Being an apprentice of Jesus involves spending time with Him, growing in His likeness, and actively engaging in His kingdom work.
Jesus called his disciples to become his apprentices, promising to make them great teachers through learning from and imitating Him.
Deep dives
The Three Goals of Apprenticeship to Jesus
To be an apprentice of Jesus is to order our life around three goals: be with Jesus, become like Jesus, do what he did. This means orienting our entire lives around these three objectives, focusing on spending time with Jesus, growing in our likeness to him, and actively engaging in the kingdom work that he performed.
Jesus' Example as a Great Teacher
Jesus used the metaphor of being fishers of men to convey that he was a great teacher who captured people's minds and imagination. He invited his disciples to follow him and become his apprentices, promising to make them great teachers as well. The disciples immediately left their former lives behind and accompanied Jesus, learning from and imitating him.
The Kingdom Work of Jesus
Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in synagogues and healing people from various illnesses and afflictions. News about him spread, and large crowds followed him, including individuals with severe conditions. Jesus went up on a mountain and delivered the Sermon on the Mount, outlining a manifesto for discipleship and the way to live in the kingdom of God.
The Commissioning of the Twelve Disciples
Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority to heal the sick and cast out demons. He sent them out to proclaim the nearness of the kingdom of heaven and instructed them to freely give what they had freely received. They were to focus their mission on the lost sheep of Israel, carrying out the work of Jesus and making disciples of all nations.
The end goal of our apprenticeship to Jesus is to do what He did. In this teaching, John Mark gives the historical background of discipleship and shows through the scriptures that Jesus’s intention was for His disciples to become like Him all along. By sharing some of his best practices, such as identifying your stage of discipleship, finding community, and starting with the basics, John Mark challenges us to live in the moment and become the embodiment of Jesus to the world.
Key Scripture Passages: Matthew 4v18-25; Matthew 8v18-22; Matthew 9v9-13; Matthew 9v35-10v8; Matthew 28v16-20; 1 Peter 2v11-12; Luke 19v10; Luke 7v34-35; Romans 12