Becoming a Disciple

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King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]

Date: Monday, October 07, 2024
Chapters: Matthew Chapter 8, Mark Chapter 2, Luke Chapter 5
Message: Becoming a Disciple

Hello My Friend,

[Disciple; A learner; a scholar; To teach; to train, or bring up; one who receives or professes to receive instruction from another.] All saved, born again Christians are called disciples of Christ, as they profess to learn and receive His doctrines and precepts from Him they pass them on to others, [John 15:7-9  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.  8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.  9  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.]

The words that Jesus spoke to the people were something they never heard before, believers were mesmerized by them while the skeptics were appalled, but regardless of who they were many flocked to hear Him preaching the Word of God. As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, we learn that the disciples worked their day jobs whenever they were not with Jesus, but this would be the beginning of their giving up their day jobs for Him.

[Luke 5:1-6  And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,  2  And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.  3  And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.  4  Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.  5  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.  6  And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.]

[nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.] Peter, represents the majority of Christ’s faithful, they are reluctant to take His advice whenever they attempt to do something themselves and fail miserably, only to feel completely worthless and ashamed once they learn that He was right. This is what Peter did.

[Luke 5:8-11  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.  9  For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:  10  And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.  11  And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.]

[Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.] Why did Jesus tell Peter to have no fear? Jesus, was letting him know that He was not taking his reluctancy to heart. This is a little something that Jesus likes to call grace, and He will use it quite often on all of His disciples. When it comes to our faith in Christ’s ability it really is like a roller coaster ride, some days we have great faith while others it is only the size of a mustard seed, but the important thing to remember is that Jesus knows our heart, [Mark 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.]

Speaking of a doubting heart, at this point, there were so many skeptics flocked around Jesus that it was near impossible for a true believer to get the chance to meet Him. Jesus, was in a house full of so many people that they could not even move. When four men sought Him to help their friend who was unable to walk saw they looked for every way possible to reach Him. That was when they saw some stairs heading up to the roof, then they carried that poor man on a stretcher up those steps, pried an opening through the roof, and lowered him down with ropes.

[Luke 5:17-19  And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  18  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.]

[the power of the Lord was present to heal them.] Even though Jesus saw the Pharisees and these so called PhD’s of the Law of Moses watching Him like a hawk, just waiting to catch Him doing something that would go against it, He just did His thing. Jesus, saw the faith of these men and right away healed the man.

[Mark 2:5-9,12  When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.  6  But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,  7  Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?  8  And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?  9  Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 12  And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.]

[sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,] You see, Jesus, knew their doubting hearts, there was nothing that He could ever do to show them that they too needed to believe in Him in order to be forgiven of their sins. In fact, a short time later, He ran into a man named Levi, who invited Him to dinner, of course the Pharisee’s followed Him too and that was when He explained how He came to heal the sick and why.

[Mark 2:14-17  And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.  15  And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.  16  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?  17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.]

[when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners,] You see, these men thought themselves too “good” to sit with tax collectors and other sinners and if Jesus is such a great man then why is He sitting with them. This is why Jesus responded with, [They that are whole have no need of the physician,]

[I came not to call the righteous, but sinners] In order for a person to be saved from their sin sick disease, they first need to admit that they are a sinner, those who believe themselves to be so righteous that they think they have no sin have made their choice, their faith in themselves will send them straight to hell. On the other hand, those who humble themselves and admit that they not only are sinners, but need Jesus to save them, are whole and have been healed, [1 John 1:8-10  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.]

You know, the biggest deterrent that keeps people from coming to Jesus is religion, every move that Jesus made was questioned by the religious Pharisees. This time they asked Him why His disciples do not fast.

[Luke 5:34-39  And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?  35  But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.  36  And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.  37  And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.  38  But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.  39  No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.]

[the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.] What Jesus is saying here is that the second we get receive Him as our Saviour we are made brand new, just like some brand new clothes or fresh squeezed juice, none of our own righteousness can save us, it would be like putting that fresh juice in a dirty bottle and expecting it to stay fresh. This is what Jesus is talking about, and why the Bible says, [Isaiah 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.]

We cannot do enough moral good on our own to save our soul, that is why we need Jesus Christ. It really is not enough to believe in the Gospel of Christ and ask Him to save us, if we want to believe that all things are possible with God, then it is important to forsake everything else that we come to depended on and follow Him. And it was not only Jews that were believing in Jesus, even a Roman commander came to Jesus asking Him to heal one of his soldiers who had palsy, which is a disease that was paralyzing him.

[Matthew 8:5-8  And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,  6  And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.  7  And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.  8  The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.]

[but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.] You see, this man did not need to physically see Jesus heal his servant in order to believe in Him, he believed that all Jesus needed to do was speak that He would heal him and it would be done. There were many that did believe that Jesus only needed to speak and things would happen, but the majority of people came to Him.

[Matthew 8:10-13  When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.  11  And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.  12  But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  13  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.]

[I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.] Faith, meaning that he believed that all Jesus needed to do was speak and it would come to pass. We have a choice, do what we need to do by faith and let God handle the rest, or do everything on our own and dig ourselves into a hole that we cannot get out of. As Jesus continues to travel from town to town, people were coming to Him from all around, and He did heal them and cast out demons, just as it was written in Isaiah.

[Matthew 8:14-18  And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.  15  And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.  16  When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:  17  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.  18  Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.]

[Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.] Jesus, took every bit of our aches and pains, sicknesses and diseases, broken bodies and broken spirits, to the cross with Him. You see, Jesus, never promised that we will never be afflicted upon our faith in Him, but what He did promise is that He will be with us through it all, [2 Corinthians 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.]

The truth is, all affliction that is not self inflicted comes from the devil, and while the devil does tend to think he is God, even he is under His authority and only allowed to afflict us with so much. When God tells him tells him to back off then he must obey. We learn this as Jesus was sailing by boat to a town name Gergesenes and He was confronted by two men possessed by evil spirits.

[Matthew 8:28-32  And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.  29  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?  30  And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.  31  So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.  32  And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.]

[two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs,] As an eye-witness, Matthew states the number, although only one of the sick men was so exceptionally violent that he drew the attention of all. The reason why so many people suffer in their infirmities is because they fear if Jesus has all that power to control what Satan can do that He can use that same power on them. Jesus really does not work that way, and He will not come to anyone either unless He is invited in, [Revelation 3:20-21  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.]

[art thou come hither to torment us before the time?] You see, they know that their time is coming to an end, and if it seems like we are seeing possessed people like never before and believers are being oppressed like never before, this is why. They are no more closer to knowing when Jesus will return than Jesus Himself, but as soon as the Father tells Jesus that the time to get His children is now, everyone will know, [Matthew 24:36-37,42-43  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.  43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.]

Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Matthew 8:13  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Matthew 8:26  And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.]

Today’s Prayer: Jesus, I know that You reward those who not only receive You as their Saviour, but are faithful to You. As I walk with You by faith, I face so many infirmities, and even know that You may not remove them all. You have gone before me and cleared the way so that I might follow in Your footsteps and do what it is that You call me to do. Lord, please hear and answer my prayers as I have believed, and even if you do not, my hope is still in You. I am comforted in knowing that I do not walk alone, but walk hand in hand with You as my Guide. May I endure, and see the purpose of all my infirmities with the full assurance that my faith and hope is in You alone. In Your name Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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