Discipleship
Matthew 8:18-23 NASB – “Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him,”The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him,”Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.” When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.”
This is an interesting drama that is taking place! The scribe said, “I will follow You wherever you go.” Jesus’ response is, “Really, will you follow me if you have nowhere to lay your head?” Apparently, the scribe was a disciple because the next person (another disciple) has some very personal, tragic business to take care of before he can follow Jesus as a disciple. Jesus’ response was to “let the dead bury their own dead.” These were the disciples that Jesus was talking to.
The word “disciple” is from the Greek verb manthano; this means to learn, to be apprised of, and to continue to increase one’s knowledge. The derived word mathetes means a learner, a pupil, one who follows the teachings of someone else. Thus a disciple, manthano, means to follow the precepts and instructions of another moment by moment as a habit of life.
We must be careful to note that the Greek word for “disciple” does not mean that the person who is named a disciple is a saved person. The word does not contain any implications of salvation. A person may learn something from someone else and yet not put that knowledge into practice or make it a part of his life.
As a result of this, many of Jesus’ disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore (John 6:66). Matthew 10:1 is an illustration for the saved (the eleven) and the unsaved (Judas) discipleship. The word “disciple” merely refers to one who puts himself under the teaching of someone else and learns from him.
Jesus is letting His disciples know that a disciple of His is called to do more than simply follow by tagging along, learning, and observing what the master is doing. The discipleship that Jesus talks about will endure when there is nowhere to lay your head and will continue to follow when the tragedies of life occur. So Jesus says to all of us, “Start following ME as my disciple and continue to do so as a habit of life, taking the same road that I take in an intimate relationship with Me.” Have you decided or is there something that you need to do that takes precedence?
– All In, Sold Out, A Living Sacrifice
Training Your Brain Exercise – Challenge
- Develop a habit of life by practicing the skills you have been learning. These skills will keep you following the path of Christ!
- Practice having the attitude that is in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5) toward the lies that are presented everywhere in the world.
- See and hear as a disciple. If you are not one, decide that it is time to become one. A disciple is one who follows by imitating the master not just tagging along.
Alert! In order to follow the path of the training program and receive Day 9 email and Tune-Up, you will need to watch Segment 6: MindArmor Tools again. This segment teaches you how to change thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The workbook has a corresponding segment for each segment of the video.
Start following Christ as a habit of life; use these powerful tools. Watch the video segment, download the workbook, and meditate upon the scripture verses for this section. Do it today! The harvest of your efforts is soon to come.
Next Tune-UpBack to GodMaps Index.
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