5 Reasons to Be a Disciple of Jesus

Why would anyone give up something of great value for something of little value? That would be crazy. Would you trade someone your $100 bill for a $1 bill? Only a fool would do that. When I listen to people discuss the idea of being a disciple of Jesus, it’s often presented as a call to trade in something of great value for something of little value. However, the biblical authors claimed that when they became disciples of Jesus, they traded in things of little value in order to receive things of great value. In this post, I will briefly share 5 of the reasons the biblical authors provided for why you may want to consider being disciples of Jesus. I’ll let you decide whether you think these things are more valuable than the things you may end up giving up. Check back next week for a follow up post where I will share 5 reasons why you may not want to consider being a disciple of Jesus based on your perceived value of the things you may end up giving up.

Note: A disciple is simply defined as “a learner.” To be a disciple of Jesus, then, means to be his student.

1. Jesus Can Satisfy Your Soul

Every person I have met has a deep desire to be satisfied. This desire seems to drive everything we do. We try to find satisfaction in so many things like our jobs, our spouses, and our material possessions. Each of these things can provide temporary satisfaction, but inevitably, the satisfaction derived from these things seems to always be fleeting. The authors of the Bible, including Jesus himself, claimed that he could permanently satisfy the souls of his disciples.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” – John 6:35[1]

At first glance, it may sound like Jesus was talking about physical hunger and thirst. Based on the rest of what he said in his dialogue with the large crowd of people in John 6, however, he was actually claiming that he could satisfy the hunger and thirst of their souls.

2. Jesus Can Transform Your Heart and Mind

I’ve encountered many people who believe that they have to change their lifestyle and “get their act together” before God (or another deity they worship) will accept them. This can turn into a lifelong quest to become a better person, only to realize that at the end of their lives, they still fall short of meeting their deity’s expectations. The biblical writers claim that Jesus doesn’t wait for his disciples to fix themselves, but rather, he meets them where they are and then takes them to where he is. They claim that his purpose in them is to transform their hearts and minds to make them like him:

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die–but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the [image of Jesus] from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. – 1 Corinthians 3:18

3. Jesus Can Keep Challenging You

It seems to me that a lot of people are bored. That’s not to say that they don’t have any work to do; most of them have lists a mile long. Instead, they’ve found themselves in a comfortable place where they feel secure, but they are no longer being challenged. The biblical writers claim that Jesus is not content to let his disciples get comfortable; instead, he continues to challenge them as part of the process of transforming their hearts and minds:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces [perseverance]. And let [perseverance] have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

4. Jesus Can Assign You Value

Everyone uses one means or another to gauge their value. Some people gauge their value by how well they can perform a certain function. Some people gauge their value by how attractive other people think they are. Some people gauge their value by how many friends they have. As long as they continue to perform a certain function well, stay beautiful, or have a lot of friends, they remain valuable. But what happens when they can’t perform that function well anymore, they start to get wrinkles on their skin, or they lose all their friends? Naturally, they lose their value. The biblical writers claim that Jesus assigns his disciples value, regardless of whether they continue to perform certain functions, remain beautiful, or have lots of friends. If this is the case, then Jesus’s disciples can rest assured that they will always have value.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:8-10

5. Jesus Can Give You Life

I saved this reason until last because it’s probably the hardest one to accept. Most people think that simply because they are breathing organisms who walk around on this earth, they are alive. Therefore, they see no need for someone to give them life. But the biblical writers claim that although people are physically alive, they are spiritually dead without Jesus. If this claim is correct, then all people need someone to give them life. The biblical writers, including Jesus, claimed that Jesus is not only life, but that Jesus can also give (spiritual) life to his disciples.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you have been saved. – Ephesians 2:1-5

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die…” – John 11:25-26

According to the biblical writers, when Jesus claimed that the people who believed in him would never die, he wasn’t claiming that they wouldn’t die a physical death. Instead, he was claiming that they would live with him both in this life and for eternity.

–

What do you think? Do you agree that these 5 reasons to be a disciple of Jesus are more valuable than what you may end up giving up? Can you think of other “greater value” reasons to be a disciple of Jesus?

---

[1] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the English Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway, 2001).