To be a disciple, you need to have a solid grasp of what a “disciple” actually means. Let’s get this out of the way for the non-committed: discipleship assumes a training process. Point blank.
Maybe it’s best to start with a rough sketch of what it meant to be a “disciple” back in first century Palestine. In training to be a rabbi, if you were pretty good you memorized the Pentateuch: the first five books of the Bible. This is no light task—keep in mind that includes Leviticus and a whole lot of other “fun” parts (there are actually a number of unreal stories and lessons to be learned even in the dregs of Leviticus or the laws of Deuteronomy for the record). If you were a little better (and by little, I mean 34 books better) you memorized the entire Old Testament. No, that is not a misprint.
Then, and only then, were you ready to present yourself to a rabbi who might consider accepting a hopeful teenager. You could have the whole Old Testament memorized and it still wouldn’t be guaranteed…he might tell you: “Good job, but you should go home, make babies, and hope THEY become rabbis!” Devastating, huh? That’s where many of the “disciples” we see in the New Testament found themselves before a new rabbi showed up on the block.
BUT, if the rabbi did accept you, it meant your life was radically changed. He was letting you in on his way of thinking. He was essentially saying, “come, follow me”, with the implicit message: leave home, family, comforts, ALL that you’re familiar with. You would follow everything down to the minute details of life in order to become just like that rabbi.
This whole perspective one would take on was known as a “yoke.” This concept of a yoke was thought of as “being covered with the dust” of the rabbi. It literally meant eating the dust because of how close you were following.
Now, what’s different about the rabbi I follow? He didn’t go after the best; he actually went after the people who failed the test…that lacked something in character, knowledge, or ability. He built the church around these individuals. Other rabbis said, “go home” but he said, “Come, follow me…” In that way, he was actually more demanding—this was not a half-hearted “come, follow me” commitment.
Good news: that offer is still on the table.
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Disclaimer: Thank you Mark Batterson for your thoughts on discipleship.
