Becoming More Like Jesus

The School of Discipleship

“Disciple” isn’t a word we use very much in churches anymore; it’s not a word we use very much in general really. We tend to say “I believe in Jesus,” but hardly anyone says “I’m a disciple of Jesus”. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone say that. I think we’ve lost the understanding of discipleship because we no longer receive our education by this method.

To think of discipleship, consider a mechanic’s apprenticeship. The apprentice works under and with the master for, usually, 2-3 years. The master mechanic shows and teaches the apprentice how to do particular tasks, and he allows him to do more and more work under his supervision. Eventually, the apprentice learns enough to become a certified mechanic.

In Bible times, a prospective disciple would ask a rabbi permission to follow him. He surrendered himself to the teaching authority of the rabbi and followed his lead. Recall the parables that Jesus told. He gave examples, but he didn’t always spell things out. A rabbi’s goal was to teach his disciples how to think and not what to think. By doing so, a disciple would learn to think and discern as his rabbi would. And that’s the thing with Christianity: we become more like Jesus and think like he does by following him. Eventually, when the time was ready, Jesus told his disciples to also make disciples (which would make them rabbis).

Now how does that differ from believing? Well, let’s look at an example of believing – believing in Santa Claus. Kids who believe in Santa Claus know a lot about him. They alter their behavior to meet what they believe are Santa’s guidelines for being good because they want the reward (presents). Children generally don’t aspire to become like Santa Claus though. Santa is their benefactor, not a friend or role model. Even though kids may communicate a list of wishes to Santa and expect him to meet them, there is no actual relating to or with Santa. (I mean, I’ve never heard of a kid writing to Santa in the middle of July.)

That’s what Jesus is like for a lot of us. We know a lot about him from Bible stories, and we try to clean up our behavior to meet some standard that we believe he finds acceptable. We tell him all the things we want him to do for us, but we do so without relating or modeling after him.

Nobody ever really told me what it means to become more like Jesus; that just might be because they didn’t know either. But now I understand why Jesus didn’t say, “go to the synagogue on the Sabbath and be a good person.” Instead he told others to “follow me.” He invites us to come under his watch and teachings, to observe him, and to be directed and corrected by him until we are like him.

That’s what the School of Discipleship is about: modeling after and becoming more like Jesus by following the teaching and example of those who have done so (and are still doing so). Not that we could ever hope to be like Jesus by our own effort, but with the grace of God and the working of the Holy Spirit in us, it is possible.

Amen!