Discipleship

Mark’s Gospel

Key words• The commandments- the collection of ten laws given by God.• Disciples- followers of Jesus.• The eye of a needle- a metaphor used by Jesus to show that wealth makes it

difficult to enter the Kingdom of God.• The kingdom- the rule of God in people’s lives.• Levi- a tax collector called by Jesus to be a disciple.• Peter’s denial- the way that Jesus said he was not a follower of Jesus after

his arrest.• Self-sacrifice- putting other people’s needs before your own.• Service- an act of help or assistance.• Sons of Zebedee- the brothers James and John whom Jesus called to follow

him.• True family- those who follow the teaching of Jesus.• True greatness- the teaching of Jesus that service to others is true greatness.• The Twelve- the twelve selected from the disciples to be Jesus’ closest

disciples.

The calling of the first disciples

• Simon and his brother Andrew were fishing by the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus saw them and said “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”, they immediately dropped their nets and followed him.

• A little farther, Jesus saw James and John, sons of Zebedee, preparing their nets in a boat and called them to follow him too. Again, they left all they had, including their father in the same boat, and followed Jesus.

Why is this important?

• Here we learn that the nature of discipleship is to follow the master whole-heartedly, and this is why Christians today are expected to do the same; doing whatever God wants.

• Jesus chooses fishermen to be his first disciples, which shows Christians that we should accept anyone if they want to follow God.

• The term ‘fishers of men’ represents what is expected of disciples as Jesus wanted them to learn and spread the word of God.

The calling of Levi• Whilst Jesus was teaching a large crowd, he saw Levi

sitting at the tax collectors booth and said to him “Follow me.” Instantly, Levi did as he instructed.

• When Jesus was later having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were eating with him and his disciples as many followed him. The teachers of the Law, who were Pharisees, saw this and asked the disciples “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

• Upon hearing this, Jesus replied “It is not the healthy who need a doctor. But the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Why is this important?• Jesus is explaining that he did not come for the

‘good’ people, he came to help sinners, as ‘good’ people do not need his help but sinners need to change, through the belief in God.

• Because Jesus showed that those who are ignored by society should be given help, it teaches Christians today that it is our duty to provide help for the sick and needy, and give service to others, as this is considered ‘true greatness’ in God’s eyes.

Jesus sends out the Twelve• Jesus went from village to village teaching. Calling

the Twelve to him, he sent them out and gave them authority over evil spirits, telling them “Take nothing for the journey except a staff- no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you, shake the dust from your feet when you leave. This will be a warning to them!”

• The disciples did as he asked, preaching that people should repent, driving out many demons, and anointing/healing many sick people.

Why is this important?

• It shows that the nature of discipleship is about service, preaching repentance, stopping people from sinning, caring for the sick and fighting evil and injustice. These are actions which should be followed by Christians today, which can cause problems for some.

• It also shows that a disciple should be fully committed to God’s work, and not be weighed down by possessions or items considered unnecessary.

True Family

• Jesus’ mother and brothers came to call for him, sending somebody inside for him. The large crowd surrounding Jesus informed him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

• Jesus then responded, “who are my mother and brothers?” Looking at those seated around him he said “Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Why is this important?

• Jesus shows us that becoming a disciple might mean giving up your immediate family or distancing yourself from them, but disciples of Jesus will gain a new family made up of the followers of Jesus. He is saying that everyone can belong to God’s family if they do his will, and everybody that does do so are brothers and sisters. Followers are known as the true family of Jesus.

Problems for Christians today• Jesus’ attitude could be seen as rude to his own mother

and brothers; despite his attempt to spread a positive message Jesus seems to break the commandment which tells us to respect our parents by not going out to see his mother.

• The bond between God’s followers is supposed to be stronger than the bond between blood relatives, which some people may find unrealistic.

• Jesus appears to dismiss the importance of family life which is central to Christian marriage, however others would state that he is simply offering the same love to all of his followers.

