(Mattityahu/Matthew 28:18-20) “Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make all people from all nations into talmidim, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age.”

These were the last instructions of our Master to his talmidim (disciples) in the Good News according to Mattityahu. Here we are given the command to go to all people and make them into talmidim or disciples which would be more familiar language for most readers. The concept of discipleship however was not a new one in the time of Yeshua, as we see here in the writings of the wisdom of the great rabbi’s of Israel.

(Talmud / Pirkei Avot 1:1) “Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua; Joshua to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly. They [the Men of the Great Assembly] said three things: Be deliberate in judgement; develop many disciples; and make a fence for the Torah.”

This is a call given to us all as believers in Yeshua the Messiah of Israel. As believers we all have a purpose within the body of Messiah, we all have different callings and functions and it is up to each of us to pray daily and seriously about our calling whether it be as a healer, prophet, comforter, or even a teacher. The preceding duties we just a few examples of a wide range of duties within the body, it could take months, or even years to fully gain a firm ground in our call and understanding the responsibilities of the duty. A sad reality is that many believers from various denominations have genuine God given gifts as disciples and they are exploited for money and fame, a popular example of this are faith healers.

As disciples or talmidim of our Rabbi Maran Yeshua we need to follow in His footsteps and be humble always and not allow ourselves to become puffed up with pride and arrogance with the gifts given from heaven, a common gift that causes us to be puffed up is wisdom and knowledge. As ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven, we representatives of the Torah and the lifestyle it lays out for us as believers and it is the very commands of Yeshua who said we are to teach and obey them. Discipleship comes with many difficulties when we go out and teach the nations the way of the God of Israel, a common problem is theological disputes because of traditions passed down throughout the generation that are hard to break but not impossible; this is most evident within traditional Judaism and Christianity. However we are commanded to be humble, patient and loving towards those we teach so that they will be able to see the light within us and the merciful and compassionate love of the God of Israel within us. Even within the wisdom of the sages and great rabbi’s of Israel we see examples of how we are to conduct ourselves.

(Talmud / Pirkei Avot 1:12) “Hillel and Shammai received the tradition from them. Hillel says: be among the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people, and bringing them closer to Torah.”

As we have learned previously, love is the fullness of the Torah, so in loving people and pursuing peace as Hillel and Yeshua both teach us; we are bringing them closer to the Torah and revelation of the God of Israel. If we pursue anything other than peace or love such as arrogance or a haughty spirit when we teach and proclaim the Torah of God then we are only repulsing people from the Torah and leading them to believe the God of Israel is not a loving, peaceful and compassionate God. As His children, we need to be just like our Father in heaven and the only way is though the Yeshua the Messiah because He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Again within the wisdom of the Sages we see a teaching regarding discipleship and how those who are gaining disciples should conduct themselves.

(Talmud / Pirkei Avot 1:11) “Avtalyon says: Scholars, be cautious with your words, for you may incur the penalty of exile and be banished to a place of evil waters [heresy]. The disciples who follow you there may drink and die, and consequently the Name of Heaven will be desecrated.”

(Talmud / Pirkei Avot 1:11 commentary, Complete Artscroll Siddur) “Scholars, be cautious. The mishnah speaks allegorically of the dangerous results of unclear teachings that lend themselves to misinterpretation. Do not express yourself in a way that can be misunderstood by students other than your own. You may be forced into exile where unworthy students may sin, based on a misinterpretation of your teaching. If they die as a result of their sins, God’s Name will have been desecrated.”

Here is a teaching regarding discipleship that has been passed down through the ages and even our Master Yeshua knew and understood this very rabbinic teaching, we see the importance of our words with the disciples we are gaining in the name of Rabbi Maran Yeshua. We do not want to desecrate Heavens Name or God’s Name, so we need to be very careful  when we are instructing and giving guidance to those God sends to us as disciples to either council, heal, comfort and in this case more specifically to teach and proclaim the coming Kingdom. Even though we are human and subject to error which we all are, we need to have the proper intent in our hearts to do what is right, and if we are doing anything wrong which can and will lead to sin, then we need to repent, this goes for everyone especially myself who is proclaiming this message. God knows His true disciples and that they are after His own heart and truly desire to serve Him, and through progressive revelation of the Holy Torah we all will grow in faith and come to know our Blessed Father in Heaven better every day through serving Him.

(Mattityahu/Matthew 10:24-25) “A talmid is not greater than his rabbi, a slave is not greater than his master. It is enough for a talmid that he become like his rabbi, and a slave like his master.”

Our ultimate authority on Torah is our Rabbi Maran Yeshua; we cannot invent anything new or teach anything that is against the teachings of our Master. Even the way we conduct our lives and the content of our character must be within the boundaries of the Torah with the peace and love as our goal, as taught by the great rabbi’s and sages and most important by our Messiah Yeshua. We need to have the desire to walk and talk like Yeshua, and become genuine servants of God; then when the disciples that each of us have gained will see a revelation of the Messiah through us and desire to follow after His way, the only way, creating more disciples and bringing revelation of the Torah to this troubled world.

(Luke 9:1-2) “Calling together the Twelve, Yeshua gave them power and authority to expel all the demons and to cure diseases; and He sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven and to heal.”