There is a saying recorded in the Mishnah, a collection of sayings from ancient sages, that says, “May you be covered in your Rabbi’s dust and may you thirstily drink his words.” This paints a beautiful word picture of how closely a disciple wanted to follow his rabbi—so closely that he would be covered in the dust of his rabbi. In September of 2005, I experienced what it meant to be covered in the dust of the rabbi as I traveled with Ray Vander Laan, founder of That the World May Know Ministries, and a group of 49 other people to Israel and Turkey to study the Bible, or as we referred to it, the “Text,” in its cultural, geographic and historic context. As we traveled throughout the Galilee where Jesus called His disciples and later went to Turkey, where many of His disciples were sent, we entered the world of Jesus and the Text.
As Jesus entered the world of first-century Palestine, He was at the right place and the right time to partake in a very particular practice that had originally developed in Babylon during captivity. What was this? The rabbinical schools and more particularly rabbis who had disciples. It was in this world that Jesus chose His disciples and called them to follow Him.
What did it mean to be a disciple? Often in Western culture we think of a disciple as synonymous with a student. In other words, we think of a disciple as someone who knows what the rabbi knows. This is part of it but doesn’t tell the whole story. A disciple is someone who wants to be, in his walk with God, what the rabbi is. Sure, the disciple and the rabbi may have different personalities or a different taste in this or that, but the disciple has a fiery passion within his soul to be, in His walk with God, who the rabbi is.
The synagogues of the Galilee in the first century had a school attached to them where the students would be trained not merely in the Text but also in basic reading, writing, arithmetic, etc. The first step of synagogue school was called Bet Sefer, or House of the Book. In this level young children (6–10 years old) would learn how to read, write and memorize from the Torah. By age 10, many would have large portions of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy memorized.
At this point of their education the children began to differentiate themselves, and those who had demonstrated great ability to memorize the Text and interpret it would move on to the next level called Bet Talmud, or House of Learning. Those who did not move on to the next level would take up the family trade and would attend the synagogue periodically to learn from the rabbis, but their formal and full-time education was complete. Those students partaking in Bet Talmud would continue to memorize the remainder of the Text, called Tanakh. By age 13 or 14, many of them would have memorized Genesis to Malachi.
The instruction then moved from merely memorizing the Text to understanding and learning the interpretations of the deeper meanings of the Text. The enormous amount of oral tradition surrounding the Torah was then learned. When the boys reached age 14 or 15 they would seek to move on to the next level. At this point everyone except the most talented had discontinued their studies and returned to the family trade. But for the best of the best there was another level called Bet Midrash, or House of Study. In this level the potential disciple would approach a rabbi and ask, “Rabbi, can I follow you?”
The rabbi would then examine the disciple to determine if the potential disciple had what it took to become like him. He would perhaps ask the disciple to walk with him for a time so that he could examine him. He might ask him some questions to determine if he had the ability but perhaps more importantly the fiery passion and dedication to become like the rabbi. In reality most of those who approached a rabbi would be turned down. But a few would be accepted by the rabbi, who would say, “Come, follow me”; in other words, “Come, be like me.”
But Jesus follows a different path. He walks along the Sea of Galilee and calls ordinary fishermen, those boys who had returned to the family trade. “Come, follow me!” Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you thought no one believed in you and then along came someone who did? These disciples hadn’t made the all-star team, yet Jesus believed that they could be like Him and He called them to follow Him.
Not only did Jesus select those who had returned to the family trade but also Jesus chose His disciples, they didn’t choose Him. He went out and asked them to follow Him…they didn’t ask Him if they could follow. He says in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” These disciples walked after their Rabbi for the next three years.
They learned not only from His oral teaching but also from His manner of life. Out of these interactions came life questions like, “Rabbi, will you teach us how to pray?”, “Who is my neighbor?” and “Should we pay tribute tax?” Jesus’ disciples wanted nothing more than to be like Him.
Will you follow Rabbi Jesus? Count the cost. Remember the price those boys from Bethsaida paid. Are you a disciple?
Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus walked. – 1 John 2:6
May you be covered in the dust of Jesus, your Rabbi!
]]>
