Becoming a Student of Jesus
What if the key to the most transformed, purposeful life you could ever live wasn't about working harder or figuring out the right formula, but simply about saying "yes" to an invitation? When Jesus gets ahold of your life, everything will change. Your priorities will be transformed, and the things you once thought were the most important things in the world will suddenly seem not so important.
An Invitation Anyone Can Accept
From the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus called people to give up their old lives and follow him into new life. In Mark 3:13-19, we see Jesus calling the twelve people who would be his closest followers for the next three years:
"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons."
This group couldn't have been more different from one another. There were ordinary fishermen who hadn't made the cut for advanced religious training. There was a tax collector who worked for the Roman Empire, seen as a traitor by his own people, alongside a political zealot who had devoted his life to bringing that same empire down. There were bold, well-known men like Peter, James, and John, and quieter figures like Bartholomew and Thaddaeus whom we know very little about. One of them would doubt Jesus' resurrection. Another would betray him entirely.
Their lives and stories could not have been more different, but they all received the same call to surrender their old lives and embrace a new life with following Jesus at the center. And that's still true for everyone Jesus calls today. Including you.
Jesus Invites You to Become His Student
Jesus doesn't just invite you to believe some important things about him. He doesn't just invite you to make a one-time decision. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus puts his invitation this way:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
In Jesus' time, a "yoke" was a piece of equipment that tied two animals together so they could do more work together than they could alone. But it was also a metaphor for becoming the student of a great teacher. You didn't just take classes, you followed your teacher around, learning from everything he did, making his way of life your own.
That invitation was reserved for only the best and brightest students. But Jesus didn't operate that way. He invited ordinary people, ones who hadn't "earned their place," to become his students. The only qualification to become his student is to accept his invitation to learn his way of life.
Being a student of Jesus is much more like an apprenticeship than a degree program. It's not just about studying the book (although the book is really important!). It's about following our Master Teacher, studying what he taught, observing what he did, and putting what we're learning into practice every day.
Three Duties of a Disciple
So where do we start? Going back to Mark 3:14-15, Jesus calls his disciples for three clear purposes, the same purposes for which he calls us today.
1. Spend Time with Jesus
Being a disciple of Jesus starts with simply spending time with him. Jesus didn't ask his disciples to go and do what he was doing right away. He just wanted them to be with him.
In Acts 4:13, after Jesus had ascended into heaven, the religious authorities called in Peter and John, two of the original twelve, to question them about the bold things they were doing in Jesus' name. The leaders were astonished, because on the outside, Peter and John seemed completely ordinary. The only explanation they could find was this: "they took note that these men had been with Jesus."
They weren't qualified for greatness by the standards of the world. But they were called by Jesus, and they had spent time with him. Has anybody ever looked at your life with amazement and taken note that you have been with Jesus?
2. Be Sent Out by Jesus
Spending time with Jesus prepares us to do what he teaches us and calls us to do. In Luke 10:1-4, Jesus sent out a group of 72 followers, far more than just the inner circle of twelve, ahead of him into every town and place he planned to visit. He sent them with very little in the way of provisions, warning them, "I am sending you out like lambs among wolves."
Not exactly reassuring! But Jesus promises that when you obey his call to be sent, God will take care of you and see you through, even when it's scary. "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few" (Luke 10:2). Not everyone who says they want to follow Jesus really wants to step out and work for the harvest he wants to bring in. But all he asks of us is to obediently go in his name.
3. Carry the Authority of Jesus
When the 72 returned from their mission, they came back with joy, reporting in Luke 10:17: "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." Jesus had entrusted them with real power and authority to oppose evil and be agents of God's Kingdom wherever they went.
That same power and authority is still available to us today. Christian author Andy Crouch defines authority as "the capacity for meaningful action," the capacity to act in a way that makes a real difference. Jesus, who has all the power and authority in the universe, consistently used his for the benefit of others. He was unwavering in his commitment to lift others up and to oppose evil and injustice, and he teaches us to carry his authority in the same way.
That's why Jesus told the 72 not to find their joy in their newfound "superpowers," but to rejoice that through Jesus, they are citizens of God's Kingdom and ambassadors of that kingdom to the world around them.
You Don't Have to Have It All Figured Out
In what is known as the "Great Commission," some of Jesus' final instructions before ascending into heaven, he summed up the calling of every disciple in Matthew 28:18-20:
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
We become disciples who are sent to make more disciples. And the best news is, we don't have to do it on our own. Jesus promises to be with us as our ever-present Master, Teacher, Lord, and Friend.
You don't have to have it all figured out before you say "yes" to following Jesus. You just have to trust him enough to start.
Putting It Into Practice
Here are three ways to begin or deepen your life as a student of Jesus:
Spend intentional time with Jesus daily. Open the Bible, pray, and invite Jesus to speak into your life. Before we can do, Jesus calls us to simply be with him.
Look for where Jesus is sending you. Your everyday life, your neighborhood, your workplace, your family are your mission field. Ask Jesus to open your eyes to where he's already at work around you.
Use whatever authority and influence you have for others. In your relationships, your community, and your church, ask yourself: am I using what I've been given to build God's Kingdom, or my own?
The invitation is open. The school of Jesus' Kingdom has no grades, no prerequisites, and no waitlist. Will you say yes?
Reflection
Take a few quiet minutes with these questions. Be honest with yourself and with God.
Is there something in your life right now, a dream, a plan, an identity, that you might be holding onto so tightly that it's keeping you from fully surrendering to where Jesus is leading you?
Jesus called ordinary, unqualified people to be his closest students. Do you ever feel like you're not qualified enough, educated enough, or "good enough" to be used by Jesus? How does the call of the Twelve and the story of Peter and John in Acts 4 challenge that belief?
"Has anybody ever looked at your life with amazement and taken note that you have been with Jesus?" What would people who know you best say about the evidence of Jesus in your daily life?
Jesus outlines three duties of a disciple: spending time with him, being sent out by him, and carrying his authority. Which of these three feels most natural to you right now and which one feels most like a stretch? What might Jesus be inviting you to lean into?
Prayer
God who calls and sends us, thank you for the extraordinary invitation to become a student of Jesus, not because I've earned it, not because I have it all figured out, but simply because you called me. Lord, I confess that I often try to carry life on my own, running after my own plans, protecting my own dreams, building my own kingdom. Forgive me for the times I've been too weary and burdened to simply come to you. Help me to spend real, intentional time with you. Send me out with courage and purpose. And teach me to carry your authority, to be your hands and feet in the world around me. In the name of Jesus, my Master Teacher and Lord, Amen
