“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.” (Mark 1vs16–18).
To paraphrase David Bosch, the disciples of Jesus – called as first fruits to us all – stand in stark contrast to the disciples of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law.
- THE CHOICE.............The religious student chose his own teacher; but Jesus chose his disciples. We have not enrolled, but been enrolled. This is not a career move but the Call of God.
- THE FOCUS...............The religious student enrolled to study the Torah – the law of God; Christ’s disciples are enrolled to study Him. He is the Word of God, the radiance of the Father.
- THE RELATIONSHIP....The religious student was only a student; Christ’s disciples are his servants too. They serve with Christ, even as He serves the Father’s will. Students become lecturers; servants become friends.
- THE MOTIVE..............The religious student enrolled to be trained, so he could get a chief seat; Christ’s disciples always remain his students, and being discipled by God is their destiny. Only Christ enjoys elevation.
- THE HALLMARK.........The religious student can boast in his teacher; Christ’s disciples boast in the Lord. We also learn from Christ through community; we are not “of Paul, Cephas, Apollos”. No man hallmarks us.
- THE PURPOSE............The religious student learns the Law to be able to teach others and preserve Judaism and her ethos; Christ disciples learn from Him to enjoy God and proclaim his kingdom to the world.
- THE TIME FRAME.......The religious student learns from the past and preserves this knowledge in the present; Christ’s disciples learn from Him and lean into the future. The knowledge of God will keep increasing until His appearing.
So, religion today would include:
* being in charge more than responding to God (control).
* being a student of the Bible more than one who studies God (knowledge)
* being a learner but not a servant (obedience)
* being a means to an end, not making Christ the Worthy End (worship)
* being known as disciples of a system or teacher, more than disciples of Christ (sonship)
* preserving Christianity more than propagating it (purpose)
* being a conservative in the present day rather than a progressive for the future kingdom (relevance).