Jesus' Choice of Disciples
‘Jesus made a mistake in choosing his disciples, they all failed
miserably.’
Initially, this statement presents many views and arguments, as it is
a very controversial one. I am trying to weigh up and examine these
opinions in order to then form my own based on my initial views and
feelings.
It is definite from Mark’s Gospel that the disciples did fail on many
occasions. Stories in the bible show us the nature of their failure
and we can decide form this whether Jesus intended them to fail. In
The story of Peter’s promise and denial, (Mark 14:26-31) several
things are shown to us. On one hand, the argument of Jesus being all
knowing is presented when he predicts his own resurrection and the
disciple’s failure. Peter especially denies that he would ever do
something like this, saying he would die with Jesus, only later to
deny him three times in the face of death. This in itself provides a
good lesson to us about the challenge of discipleship. It is not
anything to be taken lightly, as even St Peter could not stay strong
in the face of death. Peter’s attitude also shows Christians how
seriously we should take our role, and that we should be prepared to
suffer death because of it. In Mark 14:66-72 we are shown another very
key part of discipleship: the nature of failure. Peter failed and
disowned Jesus, but following this went and wept, repenting what he
had done. The repentance and trust in God’s forgiveness should be a
characteristic of every disciple’s life.
In the garden of Gethsemane, Mark 14:32-42 Jesus asks his disciples to
stay awake with him just one hour. The disciple’s exhaustion is too
much and they could not keep awake. Jesus’ disapproval displays the
need for us all to stay and watch with Jesus and make sacrifices of
our own for him. ‘Judas the betrayer’ shows a disciple who had gone so
badly wrong he was willing to sacrifice the life of his friend.
The book of Luke, found after the books Matthew and Mark, focuses on the ministry of Jesus Christ but it also gives us a look into His birth and growth in totality. In this chapter we see a historical account of some of the journeys that Christ experienced. It is important to keep in mind that the Bible and all of its books do serve as historical accounts but each book is unique in the fact that they incorporate a theological timeline. The Bible is, conceivably, the most important book that has ever been written. It gives the world eyewitness accounts to historical events that helped not only shaped a region of the world but the whole entire world. It is nearly impossible to go through some formal societal education and have never once read a part of the bible or have heard a story that adapts from the stories within the bible. The bible has helped formed institutions, associations and so much more. By reading the Gospel of Luke we are truly reading what is meant for us to read as Christians. The principal plot in the book of Luke is the life of Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, His ability to beat death and remain perfect as the son of GOD despite being human as well. Jesus is seen as the perfect savior for humans in the book of Luke. Luke not only gives multiple examples of the power of Jesus but also it gives us a look at The Lord’s triumph over temptation. Luke also depicts Jesus as a man/GOD who had a very deep concentration on people and relationships. The book of Luke gives Jesus a loving characteristic but doesn’t shy away from showing that at times Jesus got angry too. Jesus showed a great deal of compassion to the sick, those in pain, the poor, and unambiguously the sinful. Jesus had genuine love for everyone. Throughout this...
continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-3) Therefore, the disciples
To be a true disciple of Jesus one must not disown or deny Jesus but
Mark's Gospel and Nature of Discipleship In Mark's Gospel, there are many accounts of Jesus' disciples and Apostles which are helpful to Christians as examples of the nature of discipleship. In this part of my coursework essay I hope to address questions involving what Mark's Gospel tells us about Jesus' disciples and Apostles, as well as defining the principle of what being a disciple entails, and defining also who the apostles were. This is because by learning about past disciples and the Apostles, a modern disciple of the Church can learn about the nature of discipleship. A disciple is somebody who is inspired enough by somebody to learn about them, listen to their ideas and follow them and their way of life.
who "does what God wants them to do". This simply means that if we put
In the parables and teachings of Jesus in the book of Matthew, when Jesus is faced with describing how one should judge others he states, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way that you judge, you will be judged…” (Matthew, pg. 179). To Jesus withholding judgement was crucial to stemming hypocrisy and empowering his followers to self-reflect. When thinking of the philosophical implications of Jesus’ teachings it is important to ask what the principles upon which he defines goodness are. How might his teachings differ from the works of Aristotle when it comes to defining relationships and defining what makes people good or bad?
