CALL OF JESUS DISCIPLE(2ND TERM) WEEK 1/2
Jesus calls His first four disciples.
Matt 8: 18-22, Mk 1: 14-20, Luke 5: 1-11
A disciple is a pupil,
student or follower who receives instructions from his teacher or his master. The first four disciples
were Peter and his brother, Andrew; and
the two brothers, James and John.
According to Matthew and Mark, one day, as Jesus
was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Peter
and Andrew casting their net into the sea, for they
were fishermen. Jesus called them to be his disciples
saying: “follow me, and l will make you fishers of
men.” And immediately, they followed Jesus. A few
meters away from where Jesus called Peter and
Andrew, Jesus met the two brothers, James and
John, the sons of Zebedee. They were with their
father mending their broken nets. Jesus called them
and immediately, they left their father and followed
him.
The gospel of Luke gives another account of how
Jesus called the first four disciples. Jesus met Peter,
Andrew, James and John by the Sea of Galilee.
They had just returned from fishing all night without
making any catch. Jesus told Peter to go and fish.
Peter said they had toiled all night without any fish,
but they would try again at his word. They had a
great catch of fish. When Peter, Andrew, James and
John had brought in all the fish, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Jesus calls the Twelve
Disciples/Apostles: Mk 2:13-17; 3: 13-19,
Apart from the first four disciples, Jesus called
Matthew or Levi, a tax collector to be his disciple and
he did some people were unhappy with this
development thinking that Jesus should not have
anything to do with a sinner but Jesus said “ it is not
the healthy who needs a doctor, but the sick”.
The Gospel of John also tells us of the call of Philip.
Many other people also followed Jesus though he had
not called them. When Jesus saw that there were
many people who were prepared to sacrifice
everything to follow him in order to learn from him,
he decided to select twelve of them to be his
disciples.
The day before Jesus selected the twelve disciples; he
left everybody and went to a quiet place. There he
prayed all night to God to help him select the right
men. Jesus wanted honest, faithful and loyal disciples
who would devote all their lives to the service of God.
God listened to Jesus prayers and in the morning he
called all the people together and selected twelve
disciples from among
them. The disciples were:
1.
Simon Peter
2.
Andrew
3.
James and
4.
John the sons of Zebedee
5.
Philip
6.
Bartholomew
7.
Matthew is also known as Levi
8.
Thomas
9.
James the son of Alpheus
10. Simon the Zealot
11. Thaddeus
12. Judas Iscariot.
Moral lessons:
1.You must learn to respond willingly to God’s call to serve him
as the first disciples did.
2.You must learn to seek God’s guidance in all that you plan to
do as our Lord Jesus do
The Demand for
Discipleship
Discipleship is about two things. The first is to be a
a true believer in Jesus. The second is to be a
a devoted follower of Jesus. Jesus taught the disciples about the demands of discipleship.
The demands are:
1. Insecurity in discipleship: (Matt 8; 19-20, LK 9: 57-58): Jesus
taught that one of the demands of discipleship is that there is no security
attached to it. There is no personal gain or comfort because it is full of
dangers and many risks. This teaching on lack of security in discipleship comes
out in Jesus’ meeting with a scribe. He told Jesus that he wanted to follow him.
Jesus said “foxes have holes and the
birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head”
2. God first in
discipleship: (LK 9: 59-60): Jesus taught that another demand of discipleship is that
the disciple should give the first place to God where a choice has to be made
between service to God and to the family. This teaching of Jesus comes out in
the story where Jesus asked a young man to follow him. The young man begged
that he should first be allowed to go home and 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): Another demand of discipleship is a total commitment. The
disciple must remain focused and avoid any form of distraction. We can see the
example in the encounter of Jesus with someone who told Jesus that he wanted to
follow him as his disciple. But first, he wanted to go and bid farewell to those
at home. Jesus told him “No one who puts
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 said one must be
ready to sacrifice the interest of his family and of himself for God. He made
this clear when he said: “If anyone
comes after me and does not hate his own father or mother and wife and children
and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
5. Self-denial in
discipleship:
(LK 14:27): Jesus taught that to become his disciples one should deny himself
and take his cross daily and follow him. “If
any man comes after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and
follow me”.
6.Counting the cost in discipleship: (LK 14: 28-32): Jesus taught that since discipleship is a
difficult and dangerous job, one should not rush into it. One should sit down
and carefully count the cost involved. Is one ready to endure pain,
humiliation, disgrace, and sacrifice family interest in the work of God?
MORAL LESSON
1.The Disciples followed Christ at His clarion
call, so we should not delay our salvation as Christ calls out to us.
2. The Disciples obeyed Christ to carry out His vision of winning souls. It is the responsibility of all Christians today to
tell others about Christ – the message of Salvation.
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