Jewish religious teachers in Jesus’ day were known as rabbis, as indeed they are today. They studied and taught the Hebrew Bible, particularly the Torah with its 600-plus commandments. Like other rabbis, Jesus interpreted and discussed the holy Scriptures and had pupils. And yet, he stood out in more ways than one.  

Rather than relying on what other spiritual sages taught, Jesus taught and interpreted the Hebrew Scriptures with an authority that only the Son of God could assume. While rabbis reserved their teachings for their specific group of pupils, he told his disciples to take his message to the ends of the earth. Unlike other teachers, he didn’t preach self-improvement, but self-denial, because proclaiming him as the Son of God and Lord of lords was risky.  

In other words, to be accepted by a famous rabbi as a pupil could open a promising career path; joining Jesus could land you up in prison or on a Roman cross. 

Jesus was gathering a team that would change the world. You’d think he would search high and low for the best. Maybe even host a Galilee’s Got Talent or a Zoom Torah quiz?  

Instead, Jesus sought out fishermen by Lake Galilee. We know from Acts 4.13 that they were ordinary, unschooled men, and the Gospels show us just how prone they were to getting things wrong. But could this be deliberate? Is this the way God works?  

Jesus sees beyond the externals and declares, whatever the raw material, I am going to make something beautiful. I am going to form you and equip you to help change the world.  

Do you feel unusable or inadequate? When Jesus says to you ‘Come, follow me,’ he doesn’t start off with a set of tasks but wants you to simply be with him and, over time, become like him and do the things he did. This is what it is to be apprenticed to Jesus. 

Read on, to find out more about what it means to follow Jesus.  

• Counting the cost Luke 14.25–33
• An unlikely choice Luke 19.1–10
• Joining Project World Matthew 28.16–20