Disciple

January 25, 2015, Epiphany 3B


GOSPEL LESSON: Mark 1:14–20
14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
16Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
P: This is the Gospel of our Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

Jesus called his first disciples saying, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Jesus had 12 disciples and many more followers. Today, let’s talk about what a disciple is.

A disciple is a special sort of student. An ordinary student studies a subject like math, science or history. It does not matter too much who the teacher is because 2 + 2 = 4 and Columbus discovered America in 1492. The facts are important. A disciple however, studies the teacher. Knowledge and skills are important, but the goal of the disciple is to become like the teacher. A disciple’s teacher is often called “master.” “Master” often means “boss,” as in “slave master,” but it also means someone who is very skillful as in “master craftsman.” Often these two meanings are combined and a disciple follows and does the commands of the master.

Jesus chose 12 people to be his special followers and disciples. He taught and trained them so that they could continue his ministry after he would ascend back to heaven. Jesus did not have to teach them the Bible, they were Jews who knew the words of Moses and the Prophets. Jesus taught them what the Bible means and how to live according the Word of God. The disciples studied Jesus. That is, they saw how Jesus lived and how he was bringing in the Kingdom of God. They learned what repentance meant. It means living fully in the grace and love and forgiveness of God. They learned their lesson well. Oh, Peter made mistakes and so did some of the other disciples. But they saw the death and resurrection of Jesus and that was the biggest lesson of all. Their graduation ceremony was on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came in fire and power and filled them with the breath to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then the Book of Acts shows that in their lives they had become like Jesus. They did miracles like Jesus, but it was done in love and mercy just like Jesus. They had the power of the Holy Spirit, yet they were humble in love just like Jesus.

At his ascension Jesus told the disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The church today continues to keep that Great Commission by making disciples. Jesus said to make disciples, but whose disciples are they? Are they disciples of Jesus or disciples of the disciples? They are both, because to become a disciple of Jesus, a person needs to learn from someone who has mastered the life of Jesus. Peter and John followed Jesus. So, if we follow Peter or John, we will learn how they live and then we will know how to follow Jesus.

It is the job of modern church leaders to make disciples for themselves. This is the way we teach about Jesus. This puts a huge responsibility upon leaders, because they have to lead a life that follows Jesus. Pastors, Sunday School teachers, youth group leaders, and parents have to be examples for their parishioners, students, group participants, and children. They have to be an example of Jesus. They have to show the love and mercy and concern and forgiveness and gentleness and peace and joy and confidence and trust and faith of Jesus. In my confirmation class, sometimes I like to think of my students as my disciples. I do not want to think of myself as their “master” because I have those people whom I follow as my skilled masters of the faith. I look to my old pastors, my seminary professors, my leaders in the church, some of the people in the church here who have influenced me and led me -- even though I am the “pastor.” Then there are the old masters that we look too. We Lutherans look to Martin Luther and some of the great saints of the church, and of course we look to St. Paul and St. Peter, and we see how Jesus led his life.

And today’s Gospel reading invites us to become disciples. Just like Jesus said to the fishermen, he says to us, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” To follow Jesus means to quit following something else. Jesus gave Peter and his friends a new occupation. It was to become full-time disciples. Some people today go into full-time church work: pastors, teachers, missionaries, and the like. Most people remain in their old jobs, but they are still full-time disciples. In our workplace, or wherever we are, we are called to be full-time disciples. We are called to live the life of Christ where we are. That should be reflected in how we work, play, study, and interact with other people. Being a disciple of Jesus should influence our full-life.

If you want to learn something you can teach yourself by reading books. We can read the Bible all by ourselves and learn all about God. But class time with a human teacher and other human students is usually the best way to learn something well. Our Christian life is the same. That is why we encourage people to come to church worship services and other church activities. This is where we see people who have nearly mastered the Way of Christ and we can learn from their actions and their attitudes. That is why the coffee time after church is very important. By getting to know each other we are getting to know Christ better!

At his ascension Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Our Master, our Teacher, our Sensei is always with us. He is a great teacher! He teaches us that his cross is the way of life. In his death and resurrection Jesus shows that he mastered the devil, that he defeated the devil, and that he had given us forgiveness and eternal life. Jesus is with us and we are with him. As his disciples we no longer blindly follow the things of this world. We know where we are going when we follow Jesus.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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