Untitled Sermon (2)
The Cost of Following Jesus
18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
A. Usage and Occurrence
The concept of disciple is expressed in the NT through the word mathētēs. The substantive meaning “discipleship,” however, does not occur. The verb mathētēuō (in most cases in the active voice) “to make someone into a disciple” seldom appears. However, akolouthein “to walk behind, to follow” (frequently used in the NT as a specialized term for following Jesus) must also be considered. This verb characterizes the central quality of existence as a disciple. All 261 references to “disciple” in the NT are found in the Gospels and Acts. The emphasis clearly lies in the Gospels, inasmuch as only 10 percent of the references occur in Acts. The case is like that of the word akolouthein “to follow after”: Of the 90 occurrences, 79 are found in the Gospels, the rest in Acts (4), Revelation (6), and 1 Corinthians (1). This discovery already indicates that discipleship is a phenomenon which demonstrates a close association with Jesus himself.
B. Historical Reconstruction of Discipleship
1. Main Characteristics of Discipleship. One becomes a disciple when called by Jesus himself (e.g., Mark 1:17; 2:14). The initiative lay with Jesus alone; apart from his call, there is no recognizable motive for one to become a disciple and follow Jesus. The synoptic tradition contains instances when the would-be disciple takes the initiative, but all of these attempts fail, and there is no evidence that discipleship would have resulted. In Mark 10:17–27 the rich young ruler turns to Jesus, but when the call to discipleship confronts him, he goes away sadly. According to Luke 9:57–60 Q, several came to Jesus with the intention to be his disciples, yet failed to become disciples because they remained bound to their past. We should take note that the stories for every one of the disciples have not come down to us. The self-understanding of Jesus, who saw the embodiment of the breaking in of the entirely new (the Kingdom of God) in his own person (cf. Luke 11:20 Q; 17:21), was reflected in the call which created the discipleship existence. This call is the indication of the nearness of God, who anticipates the human search for him and unexpectedly and uninvited enters the human life.
The exclusivity of Jesus’ initiative in the call to discipleship accords with the great variety of people among the disciples. Because this circle was founded exclusively through Jesus’ call, no other social factors needed to surface: Indeed, antisocial factors in this circle could be overcome. At least one Zealot (Simon the Canaanite, Mark 3:18, cf. the historically accurate rendering of “zealot” in Luke 6:15) belonged to the Twelve, as did a tax collector (Levi, cf. Mark 2:14)—representatives of 2 groups that fought bitterly. Much is to be said for counting women, for whom it was otherwise unthinkable to enter into discipleship. (Luke 8:1–3 speaks of several women who followed Jesus; Mark 15:40f. also names women who followed Jesus to the cross). It is evident that Jesus called people into fellowship regardless of social, religious, and ethnic background or gender.
The call of Jesus demanded a total break with the past. The disciples immediately left their families and their vocations (e.g., Mark 1:16–20; 2:14), and followed Jesus. So it could become a direct condition of discipleship that only one who hated his or her own family was eligible to be a disciple of Jesus (Luke 14:26 Q). The same break with the past expressed itself further in self-denial (saying no to oneself) and in the distancing from independent income (cf. Mark 8:34f.). In view of the call of Jesus, the holiest duties of the past became objectless (Luke 9:57–60 Q). Finally, it also belonged to discipleship that customary values be radically broken (cf. Mark 10:41–45). Conditional relations are to be carefully considered in light of the break with the past: It is discipleship which demands and makes possible this break, but the break itself is not to be equated with discipleship. The call of Jesus demands and makes possible the break with the past in as much as it gives the disciple a new future.
Discipleship means entering into a lifelong relationship with Jesus (cf. Mark 3:14, where the meaning of discipleship is given: “That they be with him”). This includes the participation in the uncertain life of a traveling preacher and then also in the suffering and death of the teacher (cf. Mark 10:39; 8:34). The disciple is not there merely to learn from the teacher but to share his whole life with him without reservation.
Discipleship is characterized by establishing a fundamental life relationship to the person of Jesus (and not merely to his teaching). Jesus newly qualifies the life of his disciples: They are now “wedding guests” whose time is entirely determined by the presence of the “bridegroom”; this makes it impossible for them to fast (Mark 2:18–22). Jesus gives them the freedom to let the law be for humanity (instead of humanity for the law, cf. Mark 2:23–28). The qualitative difference between master and disciple always remains preserved. It can therefore never be the goal of a disciple to become like the master. Discipleship means to live from what Jesus distributes, to realize that to which he calls. The disciple is a recipient dependent upon what Jesus embodied in his person, not merely upon what he taught.
There is of course no reason to doubt that the sending out, too, goes back to Jesus himself. It is characteristic of Jesus that he approaches people. This movement perpetuates itself in the sending forth of the disciples. According to Mark 1:17, the call to discipleship is simultaneously a sending to the assembly of people (in Israel). Also, Mark 3:14f. shows that discipleship is connected with the mission of proclamation (of the approaching Kingdom of God, cf. Matt 10:7 Q) and with the power to exorcise (and to heal human infirmities, cf. Matt 10:8). Here, too, the reference to Jesus is preserved: the disciples do not replace Jesus but receive from him the power to cast out demons (cf. Mark 6:7). The disciples, equipped only with bare essentials, are to remain dependent on the goodwill of people (Mark 6:8f.; Matt 10:9f.). Their equipment should be a reflection of the gospel itself, which appeals to people to permit themselves to be gifted with grace. It would therefore be contradictory if the disciples were to demonstrate material independence. According to Matt 10:6, the sending was restricted to the “lost sheep of Israel,” namely to those who belonged to the people of Israel who through their impure way of life or their ignorance of the law were fallen out of the religious fellowship of the nation. In that, Jesus’ sympathy to the sinners and outcasts repeats itself.
The word “disciple,” even when thoroughly restricted to disciples of Jesus, names a series of groups who must be distinguished from each other. First, it refers to the rather large number of Jesus-followers who are best referred to as his adherents (cf. Luke 6:13–17; Mark 2:15). In all probability, women, too, belonged to these “disciples” (see above). The word “disciples” refers particularly to the Twelve. It has long been debated whether this was an institution of Jesus. The fact that the description “one of the Twelve” was applied particularly to Judas, the traitor, speaks strongly against post-Easter origins for the establishment of the Twelve (cf. e.g., Mark 14:10). Also, even the later meaning of the Twelve can be better explained if they form an entity instituted by Jesus. The Twelve symbolize the claim of Jesus on all of Israel, his non-exclusive movement towards the whole nation. The creation of the Twelve can be understood as a symbolic act that suits the appearance and the proclamation of Jesus well. The Twelve were chosen by Jesus from out of the crowd. These Twelve are then also the “sent ones” (apostoloi). It can be said that although every one of the Twelve was a disciple, not every disciple belonged to the Twelve and was an apostle. The concept “apostle” in earliest time was also used of some who had no recognizable connection with the earthly Jesus (for example, Paul), who neither were disciples nor belonged to the circle of Twelve (see APOSTLE).
