12: Discipleship

What it means to be a follower of Jesus

Read Luke 5:1-11:27-32.

These passages show how people responded to Jesus. We see how the apostles were in awe of him, how they wondered at what he could do and what he knew. We see Peter being so awed by Christ that he asked him to go away. Jesus, however, did not go away, and Peter followed him.

Levi, who is often thought to be identical with Matthew, was a tax collector. This made him an outcast and a collaborator with the enemy. Jesus called him as a disciple. The message of these passages is that God can call whomever he wishes to be his disciple. Even if a person has been a sinner they can be called by Christ. All that matters is that the person called gives a positive response to Christ.

Summarise what happens in the two passages referred to above?

Why do you think people were shocked when Jesus called Levi.