THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
DISCIPLESHIP
DR. JIM DIXON
MAY 3, 1987
JOHN 1:31-51
When I was a child, I would dream that I could fly. As I recall, it was a lot of work. In my dream I would go out into the grassy area behind our house in La Cañada, California, and I’d begin to flap my arms. I’d have to move them hard and I’d have to move them fast, but eventually I would begin to rise off the ground and up above the house. And I would continue to move my arms and just rise higher and higher. Pretty soon I was up over the neighborhood, and then I would rise up over the San Gabriel Mountains behind our house. Every once in a while people would look up at me, and of course they’d be very impressed because most people couldn’t fly.
Every once in a while I’d kind of panic and begin to fall, and then I’d either wake up or I’d kind of right myself. I dreamed this dream many times—not just once, but time and again. Sometimes I would dream that I was in the running long jump and I’d always win because, you see, it’s easy to long jump when you know how to fly. I would leave the toe board… I didn’t have to worry about landing in the pit. I could just continue right on up and out of the stadium. Psychologists tell us that among children the most common dream is the dream that you could fly. It’s sort of in the heart of men and women. From the dawn of time, men and women have dreamed that they could fly.
The Greeks believe that the first man to fly was Daedalus. Thousands of years ago, we’re told, he lived on the island of Crete. Daedalus was an architect and a sculptor. He built the great labyrinth for King Minos on the island of Crete. And he was in prison there. One day, Daedalus and his son, Icarus, escaped. They knew that they needed to flee the whole island to get away, but there was no ship for them to take. They decided they would try to fly. And they went down to the beach and Daedalus and Icarus gathered feathers from birds that had been there. They put the feathers on their arms and shoulders and kind of glued them to their arms and shoulders with wax. And then they begin to flap their arms, and, according to the Greek myths, they rose from the island of Crete up over the Mediterranean.
And Daedalus warned his son, “Son, don’t go too high. You’re invading the realm of the gods. They don’t want us here. You’re not meant to be too great. You’re not meant to soar too high. The gods don’t want to see you. They don’t want you to get near, they don’t want you to get close.” But Icarus was so enraptured by flying that he just went higher and higher. Pretty soon he went all the way to the sun and the heat of the sun began to melt the wax, and the feathers begin to fall out, and eventually Icarus dropped from the sky like a rock, through the clouds down into the ocean below. His father Daedalus flew down to the surface of the ocean to try to rescue his son, but it was too late. His son was dead.
Daedalus then flew to the island of Sicily, or to the city of Sicily. There, in the temple of Apollo, he offered his feathers upon an altar to the gods because the Greeks believed man was never meant to fly. Man was never meant to soar. Man was never meant to approach greatness. Man was never meant to seek greatness. Man was never meant to draw near to the gods or get too close to the gods, never meant to approach God. There’s a lot of people in the world today who view God like that, and they view life like that. They think that man was never meant to fly. Man was never meant to soar. Man was never meant to seek greatness, never meant to be close to God. But when you look at the Bible, when you look at the revelation of God given by the Holy Spirit, we understand that God is very different—not like we thought He was at all.
God wants you to fly. God wants you to soar. He wants you to become great, and He wants you to draw near to Him. He wants you to be so close to Him. The Bible says in the first chapter of 2 Peter that it is actually the will of God to share His divine nature with you. The Bible says in the book of Ephesians that it is the will of God that you might one day actually sit with Him in the heavenly places. The Bible says it is the will of God that each and every one of you might become children of God, sons and daughters of God, and that you might be co-inheritors, sugkleronomos, with the Son of God who is Jesus Christ. God wants you very close to Him. The Bible says that, as His children, He wants you so close to Him that He would gather you to Himself as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.
The Bible says none of this is possible. You’ll never fly, you’ll never soar. You’ll never become great. You’ll never be a child of God. You’ll never be close to God unless one thing happens in your life. And that one thing is this: you must become a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; Peter and Andrew; James the greater; James the less; James, the brother of our Lord, the great head of the Jerusalem church; Nathaniel, Bartholomew, Philip; they were all disciples. And God wants you also to be a disciple. This morning I have two teachings concerning the subject of discipleship.
The first teaching is this: a disciple, a Christian disciple, is one who follows Christ. If you’d be a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you must truly resolve that you are going to follow Jesus Christ. In our passage of scripture for today, from the first chapter of John, one of the words used to describe the disciple is the word akalouthos. It means follower. Jesus said to Philip, “Follow Me.” In truth, Jesus said to all the disciples, “Follow Me.” And He says to you, “Follow Me.”
