Disciple and the Discipler

“”Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher…. “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers” (Lk.6:39-40; 43-44).

Discipleship is the process in which one disciplines his/her life to be a good/Godly person who can bear good fruit. Every Christian is called to a process of discipleship-a disciple first and then a discipler or disciple builder.

Like begets the like

This is a natural principle. Its true in the case of discipling as well. A disciple grows to be like his/her teacher or mentor.

Leader Leads the Way

A discipler is one who knows what he is talking about. He himself should be a disciple of the Lord first. If he is blind he will fall in the gutter along with his disciple.

A discipler should live a disciplined life and set an example for the disciple. He must clear the log in his own eye before he can clean the dust in his disciple’s eye. He should not be a hypocrite.

A discipler should build on the solid foundation that is Jesus and His Word. He should guide the disciple to do the same, to see not just good fruits, but lasting fruits.

Someone said,

“A Leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.”

Rules of the Kingdom

““If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ lend to ’sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full.” (Lk.6:32-34)

The rules of the Kingdom of God where unlike that of any other. All the kingdoms, governments, religions and philosophies that human history has seen, were the exercise of human energies in pursuit of the ideal situation. Their rules were imperfect and biased, subject to change. But the rules Jesus laid down were never to change.

Don’t follow the crowd follow the King

The King sets the rules of His kingdom and the subjects just follow. When the trend is to follow the crowd we need to consciously follow the King. Offenders are traitors though they live inside the kingdom territory, and they will face judgement. We need supernatural assistance to keep the rules of the kingdom. Keep looking at the King who is leading the way and keep following.

Don’t try to grab give away

When you are tempted to hate, curse or avenge, remember, you are called to be radical, a trail blazer, to salt the earth and light the world. Be willing to give away, even your rights. We are not to be commoners for we are princes and princesses. We are to follow the example of our Father, the eternal King.

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk.6:35-36).

Someone said,

To do evil for good is devilish, to do evil for evil is beastly, to do good for good is normal, to do good for evil is divine.

The Master’s Strategy

“Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort….” (Lk.6:22-24)

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost human race, men and women of all generations. He made the provision for it through His substitutionary death on the cross, his resurrection and ascension. He achieved this in less than two months time-with a passion week of agony, his body in the grave for a couple of days and about fifty days of post resurrection appearances etc. before His ascension. This was probably less than five percent (5%) of the three and a half human years He spent on the earth. What was He doing 95% of His time?

The Strategy of the Kingdom

Discipleship was the Master’s strategy for the Kingdom. He could have just announced from heaven the offer of salvation. He could have used the angels to proclaim the message. He could have just commanded everyone into the Kingdom. But He entrusted it to a bunch of ordinary folks, low profile evangelists.

It was more of a one-on-one kind of approach, building one brick at a time. There was no mass appeal. It requires dedicated effort, quality time.

It was purely with the power ‘from above’ and not according to human wisdom and intelligence. Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before choosing the twelve on whom He would spend the rest of the time.

The same old silly-looking strategy is still the best way to spearhead God’s kingdom on earth. It works even when everything else fail.

The Attitudes in the Kingdom

What to expect in the process was outlined by the Master. This was the values of the Kingdom. Poor, hungry for righteousness, weeping, ostracised, insulted, falsely accused, and finally possessing the kingdom with a reversal of the experiences.

What are the characteristics of the kingdom today? What is the attitude of the kindgom-builders of today?

Purpose of the Law

“Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” …Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”" (Lk.6:2,5)

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were so legalistic that they made life miserable for ordinary people, though they themselves would not keep the Law. Jesus called them hypocrites.

Law is not the end

Law is not the end in itself as it was given to guide God’s people. Paul says the Law is like a schoolmaster/guardian/supervisor (Gal.3:24,25). The Law should guide us to the Law giver or the Lord of the Law. Jesus clarified it when He said that He is the Lord of the Law.

