by retiring from the work the Lord has for him. Joe is also at a crossroads. If he is not helped, encouraged, taught, and directed, he might conclude that Christianity has no answers for him, and depart.

Are you like Jim? Been following Jesus for a long time, now wondering if there needs to be something more? Are you like Joe, trying to figure out what it means to know Jesus?

I think these people exist at our church. And I believe that both of them need the same thing. What they need could be summed up in one word: discipleship.

What is discipleship? In the secular world it’s sometimes called mentoring. To me, that sounds a bit too formal. Here at Grace Rancho, when we talk of discipleship, we think of our deliberate efforts to do spiritual good to others, to help them become more like Christ. In short: to disciple someone is to help others follow Jesus.

Our imaginary friends Jim and Joe both could be helped from the text we’re about to study. Jim, the longtime Christian, will see that he, like his Savior, needs to pour his life into the lives of others. Joe, the one asking the questions, will see that he, like the disciples, needs to have someone in his life who will disciple him.

It has been said, “The Christian life is the discipled life and the discipling life.” By that definition, are you living the Christian life? Are you discipled? Are you discipling?

Are like Jim, you’ve followed Christ a long time, but have never really invested your life into anyone else? Are you like Joe, trying to figure things out and in need of some direction?

In our text this morning, we see Jesus’ strategy for preparing the twelve apostles for the ministry he had for them. As we look closely, we discover ingredients for discipling. All the Jims and Joes - and really every one of us - need to listen up and hear how disciples are discipled.

Love - the First Discipleship Ingredient

You see in vs. 13 that Jesus “went up the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.” There are crowds bustling wherever Jesus goes, but this text shows the basis of his choice: he desired them. That is, he wanted them, he wished for them. These 12 men were the men he singled out and called to himself. Yes, there is a love for the crowds, but there is a unique, special, choosing love given to the apostles.

I remember when Ashley and I were beginning to date, and then when we were engaged - I just wanted to be with her. No one was forcing it.

This is Jesus' love for these men. He desires to be with them. I find it amazing that Jesus loves so strongly men who are so hard to love. There are many of us who get worn out by others. Eventually, we’ve had enough. Jesus loved so deeply that he wanted to be with his disciples.

Jesus called them “little children.” Jesus called them his friends. Jesus enjoyed sharing the most intimate aspects of his life with them. If you were to look inside Jesus' heart you would see a throbbing love for these men.

This is how Jesus discipled these men. He started with loving them. He wanted them around. He wanted to talk to them. He wanted to go through life with them. The first ingredient for a discipling relationship is love. Not “I love you but don’t want anything to do with you” - a true, “I love you, and I want you to be a part of my life.” It’s the love that understands the saying: “They don’t care how much I know until they know how much I care.”

If you want to disciple, you’ve got to love. Discipleship not built on love is chewing gravel. Do you love people?

If you don't pour out your heart toward others in sacrificial love, you’ll grow stagnant, stale, and you’ll leave a lot of people unhelped.

And Joe - the one asking the questions - he needs someone to love him like that. That man can’t be orphaned. He can’t be left without any spiritual parents. Who will care for him?

The foundation of discipleship - of helping others follow Jesus - is a love for people.

Friends, this love compels Jesus to go to the cross. His desire to be with his chosen people is so strong that he will suffer their penalty, pay for their sins, and accomplish their salvation. He will pour out his life for their eternal good. This is the love we imitate.

If your life’s energy, time, resources are a jar of water, how much are you pouring into people?

Life - the Second Discipleship Ingredient

Jesus is going to spend the next three years with these men to prepare them to turn the world upside down. These ordinary guys are going to be enlisted in the school of Christ, and they’re going to be prepared for the work he has for them. And then text includes two of the fundamental aspects of the training. Verse 14: “And he appointed 12 whom he also named apostles so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach, and have authority to cast out demons.”

In other words, for Jesus to prepare these men for ministry, he said, “Be with me.” That’s the heart of their training. Spend time with me.

Jesus carved out time to spend with just these guys: Mark 7 they go up to Tyre and Sidon, after that they head to Decapolis, in another part they’re going to Dalmuntha (southeast of Galilee). Mark 8 they head up to Caesarea Philippi in the north. Luke 13 indicates they spent several months in Perea, east of the Jordan river. In other words, Jesus traveled with them, and specifically took them away on what might be described as a “retreat.”

This is full-on holistic discipleship: “Be with me.” It’s not teacher / student, where I lecture and you listen. It’s more parent / child, where we live in close proximity, and I model for you what it looks like to live for God.

Paul adopted this model. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 “so being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

You want to be a useful and effective servant of Christ, right? You must understand this: when Jesus wanted to impact a life, he opened his life. When Paul wanted to impact a life, he opened his life. If you want to impact a life, open your life. Don’t lob gospel grenades and run for cover. Share the gospel and your very life.

Let’s be clear: if you’re a Christian, you have been called to help others follow Jesus. You cannot do that with a closed life. A closed heart. A closed home. A full calendar. A closed wallet. To be faithful, you must open your life, open your heart, open your home, open your schedule, and yes, at times, open your wallet.

Now, you might be thinking: “Hang on Eric, that was Jesus. He was literally the sinless son of God. And that’s the Apostle Paul, the most towering figure of the New Testament outside of Jesus. Of course they opened their lives and impacted people. But I can’t do that.”

Erin Wheeler, a pastor’s wife who really struggled with feeling adequate to disciple others. The article is titled “Discipling when You Need to Be Discipled.”

