Did Jesus Have Discipleship Classes?
After last night’s gathering at our home which we call “Discipleship Group,” I posted the this image of the 2 whiteboards that were used to initiate a discussion on the topic of “Discipleship” vs. “Evangelism.” Entering into the discussion was simple enough. The two hours that followed got very interesting. As is custom in our group meetings we began with prayer and then debriefed from last week’s ministry. By ministry, I mean all of the towns and villages where we are currently, along with others, making disciples (Matthew 28:18,19,20), being witnesses (Acts 1:8), strengthening and encouraging believers (Acts 14:22) and ministering the word (Colossians 1:25).
The group meetings are always accompanied by coffee, tea, juice, and a delicious assortment of cakes made by my wife. These group meetings are totally participatory, and often express Paul’s description of the Corinthian church when, “each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation, etc. where all things are done for building one another and those we minister to up. Visitors have called our weekly discipleship group “Church.”
From time to time, after sharing our discipleship group experiences on social media, I get this question, or something similar:
Did Jesus have discipleship classes like that?
A friend made this provoking comment regarding the above picture:
“This exercise struck me as something I saw the other day at a high school biology class. They were dissecting the fetus from a mother seal that had been shot the day before. They learned a lot but it was kind of sad as well. I wonder if Jesus had these kinds of discipleship classes?
Rather than constructing a defense why I believe He did, I thought I’d toss the question out to others.
Did Jesus have discipleship “Classes” like that? Yes or No?
Make a case for your answer from scripture.
For more on why we call it Discipleship Group, check out this post.
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