Back to: CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES JSS2
Welcome to Class !!
We are eager to have you join us !!
In today’s Christian Religious Studies class, We will be discussing Jesus calls the Disciples. We hope you enjoy the class!
Jesus Calls the Twelve Disciples and the Seventy Disciples
The ministry of Jesus led many people to follow Him as His disciples therefore Jesus decided to select twelve men from among them.
These twelve would provide Him company and companionship. He would devote Himself to teaching them all about His ministry so that they could continue with His work both before and after His death.
Before He did the selection, Jesus went to a quiet place and prayed all night to God to help Him select men who will be faithful, honest, and loyal.
In the end, He chose the twelve. The twelve disciples were Peter, Andrew, James, John (the son of Zebedee), Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot.
The Significance of the Selection of the Twelve Disciples
Number twelve is like the twelve tribes of Israel, the old covenant people of God, therefore the twelve disciples were to be the new covenant of God’s people and also the founding members of the church of Christ.
The Demands of Discipleship (Matt 8:18-27, Lk. 9:57-63; 14:25-33)
Discipleship is about being a true believer and devoted follower of Jesus.
Jesus taught that for us to be a true believer and devoted follower, these are the things we must consider:
1. Insecurity in Discipleship (Matt 8: 19 – 20):
In discipleship, Jesus taught us that there is no personal gain or comfort attached to it. It is a life full of danger and many risks: this teaching came up when a scribe wanted to follow Jesus.
In response, Jesus said, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man have nowhere to lay His head”.
2. God first in Discipleship:
Jesus taught that we should put God first in whatever we do. This teaching of Jesus came up in the story where Jesus asked a young man to follow him, the man begged to bury his father but Jesus said to him “leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you go and proclaim the kingdom of God”.
3. Total commitment in Discipleship (Lk. 9:61-62):
Jesus expected us to remain focused and avoid any form of distraction. This teaching of Jesus came up in His encounter with someone who told Jesus that he wanted to follow Him as His disciple. But first, he wanted to go and say farewell to his family. Jesus told him, “No one who put his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God”.
4. Sacrificing the interest of family and self to discipleship (Lk 14:26):
Jesus taught that one of the conditions of discipleship is that we must be ready to sacrifice the interest of our family. This is not to say we must hate our family but God must be first in our life when the condition arises. This was made when Jesus said, “if anyone comes after me and does not hate his own father or mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple”.
5. Self-denial in Discipleship (Lk. 14:27):
Jesus taught that anyone that wants to follow Him must be willing to endure suffering, humiliation, disgrace and even death.
6. Counting the Cost of Discipleship (Lk. 14:28-32):
Since discipleship is a very difficult task, Jesus said anyone that wants to be His disciple must first count the cost and see if he is ready to endure pains, humiliation, disgrace etc.
Moral Lessons
1. As Christians, we must learn to respond to the call of God to serve Him.
2. We must learn to pray to God to help us make the right choice and to make the wisest decision as Jesus did.
3. We should pray to God to make us a true believer and a devoted disciple of Jesus.
We have come to the end of this class. We do hope you enjoyed the class?
Should you have any further question, feel free to ask in the comment section below and trust us to respond as soon as possible.
In our next class, we will be talking about how Jesus Subjected himself to Civil and Religious Law. We are very much eager to meet you there.
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