... Philippians 4:13 which says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” By having his hero succeed in an impossible feat, he attracts non-believers and skeptics of the sixteenth century who are fearful of hell due to his gruesome representation of sin. In doing so, he interests them in redemption through the one and only, God.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” So begins Matthew chapter 6, the biblical book containing the story of Jesus Christ’s temptation. After his baptism Jesus is said to be led by the Holy Spirit into the wild, for forty days and forty nights of spiritual meditation, in preparation for his ministry. He fasted for the entirety of this time, fed only through prayer communication with the heavens. After this time had passed he was faced by the devil who, noticing his emaciated state, demanded that “If thou shall be the son of God, command that these stone be made bread.” But Jesus denied this request, stating that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.” Frustrated
Modern Day Disciples Following Jesus today is harder than it used to be, but modern day. disciples do not exist. Christians try to see Jesus in other people and they follow Jesus' example and teachings. An everyday Christian would try to see the good in everybody, try to forgive others when hurt or unhappy and apologise for things that they do wrong.
When Jesus called His disciples, His invitation was simple. He invited them to follow Him. The same is true today. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave His last charge to His disciples, and the charge was simple. He called his followers to go and make disciples. Much effort has been placed by Christians to fulfill this charge, commonly referred to as the Great Commission. Jesus chose to fulfill the implementation of the New Covenant through 12 men who He called, appointed, and commissioned, and he only had a few short years to prepare them for the task (Willson, 1990). His methods were unconventional and were revolutionary for that time. His disciples were to be trained extensively by Jesus, living with Him for three years prior to His ascension. He taught about servant leadership and its meaning for both the leader and follower Matt. 20:25-28). From the beginning, Jesus put in place a careful plan, and an examination of His actions in the Gospels showed that Jesus left behind the pattern to be replicated. His methods, which included the incorporation of three different levels of discipleship, included His interaction with Peter, His closest three (Peter, James, and John), and finally the group of 12. This paper identified and analyzed the three levels of discipleship Jesus modeled, these discipleship methods were then measured against modern leadership theories, and Jesus’s level of involvement and interaction with his disciples were critiqued in light of these modern theories in an effort to determine the effectiveness of this approach.
...Today as a Christ follower, we will never be satisfied if our life is not bearing lasting fruit because we are not fulfilling the purpose for which we were “grafted “into the Vine. Let’s examine the “fruit” of our lives. Is it the kind of fruit that reveals the character of Christ? Let’s not settle for fruitless Christianity. God will do the work of making us fruitful – we must only abide, surrendering our lives to His mission of making disciples of all nations through us. The whole notion of mission is to stretch out to work the work of evangelism not through hierarchy, sovereignty, rather through humbleness, hospitality, affection love for the others. That is what Jesus who portrayed as the one who we do not deserve to untie His sandals straps in the first Chapter of John, later become feet washer, intimate with humanity leaving His equality with God.
I know who you are—the Holy One of God?’” and again in 3:11, “whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God’”. The disciples are ignorant to fact that the man who called them to drop everything and follow him was the Messiah. Peter properly identifies Jesus in chapter 8 when Jesus asks who they believe he is, but later when Jesus goes into the details of his death Peter denies it and Jesus addresses him as Satan. This is also the point in which Jesus says, “take up your cross and follow me” meaning that they too will
The influence of Jesus of Nazareth, the man, was enormous in his lifetime two millenniums ago, but even more incredible is how his influence has increased today as a member of Christianity's Holy Trinity. Nearly two billion of the world's people worship Jesus as the Son of God today, and even more participate in the mission he began of giving oneself through service to others.
"come with me and I will teach you to capture people." By this I think
...ctions. Peter answered with the Spirit. The power by which the crippled man was healed was that of Jesus of Nazareth. Not only that, but Peter accused the Sanhedrin of responsibility for rejecting and killing Christ. He also noted God’s power in raising Jesus from the dead. Peter’s speech to the Sanhedrin summarizes his other two sermons. Although they were unable to deny the apostolic miracle, the Sanhedrin felt compelled to stop the apostolic preaching. Before the power of God that transformed unschooled, ordinary men into powerful proclaim of the gospel, the Sanhedrin was unable to punish the apostles. This chapter ends with a report of the church’s prayer in gratitude for God’s deliverance of the apostles from the Jewish authorities.