The year 1284 was not a particularly big year in world history. In 1284, Thomas Aquinas’s book, the Summa Theologica, written 10 years earlier, became the most famous theological work of the ages. In that year, 1284, Kublai Khan was crowned supreme emperor of the Chinese Empire, and he was seeking communication with the West. In that same year, Marco Polo was leaving Venice and journeying once again to the Eastern world, seeking communication with Kublai Khan. And that year, Edward I was crowned emperor of England, ruler of England, king of England. He conquered the Scots and he conquered Wales. In that year, 1284, Robert Bruce was 10 years old and he would grow up to become the king of Scotland and lead Scotland to greatness. In that year, 1284, Dante was 10 years old and he would grow up to write The Divine Comedy. But he was 10 years old and living in Italy.
In that year, Ralph Duff was sitting around doing nothing. And that’s why none of you have ever heard of him. What was going on in Germany? In Germany there was a little village called Hamelin. And in 1284 in this little village of Hamelin they had a problem with rats. Rats were all over the place. Rats were taking over the village and the people were highly concerned and thought the rats were infectious. But there was a man who came forward and he said, “I can get rid of the rats.” The mayor of Hamelin said, “Well, I’ll tell you what, if you can rid this city of all of its rats, I’ll give you a great gift. I’ll give you a great sum of money.” And so this man agreed to do this. He agreed to rid the city of the rats. And so, you know the story, he began to walk down the streets of Hamelin and to play his pipe. And as he played his pipe, as he blew into his pipe, all the rats came out of all the buildings and all the corners of the city and began to follow this man down the street. And these rats followed this man as he played his pipe all the way to the Weser River. There they became river rats.
The man then returned to Hamelin. He returned to Hamelin and he asked for his money. And the mayor said, “No, I’m not going to give you the money.” The man was angry, and the next day he went back out into the street again. He began to play his pipe again, and this time the children came out of the buildings and the children began to follow him down the street. He played his pipe (because he was the Pied Piper) and they followed him out of the city to Koppel Hill. Some say he went into a cave and the children went into a cave and they never came out. They never came back. Most historians believe that this story is rooted in fact, that something happened in the year 1284 in the village of Hamelin in Germany, because on some of the old buildings that are found in Hamelin they have found ancient scribblings that say, “On July 26th, 1284, 130 children followed someone out of the city of Hamelin and never came back.” Historians don’t know what happened. Some believe that Bishop Olmütz stole some of the German children and took them to Moravia. Some believe that the story is rooted in some of the events of the Children’s Crusade of the 13th century.
But you see, even today, the Pied Piper is famous. The Pied Piper represents anyone who would lead people into error and tragedy and loss. Nobody wants to follow a pied piper, and there’s a lot of pied pipers out there. Jim Jones was a pied piper. People followed him and they lost their lives. They paid with their lives. None of you want to follow a pied piper. Who are you going to follow? Some people say, “Well, I’m going to follow myself, I’m going to lead myself.” But the Bible says that if you lead yourself, if you follow yourself, you’re never going to conquer death, you’re never going forgive a single sin, you’re not going to conquer sin, you’re not going to conquer life, and you’re never going to really find meaning and purpose and fulfillment and joy.
In fact, the Bible says you really can’t follow yourself because the Bible indicates that anyone who thinks they are following themselves, leading themselves, is really and truly following Satan. You see, the Bible says Satan is the real pied piper of this world. He would lead the whole world astray. In the wilderness when he approached the Son of God and he tempted Him to change stone to bread; when he tempted Him on the pinnacle of the temple to cast Himself down and give His angels charge over Him; when Satan tempted Christ, he placed Him on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment in time and said, “Bow down and worship me, and it’s all Yours.” What Satan was really saying to the Son of God was, “Follow me. Follow me.” And he says the same thing to each and every one of you out there: “Follow me.” But nobody’s dumb enough. Very few people are dumb enough to blatantly and obviously follow Satan, and Satan knows that. So he’s sold the world a philosophy. He’s infiltrated the world with his own philosophy. And when you follow that philosophy, you follow Satan. When you follow the pathway of materialism, you are following the Pied Piper.
When you live a life of hedonism, when you give your life to the pursuit of hedonism, you’re following the Pied Piper. And when you seek ascension, you’re following Satan. The Bible says in Ezekiel 28 that at the dawn of time it was Satan who said in his heart, “I shall ascend above the stars of God.” And he has sold his philosophy to the world and it all leads to ruin. That’s why the Bible says, “Do not love the world or the things that are in the world, for if anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world passes away and the desires of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
This is the will of God: that we would follow His Son. So today, Jesus Christ says to you, “Follow me.” Only Jesus Christ can give you eternal life. Only Jesus Christ can give you a purpose to live for and to die for. Only Jesus Christ can give you forgiveness of sin, an eternal kingdom, and eternal brothers and sisters. “Follow me.” Some of you have heard of E Stanley Jones. He died in 1973 at the age of 89. Some encyclopedias, some history books, speak of E Stanley Jones as the greatest missionary ever sent forth from America. He was a missionary to India. He wrote a book called The Christ of the Indian Road. You see, E Stanley Jones was anointed by the Holy Spirit of God to do the work of ministry. And he went to India and he worked among the rich and he worked among the poor. All the castes of India and thousands of people of every socioeconomic group accepted Jesus Christ because E Stanley Jones was anointed by God.
