Month: November 2020

So who was the first disciple?  The term disciple comes into focus in the Gospels and centers around Jesus’ ministry to a band of men who became apostles plus many others who became believers.  The term gains new importance when, just before the ascension, Jesus commissions the now band of eleven disciples to go and make disciples.

The usual narrative for identifying the first disciple would be the Gospel of John when John the Baptist introduces Jesus as the Lamb of God.  Several of John’s disciples then peel off and begin to follow this new rabbi, Jesus.  The initial ones were Andrew, the brother of Peter, and John.  So it looks like the answer to our question, “Who was the first disciple?” is a pair:  John and Andrew.  But not so fast.

The term disciple is primarily a New Testament term.  In the Old Testament, we have a few examples of one person mentoring another, such as Elijah with Elisha or Moses with Joshua but the term disciple turns up only in the book of Isaiah: primarily Isaiah 50:4.  Maybe it provides a clue to answer our question.

Isaiah is a book of prophecy regarding Israel’s future and the expected coming of the Messiah.  Isaiah’s prophesy of the Messiah takes two forms: a Servant and a King.  Scholars have identified four short passages in Isaiah that portray the Messiah as the suffering Servant and refer to them as the servant psalms.  They are:  Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-7; and 52:13-53:12.

The most familiar is the passage from Isaiah 53, in which the description of the suffering servant fits the gospel narratives of Jesus.  Less familiar is the passage in Isaiah 50, in which we get a prophecy regarding the first disciple.

“The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.  The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient nor did I turn back” (Isaiah 50:4-5 NASB).

The Servant Messiah found in Isaiah was, first of all, a disciple.  The picture of discipleship from this description parallels what we see unfold in the gospel narratives. Daily, the disciple not only hears but listens to the voice of God.

1. Daily, the disciple not only hears but listens to the voice of God.
2. He gains understanding and is faithful to do all that he hears.
3. He takes what he learns and passes it on to others.

The picture we get of Jesus in the gospels is an obedient servant, who had a “discipleship” relationship with his Father.  Jesus was a disciple as well as a disciplemaker.  He is the model for both. 

We see the transition from disciple to a disciple who makes disciples in Matthew 3:17 when at Jesus’ baptism, the Father announces, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  Jesus’ ministry had not yet begun, so what was it that pleased the Father?  Luke gives us a clue, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).  Those “hidden years,” of which we have little record, were a period of his apprenticeship to the Father–a time of mental, physical, social as well as spiritual growth. 

The only glimpse we have into this period of Jesus’ life is at age twelve when he was discovered in the temple in Jerusalem “sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46).  People observed his discipleship.  Luke records, “all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and His answers” (Luke 2:47).  It is hard for us to think of the Creator of the world learning anything, but being fully man and fully God, he did.  Hebrews verifies this:  “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Heb. 5:8).  Jesus was the model of a supreme disciple.

When discovered by his parents and questioned about his behavior, his response was, “Why were you looking for me?  Didn’t you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father” (Luke 2:49 MSG)?  We can safely assume that the next 18 years were not insignificant.  Jesus was not just marking time until his grand baptismal entrance.  He lived as a disciple of the Father, preparing for those three short years of ministry when he would be the superlative disciplemaker. 

Parenthetically, maybe we should learn from the example of Jesus when we are eager to launch people into ministry without the adequate preparation of discipleship.  It seems like our current mantra is:  “Get saved, get baptized, and get busy.”  And then we wonder why there is poor spiritual hearing, insufficient understanding, and very little spiritual fruit–something for thought.

In earlier blogs, I identified traits that Jesus said would be the marks of his disciples:

1. Wholehearted Allegiance (Luke 9:23)
2. Faithful Obedience (John 8:31-32)
3. Servant Love (John 13:34-35)
4. Spiritual Fruitfulness (John 15:8)

It should come as no surprise to find that Jesus demonstrated each of these traits giving us not only the instruction but the model to follow.  We see his wholehearted allegiance to and reliance on the Father in John 5.  “The Son can do nothing of Himself but only what He sees the Father doing.”  Then as his earthly ministry is about to end, he prayed, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4).   Another evidence is his commitment to prayer.   

He “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Lk 5:16).  Slipping away from the crowd’s pressing needs, he would pray about significant decisions: choosing the twelve and the crucifixion.  

Jesus’ life also demonstrated his love for the Father by his faithful obedience.  “But so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me” (John 14:31).  Teaching faithful obedience continues to be part of disciple-making.  The Great Commission states that we are to make disciples and teach them to obey the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ just as Jesus obeyed his Father.   

Regarding servant love, when Jesus said that He was giving us a “new” command to love others (John 13:34-35), he replaced the self-love model of the Old Testament law with his servant-love model.  The standard for loving others is no longer how we love ourselves but how Jesus the disciple loved.

The trait of bearing spiritual fruitfulness is evident throughout the gospel narratives as Jesus went about doing good, healing, encouraging, serving, and lifting the burdens of others.  His mission to establish and expand God’s kingdom was initiated and then passed on to the future generations of disciples.  “As the Father has sent Me, so send I you” (John 20:21).

It still takes disciples to make disciples.  They are not made by programs or institutions but by men and women who pursue knowing, reflecting, and sharing Christ, intentionally helping others do the same.