Law points to the Law-maker

The religionists were holding on to the nitty-gritty of the rules without realizing the purpose for which it was given. It was the same as worshipping the creation instead of the Creator.

Cost of Discipleship

“”Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.” (Lk.5:27, 28)

Many want to follow Jesus but are not willing to pay the price. The first disciples of Jesus were convinced that Jesus was the Savior whom they had been waiting for. So they were willing to pay the price for following Him.

Reversal of Priorities

Levi was in a lucrative profession that made him rich and politically influential. He was collecting taxes for the foreign government extracting his own countrymen. For the same reason He was considered a traitor, an outcast and sinner by his fellow Jews. When Jesus walked into his office and called Levi to follow Him, it meant for Levi a total reversal of his priorities, setting aside his life’s ambitions and earthly passions to follow Jesus the rest of his life. It was a call to sacrifice his order of priorities and to accept the priorities that Jesus would set for his life.

Even the fishermen, when they were called, left what was precious to them-their boats and nets-to follow the Master (Lk.5:1-11)

Renewal from Inside Out

The call to discipleship is a call for total surrender to the Masters power to transform us. The Master will take us and reshape us for His purpose. A disciple must be willing to go through this process like clay at the hands of the potter. He can not fill the old wine-skins with the new wine.

Faith in Action

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”" (Lk.5:20)

Jesus taught the people and healed the sick wherever He went, invited or uninvited. Here He was in a house full of people-a mixed audience of lawyers, religious teachers, well wishers, foes and followers.

Dynamic Faith

The house was packed to every square inch when four people came carrying a paralytic on a stretcher. We don’t know how long they had to carry him but when they came there it looked as if they had wasted all their effort. These men had dynamic faith that moved them to action. They wouldn’t quit so easily. They decided to take a little risk in their mission of bringing people to the Savior.

Visible Faith

They carried the man in the stretcher up to the flat roof, dug a hole in it and lowered the stretcher with the sick man right in front of Jesus. Imagine the situation. The crowd is disturbed as mud from the roof is falling on their heads. The owner of the house would have had a shock as he watched his house being demolished. People expected at least Jesus to react to the situation. But the those on the top gradually dug open the roof enough to let down the stretcher through it.

It is recorded in Luke 5:20 that Jesus saw their faith. Their faith was visible because it was dynamic. Jesus responds to this faith and heals the man, to the amazement of everyone. Jesus was in fact proving to those men that He was absolutely worthy of their faith/trust. The healing was done to establish His authority to forgive sins. This was another pointer to the fact that He was the very God Himself in human form.

Is your faith visible to Jesus?

Servants the Master can Use

“Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”" (Lk.5:5)

Simon and company were professional fishermen. They had the expertise in utilising the fishing equipments like the boat and the net. They had a bad day and had returned with empty nets and boats. It was one of those empty boats that Jesus used for His stage.

Empty Boats, Clean Nets

This was a sign of defeat or unfruitful labor. They accepted defeat and were washing their nets for the day. It was at this point Jesus invites them to a fruitful investment of their lives.

Until we admit our inefficiency and insufficiency God can not empower us. When we surrender totally to God’s will He can guide us and use us. When we rely on our qualifications, expertise and experience, we end up unfruitful in the service of the kingdom of God. There should be an emptying and cleaning experience before the Master can use us.

Obedient Hearts, Willing Minds

It may be against all common sense, irrational in thinking, ridiculous in appearance, contrary to conventions, the thing we are asked to do. But once we have surrendered totally to His Lordship we must be willing to obey whatever He says. Just do it because it is “He who says so”. And the result of unquestioning obedience is always mind blowing.

The authority of Jesus over the nature as the Lord of all creation was demonstrated to point them towards His purpose for their lives as “fishers of men”. They realized who was calling them.

Later, when Peter preached his first sermon on the day of Pentecost, he probably would have recalled this incident. (Act.2:41)

Both were amazing catches indeed!

