Midweek Message from the Archive
Discipleship of Peter and John- Part 3
Two men you undoubtedly know from scripture are the disciples Peter and John. Jesus spotted them on a lake, called them out, and prophetically declared, “You will become fishers of men.” Jesus knew the importance of His disciples’ training in ministry since He’d just emerged from His own 18 year discipleship program. 3½ years with these men was all this God/Man would need to impart the training and experience they required to carry on His ministry. After Peter and John experienced the manifestations of dramatic healings and deliverances by Christ, along with the other 10 disciples, they were no longer called ‘disciples’ but ‘apostles’.
One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray and He prayed to God all night. At daybreak He called together all of His disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Luke 6:12, 13a NLT
You may wonder why that’s important, why Jesus changed the description of His followers from disciples to apostles. Here’s why; a disciple is a learner, someone who’s instructed in the teachings of another and chooses to follow them. On the other hand, an apostle is someone who is sent on a mission and given delegated power and authority. Jesus listened, watched, and decided when the time was right to send out His protégées and determined if they were able to continue His mission on earth. This mission was to bring heaven down to earth using His divine authority to minister to people. After the discipleship program was completed, these two disciples, especially Peter, became the leaders of Jesus’ ministry. They both traveled locally as itinerant ministers teaching, preaching, healing, and delivering people in the Name of Jesus. I doubt if they would’ve been confident; Peter had just experienced denying Christ three times and John’s brother James was executed by the Romans for his faith. Nevertheless, in the midst of their fears, they were sent out with an assignment from God and in His eyes were equipped.
It’s historically documented that Peter was crucified in Rome, inverted on a cross for his faith. John, on the other hand, lived the longest of the apostles and became known as John the Elder after a failed attempt to martyr him. Considered a pillar of faith and wisdom he came out of exile from a deserted island and wrote the Book of Revelation. These are two unique ministries but nonetheless important for us to understand. Our calling is to follow Christ in whatever specific ways He personally chooses; we only have to be obedient to that call. I challenge you this week to ask God about your discipleship training/calling and evaluate where you are. Do you need a spiritual mentor, accountability from a small group, a course correction, or simply just encouragement to carry on?
As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16b NLT
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