Discipleship Essay -- essays research papers

Discipleship At the mention of the word "disciple", the image most people conjure up is that of a faithful pupil, a person more than willing to follow the teachings of their leader without question. However, the early disciples didn’t always conform to this stereotype. In fact, they sometimes showed a complete lack of faith, finding it extremely hard to accept Jesus’ word in their hearts. Jesus appointed twelve disciples to symbolize each of the twelve tribes of Israel. In doing so, it were as if he were replacing the Old Judaism with his new covenant. This symbolized a new, more personal relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ. In choosing his apostles, Jesus showed us that the call is open to all of us, as his chosen twelve all had a different trade, and led varying ways of life. With such a mixed group, it is no wonder there were a few differences of opinion. A good example is the relationship between Simon the Zealot, and Matthew the tax collector. While Zealots were political freedom fighters, tax collectors were the hated collaborates of the Romans. Therefore you can imagine that tax collectors and zealots, if left to their own devices, were normally sworn enemies. However, Matthew and Simon still managed to live relatively peaceful lives together, putting into practice the commandment "love thy neighbor as thyself". They were called, and rose to the challenge of that call by their commitment to respond. It was not necessary to posses any special quality to be a disciple of Jesus, and they were all of them far from perfect. Take Peter for example. He wasn’t particularly quick-witted. In fact, he often had trouble grasping the message Jesus was trying to get across, as shown in the Parables, where in the Parable of the Sower, (Mk 4:1-9), he found it no easier then the rest of the disciples to understand God’s message. Neither did he have unquestionable faith. He demonstrates this (as did the other disciples) when they were all in a boat together with Jesus in the middle of Lake Galilee on a particularly stormy night. He and the other disciples became so frantic with worry that they decided to wake Jesus (who was sleeping peacefully with his head on a pillow) (Mk 4:35-41) . Surely, if you cannot feel safe when you have the Son of Go... ...as possible is enabled. It may also be said by some that far fewer people are as devoted to Christianity as they were in the past, as we no longer have prophets, or the Son of God Jesus to guide us. However, there are still many people who are choosing to enter the Holy Orders, and all these people can serve as an inspiration to us all. People such as these are still choosing to leave their loved ones in order to devote their lives to God. Also, when Jesus preached his Good News almost 2000 years ago, there were no fewer people then there are now who opposed to his teachings. However, the one thing that the Christians of the past had that none of us will probably have the opportunity to see in our life times are miracles performed first hand. While it is true that humans have a tendency to believe only what they see, the Bible has, and will continue to be a great source of inspiration for many. It is true that the Bible is the closest thing we will ever get to an understanding of Jesus’ way of life and Christianity, so the Christian faith will remain to be, for us, an unraveled mystery.