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Discipleship means ^one who follows^ or ^one who learns^ and this meaning has not changed over the centuries. The first disciples must have felt very special just as do today. Also, the first disciples were not fully understood and were rejected. This is true for disciples today aswell. The Bible is the most important reference for a Christian today. It contains all sorts of stories from the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The New Testament concentrates on the life of Jesus which is probably more important to Christians than the Old Testament because Jesus^ death means that everyone has a chance to have all of their sins forgiven. The book I will be concentrating on is the gospel of Mark. Mark ^zoomed in^ on whom Jesus chose to be his disciples and what they were like. When people read Mark^s gospel they realise that you can be a disciple of Jesus no matter who you are. Jesus said, ^It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners^ (Mark 2: 17) Many people today see this and are inspired.
They see that they too can be forgiven for all of their sins and lead a better life. Being a disciple today is nearly the same as being a disciple in the time of Jesus. As a disciple today you still have to have a true belief in God and to follow the word of Jesus. This is also true for disciples 2000 years ago. Christians today do not suffer as much as they did in the time of Jesus but in some countries Christians do get persecuted and even attacked or killed. The first twelve disciples are not so sacrificial and some probably wouldn^t give their life for God.
However, there are still Christians who would do anything for God but this is only a small percent of Christians. The first twelve disciples weren^t just Christians straight away, they dropped all of their things to follow Jesus and spent years learning about God. Nowadays, many people wouldn^t just drop all of their things to follow someone they know nothing about. Many people are told about God and Jesus for a long time before becoming a Christian, just like in Emmanuel College in assemblies and in tutor prayer.
Jesus told taught crowds of people that they must sacrifice everything to be a proper disciple. Some people want to learn more about Christianity but don^t want to be sacrificial in their living making them unable to be a disciple. The first twelve disciples that were chosen by Jesus did more things that were wrong than right in the eyes of God ^ after all they were still learning. This shows that maybe it^s asking too much to give up everything to be a Christian. In Mark 1: 14 - 20 we can see that the first disciples did give up what they were doing Because Jesus^ words were so po! wilful, ^Come follow me I will make you fishers of men^.
Peter^s denial and Judas Iscariot^s betrayal are two good examples of disciples^ mistakes. In Mark 14: 66 - 72 Peter denies that he has anything to do with Jesus but in Mark 14: 29 - 31 Peter tells Jesus that he will not disown him. By doing this Peter is being dishonest and so in God^s eyes is being sinful. In Mark 11: 17 - 18 Judas betrays Jesus to the authorities and so Jesus is killed.
Both of these incidents teach us that we are also allowed to make mistakes because we are forgiven for them. A man called David Wilkerson sacrificed a lot to become a Christian and later went to work in New York in 1959 to work amongst teenage gangs and convert them into Christians. The first Teen Challenge centre was opened in Brooklyn in the spring of 1961. David wrote many books such as ^the cross and the switchblade^ which has sold over 12 million copies and has been made into a film under the same name. David then went on to become a preacher. Just one year later he set up the World Challenge Incorporated and five years later he set up the Twin Oaks Leadership Academy in Texas.
During his life, David transformed many peoples lives into good, healthy ones with the help of God. People like prostitutes, drug addicts and thieves now know a better life thanks to David Wilkerson. ^IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO BE A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS IN THE MODERN WORLD DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE? I don^t think that anyone can be a true disciple of Jesus because they are not fully Christians and don^t know enough about the religion to give their whole life up as a sacrificial Christian. Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King made very large sacrifices to become apostles of God, King gave his life in an attempt to stop racism and Mother Teresa left her family and way of living to help those in need in India.
They both showed that it is possible to be a disciple of Jesus if you have the will power and strength. But these weren^t really disciples but apostles (a person who is sent). Many people let them fall so deeply into temptation that it is hard to get out of it and it is hard for them to stop and say what they are doing is wrong. All of the time this comes down to how scared they are to make the self-sacrifice. In England, a rich country, it is hard for people to give up luxuries and stop being greedy.
A common saying is, ^No matter what you^ve got, you always want more! ^ and this is very true in a lot of cases. In the same way as what was said earlier, these people are not disciples and are not prepared to learn fully about another religion.
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