One easy thing to see when we look at Jesus making disciples and how He discipled is that Jesus knew his disciples. He had a very close relationship with them. One of the keys to a close relationship and knowing someone is communication. So when we look at Jesus and we see Him in the New Testament, He’s often having conversations with his disciples. And Jesus wasn’t just lecturing. He wasn’t just saying, “this is how it ought to be” or “this is how it is.” Of course there’s plenty of times where Jesus did that while He was preaching a sermon, but we also observe Jesus having conversations with His disciples. And in those situations He is doing more than just having a monologue with them. He is actually dialoguing with them.
In Matthew 16:13-14 it says, 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “ Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “ Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Here we see Jesus conversing with the disciples and saying, “Alright there’s a lot of people saying a lot of things about me,” but then He says, “What about you? Who do you say that I am? Let’s talk about you. What do you say?” And as we go to make disciples in our homes we want to do just like Jesus did and get into their hearts. We want to know them well and figure out what they’re thinking. It’s one thing to tell them what’s right but we want to be sure of more than the fact that they’re getting good information. We want to know how they are processing it. What are they thinking? Jesus says, “Alright. That’s what other people think about me. But what about you? Who do you say that I am?”
In John 21 we find Jesus talking like that again. It’s the same kind of thing but He’s talking individually to Peter.
John 21:15-17 15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “ Feed My lambs.” 16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
What’s Jesus doing? He’s digging into Peter’s heart and He’s digging deep. He’s saying “OK, let’s talk Peter. Because I have got a BIG job for you. I need you to do some great stuff. Are you with Me? Are we together? I want to know what’s going on inside of your heart.” And in that very same way, as we make disciples, we want to know what’s going on inside their heart. So one of the primary enablers as we go to make disciples of our kids, is that we know them. And to do that, we need to have those heart-to-heart discussions where we not only talk to them but we listen to them as well. It will give you the highest level of influence in their lives when it comes to guiding their development. So knowing our disciples is an important first step as we prepare them to carry on the ministry Jesus established. Because just like Jesus had a BIG job for His disciples then, He has a BIG job for the disciples He gave to us.
