Sonlife Making Disciples As Jesus Did

After choosing the first leaders for the movement and laying out the Father’s plan for reaching the world, Jesus comes down from the mountain and returns to His home and ministry center in Capernaum. His leaders are now with Him almost 24/7. And who does the Father have waiting in the wings but a Roman centurion? Oh, the humor of our Father in Heaven! How will Jesus model His new leadership style? How will it all play out?   Knowing Him Study: 114-116 Check out video #24 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

After letting His disciples know what they should expect as they leave this mountaintop experience with Him, He turns His attention to explaining the Father’s plan for reaching the world. I imagine the atmosphere was electrifying with everyone shouting, “Let’s take the world!” Jesus quiets them and begins sharing the game plan to bring freedom from Rome and the curse of sin. They all listen with great anticipation to the new plan. It is an awesome plan and one Jesus will explain and live out in front of His new leaders and disciples over the coming two years. It will end in the ultimate act of love — His own death. Get ready to have your world rocked! Knowing Him Study: pages 11-113 sonlife.com

When we left Jesus yesterday He had just announced the appointment of twelve leaders. I am not sure that everyone was happy with the final decision. What about the women disciples? Yes, there were many women who were not just Christ-followers, but also disciples. In Luke 8:1-3 we have a list of several of these women. As Jesus looks into the faces of those not chosen as well as those who were chosen, I am sure He saw many different expressions. Maybe everyone expected Peter, but how about Matthew, the tax collector? Surely some people had a hard time with this selection. After all, Matthew was a traitor to his people and hated — how could Jesus choose him? And how about the fact that eleven of the twelve were from the region of Galilee?   Knowing Him Study: 108-110 sonlife.com

As Jesus moves into this new phase, He knows it is crucial that He listen carefully to His Father in order for the movement to expand according to the Father’s master plan. Jesus called an isolated (perhaps secretive) meeting with His disciples from every area He has been in over the past two years. Probably some 120 disciples move quietly to the mountains of Naphtali just northwest of Capernaum. As they are arriving from all over, Jesus climbs to a high spot. What will He do? What will He say? What will be the next step His Father will ask Him to take? Let’s take a look.   Knowing Him Study: 105-107 Check out video #23 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

This phase in Jesus’ life is focused on leadership development. As the movement continues to grow, Jesus begins to hand-select from His disciples a few to be servant leaders of the movement. After a full night of prayer, consulting with His Father, Jesus appoints twelve men who will begin their apprenticeship as leaders and will eventually become the leaders of the movement.   Knowing Him Study: pages 101-104 sonlife.com

The sixth fishing expedition is amazing and, honestly, a bit astonishing to me. There is this guy living in Capernaum — he is well off, well-dressed, has it all. He is, in fact, the son of the powerful Alphaeus and commissioned, trusted and protected by Rome to collect taxes from the people of Israel. He may have been following Jesus from afar and weighing carefully the call to leave everything and follow. But there is so much to leave — the house, the money, the job, the lifestyle. If he could only know for certain that Jesus could give him what he most wants. Let’s see what he discovers.   Knowing Him Study: pages 98-100 Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

After this last fishing expedition, the movement is snowballing. Did you catch how the movement of multiplication is beginning to get out of control? Peter notes that during this time in the ministry, the leper “went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely place. Yet the people still come to him from everywhere” (Mark 1:45). From the eyewitnesses that he interviewed, Luke notes: “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses” (Luke 5:15). What will happen next?   Knowing Him Study: pages 95-97 Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

As Jesus moves throughout the Galilee of the Gentiles, sharing who He is, He comes across a man covered from head to toe with a fatal disease. What will happen and how will this lead to a teaching experience and a fishing expedition for His team? Let’s dig right in.   Knowing Him Study: pages 92-94 Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

Okay, so far we have Jesus fishing at the synagogue and at the disciple Peter’s house. Where will He go next? One outreach was well planned, the other spontaneous. What kind of event will follow? When we left Jesus yesterday, under the direction of His Father, He had departed with His disciples (or at least most of them) for the surrounding villages to train His young team and go fishing for men. Fishing in the marketplace is where we will find the Master today. Check it out. Knowing Him Study: pages 89-91 Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

We are in the process of looking at the first six fishing expeditions of Jesus. We are doing this for two reasons. Do you remember what they are? His aim was both to train the ministry team and to reach the masses. Although yesterday’s expedition was well executed, today’s fishing expedition may surprise you. When we left yesterday, Jesus had healed a demon-possessed man of an evil spirit and, immediately, news about Jesus spread into all the surrounding district of Galilee (Mark 1:28). Jesus leaves the synagogue in Capernaum and heads to Peter’s house. Yes, Peter owned a house and he was even married. Check it out. Knowing Him Study: pages 86-88 Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

