Paul the Poke

John 1:35-51 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, a Stone).

The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Doctrinal Emphasis:  What is a disciple?

Key Theme: Discipleship, being a pupil of Jesus.

Disciple is from the Greek mathetes/μαθητής. Simply stated it means to be a learner, an understander, or a pupil. The term indicates thought accompanied by endeavor as stated by Vine’s Dictionary. A disciple is in contrast to a teacher, one who follows another’s teaching.

Jesus indicates that the disciple is not to be above the master or teacher but to become as his teacher. Christ is the model that we strive to become.

Matthew 10:24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

Luke 6:40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Jesus also indicates the type of commitment it takes to become one of His disciples in Luke 14:26-33. A disciple must place the relationship to Christ above self and family. We are asked to bear our own cross and come after Him. Jesus comes before all material, worldly possessions.

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A disciple can be an individual, male or female.

Tabitha is called a disciple. Acts 9:36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.

Andrew is called a disciple. John 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him…

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The term is used in association with many in the New Testament. Disciples can refer to a group of people. It refers to the apostles in Matthew 10:1, 11:1. In Acts 11:26, the disciples are called Christians.

Acts 11:26 …and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Christians are to be disciples of Jesus Christ.

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

This entry was posted on January 29, 2023 at 9:24 AM and is filed under #PaulthePoke with tags disciples, discipleship, Jesus Christ, pupil, student. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.