A great example of how human discipleship should work is provided in the story of John the Baptist. Several of the apostles were first disciples of John, who, in the words of Isaiah, came as a forerunner to Jesus, the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” (John 1:23).
Scripture describes two kinds of discipleship: Discipleship between believers (Col. 1:28) and discipleship between a believer and Christ (Eph. 5:27). John the Baptist demonstrated how the former is a means to support the latter.
In John 1:29-42, John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Messiah to his disciples. In verse 35, it becomes apparent that John and his disciples were together day after day as he baptized those who were coming. Discipleship is built on relationships. Paul describes this kind of strategic relationship when he instructs the Corinthians to “Imitate me as I imitate Christ,” (I Cor. 11:1) and when he writes, “To Timothy, my true child in the faith…” (I Timothy 1:2).
Disciple-makers can start the process of helping another believer mature by having an open door policy for the disciple to spend time at their home in unplanned moments, whether watching television, eating dinner, shopping or coaching little league. Use every opportunity to point them to Jesus.
In verse 36, John does exactly this. The day after he identifies Jesus as the Messiah to his disciples, he points them to Christ again, saying, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples who were with him immediately became followers of Christ.
Human discipleship should always point disciples to divine discipleship in Christ. Opportunities to point a disciple to Jesus can arise through acts of sacrificial love for friends (John 15:13), assisting a needy person (Matt. 25:40), or the disciple-maker’s treatment of his own wife (as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her).
Finally, John released his disciples to grow in Christ. He didn’t mind them leaving to follow Jesus, although others complained about it. In John 3:29-30, he compares himself to a friend who attends the bridegroom and states his attitude: “He must increase; I must decrease.” That is the attitude of a biblical disciple-maker.
Disciple-makers are temporary, like a scaffold, and Christ is the structure. All disciple-makers should ask themselves this question: “Is my discipleship causing my disciple to depend more upon me or upon Christ?” Potted plants will eventually outgrow their pot and die if they aren’t replanted into something bigger. Plant them in Christ and encourage them to nurture other seedlings.
John the Baptist understood this model of discipleship, and so he provided an excellent example of how a human disciple-maker can present their disciple “mature in Christ” and prepared for more learning under the Master.