Discipleship

David Watson

• Publisher: Hodder Faith
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781444792010
• eBook ISBN: 9781444792027
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

Christians in the West', claims David Watson, 'have largely neglected what it means to be a disciple of Christ. The vast majority of western Christians are church-members, pew-fillers, hymn-singers, sermon-tasters, Bible-readers, even born-again believers or Spirit-filled charismatics, but not true disciples of Jesus.''The call to discipleship is a call to God's promised glory. This is not a day in which to play religious games. Time is running out fast.'

CHAPTER ONE

The Call to Discipleship

‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die,’ said Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In this startling statement we have the essence of the radical, uncompromising nature of true Christian discipleship. Certainly there are different forms of dying; not every Christian is called to literal martyrdom, as Bonhoeffer was himself. But every Christian is called to a clear and dedicated discipleship, whatever the personal cost may be.

The general concept of discipleship was by no means new when Jesus called men and women to follow him. It is therefore not surprising that, although the verb ‘disciple’ (manthano) occurs only 25 times in the New Testament (six in the Gospels), the noun ‘disciple’ (mathetes) comes no less than 264 times, exclusively in the Gospels and Acts. In secular Greek the word meant an apprentice in some trade, a student of some subject, or a pupil of some teacher. In the New Testament times we find the same primary meaning with the ‘disciples of Moses’,¹ who were students of the Mosaic law; and the ‘disciples of the Pharisees’,² who were preoccupied with an accurate and detailed knowledge of Jewish tradition as given both in the written Torah (the Old Testament) and in the oral Torah (the traditions of the Fathers). These disciples would submit themselves entirely to their Rabbi, and were not to study the scriptures without the interpretation and guidance of their teacher, although they expected to become teachers themselves after extensive training.

Nearer to the specifically Christian concept come the disciples of John the Baptist, who attached themselves to this New Testament prophet. Following their Baptist teacher, they fasted and prayed,³ confronted the Jewish leaders,⁴ and stayed loyal to John during his imprisonment⁵ and at his death.⁶ Unlike the disciples of Moses or of the Pharisees, they were fully committed to their master as well as to his message.

From all this we see that the basic idea of discipleship was widely accepted by the time Jesus began his own ministry. At the same time, when he took the initiative himself in calling people to follow him, when he called them primarily to him and not just to his teaching, when he expected from them total obedience, when he taught them to serve and warned them that they would suffer, and when he gathered around him a thoroughly mixed crowd of very ordinary people, it became obvious that Jesus had created a radical and unique pattern of discipleship. In this chapter we shall look briefly at the specifically Christian calling and then develop these themes later in the book.

Called by Jesus

In Rabbinical circles, a disciple would choose his own master and voluntarily join his school. But with Jesus, the initiative lay entirely with him. Simon and Andrew, James and John, Levi, Philip and others – all were personally called by Jesus to follow him. Even when the rich young ruler ran up to Jesus and asked a leading question of this ‘good teacher’, Jesus replied by spelling out the costly and total demands of discipleship, and then added ‘Come, follow me.’

There may have been some who, attracted by the integrity of his person, the quality of his teaching and by the power of his miracles, wanted to attach themselves to Jesus and to his disciples, but always it was Jesus who laid down for them the strong conditions that he required. Sometimes this proved too much for them: ‘This is more than we can stomach!’ they once said. ‘Why listen to such words?’⁷ And they left him, leaving only the twelve whom he had chosen and called to himself after a whole night spent in prayer. These were the ones in particular that God had given him.⁸ Yet although there is a uniqueness about the twelve apostles, this fact of God’s initiative and Christ’s calling lies behind all those who are his disciples. ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. This I command you, to love one another.’⁹

Two points of interest arise from that particular statement. First, when we see ourselves as disciples who have been personally chosen by Jesus, this should alter our whole attitude towards him and motivate us for the work he has given us. If someone is chosen to represent his country for the Olympics, his whole attitude and approach to his event will be quite different from someone who has himself chosen to go as a spectator. With the first, there will be a total and sacrificial dedication to the task, partly because of the privilege of having been chosen. There will be a strong sense of responsibility which even the most enthusiastic tourist will not have. The Christian church today suffers from large numbers who feel that they have ‘made a decision for Christ’, or from those who think that they have chosen to join a certain church. Such man-centred notions spell spiritual death, or at least barren sterility. It is only when we begin to see ourselves as chosen, called and commissioned by Christ that we shall have any real sense of our responsibility to present our bodies to him ‘as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God’.

Certainly the apostles could not get away from this awareness of divine constraint. ‘As men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ’;¹⁰ ‘Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart’;¹¹ ‘Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God … To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints’;¹² ‘We know, brethren beloved by God, that he has chosen you’;¹³ ‘You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.’¹⁴ Such examples could be multiplied again and again. It was this strong sense of God’s calling, of Christ’s initiative, of the Spirit’s sovereign work, that enabled them to be bold in their witness, to hold fast in their suffering, and to lead lives ‘worthy of the calling’ to which they had been called.¹⁵

The second point is that he calls us into a common discipleship. He calls us to share our lives both with him and with one another in love. That is why his statement ‘you did not choose me, but I chose you’ is followed directly by his command ‘to love one another’. Indeed, it is by this love that we shall be known to be his disciples.¹⁶ And it is only by loving one another that we shall be fruitful in his service and effective in our prayers.¹⁷ Discipleship is never easy; often there may be pains and tears, and frequently we shall have to re-think our values and ambitions as we seek seriously to follow Christ. But we are not called to face this challenge on our own. Alongside the inward power of the Holy Spirit, God wants us to experience the encouraging, supportive love of other disciples of Jesus. It is in the strength of our relationships together in Christ that we can win the battles against the powers of darkness and help one another to fulfil the task that God has given us.

