John’s
model of Christian discipleship is well demonstrated by the intimacy and
interactive relationship between the Father and the Son, and between the Son
and His disciples. The disciples of Jesus need to imitate Christ as how He
imitates the Father. From this relationship births the:
1）Mutual
Knowledge and Understanding
The Son knows the Father as He has been
with the Father since the beginning. He knows Him not just by Person, but He
knows the will of the Father (Jn 4:34). He understands the heart and the timing
of the Father as He walked on earth (Jn 13:33).
In
John 10: 14-15 Jesus relates this type of knowing as how He knows His sheep by
name and the sheep know His voice. He identifies Himself as the good shepherd
who calls the sheep by name. The sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice of
calling and they respond in following. Such relationship is required between those
who are involved in Christian discipleship.
Jesus
has been spending time on earth with His disciples through living, ministering,
praying and teaching etc. A community lifestyle knitting ourselves together is
needed to build strong friendship enabling deeper mutual knowledge and
understanding to be gained and established. No further work of God is possible
without disciple-making. Jesus leaves his work for the disciples to carry on.
We need to raise disciples for future expansion of the Kingdom and it demands
us to devote our effort and times in building strong relationship with one
another.
2) Mutual
Love, Trust and Reliance
Good relationship with true knowledge
and understanding of one another produces love and trust, which leads to reliance,
obedience and self-sacrifices for one another.
Jesus is confident of the Father’s love
(Jn 5:20), for the Father shows Him everything. He trusts that the Father who
sent Him is reliable (Jn 8:26). His Father’s presence is always there for Him (Jn
8:29). Such is the love He has given to His disciples and He even calls them
friends and discloses things to them (Jn 15:13-15). Love causes one to provide
and to give. Jesus loves His disciples and is willing to give up His life (Jn
10:11) for them out of his obedience towards the Father. Thus the disciples
receive abundance life (Jn 10:10) and the Holy Spirit (Jn 15:26). The disciples
are taught by Jesus to love one another so that people will know that they are His
disciples (Jn 13:34-35).
Love and trust are the true marks of
Christian discipleship. The sheep is able to follow the shepherd and not the
strangers because they trust on the love of the shepherd (Jn 10:3-5). Abide in
God’s love and His Word is the very command Jesus gives to the disciples (Jn 15:9-10).
Jesus relies on the Father fully. He is
the follower of the Father. Whatever the Father does, Jesus will do, and
whatever the Fathers says, Jesus will convey to His disciples (Jn5:17; Jn5:19;
Jn5:21; Jn5:30; Jn6:65; Jn7:16; Jn8:26). Jesus’ aim is to glory the Father
through the work he does on earth. In John 15 the parable of the vine and the
branches, Jesus speaks of the importance for one to rely on God and to remain
in Him so that one can bear fruit.
Christian discipleship talks about team
work and submission, between us with our Lord Jesus Christ, and between us and His
fellow workers. We need one another’s love, trust and rely on one another to
fulfill the tasks given to us.
3)
Mutual Services
We can see that
as the discipler, Jesus does the following things for his disciples:
a) He
leads and teaches them
He is the shepherd who calls out the
shepherd and leads in front of them into the green pasture (Jn 10:3-5). He
brings them everywhere and shows them the signs through the miracles done. He
leads them by examples and the disciples can understand what true discipleship
is. He demonstrates a full commitment and loyalty towards the heavenly Father.
John has shown how John the Baptist directed the disciples to Jesus (Jn 1:35-37),
and Jesus has directed his followers to the Father. He teaches them the truth
of the Kingdom whenever he is with them. Discipleship is not done just through
teachings of the Word, but to live a life for the disciples to follow.
b) He
serves them
There are few occasions John shares
about the servanthood attitude of Jesus. In Jn 13:1-17 He washes the feet of
the disciples; in Jn 14: 2-3 He goes to prepare a place for the disciples; and
in Jn 17:6-19 He prays for them. We are called to serve one another as how
Jesus serves us. Servanthood is the hallmark of Christianity discipleship. The
discipler and the disciple are responsible to pray for one another.
c) He
sacrifices for them
Jesus
lays down His life for the disciples by dying on the Cross. Christian
discipleship calls for sacrifices. Good shepherd dies for the sheep and true
disciples will suffer and even die for Jesus (Jn 15:18—25; 12:25-26)).
We see from the life of Jesus and His teaching, of
how a true disciple shall live. He lives to honor the one who calls Him and His
sole purpose is to accomplish the will of the Father. He follows the agenda of
the Father and obedient even unto death. As disciples of Jesus, we have to
possess that kind of determination too, to obey Him and to honor Him, to live a
life please to Him and to be willing to follow Him with the cross on us.
Jesus receives authority from the Father to do the
will of God. We have to come under spiritual authority to be effective workers
of God. The discipler’s role is to
empower, train, couch, direct, teach and guide, and the disciples’ role is to
obey and to take on the tasks given to them. Just like Jesus is faithful to the
very end, we are to be faithful to the very end in following Christ and His
godly leaders (Jn 12:26).
In conclusion, we can only be a good leader who
disciple others if we are willing to follow Christ and to be discipled under His
godly leaders.
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