Authority of Jesus

“All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!”" (Lk.4:36)

Their familiarity with Jesus prevented the people of Nazareth from accepting Jesus as the promised Savior. But people everywhere else woke up to His claims. Jesus was revealing to them who God is and what God’s way of saving mankind is going to be. What Jesus claimed in Nazareth (His Nazareth Manifesto) He was proving in other places. Nazareth was too hasty in rejecting Jesus as He was their neighborhood kid.

Authority over Demons

People were amazed at Jesus’ teaching because it was with authority, unlike their religious teachers. Evil spirits not only recognized His authority but trembled in His presence (Jam.2:19). Not even the worship places were free from demonic operations. But they can not stand face to face with the Son of God and they will testify that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Jesus demonstrated His authority and proved the authenticity of His claim that He came to set people free from the clutches of the power of darkness.

Authority over Diseases

Sickness and suffering came as a result of man’s fall into sin. Even the nature is placed under the curse of sin until the day of redemption when Jesus will return as the Judge and King. But while He was on earth He proved that He was really the promised Savior, Redeemer and King by healing people of their sicknesses. He has authority over sickness and the human body.

Later, Jesus demonstrated His authority over the nature, over sin and death. The people wanted Him to stay back with them and continue to perform these feats. But He was conscious about the universal scope of His mission.

Taking God for Granted

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.” (Lk.4:18-22)

We are too familiar with Jesus and the Bible that we ignore its significance in our lives.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

For the people of Nazareth Jesus was their “neighborhood boy”, the “son of Joseph the carpenter”. They knew all about him too well that they had forgotten what the angel had told he would do. They had taken for granted the prophetic announcements in the Scriptures about his coming. They had overcome the shock of his supernatural birth. They couldn’t care less.

There are too many things standing in the way of people accepting Jesus as the only Savior- His biological background, his human relationships, his supernatural claims, his uneducated and imperfect disciples, his indisciplined followers around the world, and so on. But that will not excuse them from their accountability.

We Christians are too familiar with the Bible and we take it easy when it comes to studying it and meditating on it ourselves. Jesus said “I am the bread of life”. Like the people of Nazareth we are, in effect, throwing Him out from our lives, as they did from their town. The consequence is catastrophic.

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Preparation of the Servant of God (Lk.3:21- 4:15)

“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”" (Lk.3:21-22)“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert….” (Lk.4:1)

God calls and prepares His servants to carry out His mission in this world. This experience of preparation is more like the authentication of the servant.

Public Declaration

A servant is presented to the world as he publicly declares his allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ at baptism. Here, in the case of Jesus, God verbally authenticated the ministry of His Son as the Savior of the world. God the Father approved Him as His authentic representative and servant to fulfill His mission. It was further evidenced in the resting of the Holy Spirit up on Him in the form of a dove.

We read that He left the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit, empowered for the task. In the life of every servant of God there ought to be this distinguishing factor - the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit, without which his ministry is unproductive and un acceptable to God.

Private Confirmation

After the initiation through the ministry of the Holy Spirit the servant will be exposed to the assault of the evil spirit as he will be led through the desert experience. It is an inevitable part of his training as a true servant of God. This too, is probably an identification mark of his authenticity. No true servant of God walks through the green channel but will always be put through severe checkings and testings of his integrity and commitment.

Jesus could have turned the stones into bread and justified it because it was his most felt need at that point of time. He could have compromised his allegiance to gain the kingdoms of the world. He could have demonstrated the power of God by jumping off the pinnacle of the Temple, instantly being accepted as the Messiah. All these achievements would have been temporary and short lived and would have prevented Him from reaching His God-given goal. His goal was of eternal consequence.

Every motive of the servant of God is tested through (freely given) opportunities to pamper his own self at God’s expense. A little compromise here can give him wealth, power and fame in this world. The choice each time would confirm his integrity and commitment to his call and subsequntly his reward or retribution.