06/30/2023
🔴Day 40🔴 Go therefore and make disciples. Matthew 28:19
Following Jesus is the greatest opportunity we will ever have! The disciples understood this. It’s why they immediately followed Jesus. To understand what a disciple is one must go back to the time Jesus was born. Jesus was born in Israel, and the people who were most highly regarded and respected in Israel were those who taught the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. A teacher of the Torah was known as a rabbi. This was a highly respected position. In the New Testament, Jesus was referred to as rabbi 14 times and as teacher 40 times. For a young boy growing up in Israel, to be a rabbi was the greatest thing that could happen to you. The second greatest thing would be to become a follower of a rabbi. It took a great deal of work to become a disciple of a rabbi and by the time a boy was 10 years old, the Jewish boy would have all of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy memorized. At this point, many boys would return home to learn to trade. Some students, however, had a special gift, and they’d be excepted to move onto the next levels. They would keep memorizing and by age 14 have the entire Hebrew Scripture memorized. Only the best of the best made it.
But the disciples Jesus chose, weren’t the best of the best. He didn’t wait for people to ask to follow Him. Instead, He went to a tax collector named Matthew. He went to guys who didn’t make it through rabbi school, unschooled and ordinary men like Peter, Andrew, James, and John. These people didn’t deserve to follow after the greatest rabbi ever!
A rabbi of that day would bless a student with these words: “May you be covered by the dust of your rabbi.” In other words, may you follow your rabbi so closely that when his feet kick up dust, it covers you.
Do you want to go and make disciples? Live in the dust of Jesus. It’ll happen.
Luke 5:27-32
Challenge: It is imperative that you become a disciple or follower of Jesus. If you haven’t already, can you identify one or two people who are mature disciples of Jesus and ask them to mentor you? If you are already a mature follower of Jesus Christ, seek out one or two people you could mentor.