Discipleship Essay -- essays research papers

DiscipleshipTeachers around the time when the Nazarene lived thought that learning was such that the people who wanted to learn should come to them to be taught. But Jesus felt differently and rather than waiting for people to come to him, he went out to find them and so chose them to be his followers. He called them disciples and this word means one who learns. But Jesus chose his disciples carefully as we are told in Mark 116-20 and also in Mark 313-19. In the first passage, Jesus appoints his first four disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John. Jesus said to them Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Mark 117) In Mark 213-17, Jesus calls up the fifth disciple, Levi who was a tax collector, and Jesus later renamed him Matthew. But Levi was not called in the same behavior as the other four disciples. Jesus was with him at the tax collectors booth and Jesus simply said, Follow me (Mark 214) and he pink wine and followed Jesus. These five men responded immediat ely to Jesus and this is very surprising as he is a man who they have never met before. It is quite clear that this opinion of discipleship for the first disciples is very important and that Jesus is planning on building his faith in them and he wants them to spread the word around to the people. (Mark 314)Jesus appointed 12 disciples in total and this number was significant because each one represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Mark 313-19) Jesus gave them the authority to cheat on out demons and preach to his people and they were known as his companions. It seems strange for him to choose those specific people as his twelve because he could have chosen from many a(prenominal) of his disciples, but he chose a specific twelve to be his companions and apostles. When Jesus chose his apostles, there were two unusual choices Levi and Simon the Zealot. Levi was a strange choice because he was a tax collector who had managed to get more money out of people than they need pay and so many people hated him and many other tax collectors. Simon the Zealot was an unusual choice because he was a zealot and although they had a strong belief in God, they hated the Romans, and being ruled by foreigners. In the mission of the twelve, Jesus calls them to him and sends them in twos saying that they have the authority over evil spirits. (Mark 6 7-13) Whenever you enter a house, occlusion there until you leave th... ...o Pilate, Jesus main enemy, or trouble, was the Roman Empire. Their religion was polytheistic they had, among many others, a god of war, (Mars), a god of wine, (Bacchus), and a goddess of love, (Venus). They also believed that their Emperor, at the time Caesar, was a living God. This included Jesus, one of his titles being "King of the Jews". At the time of Jesus death, this number was sizeable, and as the early church grew, after the resurrection, the followers grew in number too. Literally. All of the people who attended these secret meeti ngs, to tell or listen to the tales of Jesus Christ, were disciples. They were risking their lives to spread the good news. Stephen was brutally stoned to death after his great speech at the Sanhedrin (Acts 7), and Peter was crucified. There are many examples of modern day disciples around. Oscar Romero was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of El Salvador. Endangering your own life by fighting oppression, injustice, and going up against bigger powers, or giving your life to helping others. There are still whatsoever people today who take the faith as seriously as the first Christians do, but not many. Todays society is too materialistic.