Jesus is now ready to begin what will be another year and a half of fishing expeditions with His disciples. We will be looking at the first six expeditions. These are the first six outreach events that Jesus does in order to train His young ministry team to reach the masses with the Good News that He is the Messiah. There is a progression to these fishing trips, a good pattern for us to follow, and much to learn about fishing for men. Read the story from the three different points of view, or better yet, print them out and  try to piece the event together chronologically. Jump right in and learn to fish Jesus-style. Knowing Him Study: pages 83-85 Check out video #22 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

Jesus leaves Jerusalem and makes His way back up north to His new home in Capernaum. He most likely heads over to the shores of the Sea of Galilee to meet up with some of His early followers, who had returned home as well to their parents, wives and families. He arrives early in the morning, just as the sun breaks over the horizon. These fishermen have just come off of a long night of fishing and are hard at work washing and mending their nets. What will Jesus say to them? Will they be excited to see Him?   Knowing Him Study: pages 80-82 Check out video #21 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

This is a big day for Jesus! Today he will appear before the religious leaders in Jerusalem. He is being brought up on two very serious charges. Charge #1: Jesus broke Sabbath by healing a man and then telling him to carry his mat (do work). Charge #2: Jesus was claiming that God was His real Father and that He and God the Father were equals. Wow! I hope you can’t wait for the declaration of truth that is coming your way today.   Knowing Him Study: pages 77-79 sonlife.com

After moving to Capernaum, Jesus makes the long trip down to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Jews. (Some believe this was the second Passover that Jesus attended. Some believe it was the Feast of Tabernacles, thus placing the following two events about 6-7 months later.) Remember what happened last year at the Passover (John 2)? Jesus definitely shook things up then! I wonder what will happen this year. There must have been a buzz about Jesus as people made the journey from all over the world to Jerusalem to celebrate this important Jewish festival. Let’s find out what happens.   Knowing Him Study: pages 74-76 Check out video #20 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

Jesus now moves into a period of transition in the ministry. After preaching in Nazareth in His hometown synagogue and being rejected by the people, Jesus moves (and some believe Jesus also moved His whole family with Him). Where will He go and how will the ministry change? His fame is becoming widespread now and people are coming from all over looking for Him. Jesus, during this time, will make four transitions that we want to note before we look at the training of the His ministry team and the six “Fishing Expeditions.” Take a look! Knowing Him Study: pages 71-73 sonlife.com

These next two phases in Jesus’ life we have titled Ministry Training and Expanded Outreach. We do this because we see Jesus doing two things here at the same time. As the movement of multiplication grows, Jesus issues His next call: “‘Come, follow me’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’” (Mark 1:17) It is the third call. It is made to those He has already called: “Come and see” and “Follow Me.” This third call is to come closer to Jesus, to draw near enough so He can now teach you how you can be a part of the process of making disciples. He invites these first followers to join Him in the ministry, to become apprentices in the school of disciple-making and share in the multiplication of the movement.   Knowing Him Study: pages 68-70 Check out video #19 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

Jesus now moves back to the His hometown of Nazareth, the place where he had grown up. Remember what it had been like for Jesus from your study in Psalms 69? Jesus may have suffered here in His youth at the hands of the elders who had constantly discussed what they were going to do with Him and the town drunkards who seemingly made up songs about Him. Now He was returning to teach in their synagogue on the Sabbath. What will happen? Knowing Him Study: pages 65-67 sonlife.com

As Jesus and His followers leave Samaria and head back into Galilee, the news about Him has already reached the people and the talk in all Israel is about the new prophet on the scene — Jesus of Nazareth. As His hometown tries to sort through their emotions about who Jesus really is and how they could have missed it, Jesus makes His way a little north, to the town of Cana. Remember Cana? Jesus had been there several months ago and had revealed His glory to His family and first followers at the wedding. Why was He going back to this town? What would He do this time? Take a look.   Knowing Him Study: pages 62-64 Check out video #18 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

Jesus leaves His best friend John at the River Aenon and heads back down into Judea where He had left His first followers to continue testifying about Him and baptizing the people (John 4:1-3). Do you remember what baptism meant? Jesus’ early followers were helping the people to identify with the person and work of Jesus. This was why they were baptizing them. Jesus collects His followers and begins to head back up to Galilee, but first He must pass through Samaria. Look again at the map and get your bearings. Let’s go north into Samaria to the town of Sychar.   Knowing Him Study: pages 59-61 Check out video #16 and video #17 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com

Take a moment and find the River Aenon on the map. Note that the river Aenon is on the border of Samaria. This is a very important place, and we need to ask the question — why was John the Baptist near Samaria? What was he doing there? Up until this time, he had spent his time preparing the way for the Messiah among the Jewish people, like a voice crying in the desert, making straight the path (Isa. 40:3). John had been focused on the Jews, so why is he here near Samaria? And by the way — why did John not leave his ministry of preparing the way and just follow after Jesus like he tells his disciples too? Well, let’s see what we can uncover.   Knowing Him Study: pages 56-58 Check out video #15 at www.knowinghimvideos.com | sonlife.com