What Is A Disciple?
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:57-62 (KJV)
Here we see three people who had the opportunity to follow Jesus.
One man said that he would follow Jesus wherever He went. Jesus pointed out that His life was not a life of ease and comfort. We must follow Jesus no matter where it leads or how hard it becomes. A disciple is one who is disciplined enough not to let anything hold him back.
Jesus invited another to follow Him. This man wanted to go bury his father first. A disciple is one who follows Jesus no matter what he faces, even death. Don’t let death and family ties prevent you from preaching the Gospel. We must let go of dead relationships to preach the Living Word.
A third man said he would follow Jesus, but he wanted to first bid the members of his household goodbye. A disciple is one who makes Jesus Lord no matter what. When we make Him Lord, things will come up that force us to prove our commitment to Him. Don’t let anything disqualify you from following Jesus. If we put our hand to the plow while looking back, we are not fit for God’s kingdom. A person who looks backwards while trying to plow makes a mess of the field. No matter what comes up, we must stay focused and plow with our eyes forward to work in God’s kingdom.
A disciple is a follower and learner of Jesus. As we follow Jesus, He teaches us what we need to learn. We must continually count the cost of following Him. Don’t allow anything or anyone stop you from following Christ- even yourself. That’s the mark of a true disciple.