She tells the story of after meeting with a lady, grumbling to herself after the meeting. “I am a mess. I have no idea what I’m doing here. There certainly wasn’t any ‘teaching’ going on with my crazy hooligan children and my heart in a bad place toward my husband. I shouldn’t be teaching anyone. I’m the one who needs discipling! God, what would you have me do?”

She writes how she wanted to be faithful to help others follow Jesus, by getting to know them and opening up her life, but everytime she invited someone into her home, something happened. One of the kids threw a tantrum. The laundry wasn’t done and the house was a mess. The toilet got clogged and was overflowing!

Toward the end of the article she writes: In discipling these women I tried to instruct and question them, discuss books together, and pray, but they would tell me later that often the best teaching came from simply watching me. They watched God use my weakness in fighting for patience when the day had long since worn me thin. They watched me struggle to love my husband after sharing with them my own struggles of feeling second place to his work.

I came to better understand the words of Paul when he said, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Cor. 4:7). These ladies got a front row seat to see the true jar of clay that I am. Since we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, sometimes we need to allow others to see God’s strength shine out of our feeble attempts to serve him.

Programs don’t make disciples. Events don’t make disciples. Imperfect, but genuine followers of Jesus who open their lives in love to others - they make disciples.

Christian, here’s one thing you need to mark down and never forget: Christ lives in you. That’s what Paul said in Colossians 1:27 “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” And that’s why Paul said, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” We humbly invite people into our lives, not because we’re great, but because we know that Christ lives in us, and that insofar as we are following him, our lives can be useful to help others follow him as well.

So our first two ingredients for discipleship - is love and life. God’s love for us in Christ is so great that it strikes us like lightning, and then energizes us to love other people with zeal, to the degree that we seek to know them and open up our lives to them - following the example of Christ, of Paul, and all obedient churches since them.

Labor - the 3rd Discipleship Ingredient - Gospel labor together

The third ingredient is labor. Verse 14: “so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.” He put them to work.

If you want to make disciples, get busy with ministry, and bring others along with you. If you want to grow, find the people who are laboring for the Lord and intrude right into their lives.

Remember from last week who these men were. Fishermen. Tax collector. Political zealot. A bunch of no names. And Jesus calls them to himself, says, “Here’s you’re training: you’re going to be with me” - and at this point they all think, “Wow, me, awesome!” But then he says, “I’m going to send you out to preach.” And I imagine they all go silent. In my imagination I hear Peter say, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, You’ve got the wrong guys. We don’t preach.”

Jerry Seinfeld: “According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

But as part of Jesus’ training regimen for these 12 disciples is that he will send them to preach. Preaching is what they’ll do after their training is complete, yes. But preaching is also part of their training. They actually have to do it.

In fact, take a look at Mark 6:7. “And he called the 12 and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.” For these men to grow, they’ve got to go.

No one ever learned to run by reading a book on running. No one ever learned to throw a ball by reading “Ball Throwing for Dummies.” No one ever learned to preach without being given chances to preach.

You see, every qualified disciple-maker begins their journey with a strong sense of inadequacy. Moses said he wasn’t eloquent. Gideon said he’s too weak. Jeremiah said he’s too young. And I wonder how these men reacted when Jesus told them he’s going to send them out to preach.

Jesus knew that for these men to be prepared for ministry, they just needed to dive in.

The best leaders among us will love people deeply, open up their lives generously, and then they’ll be able to say to others, “Hey, I really think you can do this. You really need to start getting trained in biblical counseling.” They call people to greater faithfulness.

And a humble, teachable disciple will be willing to stretch himself. As frail as these disciples were, they were willing to do things they’d never done before.

One man who influenced me greatly told me that as a 19 year old he made a commitment to never say no to a service opportunity because of fear. There may be other issues, but don’t let fear be the reason you don’t serve. I adopted that mantra, and I’ll pass it on to you. As you are discipled and equipped to serve, you’re going to be asked to do things that are stretching. To share your testimony, to lead a growth group, to welcome new visitors. You’re allowed to say no, but don’t let the underlying reason be a faithless fear.

If we never give responsibilities to new people, our church will last exactly one generation. Because soon enough, all the people who do all the stuff will die. If we want the gospel to be preserved to future generations, we must right now begin training others, giving responsibility, calling them to action.

Here, Jesus is like the mother eagle pushing her young out of the nest to teach them to fly. Some of you are going to feel like that baby bird flailing from the treetop. And you’ll cry out to Jesus for help and strength and direction, and you’ll start to flap your wings and experience the joy of serving your Lord and bearing fruit.

What I love about our text is that it says Jesus gave them authority to cast out demons. That is to say, Jesus' power went with them and validated their message. The power that made these men unignorable was Jesus' power. He sent them, but he didn’t leave them empty handed.

Their power to cast out demons and do miracles wasn’t just to put on a flashing light show and draw a crowd. It was to validate the content of their message. You tend to listen when the guy heals the sick and casts out a demon.

The principle here is that Jesus never sends us without going with us. He doesn’t enlist us without empowering us. Christian, Christ lives in you. He is your sufficiency. He works through you. If you feel weak, you’re exactly the kind of person who he will use.

Friends, if you call yourself a Christian, but are not interested in helping others follow Jesus, I don’t know what you mean when you call yourself a Christian. That’s like calling yourself a mountaineer without climbing mountains, or a sailor who never sets sail. A disciple of Jesus who is not interested in making disciples is no disciple at all.

We have Jims in our church. What Jims need is to get in the game. They need to lay down their lives in service of God’s people. Until they do that, they will be unsatisfied with the output of their lives. And Joes need people who will open their homes, their hearts, and their lives. These are the people we long to be.