From the desk of Pastor Ben
Jesus Discipling In Galilee

“After these things, Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.”     (John 7:1)

The apostle John recorded nothing specific about Jesus’ activities during the interval denoted by “after these things” (6 months from Passover in April, to the Feast of Tabernacles in October) other than He “was walking in Galilee”  — no doubt traveling and ministering (see Mark 8:22-26; Matthew 15:32-38; 17:14-18).

Jesus spent most of that interval, however, extensively discipling the apostles. That He spent only two days with the large crowd of John 6 but six months with His men demonstrates that our Lord’s main ministry focus was not on mass meetings, but discipleship. He poured His time and energy into the 11 servants (minus Judas Iscariot; Matthias and Paul were chosen later) who would pick up His ministry when He ascended back to heaven. The true church today is the result of those men who faithfully disciples others, who continued the process down to our day.

Discipleship must be our top priority as well. Jesus didn’t commission the church to merely draw in large crowds, but to make disciples as it progressed (Matthew 28:19-20). Paul underscored this in his injunction to pastor Timothy: “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). God wants us to judge the success of our churches by the depth of their discipleship, not the numerical size of their congregations.

Ask Yourself:
What have been some of the benefits you’ve derived from up-close, one-on-one learning that would never have been yours any other way? What is it that is cluttering your life too full to offer discipleship to another person, including your children? How could you change that?