For Reflection

1.  How would you describe a disciple from Isaiah 50:4-5?

2.  What other illustrations can you think of where Jesus demonstrated the marks of a disciple?

He who has ears to hear, let him hear

Hearing occurs when sound is funneled through the external ear and piped into the auditory canal.  When the sound waves reach the eardrum, they cause it to vibrate.  These vibrations travel to the middle ear triggering three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) to vibrate, causing the “oval window” to vibrate while tiny hair cells translate the vibrations into electrical impulses that then travel to the brain via sensory nerves.  Whew!  That’s what it takes to hear, but what does it take to listen?

Both the Old and New Testament Scriptures are filled with warnings about hearing without listening.  Hearing, save for disease or old age, is pretty much automatic.  We can dull our hearing by abuse but also increase our hearing with practice.  With effort we can tune into frequencies that are lost in the cacophony of everyday noise.  Most of us have experienced sitting quietly in the woods and being amazed at how many different sounds are present that we would normally miss.

Hearing is the front end to a more complex process called listening.  As parents we know too well that at times our kids are hearing us but not listening.  Feeling ignored we shout, “Are you listening to me?!”  We want more than hearing, we want attention, comprehension, and understanding … even action.

Through the prophet Jeremiah we can sense God’s frustration as He addresses His children, ‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, Who have eyes but do not see; Who have ears but do not hear” (Jer. 5:21). 

Scripture constantly appeals for us to tune in with our spiritual hearing.  Jesus said, “… blessed are those who hear (listen to) the word of God and observe it” (Luke 11:28).  As new creations in Christ we are blessed with a spiritual hearing capability that can be either developed or ignored. 

In the familiar passage where Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd He says, “… the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:3-4).

Here in lies the critical question of discipleship.  Out of the myriads of voices calling out for our attention, do we discern His voice?  I have no question that God can shout, but He rarely does.  It seems He is more likely to whisper.  For example, Elijah is worn out and discouraged following his skirmish with the prophets of Baal.  After some rest and food, he seeks to hear from God.  The text tells us that there was a great wind, an earthquake, and a fire but no voice from God.  After all the loud noise there came a “gentile blowing” and that is when Elijah heard God speak.  Perhaps a reason for this is that God’s desire is not to force us to hear but rather that we would choose to hear and intentionally tune into His frequency. 

In the 70s the CB (Citizen Band) radio became a traveling craze.  Truckers had used them for years but ordinary travelers began to horn in on their territory.  In its heydays the CB radio developed its own movie genre and cultural lingo:  “10-4 good buddy”, “catch you on the flip flop”, and “spy in the sky”. 

The CB radio normally had a line of sight range of 3-20 miles and 40 channels/frequencies to pick from. This bi-directional personal communication system, allowed for only one person to talk at a time.  In order for two (or more) travelers to use their CB radios to communicate, they had to be close enough, tuned into the same frequency, and take turns speaking.  When caravanning on a trip we would establish an agreed upon channel and our personal call signs:  “Luck Duck this is Red Rider, how do you read me?  Over”.  The “over” was important since it gave the other person the chance to speak.

How often do we say “Over” when we communicate with God?  Do we let Him speak?  Do we know His channel … His frequency?  Along our journey we can spend our time listening to the banter on the trucker’s channel (usually #19), roam the other channels listening to fellow travelers, or we can tune into where He is speaking.  He rarely competes.   A disciple will set up an agreed upon primary channel so he can communicate with God with a frequent “over”.

God speaks primarily through Scripture and the Holy Spirit.  His promise to the disciples in the upper room before the crucifixion was to send His Spirit who would guide them into truth (John 16:13).

However, just reading the Bible is not the same as “tuning in” to His frequency.  Tuning in requires thoughtful reflection and intentional meditation.  Tuning in requires tuning out other frequencies to reduce the static and clutter.

The spiritual habit of a daily appointment with God in the Scripture has been a historically foundational practice of disciples for centuries.  It has been my practice for over 50 years ever since I was introduced to a little booklet called “7 Minutes with God”.  I started with developing a 7 minute daily habit which has now expanded and modified over the seasons of my life.  I know of no other spiritual discipline that is more effective for tuning into the voice of the Shepherd.

Larry, a good friend and fellow disciplemaker of over 50 years in both the marketplace and in churches, recently said to me, “I think I could summarize what I do in mentoring men as simply equipping them to hear and respond to the voice of God.”  What a great summation of being a disciplemaker!

That said, it is not always easy to discern whose voice I am hearing:  My voice?  God’s voice? Voices from my past? Satan’s voice?  Listening and discerning is a skill that takes practice and patience.  One thing is for certain, God never speaks to us contrary to Scripture.  That is why to keep from being deceived, we need to be students of His Word.  “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately (correctly) handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).  Even Satan uses Scripture!

An apprentice of Christ is a serious student of the Bible.  In Deuteronomy Moses gave this instruction to those who would be kings of Israel.  “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests” (Deut. 17:18).  The king was to have his own personalized copy written by himself under the mentorship of the priests.  Can you imagine how the history of Israel would have been different had this instruction been followed?

When my father died, one of the priceless heirlooms passed down to the family was his Bible.  It was a small version that he took with him everywhere.  Flexible enough that he would often roll it up as he carried it.  But what was amazing is that there were very few pages that were not marked up with his annotations.  They didn’t make sense to us, but they did to him.  He didn’t write his own copy, but he took a copy and made it his own. 

For Reflection:

1.  How have you personalized the Scripture and made it your own?

2.  What is your process for clarifying the voice of the Good Shepherd from other voices?