By Darrel Proffitt, Lead Pastor,
Have you ever wondered what it meant to be a disciple in Jesus' day? Perhaps we could learn something about our own call to discipleship if we understood what it meant when Jesus told those who would become His disciples, to leave what they were doing and follow Him. If a person desired to become a disciple of a particular teacher (rabbi) he would leave his family and spend all his time following, listening, and modeling the teacher. They would walk from one place to another and the disciple would simply do life together with the teacher. The rabbi would teach, the disciple would listen. The disciple would study and work alongside his rabbi. There was time spent on reading, discussing and memorizing Scripture. The disciple would learn from the rabbi about how to apply Scriptures to everyday life.
It was said that a disciple was to “cover himself in the dust of [the rabbi's] feet,” soaking up all that he could from the teachings and example of the teacher. The disciple would follow his rabbi so closely that he
would “walk in his dust.” It was understood that this was the only way that the disciple could become like his teacher.
In responding to our call to discipleship, as a Jesus follower, we need to also “walk in His dust.” How do we do that? The same way the first disciples of Jesus did: studying what He says and does, reading and meditating on His word, and applying these learnings to our everyday life.
Have you ever wondered what it meant to be a disciple in Jesus' day? Perhaps we could learn something about our own call to discipleship if we understood what it meant when Jesus told those who would become His disciples, to leave what they were doing and follow Him. If a person desired to become a disciple of a particular teacher (rabbi) he would leave his family and spend all his time following, listening, and modeling the teacher. They would walk from one place to another and the disciple would simply do life together with the teacher. The rabbi would teach, the disciple would listen. The disciple would study and work alongside his rabbi. There was time spent on reading, discussing and memorizing Scripture. The disciple would learn from the rabbi about how to apply Scriptures to everyday life.
It was said that a disciple was to “cover himself in the dust of [the rabbi's] feet,” soaking up all that he could from the teachings and example of the teacher. The disciple would follow his rabbi so closely that he
would “walk in his dust.” It was understood that this was the only way that the disciple could become like his teacher.
In responding to our call to discipleship, as a Jesus follower, we need to also “walk in His dust.” How do we do that? The same way the first disciples of Jesus did: studying what He says and does, reading and meditating on His word, and applying these learnings to our everyday life.
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