The Theme of Discipleship the Gospel of John

¶ … Gospel of John: The Theme of Discipleship

The Theme of Discipleship: The Gospel of John

Discipleship is one of the salient themes in the Gospel of John. John attempts to paint a distinct profile for what a true disciple looks like, and what true discipleship is about. His audience is the Johannine community. This text explains the idea of discipleship based on the precepts presented in John 9, 11, and 17. Moreover, it explains how the precepts presented therein apply in the context of the church today.

Discipleship in the Gospel of John

Discipleship is recognized as one of the core themes in the fourth gospel. John basically attempts to construct a concept of what true discipleship is about and what a true disciple looks like. He presents a succinct profile for authentic discipleship with the aim of making it easier for the Johannine community to understand what true discipleship entails, and who qualified to be recognized as such. This paper is intent on bringing out the criteria for paradigmatic discipleship as taught by John to the Johannine community. It goes further to provide insight on how the same applies to the church today.

John 17, John 9 and John 11

John 9, 11 and 17 all provide a glimpse of what true discipleship entails, and the specific qualities that one needs to demonstrate in order to be categorized as such.

John 9: John 9 presents the story of the man who had been blind from birth, and who had come to Jesus for healing upon hearing that He and His disciples would be passing by. The theme of true discipleship is manifested in the man's actions after he had been healed -- he is excommunicated from the synagogue and expelled from the life of the community for being identified as a disciple of Jesus (9: 34-35). When news about the man's excommunication reaches Jesus, He goes after him and asks whether he believed in the Son of Man (9: 35). The man acknowledges that he does, and then falls at Jesus' feet in worship (9: 36-38). Through this passage, John brings to light a number of crucial issues about true discipleship. First, a true disciple ought to bear witness to Christ through his/her actions -- the Pharisees identify the man as a disciple of Christ even before he (the man) professes his faith in Him. This is because his actions -- telling everyone that it was Jesus, the Prophet (9: 17) and the Man of God (9: 33) who had healed him- convinced the Pharisees that he indeed was a disciple of Christ. Secondly, a true disciple ought to demonstrate faith in Christ and to recognize His true identity -- the man placed his faith in Jesus for both physical and spiritual healing; he recognizes him as 'the prophet' and the 'Son of God' (9: 17, 33) (Merwe, 2003). Thirdly, a true disciple must be willing to bear the cost of discipleship, in this case, persecution (9: 22). Members of the Johannine community are reminded that they stand to face rejection for proclaiming Jesus' name; true discipleship, however, is about bearing witness to Christ and facing persecution, while still having faith that God will deliver you (Painter, 2015).

John 11: the theme of discipleship is expressed throughout this chapter. Jesus is preparing to return to Judea, but the disciples are afraid for his safety because His Jewish opponents are planning to kill Him there (11: 8). Jesus, nonetheless, invites the disciples to accompany Him, expressing in verse 12 that "if you refuse to walk with me, you refuse faith and discipleship." The disciples then put their fear behind and follow Christ to Judea. Here, members of the Johannine community are educated on the themes of persecution, faith, and obedience as features of true discipleship (Painter, 2015). The punishment for following Christ in the Johannine community was persecution and being excommunicated from the community -- the people are, however, cautioned against not following Christ (the light) because then, they risk stumbling and failing to attain salvation (11: 35). Discipleship, therefore, is profiled as being of the domain of light (Kilgour, 2000). John attempts to explain that there indeed are costs to true discipleship; however, God will not let those who follow Him stumble; He will ultimately deliver them (MacArthur, 2005). Christ fully understands the importance of faith to discipleship -- the disciples' constant questioning and doubts signify that they lack faith in Christ and the Father. In the second part of the passage, therefore, Jesus takes them with Him to Lazarus' home to witness his being raised from the dead so that their faith would be strengthened. John here paints the picture that faith forms the basis of true discipleship (Merwe, 2003).

John 17: 6-26: this passage presents Christ's priestly prayer to God in the final moments before His arrest and crucifixion. The prayer comprises of three distinct parts -- Jesus' prayer for Himself (vs. 1-5) the prayer for His disciples (6-19), and the prayer for all believers (20-26). We will focus on the last two parts of Christ's prayer since the first part does not mention anything about discipleship. John creates a distinct profile for what discipleship entails in this passage. First, discipleship is about knowing God; it requires one to have knowledge of God -- in verse 25, Jesus mentions that what sets the disciples apart from the rest of the world is the fact that they know Him; fellowship with God can only come through knowing Him and forming a personal relationship with Him, trusting in His word, His promises and His power (Kilgour, 2000). A second component of discipleship according to this passage is the art of obedience, sacrifice and acceptance -- He mentions in verse 17 that they had become enemies of the world and were hated by their adversaries for being true disciples; however, they had accepted all that, selflessly choosing to share in His joys and persecutions. True discipleship, therefore, according to Christ's prayer, is about sacrifice, selflessness, faith, and knowing God.