In 1901, when E Stanley Jones was 17 years old, he accepted Christ at the Memorial Church in Baltimore, Maryland. A reformed alcoholic was speaking that day, and the Holy Spirit touched Stanley Jones’ heart and he went down to the altar rail and he knelt and he said, “Lord Jesus, come into my heart.” He gave his life to Christ. The Memorial Church no longer stands on that same site. It was moved to a different place, a different part of the city. But as soon as the church was moved, they built a chapel on that spot, the spot where Stanley Jones had accepted Christ. Some of the wood from the altar rail was used in the construction of the chapel. It was said that in all those last decades of E Stanley Jones’ life, time and again he would come back from India to America and he would go to that chapel where the altar rail had been, where he had first accepted Christ, and he would get down on his knees again and he would cry. It is said that he cried dozens and dozens of times when he would return to that place, because he said that is where he first found the Light and the burdens of his heart rolled away. And he said that is where he first resolved that he would follow Jesus.
You see, if you’re a Christian today, you once resolved that you would follow Christ. It’s the only way you can become a Christian. You must take Christ as Savior and you must take Him as Lord. But Christ would remind us all today that, if you’ve made that decision, then the call is the same now as it was in the beginning: “Follow Me.” And that means obedience no matter what the challenge, because this world’s not easy to live in. There’s a lot of immorality in this world, and I believe there’s as much moral and ethical confusion on this Earth as ever there’s been. If you’re going to follow Christ faithfully, you’re going to be a little different than the world.
But Jesus said, “He who would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” So here’s a call to obedience. Paul said to Timothy, “Anyone who desires to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted while evil men and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you have received it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.” So Jesus says, “Follow Me.” That is the first attribute of a disciple.
Secondly, and finally, a disciple is one who grows. A disciple is one who follows and one who grows. You see, there’s a second word in this passage of scripture we have for today. Two words are used to describe a disciple. The first is akalouthos, which means follower. But the second word, mathitis, is a word which is sometimes translated “disciple.” It is a word which is sometimes translated “learner,” but which always refers to one who grows. If you’re a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are meant to grow. You are meant to grow into the very likeness of Jesus Christ. That’s the plan of God for you, that you would one day be like His Son. When you first accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Bible says you’re but a baby. But you’re meant to grow. The apostle John says, “I write this to you, children, because your sins are forgiven for His sake. I write this to you, young men, because you have overcome the Evil One. And I write this to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning.” But John was speaking spiritually. You see, spiritually, there are babies, there are children, there are young men, there are fathers, babies, children, youth, and adults. The tragic thing is that many Christians never become adults. They never grow up. And time and again we have this exhortation in the scriptures that we are to grow.
In the year 1860, in the little town of Kirriemuir, Scotland, a child named James was born. James loved his mother very much, like all children do. But James’ mom really seemed to love James’ older brother more than he. James knew this. When James was six years old, his older brother died (his older brother was 13) and James’ mother was crushed. The days passed and the weeks passed and the months passed, and James would go up to his mother and he would say, “Mommy, I’m still here. Mommy, I love you.” But she just cried. She was devastated. So James resolved that he was going to try to become like his brother, take his brother’s place, do everything his brother had ever done so his mother would love him. So he began to emulate his 13-year-old brother, to imitate him. He began to whistle in the same way his older brother had whistled. And he began to develop the same kind of sense of humor that his older brother had. He began to be a storyteller because his older brother had always told stories and his mother had loved to listen to them. As James got closer to 13, he began to wear his brother’s old clothes. He wanted to be like his older brother in every way except he didn’t want to die at the age of 13.
But his mother said, “James, you don’t have to worry about that because death is usually associated with older people.” And his mother taught him that to be a child is to be joyful and to be happy, but to be an adult is to be burdened with sorrow and to be miserable. So James resolved that he would always be 13 years old. He’d always be like his brother was when he died. He’d just stay like that forever. As the years pass by, James became famous because he was so good at telling children’s stories. After all, he was one. He became very, very rich because everybody wanted to buy his children’s stories.
