Jesus told his disciples, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. -Matthew 13:11-12.
I don't know about you, but I want to be one who has an abundance! Being a disciple of Jesus is the most important thing you can do in life. It means learning about and putting into practice exactly what God, your creator, has designed you for.
But so many people miss the "knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven." We see this often today. Even people who attend church services regularly never seem to experience the radical transformation that New Testament Christianity promises. Why? I think we need to pay more attention to the way Jesus made disciples. Here are five key strategies Jesus used:
1. Preaching.
We have many examples of Jesus preaching in the New Testament, most notably the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). This was a key part of how Jesus made disciples. However, many listened to Jesus' sermons and did not become disciples. In fact, Jesus never intended for his preaching to make disciples by itself, that is the point of Matthew 13:11-12 above. This is a common theme in the Bible. God sent the prophets in the Old Testament to preach to the people, but they rejected the message. While preaching is useful for changing hearts and compliments the other processes of discipleship, it is largely ineffective by itself to bring about real and lasting change.
2. Small Group Discussion
It was the smaller group of disciples that followed after Jesus wanting a fuller explanation of the parables and illustrations he used in his sermons who learned biblical truth. Jesus put a lot of emphasis on small groups, spending much of his time with the twelve disciples and meeting frequently in homes with other disciples and potential disciples. He also took Peter, James, and John aside for more focused discipleship. Jesus used great questions to provoke curiosity and conversation. He asked, "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:13-17), and caused confusion with "I have food to eat that you know nothing about" (John 4:32). In both occasions (and many others), Jesus used the resulting conversations as teaching moments. Jesus didn't only proclaim truth, he dialogued with small groups to develop understanding. The practical application for us is that we need both the preaching that is common in a Sunday morning worship service, and a small group with good discussion about the Bible, such as a Sunday School class or discipleship group.
3. Teaching Assignments
The Bible warns against being "a hearer of the word and not a doer" (James 1:23). Jesus did not preach and teach merely to get disciples to grow in knowledge. They needed to go do things. Jesus started small. He had his disciples do baptisms early on (John 4:1-2). Then he moved them towards more independent ministry when he sent them out on a short-term mission trip (Luke 9:1-6). When they returned, they reported to Jesus what happened, showing that Jesus held them accountable to the ministry he assigned to them. Finally, he sent them out on the Great Commission, but not before they had worked their way up to this great task by doing smaller tasks first. We need more than good preaching and Bible study. In order to grow, we need an action plan and accountability.
4. Modeling
Jesus lived his life in front of his disciples, modeling for them how they should live. After washing the disciples feet, Jesus declared, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you" (John 13:15). Jesus did this throughout his earthly ministry. We need godly role models in our lives that we can observe and learn from.
5. Scripture Study and Memorization
Jesus emphasized knowing the Scriptures. The Sermon on the Mount is a lot like a Bible study. Jesus quotes passages and explains what they mean and how to apply them in daily life. Jesus told Satan, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). We need every word from God to have "life" in any meaningful sense. Jesus told the religious leaders that they were in error because, "You do not know the Scriptures" (Matthew 22:29). These people read the Scriptures more than anyone, but they studied in order to defend their positions rather than to hear from God. Jesus went on to say, "Have you not read what God says to you," (Matthew 22:31), demonstrating that we are to hear God speak to us through the reading of the Scriptures.
I believe Jesus also emphasized Bible memory. He emphasized the importance of every letter of the Old Testament (Matthew 5:18). He emphasized every command in the Old Testament, including Joshua 1:8, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” The Bible speaks about changing to be the person God wants you to be when you are constantly "meditating" on God's Word. That must include going over it again and again in your mind. It also says to keep it "always on your lips," so you are to speak it frequently.
Although we don't see examples of Jesus spending time with his disciples working on Bible memory, we do see evidence of it. If you read Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2, you will notice that Peter quotes from the Old Testament a number of times. In one instance he rattles off five straight verses from the book of Joel (Acts 2:17-21). He was an uneducated man. Clearly, he worked on memorizing this passage at some point, and it was almost certainly during his time with Jesus.
Consider also James 1:25: “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does." It is not enough to read or know about the content of biblical verses, but we must look at them “intently.” James adds that we must not forget what we have heard. This does not necessarily mean a word for word memorization of the verses, but it certainly means being able to remember everything about the content of a verse that you have looked at intently. The best way to follow this command is to memorize.
Do you have these five elements of discipleship in your life? If you want the "abundance" of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus promises, commit to: 1) Regular preaching, 2) A small group Bible study focused on discussion 3) A mentor, teacher, or ministry leader that can give you things to do to put your faith into practice (talk to your pastor if you need help with this), 4) Look for people in your life that you can look up to as godly examples, 5) Commit to a regular Bible reading/study and memory plan. Pick out at least 12 verses to memorize in the coming year, one for each month.
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