Ogden Essential Guide to Becoming a Disciple

1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8308-9322-5
Verlag: InterVarsity Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 112 Seiten

Reihe: The Essentials Set

IVP Readers' Choice Award What am I committing to when I say I want to follow Jesus? Using the Great Commission to explore the mission to make disciples as well as the core characteristics that identify us as Jesus' followers, this guide lays the foundation for a life in Christ. Following the popular and effective design of his curriculum Discipleship Essentials that sold over 250,000 copies, Greg Ogden has included the following elements in each of the eight sessions: - a core truth - a Bible study - a reading - life application Whether you are mentoring one-on-one or in a small group, this essential guide will serve as an ideal on-ramp into the discipleship journey.

Greg Ogden (DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) recently retired as executive pastor of discipleship at Christ Church of Oak Brook. Prior to that he served as director of the doctor of ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary. Now based in Monterey, California, he lives out his passion of teaching about the disciple-making mission of the church.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ogden, Greg

Leseproben

1 / Jesus

Who Does He Think He Is?

Looking Ahead

CORE TRUTH VERSE: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’” (Matthew 28:18)

BIBLE STUDY: Mark 8:27-30

READING: Jesus, the Unrivaled Ruler of the Universe

Core Truth

What authority does Jesus claim for himself?

Jesus declares the most astonishing thing that anyone could say about oneself: he announces that his Father has given him all authority over the entire universe. Abraham Kuyper succinctly and famously said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”1

• What key thoughts from the Core Truth stand out to you and why?
• What questions or issues does the Core Truth raise for you?

Inductive Bible Study

Since the disciples had observed Jesus heal, forgive sin, still storms and cast out demons for two years, the question of Jesus’ identity had been on their minds. Yet it was Jesus who asked them the question “Who do you say I am?” Read Mark 8:27-30.

1. Jesus first engaged the disciples with the general question, “ Who do people say I am?” How did the general public seem to view Jesus?
2. Why do you think Jesus asked the disciples about “the buzz on the streets” before putting the question directly to them?
3. What are some of the different views people have of Jesus today?
4. Think about the different responses to this question about Jesus’ identity. What’s the significance of these different answers? Why is the identity of Jesus so crucial?
5. Then Jesus turned the question on his own followers: “Who do you say I am?” Peter, speaking for the twelve, answered, “ You are the Messiah (the Christ).” In Matthew, Peter’s response adds, “the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). What is it that Peter has grasped about Jesus?
6. By calling the question to his followers, Jesus raises the same question for us: Who do you say that Jesus is?

Reading: Jesus, the Unrivaled Ruler of the Universe

The late journalist Sydney J. Harris was asked a discerning question by a parent regarding the authority of teachers: “How is it that some teachers are able to control their classes with a very light rein, and have no disciplinary troubles, while others must shout and plead and threaten and still get nowhere with the troublemakers?”

Harris replied that the authority of a teacher has far less to do with teaching techniques or lesson plans, but with the “authenticity” of the teacher. Genuine authority is the result of the “realness, presence, aura, that can impress and influence even a six-year old. . . . A person is either himself or not himself; is either rooted in his existence, or is a fabrication; has either found his humanhood or is still playing with masks and roles and status symbols. Only an authentic person can evoke a good response in the core of another person.”2

The most authentic person who ever lived was Jesus Christ. From the outset Jesus impressed people with his innate authority. Early in his public ministry, Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. “The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law” (Mark 1:22). Jesus then proceeded to deliver a man possessed by an evil spirit. Then they were really impressed. “The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching—and with authority!’” (Mark 1:27).

The authority of Jesus left people shocked and spellbound— amazed.

Who Is This Man?

The Gospel writers contrast Jesus’ teaching with that of the Jewish scribes. “He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law” (Mark 1:22). The scribes, or “teachers of the law,” were the scholars of the day. They had catalogued all the various oral interpretations and applications of the Old Testament law. It was their lifelong vocation to be walking databases reciting chapter and verse. The scribes would never render a teaching without a precedent from a well-attested source.