Called to Jesus

This again was something unique. The call by Jesus was also a call to Jesus. The Jewish Rabbi and the Greek philosopher expected disciples to commit themselves to a specific teaching or to a definite cause. But the call of Jesus was wholly personal: his disciples were to follow him, to be with him, and to commit themselves wholeheartedly to him. They were to have faith in him, and could become disciples only by repenting of their sin and by believing in him. For example, in the Gospel record of the call of Simon Peter and Nathanael, the all-important factor is their response to the person of Jesus. When Simon saw something of the commanding presence of Jesus, ‘he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”’¹⁸ When Nathanael saw the perceptive knowledge of Jesus, he said, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’¹⁹

In Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Vol. 4), the writer makes the following comment: ‘The personal allegiance of the disciples to Jesus is confirmed by their conduct in the days between the crucifixion and the resurrection. The reason for the deep depression which marks these days is to be found in the fate which has befallen the person of Jesus. No matter what view we take of the story of the walk to Emmaus, the fact that “He” is the theme of their conversation on the way (Luke 24:19ff) corresponds in every sense to the relation of the disciples to Jesus before his arrest and execution. On the other hand, it is nowhere stated or even hinted that after the death of Jesus his teaching was a source of strength to his followers, or that they had the impression of having a valuable legacy in the word of Jesus. This is a point of considerable importance for a true understanding of the mathetes of Jesus.’²⁰

When Jesus called individuals to be his disciples, he shared his life with them. Although there was a depth of sharing with the twelve that was not common to everyone, in real measure he gave himself to all who responded to his call. By his incarnation he identified fully with them, and in his love he made himself vulnerable by opening his heart to them. Part of his great attraction was that his loving compassion was so real and open that others knew they could trust him. There was no deceit or guile about him. His transparent openness and integrity drew others into a quality of a loving relationship that they had not known before.

That is why they were all so shattered when such a perfect life of love was smashed on a cross. Indeed, after the horrifying events of the crucifixion it took some time for Jesus to restore the faith and commitment of his disciples. But he did this by leading them gently back into a renewed relationship with him. After Peter’s threefold denial comes the threefold question by Jesus, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Repeatedly, in his resurrection appearances, he came to his disciples, individually and corporately, to reassure them of his living presence, and of his love and forgiveness. They were to become witnesses to him – not Rabbis of his teaching. They were to tell everyone about him, and, in the sharing of their lives together, to manifest his life by being the body of Christ on earth.

When Buddha was dying, his disciples asked how they could best remember him. He told them not to bother. It was his teaching, not his person, that counted. With Jesus it is altogether different. Everything centres round him. Discipleship means knowing him, loving him, believing in him, being committed to him.

Called to obey

The disciples of a Jewish Rabbi would submit themselves as slaves to their master until such time when they could leave their schooling and become masters or Rabbis themselves. But Jesus calls his disciples to unconditional obedience for the whole of their lives. We shall never graduate this side of heaven. We shall never get beyond a life of obedience. To obey God’s will is to find the fulfilment of our lives. ‘Not every one who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.’²¹ ‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and not do what I tell you?’²²

To be a disciple of Jesus means to follow him, to go the way that he goes, to accept his plan and will for our lives. ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’²³ It is a call to say ‘No’ to the old selfish life of sin, and to say ‘Yes’ to Jesus. Inward belief must be accompanied by outward obedience. Søren Kierkegaard once rightly said, ‘It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey.’ There is no true faith without obedience, and there is no discipleship either.

The world of today is being increasingly influenced by disciples of another kind who understand this matter of obedience much more clearly than the average Christian. A BBC radio programme about women terrorists showed that they were loyal to the uttermost, they would never betray a colleague, they were totally ruthless, and they were willing to go to any lengths to achieve their objective. Bernadette Devlin said, ‘Before, there came a time where one said, “This I can’t do!” Now there comes a time when one says, “This I must do!”’²⁴ An extremist leader of a violent revolutionary group in North America said that they were cutting down their numbers by two-thirds until they had an utterly dedicated group of trained disciples who could bring about a revolution.

Should we expect any less if we are to see Christ’s revolution of love changing the world scene of today? But until we respond to this unconditional call to obey, flinging away the cautionary ‘Yes, but …’, we shall never see the light of Christ scattering th...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Also by David Watson
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Call to Discipleship
• Chapter Two: Called into God’s Family
• Chapter Three: Creating Community
• Chapter Four: Making Disciples
• Chapter Five: Life in the Spirit
• Chapter Six: Prayer
• Chapter Seven: The Word of God
• Chapter Eight: Spiritual Warfare
• Chapter Nine: Evangelism
• Chapter Ten: Discipleship and Simple Lifestyle
• Chapter Eleven: Cost of Discipleship
• Chapter Twelve: Abounding in Hope
• Appendix A: An Evangelical Commitment to Simple Lifestyle
• Appendix B: A Further Discipleship Course
• Select Bibliography