Discipleship AS DEFINED BY JESUS CHRIST Disciple - mathetes, lit., "a learner accomplished by endeavor, a pupil, and adherent...an imitator of their teacher." (See John 8:31, ) W.E. Vine, Vine's Expository In the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, we find that He "...was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, 'follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.' Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little further, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending their nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him." (Mark 1:16-20, NASB) At the end of His ministry, Jesus met again with His disciples in the Upper Room and reminded them that He had come to this earth to die on a Roman cross for the sin of fallen humanity, saying to them: "...after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee" (Matthew 26:32). After His resurrection, "...the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'" (Matthew 28:15-20, NASB) However, during the course of His ministry, which took place over a period of three years, Jesus was led by His Heavenly Father (Luke 6:12) to not only choose twelve men to follow Him, but to use that time to disciple them. He did so in such a way, to the glory of His Father, that they would be equipped to do the same kind of ministry He had done in the power of the Holy Spirit. He would not spend His time doing all the fishing for men and women by Himself: rather He would equip them to fish for men and women so that once He left this earth the members of the new church, the Body of Christ, would continue to grow around the world through disciples who were faithful to, in turn, disciple new believers in every generation until He comes again. Dr. Luke, who became a disciple of Jesus Christ under the ministry of the apostle Paul (see Acts 15:11, 51 A.D.), recorded for us in his gospel how his Master defined what He meant when He called men and women to become His disciples. The four messages on discipleship which are included in this handbook are actually part of the much larger series on the gospel according to Luke. (Available at RonRitchie.com) For over forty years Ron R. Ritchie has had the pleasure to serve as a pastor / teacher and evangelist with an emphasis on discipleship. In 2000 Ron and a group of Godly men and women started a Discipleship Ministry called Free at Last! To learn more about this ministry you can visit www.RonRitchie.com