James went to Edinburgh University. He graduated with honors. He was very smart, but he was still a child in his behavior. In the year 1913, he was actually knighted by the British government—not because he was so mature, but because his children’s stories were so great. Ultimately, he became the chancellor of Edinburgh University because his children’s stories were so great. And James, all of his life, hung around 12, 13, and 14-year-olds. He spent most of his time with little kids. He loved to share with them and tell them stories. He was one of them. And his most famous story was about a land called Neverland—a land where nobody ever grew up, a land where everybody always remained 13. Nobody grew up. Everybody remained a child and had the joy of childhood. It was a story about a boy named Peter Pan. He was Sir James Matthew Berry, always 13, the creator of Peter Pan. Today, psychologists speak of the Peter Pan Syndrome, the Peter Pan Complex. They speak of men who never want to grow up, who always want to remain a child. You see, there’s a lot of people in the body of Christ like that. They have the Peter Pan Complex. They don’t want to grow up. We want to remain children. We don’t want to be responsible.
We don’t want the responsibilities of maturity. But see, time and again in the Word of God, we are warned. 1 Corinthians three, Hebrews chapter five, 1 Peter chapter two: three passages written by three different Christians under the leadership of the Holy Spirit to three different audiences, warning all of them not to remain as children because God wants you to grow if you’d be a disciple. So the Bible says, “Put away all malice and envy and insincerity and slander and strife, and like newborn babes long for pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up.” You see, God has a great plan for you. He has an image in His mind of what you were meant to become. His plan is that you would exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control; that you would grow in your knowledge of His Word; and that you would begin to give yourself to ministry for the kingdom of God. Oftentimes it is said, “Well, you know, Christians aren’t any different than any other people. They’re all the same.” And oftentimes that’s true, but it doesn’t need to be true because God wants us to grow.
Many of you have heard of Luther Burbank. He was born on March 7th, 1849, in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Luther Burbank’s father died when he was very young, so Luther became a gardener to support his mother. Luther Burbank was destined to grow up and become a horticulturist and a plant breeder, the most famous plant breeder and horticulturist this world has ever known. He practiced cross-pollination and plant breeding in California. Luther Burbank took the potato and he made the potato larger, wider, and more delicious through cross-breeding. Luther Burbank took the desert cactus and he removed its spines through cross-breeding so that cattle were able to eat the cactus.
Luther took raspberry plants and bushes and he took the thorns off of them through cross-breeding. He made strawberries that ripened all year round. He grew plums that had no pits. He grew trees that were more resistant to the frost. He created walnuts with thinner shells so little children could open them. And even Luther Burbank couldn’t do anything with the eggplant, but he created flowers more beautiful than people had ever seen. And when Luther Burbank died, he left the Earth filled with flowers and fruit. He looked at every single species of plant as a child, with its own face and its own personality, just waiting to grow and be developed. And he was oftentimes quoted as saying, “Every living thing has the potential to grow.” You see, that’s exactly how Jesus Christ views His body. If you’re a Christian, that’s how He views you. You have the ability to grow and He wants to create something wonderful out of you.
But you’re not a plant. You must resolve that you want to grow. You must make that commitment to grow. So I want to say something to you. If you really want to grow and be a disciple, you’re going to have to spend time in God’s Word every day. You’re going to have to spend time in prayer every day. You should begin every day in prayer. I should begin every day in prayer. I don’t mean a sentence prayer. We need to spend time in prayer. We’re so busy. You know, if you spent every morning when you woke up in 20 minutes of prayer and spent every evening before you went to bed in 20 minutes of prayer, you’d never be the same. Your life would be transformed. You’d live every day differently.
If you opened the Word of God every day and fed on it like food, you’d be different. I’d be different. God wants us to seek instruction. God wants us to seek the fellowship of each other. The Bible says, “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, because you grow when you fellowship with other Christians.” And we need exercise. We need the exercise of ministry, and God wants us to know that if we really resolve to grow we have to enter into ministry somewhere. Because it’s only as you’re active, it’s only as you begin to minister, that you can begin to grow and God begins to transform you. But it’s a decision. The Bible says, “He who descended is He who also ascended far above the heavens, that He might fill all things. And His gifts were that some should be apostles and some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to mature manhood, to the fullness of the stature of the measure of Christ, so that we might no longer be children tossed to and fro by every wind and wave of doctrine by the cunning of man and by their craftiness and wiles. But rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the Head. We are to grow up unto Him who is Jesus.” Jesus Christ says, “Follow me.” Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we would be Your disciples. We would follow You, obey You, no matter what the cost, no matter what the world says. Lord, we would grow. We would become learners. We would be like You. Lord, when we first committed our lives to You and invited You to come and live within us by Your Holy Spirit, we said we would follow You. We pray, Lord, that by Your Spirit You would quicken that desire within us today. Help us to be faithful; to feed off Your Word and off prayer; to find the joy and the growth that comes from fellowship with each other; and to enter into ministry for Your namesake. Transform us, Lord Jesus, so that when people look at us, they’d see light instead of darkness, love instead of hate, and the fruit of the Spirit. We pray these things, Lord Jesus, in Your great and matchless name. Amen.