Bible Study with the Cincottis – Discipleship – 06/07/2026
Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti.
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Discipleship
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Mt. 28:19,20
Discipleship is the big buzzword of contemporary Christianity, and as such, it is probably the least practiced and most misunderstood Christian discipline. There is no shortage of books and teachings out there, but the practice is fading from the landscape. I don’t say this based on any statistics that I am aware of, but from my personal engagement with a large swath of believers who say things like, “I’ve been a Christian for thirty years and I’ve never been discipled nor have I ever discipled anyone. I’m trying not to make too big a generalization based upon my own experience, but given the condition of contemporary Christianity I think this constitutes a big problem; especially in light of the weight of importance that Jesus puts on the subject by including it in some of the last words that He shares.
In order to examine this subject, we will look at some Biblical examples of discipleship from both Old and New Testaments and from there attempt to draw out some principles of sound, healthy, Biblical discipleship. The answers are in God’s word, but the onus is upon us to walk in what we receive. This often requires a counter-cultural shift because, truth be told, the culture is not friendly toward discipleship. Typically, discipleship requires an investment of time that seems to be in short supply in our “busy” little lives. Busy has become a virtue, the subject of which starts many casual conversations with; “are you busy?” The appropriate answer is, “Yes!”
When we think of disciples, our first thoughts usually go to Jesus twelve disciples, who are named and recorded in the gospel accounts, but like many Biblical principles, discipleship is a consistent theme throughout the pages of Scripture. Arguably, the first example that we see is Moses and Joshua. The first glimpse we get of their relationship is in Ex. 33:11, “So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.” The word “servant” should jump out at us. Later, in Num. 12:28, Joshua is called, “Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men,” Further along still, in Num. 27:18-20, we read, “And the LORD said to Moses: ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.’” Already, this story looks familiar. Some key takeaways are: 1) Joshua, the disciple, is steadfast, 2) this is recognized both by God and Moses, 3) there is a progression in their relationship, 4) they are like-minded, 5) there is a hand-off of leadership. These will be present in all the discipleship accounts.
There is not much backstory about Joshua, so it’s hard to piece together a pattern. We don’t know, for instance, which came first; did Joshua see something in Moses that drew him in, or did Moses see something in Joshua that compelled his selection? We definitely recognize God’s hand and voice in the matter, which is not incidental to the equation.
Another OT example is that of Elijah and Elisha. In
I Kg. 19:15,16, we catch the first mention, “Then the LORD said to him [Elijah]…’And Elisha the son of Saphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.’” Much of the balance of this saga plays out in the early chapters of II Kings. At one point, we see a reference to, “the sons of the prophets,” which seems to describe a cohort of as many as fifty, recorded in 2:7. Then comes the handoff in 2:15 where the fifty observe, “The spirit of Elijah rest on Elisha.” Prior to Elijah’s ascension, Elisha says four times, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” Again, we don’t get many details about their relationship, but that last statement is very telling. Quite a bond seems to have formed. In verse 12 Elisha calls Elijah, “My father, my father” and then, “he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.” …Wow!
I would be remiss, coming off our study in Ruth, not to point out the bond between Naomi and Ruth. All the above-mentioned elements of discipleship are present in that relationship. It’s noteworthy to point out that all these examples of intimate, discipling relationships bear great fruit for the kingdom. We are seeing, in the annals of Scripture, God working, not just through a man, but through relationships.
Our greatest example is that of Jesus and His disciples, which may have been as many as seventy, and, of course, one hundred and twenty in the upper room, but we focus mostly on the twelve. Jesus could have just shown up one Passover in Jerusalem, made the religious leaders mad, gotten Himself crucified, and rescued the world from the bondage of sin and death, without ever engaging with a single person. Oftentimes, self-sacrifice is not laying down your life for someone in the form of dying, but in the form of living. It’s much more tedious to walk day by day with broken, needy people than just to make a big splash and move on. Jesus left the glories of heaven to dwell among us in our most common form, a handful of simple folks. He should have wowed the theologians and the philosophers with His knowledge, or the kings and rulers with His power, but we know He didn’t do that. He said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friend.” Jn. 15:13
Jesus model for discipleship was simple; draw a small group to Himself for a period of time, teaching them, and do life together along the way. Sounds similar to our other examples. If we fast forward, we will see the pattern play out in the Book of Acts, with Paul and Timothy, Barnabas, Silas, and Luke. Peter discipled John Mark and John discipled Polycarp, which we read about in church history. Not only did miracles not end with the apostolic era but discipleship, likewise, did not end, though, like today, it may go dormant for a season. Throughout church history, the record of various monastic movements takes on a very similar complexion to discipleship. The 2017 book, The Benedict Option, speaks of a resurgence of monastic life as a call to discipleship.
The truth is that we long for these types of intimate, transparent, like-minded relationships, even in the secular world. In his book, Contagious Disciple Making, David & Paul Watson (father and son) call them “silos”. It’s actually a sociology term. Why would anyone leave their group and join ours? There has to be something compelling there. They go on to say, “Equipping requires us to be in relationship with those we are discipling. In equipping, we engage in more than just classroom or teaching/training time. The equipper and the equipped become a part of each other’s lives.” …Wow!
If there is such primal hunger, then why are these sorts of relationships so foreign in church settings? Three probable reasons are: 1) Fear. People have been hurt in other silos – church or otherwise – and are reluctant to go in too deep. Church is nice, but intimacy is frightening. 2) Busyness. I’ve already mentioned how this has become the hallmark of our culture, making it not conducive to time-consuming, intimate relationships. 3) Ministry. Ministry has become a job, a title, a platform, and a show, lacking the basic elements for discipleship. I believe that this drives people into one of three places: hyper-individuality, in which we figure that just me and Jesus is enough for my group; cultism, because nature hates a vacuum, so people will find what they are looking for even in unhealthy settings; or rank mediocrity, lukewarm Christianity spoken of in Rev. 3:14-22. In his book, Soul Care, Rob Reimer says that his aim is to, “die without any secrets and without any enemies.” That only happens in intimate communities built on trust and bathed in the Spirit…” Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Come!
We have to restore discipleship!!!
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