Along comes Jesus without any of the credentials we would associate with worldly authority. Under what rabbi had Jesus studied? From what school had Jesus obtained his credentials? What powerful office did Jesus occupy? Jesus made no reference to precedence. In his teaching he only quoted Scripture, not some famous and well-attested scribe. And when correcting distorted teaching, he claimed himself as the authority, “ You have heard it said . . . but I tell you” (see Matthew 5:21-48, emphasis mine). Authority simply flowed from his being so his words struck the crowds as authentic and true.

Jesus grew up in a humble family in Nazareth and learned the trade of a carpenter. He seemed so normal, yet woven into the fabric of his ministry were self-acclamations and expressions of deity. Some have seriously argued that Jesus did not have a divine self-awareness. In the introduction to The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel recounts an interview with Charles Templeton, an early protégé and colleague of Billy Graham. Templeton parted company with the great evangelist in the late 1940s because doubts undermined his faith. Near the end of his life when Strobel asked him whether Jesus thought of himself as God, Templeton shook his head, “That would have been the last thought that would have entered his mind.” 3

On the contrary, the New Testament seems to raise this question on almost every page, “Who does Jesus think he is anyway, God or something?” Let’s do a quick survey of Jesus’ God-consciousness and authority.

Jesus functioned as Creator and Redeemer. His words accomplish what he commands.

• Jesus commanded and demons obeyed. He silenced an unclean spirit in the synagogue, delivered the Gerasene demoniac from his crazed condition and called out a spirit that had been destroying a boy’s life (Mark 1:21-28; 5:1-17; 9:17-27).
• Jesus healed simply by touch or command. He rid a person of leprosy, restored a withered hand, stopped the flow of blood in a helpless woman and brought recovery of sight to the blind (Mark 1:40-45; 3:1-7; 5:25-34; John 9:1-25).
• Jesus raised the dead. Jairus’s daughter, a widow’s son and Lazarus were all brought back to life (Mark 5:21-24, 35-43; Luke 7:11-16; John 11:41-44).
• Jesus ruled over nature. Jesus walked on water, stilled a storm at the word of his command and orchestrated the greatest catch of fish Peter could have ever imagined (Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 5:1-11).

Jesus forgave sins. To the paralytic being lowered through the roof by his four friends, Jesus declared, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” The scribes present immediately recognized this as an act that usurps God’s authority for they thought to themselves, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:3-7).

Jesus asked for total allegiance from his followers. When Jesus claimed the new vocation for Peter, James and John—fishing for people—they left everything and followed him (Luke 5:10-11).

Jesus said that he had been given the right to grant eternal life (Matthew 11:27; John 1:12; 5:26-30; 17:2-3). When the disciples heard Jesus claim this authority, they weren’t shocked nor surprised. The Greek word for authority that Jesus uses is exousia. Ex means “out of ” and ousia means “being or substance.” Put together, we learn that Jesus’ authority flowed out of his being or substance. So when Jesus claimed “all authority in heaven and on earth” as he commissioned the disciples (Matthew 28:18), he was making explicit what they had observed throughout his ministry.

None other than Bono, U2’s lead singer, pulls it together for us. An interviewer questioned his assertion about Christ, “Christ has his rank among the world’s great thinkers, but Son of God, isn’t that far-fetched?” Bono replied:

No. It’s not far-fetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously an interesting guy, he had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Mohammad, Buddha, or Confucius. Christ says, “No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me a teacher. I’m not saying I am a prophet. I’m saying: ‘I’m the Messiah.’ I’m saying: ‘I am God incarnate.’ ” . . . At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes and says: Oh my God, he’s gonna keep saying this. So what you’re left with is: either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. . . . The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that’s far-fetched.4

Jesus’ authority is convincing because the prerogatives he claims, the powers he displays and the love he evidences are all integrated into the healthiest personality who ever lived.

As we have noted,...