O'Donoghue MTh_Thesis-FinalCopy.pdf - South African Theological ...

Unger and White (1985:171) note that the word “disciple” comes from the wordmanthano and means literally “to learn (Unger and White 1985:171).” However morethan just being one who learns John 6:66 and Luke 6:17 make the point that in ageneral way when people became disciples of Jesus they became His “adherents.”That is adherents not just to his teachings but also to His person.Senior (1997:63) echoes this sentiment when he says that Jesus is presented inMatthew as the ultimate example of how the Christian life is to be lived. As Seniornotes, Jesus actions and responses can be seen as “models for authenticdiscipleship.” By following their master a disciple carried the goal of becoming likeHim (Wilkins 1992:187).Wilkins (1992:187) argues that discipleship to Jesus differed to that of discipleship toother Rabbis, in that while other disciples had the goal of eventually having disciplesthat would follow them, Jesus disciples would remain committed to Jesus their entirelives. This view is supported by The Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20). Whileadmittedly here disciples are instructed to make disciples, it is note worthy that it isdisciples of Christ they are making. This life long commitment to Jesus is furthersupported by the fact that Jesus Kingdom and reign over His people was shown tobe eternal.The first theological motif examined was that of God’s Kingdom. As the Kingdomimplies God’s rule, it follows that a King rules over people (Marshall 1992:123). GodKingdom carries the idea that there are a group of people who have their allegianceto God as King. Matthew’s Gospel shows that Jesus “anticipates the development ofcommunity life among them (Marshall 2004:126).” This community “formed the basisof the church that developed after Easter and Pentecost (Marshall 1992:122)”The word church comes from ecclesia. Ellingsen (1983:118) says that ecclesiacarries the literal meaning of “called out.” Ellingsen says that the word ecclesiaoriginally referred to a gathering of Greek citizens who gathered for civil matters.However while it is true that ecclesia was used for a gathering of Greek citizens, thereference to ecclesia may have significance from something much earlier.84