True Greatness• Jesus asked his disciples in Capernaum “What were

you arguing about on the road?” but the twelve kept quiet as they had been arguing about who was the greatest.

• Jesus knew, however, and told them “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and servant to all.”

• He then made a child stand among them and said “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but the one who sent me.”

Why is this important?• Jesus is showing that true greatness in the Christian

faith comes from serving others, because that is how a Christian serves God.

Problems for Christians today• Serving others can be physically & emotionally demanding.• In society status is important; being ambitious can benefit

us in terms of employment and money, but it can involve putting ourselves first, instead of others as God teaches.

• Jesus is asking a lot of his disciples- he wants them to be different from other people and to focus on what God thinks of them rather than what others think of them.

The Rich Young Man

• A man fell on his knees before Jesus and asked him “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered “Why do you call me good? No one is good- except God alone. You know the commandments” and he listed them.

• The man told him he had kept them all since a child. Jesus loved him, but said “One thing you lack, go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The man went away sad, because he had great wealth.

The Rich Young Man

• Jesus then explained to his disciples that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

• Peter mentioned how they had left everything to follow Jesus, and Jesus replied “Yes, and I tell you that anyone who leaves home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children of fields for me and for the gospel, will receive much more in this present age. But many who now are first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.”

Why is this important?• Jesus is trying to say that the cost of being a disciple

is to be prepared give up everything, and forget earthly possessions, to make God your priority.

• The image of a camel shows the impossibility in entering God’s kingdom with wealth.

• Although the cost of being a disciple will be very challenging, Jesus is reassuring his disciples that it would be worth it as God would repay their sacrifices 100 times over in heaven and reward them with eternal life.

• The teaching is difficult to apply to 21st century life when money and possessions are idolized so much, so Christians might say it was easier for Jesus and his disciples to lead a simple life without these.

• The Christian Church is very wealthy; people may question why it isn’t following Jesus’ teaching.

• Some may argue that it is impossible to give up everything and that it would be irresponsible to expect others to provide for us.

• It could make certain Christians wonder if anyone with money and possessions will get to heaven.

o However, many Christians believe that there is nothing wrong with money or being rich but if you are fortunate enough to be rich (not a millionaire but comfortable), then you have a responsibility to help others who are not as well off as you are.

Problems for Christians today

The parable of the Tenants

• Jesus told the parable of how a man let out his vineyard to tenants and sent a slave to them to collect his share of the harvest, but with each slave sent the tenants would beat or kill them, until the owner’s son was sent who was also killed.

• Jesus said that the owner should kill the tenants and give the vineyard to others, as ‘the stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!’

• Jesus was telling the parable against the Jewish leaders as he says they will oppose God (in the story the owner) and persecute/kill those who follow God (the servants).

• This means he predicts his crucifixion (Jesus represents the owner’s son), resurrection, and what Christians would face.

• It shows that Christians are God’s messengers but must prepare for rejection or even death for their faith.

• We see that Jesus came for all, not just his own people who rejected him.

• At the end, Jesus promises that God will recognise their sacrifice.

Why is this important?

The healing of a boy with an Evil Spirit

• A man brought his son who had been possessed by a spirit that robbed him of speech and seized him to Jesus as the disciples could not drive out the spirit. The man said “if you can do anything” but Jesus declared “if you can? Everything is possible for him who believes” then rebuked the evil spirit. The boy appeared dead but Jesus lifted him up and he was healed.

• Later, the disciples asked why they couldn’t drive it out, and Jesus replied “this kind come out only by prayer.”

Why is this important?• Jesus shows his power to heal people.• Jesus teaches his disciples to pray for the strength to

heal and have faith in God to help them and therefore teaches Christians to do the same.

