04: The Call to Discipleship – Thought Starters
[Thought questions for The Call to Discipleship April 21, 2015]
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Image © Pacific Press from GoodSalt.com
Calling. How is being a disciple like being a fisherman? Did Jesus choose the disciples and then call them? Has Jesus chosen you? How do you know? What do you think is the main requirement in becoming a disciple of Jesus today? Maybe you came into this life and developed a weak and vacillating character. Doesn’t that disqualify you for discipleship? Why or why not?
- Fishing for people. If, like me, you’ve never caught a fish in your life and only tried a couple of times, can you ever learn to be a successful fisherman? Take on the following discussion question borrowed from the lesson guide: “Consider the miracle, the astonishment of the fishermen, the confession of Peter, and the authority of Jesus. What does each one of these accounts say about the path of discipleship?” Can you learn to be a disciple of Christ no matter what your background?
- Moving fast, selecting 12 leaders. Have you ever been surprised by how fast the story of Jesus’ life moves as presented in the gospels? Still young in His ministry, Jesus already faces the threat of losing his life. At the same time He is consolidating his leadership in a movement that will embrace the world for thousands of years to come. How did He choose these twelve men? If you were setting up a mission that would reach around the world, would you choose leaders whose education and experience were similar to those of the twelve apostles? What would matter most?
- Commissioning the apostles. After gathering the twelve together in one place, what two momentous tasks did Jesus give His disciples? Do you believe that all of Jesus’ children are called to preaching the gospel message and healing the sick? Does that mean we should all be preachers and evangelists or physicians and nurses? In whatever line of work we find ourselves, can we still promote healthful living and follow without hesitation the teachings of Scripture? If so, then are we apostles of Jesus?
- Sending the seventy. What was Jesus’ most important purpose of sending seventy people with a special mission? Could the same results have been accomplished with 40 leaders? Or should they have chosen 120? What effect do you think the grouping of the seventy people had on other new Christians? Did they notice? Were the thousands and, yes, millions or more of persons who gave their hearts to Jesus in the years to come a direct result of the labor of these seventy leaders in the early church?
- The cost of discipleship. Since Jesus gave Himself freely for us, why should it cost anything for us to give ourselves to Him? Should we consider that cost before we decide to follow Him? Why? How do you and I take up the cross every day to follow Jesus? Isn’t our purpose as Christians to be filled with happiness? How is it possible to sacrifice and yet be joyful? Is the cost of total surrender to Christ worth life with Jesus through eternity?
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Of a minor issue we could indeed ask why seventy and not some other number? I think the answer lies in the Jews use of numbers that to them had spiritual significance. We could likewise ask why 12 disciples and why was it so important that the disciples after the ascension feel it necessary to fill the spot that Judas vacated (Acts 1, in verse 20 Peter sees two verses in the Psalms that seem to point to this, Ps 69:25 and Ps 109:8 but as in many of the verses that are thought to be messianic there can be an argument concerning context). And why was it that in the upper room there was, "altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty" (Acts 1:15 NKJV) which just happens to be 12 X 10. Or why Jesus used those numbers in His answer to Peter, "Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'" (Matt. 18:21-22 NKJV).
The same could be said about many places in the Bible that use special numbers such as Matthew's use of 14 (7 X 2) in his grouping of Jesus genealogy (Mat 1:17) which no one else does. This sort of thing is done profusely in the sanctuary and in Revelation where the numbers 7 and 10 are used repeatedly. So why 12 disciples? Perhaps that is because there were 12 tribes of Israel and maybe there were 70 disciples chosen because that is 7 X 10, two numbers that are thought to represent perfection and completeness respectively.
I have never placed any special significance to numbers of people, in the Bible, involved in a particular situation. One reason being that head counts do not include women and children most of the time. Jesus prayed all night, at least in part, to seek help from the Father before choosing the disciples. John 17:8-12 explains the results. That may an answer as to why 12 were chosen rather than another number. Some numbers are symbolic also such as the 144 thousand. Time requires numbers, such as creation week, peoples age, travel, etc. For those that are curious it is an interesting observation.
I have A question. Is there a difference between disciples and Apostles? It seems that the designation is interchangeable as some see it. I would make a distinction in that Disciples are followers and Apostles are sent as leaders. The 12 were chosen Apostles Luke 6:13.
Paul, I think at times we do tend to argue over semantics and minor details but maybe not in the case of the distinction between disciples and apostles. A disciple according to Strong's is, "a learner, pupil" which we all are. In the culture of that time they would copy their teacher down to the minor details in how they talked and gestured. An apostle on the other hand was a disciple that was, "a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders." Today we don't use the term apostle, instead we call those people missionaries.
If we look at the list of church offices that Paul lists in Eph 4 we can see that being an apostle is one of several, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers" (Eph. 4:11 NKJV). I think that is why the terms "bishop" and "deacon" were also used in the early church to designate particular duties in the church and to me being an apostle was simply one of the more highly favored among them.