Lesson #1. THE DISCIPLE-MAKING PROCESS EXPLAINED.

KEY TRUTH: A lesson to explain what the New Testament teaches on Disciple-Making and study how Jesus went about doing it.

I. How the KJV & ESV Translates the Great Commission:

GROUP DISCUSSION: What is missing from the translation above?

1. DISCIPLESHIP WAS LOST TO GENERATIONS OF CHRISTIANS: From Revelation chapters 2-3 up to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century, Disciple-Making was all but missing. After that the English version of the King James Bible (1611) or Authorised Version was the dominant translation of the Bible for almost 350 years. Sadly, it obscured the Great Commission by translating Christ’s call to ‘make disciples’ with ‘teaching’. We can be grateful to Dawson Trotman (1906-1956), founder of Navigators who began a movement that placed the focus back on Disciple-Making. Trotman worked with other teachers and evangelists like Billy Graham (World-wide Gospel Crusades), Henrietta Mears (‘What the Bible is all about’), Bill Bright (Campus Crusade), Lorne Sanny (Navigators) to restore the worth of an individual. Trotman’s materials, ‘Lessons on Assurance’ and ‘Lessons on Christian Living’ are still being used to establish converts today. It is fitting to express our deep gratitude to Ray Ewers the former South Australian Representative of Navigators (1972-1986) who passed on a potent discipleship model to his disciples that forms the basis of many of these lessons.

II. What the Great Commission Means: 

1. IT IS THE ONLY REAL MISSION STATEMENT JESUS GAVE: Discipleship is the mission of the church because what is known as the ‘Great Commission’ is the only real mission Jesus gave to His followers.
2. WHAT THE GREAT COMMISSION MEANS: According to the Greek in Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus gave His followers three directives and expectations that has one main verb – ‘make disciples’ with three participles – ‘going’ … ‘baptising’ … ‘teaching’.

   It is more accurately translated into English as –

   i. In GOING, make disciples …
   ii. In BAPTISING, make disciples …
   iii. In TEACHING, make disciples.

3. JESUS CALLED US TO MAKE DISCIPLES: Jesus did not call us to just make converts. He called His followers to make disciples in all our ministry activities, in going, in baptising, and in teaching.
4. JESUS COVERED ALL THE BASES OF HIS MISSION: Usually the mission of Jesus is applied by church ministries under four quadrants based on the Great Commission and Acts 1:8 that provides a church with a strategy of –

   i. REACHING OUT to unbelievers
   ii. FOLLOWING UP converts
   iii. BUILDING UP servers
   iv. SENDING OUT workers & witnesses

5. HOW HIS DISCIPLES UNDERSTOOD HIS MISSION: To understand what Jesus meant, it is crucial to ask yourself what the followers of Christ would have understood.

   DISCUSSION: How do the Gospels record the exposure of Christ’s followers with Disciple-Making?

III. How Jesus Made Disciples of His Followers: 

Let us look further into how Jesus went about making disciples …

1. JESUS CALLED HIS DISCIPLES TO FOLLOW HIM: 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed Him (Mk.1:16-20).
   o After this call, they spent 168 hours each week for some 2-3 years.
2. JESUS CALLED THEM TO BE WITH HIM: He called His disciples to be primarily with Him before ever involving them in ministry – 13 And Jesus went up on the mountain and called to Him those whom He desired, and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve (whom He also named apostles) so that they might be with Him and He might send them out to preach (Mk.3:13-14).
3. THIS EXPOSED THEM TO A THREEFOLD EXPOSURE AND TRAINING:

   i. MODEL – Personal example of Jesus
   ii. MESSAGE – Principles explained by Jesus
   iii. MINISTRY – Practical exposure to serve Jesus

4. DISCIPLE-MAKING IS NOT ONLY TEACHING & TELLING: Jesus did not simply pass on information but trained them to reproduce His lifestyle by involving them in ministry – 35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Mt.9:35-38).
   • Jesus sent both the twelve and the seventy out in pairs to proclaim the gospel (see Lk.9:1-6; 10:1).
5. JESUS USED MANY WAYS OF MAKING HIS MISSION UNDERSTANDABLE: As well as simple precepts and principles, He frequently used parables of life they could relate to (see Sermon on Mount in Matthew Chpt.5-6; and the seven parables in Matthew Chpt.13). His teaching was refreshingly different – 31 And Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And He was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at His teaching, for His word possessed authority (Lk.4:31-32).

   CRBC Disciple-Making includes practical ‘illustrations’ (like the parables) to help disciples gain understanding of the biblical principles of Christian living.

IV. The Cost of Discipleship According to Jesus:

1. JESUS MADE HIGH DEMANDS ON WOULD-BE FOLLOWERS: He warned them that there were costs for them to consider before ‘signing up’ – 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 To another He said, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk.9:57-62).
2. JESUS DID NOT MEASURE HIS SUCCESS BY NUMBERS: His goal was for a FEW to really LOVE Him, rather than for EVERYONE to like LIKE Him! The success of His mission depended on the QUALITY rather than QUANTITY of faithful followers. This is observed in John 6:35-70 especially – 61 But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him.) 65 And He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66 After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God” (Jn.6:61-69).
3. THE WAY OF THE CROSS WAS FOR HIS FOLLOWERS AS WELL AS HIM: They failed to comprehend this even after repeatedly predicting He would suffer, die, and rise from the dead – 30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And He did not want anyone to know, 31 for He was teaching His disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And when He is killed, after three days He will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying and were afraid to ask Him (Mk.9:30-32 c.f. Mk.8:31-32).

   Jesus also honestly stated that there would be a cross for His followers saying – … “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me (Mt.16:24). He calls us to …

   i. Self-denial – Put yourself last instead of first.
   ii. Suffering – Take up the cross the Lord asks you to bear.
   iii. Submission – Follow Jesus: His example & teaching
   iv. Sacrifice – Be prepared to pay the cost to be true to Him.

4. CHRIST’S FOLLOWERS WOULD BE PERSECUTED LIKE HIM: Jesus made it clear that His followers would experience ridicule and opposition – 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of My name, because they do not know Him who sent Me (Jn.15:18-21).

V. A Pattern of Disciple-Making in the New Testament:

1. PASSING ON THE TORCH OF FAITH TO OTHERS: Paul conveyed the same strategy to Timothy – 1 You then Timothy, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:1 & 2). This diagram illustrates how Disciple-Making looks …
   
2. DISCIPLE-MAKING DOES NOT END WITH GOOD TEACHING: You cannot claim that you have made disciples until that person actually passes on to others what has been passed on to them.
   If lessons are not translated into a life-style pattern, Disciple-Making has not really taken place.

VI. A Simple Definition of Discipleship:

Discipling others is the process by which Christian believers with a life worth sharing commit themselves to other believers for an agreed period of time. This is done with the purpose of aiding and guiding their growth in maturity so they are able to reproduce themselves in others.

GROUP DISCUSSION:

1. What key truth in this lesson has changed your understanding of Discipleship? In what way?
2. What kind of adjustments do believers need to make today to keep in place the strategy of discipleship?
3. Can you suggest ways in which your Disciple-Making relationships can be strengthened?