Problems for Christians today• Stories about casting evil spirits have no relevance for some.• The boy’s symptoms could be epilepsy which can be controlled

with drugs today.• This leads some Christians to argue that Jesus did not really heal

the boy but just happened to arrive as the fit ended. The boy might have had similar fits in the future

• The disciples failed Jesus even though they were chosen by him, so Christians may view it as impossible to follow Jesus properly.

The Sower• Jesus told the parable of the sower to show how

different people react to God.• The seed which landed on the path and was ate by birds

represents those who don’t bother to consider God at all.

• The seed which landed on the rocky patches represents those who are enthusiastic at first, then lose interest and drop out.

• The seed which landed on the thorns represents those who hear God’s words but are too swamped by the pressures of everyday life to act on them.

• The seed which landed on the good soil represents those who hear, respond to, and pass on the teachings of God.

Problems for Christians today• No solutions are given for the people who do not want to hear or

respond to Jesus’ message so what are Christians meant to do when they cannot get God’s message through to people?

• When Jesus was explaining this parable to his disciples he said he used parables so that the crowd wouldn’t understand the message and therefore wouldn’t be able to repent and be forgiven. This seems to contradict most of Jesus’ teaching elsewhere which states that the Kingdom of Heaven is open to all believers.

• Jesus told this parable at a time when his followers were facing persecutions and distractions to encourage them to stay loyal and focused on their mission.

• It shows that the Kingdom of God is reserved for a select few and not everyone.

Why is this important?

Service• James and John had upset the other disciples by

asking Jesus for a special place in his kingdom. They believe they have earned it but Jesus says “If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, he must be the salve of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

• Jesus uses the disagreement to show that service to others is one of the costs of discipleship and as a reminder that Christians today must be prepared to serve others.

• Jesus emphasises his humanity by using the ‘title Son of Man’.

• Jesus is once again predicting his death (final line) but this time explaining why he has to die; to save the whole of humanity from their sins.

• His death will be the ultimate example of serving others- dying for other people.

• It shows Christians that God will judge his followers and he is looking for servants not masters amongst his followers.

• Jesus makes it clear that his followers would have to be prepared to share his suffering.

Why is this important?

Disciple’s failure• Jesus predicts Peter’s denial but Peter insists he will never

disown him. He takes Peter, James and John to watch out for him whilst he prays in the garden of Gethsemane, as he is deeply sorrowed, but they fall asleep three times.

• They failed to support him during his time of need, yet the Christian Church exists today because of their work after Jesus’ death.

• The story shows us how hard life was for Jesus and the disciples in the final week of his life, and the general difficulties of being a disciple because after the time they had spent with Jesus and being taught by him, they failed him.

• Christians are human; we all fail at times. The disciples had failed Jesus in Gethsemane but they returned to him after the resurrection and went on to spread Jesus’ teachings so successfully that Christianity is a world wide religion today

• Jesus seems to forgive his disciples for letting him down which is comforting to Christians.

• If Jesus’ closest disciples failed, for some Christians today this gives them hope when they don’t succeed, but for others they see this as an off-putting reflection of how challenging it is to be a follower of God.

• Other people may believe that Jesus made impossible demands on his disciples.

Why is this important?

Peter denies Jesus• Peter followed Jesus to just outside the High Priest’s

house, but denied knowing Jesus when challenged by a servant girl. As Jesus predicted, Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed twice. When Peter remembered this, he broke down and wept.

• Peter denied Jesus out of fear; which may still occur with some Christians today. However, this was not the end of Peter’s story as he went on to become the first pope.

• Although he failed Jesus, Peter learnt from this and grew in spiritual strength because he was eventually prepared to die for his belief in Jesus.

Problems for Christians today• Modern Christians might wonder how they can stand

up for their beliefs if they were being threatened if Peter couldn’t even do so.

• Once again Jesus is let down by a close friend.• Peter’s denial is worse than falling asleep as he

betrays Jesus; disowning him three times.• Some Christians may not understand how Peter

could be later named a saint and have churches dedicated to him when he did this.