Essentials of Discipleship

Author: Joseph

Date: December 22, 2019

Yeshua brought His disciples along the journey with Him while performing His ministry. Yeshua became well known in Galilee, Syria, Jerusalem, all around Judea, and even beyond the Jordan river. He was healing “every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people” and those that witnesses this power from God spread the news of His good deeds (Matthew 4:23-25).

The people of the land were desperate to be healed and they followed Him because of it. Yeshua healed many of them. He then took His disciples and ascended a mountain to speak with them after noticing that they were many people following Him. He wanted to teach them an important lesson regarding what was happening as well as a lesson regarding their discipleship.

He sat down and when His disciples were near Him, He began instructing them:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is

the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of

evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great;

for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

(Matthew 5:3-12)

Yeshua was explaining not only the characteristics of the people who were seeking Him, but also what He expected from His disciples.

The first four statements He makes reflect the nature of the crowd that was seeking Him. They were poor in spirit, sorrowful, gentle, and hungry and thirsty for righteousness. Yeshua was explaining to His disciples that the crowds were blessed by seeking Him and that His disciples should never look condescendingly upon them (Cross-reference: Luke 6:20, 40-48). The people among the crowds had illnesses and problems they faced, but the disciples were equally in need of Yeshua’s healing.

His disciples had to be shown that the way Yeshua was interacting with the crowds was the same expectation He had for them. He expected His disciples to be merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and consequentially face persecution and be able to rejoice in it. They were to take on these qualities and thereby be useful for God’s kingdom work (Matthew 5:13). The light of their discipleship had to shine through them and their works; they needed to embrace the qualities Yeshua required of them. Without taking on these qualities, they would become tasteless salt and wrongfully take away glory from God (Matthew 5:14).

Yeshua set the standard for His disciples and at the same time taught them an important lesson in humility. He did this early on in their discipleship because these lessons were essential to being effective disciples to the world. These lessons had to be learned for the ministry of Yeshua to continue through them as He would not always be present with them.

As a disciple of Yeshua, He is speaking the same message to you. You must never look down on people who are seeking healing through Yeshua, whether physical or spiritual. When people seek God’s kingdom, they should expect to find relief from their ailments and their sin – this is within God’s power and His will.

You should also discipline yourself to reflect the qualities Yeshua mentioned to His disciples, even at the cost of persecution. The heavenly reward of God’s blessing is sufficient to encourage you to endure any persecution. You should never give up mercy, purity, and peacefulness towards people.

The lessons Yeshua taught His first disciples are now your own. Sincerely reflect on your life to ensure you are doing what Yeshua taught. If you are not, now is the time to learn from what He has spoken and be blessed by God for doing so.

Matthew 4:23 – 5:14

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org