Bible Study 2026
Life as a Disciple
Session 3: Life as a Disciple
My brothers and sisters, we live in a world that deeply praises busyness and achievements. Many people are very proud when they can achieve more than others. Very often, we think that our self-worth increases because of all our achievements and everything we own.
In the end, many people experience stress because they constantly compare themselves to others. They often feel exhausted from trying to prove that they are valuable. The question is, how should we live as disciples of Christ? Does Christ judge us the way the world judges us? Being a disciple of Christ is not primarily about what we achieve. It is not about thinking that I work harder for God than others do so that we can be proud of ourselves. Instead, it is about how we walk with Christ.
How should a true disciple actually live today, in the way that Jesus desires for us?
1. Come to Jesus (28)
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This part is an invitation from the Lord Jesus to enter into fellowship with Him. It shows that the first step of living as a disciple is intimacy, not activity. Jesus calls people to follow Him so that they can live close to Him. It is only through intimacy with Jesus that a person can experience rest, calmness, and a peaceful heart. This means that anyone who truly prioritizes a close relationship with God will be continually renewed and restored, even during times when they feel weary and burdened.
In Isaiah 40:28, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding. 29 He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless. 30 Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, 31 but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not become faint.” Trusting or waiting on the Lord means they truly build a relationship with God and place their hope only in Him.
If Jesus looked at our daily schedule, would He find a time when I sit quietly near Him? Or would He only see the busyness of ministry, work, and exhausting vacations? How deeply do we long for His presence? How much do we long to know Him? In Philippians 3:10-11, “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.” This was Paul's greatest desire: to know Him and all of His work. That is also why it says in John, “Remain in me, and I in you.”
2. Learn from Jesus
Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” A yoke is a curved piece of wood placed on the necks of two oxen so they can pull a load together. “Taking my yoke upon you” means submitting to Christ's teachings and ways. Jesus promises rest, yet He asks us to carry a yoke, which sounds like a burden. This means that true freedom in a disciple's life does not mean living without rules or doing whatever we want. Instead, it means staying submitted to Christ, who is our Lord and Master. The rules that Jesus offers are not like the world's rules that exhaust and destroy us. Rather, His burden is full of love, grace, and forgiveness. That is why, to live out all of this, He says, 'learn from me.
Becoming a disciple of Christ means being someone who follows Jesus and continually learns from His way of life. To learn from Jesus, we must begin by building intimacy with Him. Therefore, becoming like Christ is the primary and ultimate goal of a disciple.
a. Gentle and humble in heart
Being gentle and humble in heart is the example that the Lord Jesus gave us. He taught everyone with great compassion. He guided them with patience, not with anger. Jesus knew how to guide people to understand the truth in gentleness. This can be seen in how He taught and equipped the twelve disciples, who came from different backgrounds with different abilities. Jesus even showed gentleness when He was completely submissive and obedient to the Father's will to accomplish the work of salvation.
Gentleness does not only mean speaking softly or acting gently. Going deeper, gentleness speaks about a person's heart that does not harbor or plan evil against others. A gentle person is very sensitive to the feelings of others. They do not look down on or despise those who fall into sin, meaning they do not consider themselves better.
Furthermore, the Lord Jesus gave an example of humility for His people. In Philippians 2:6, “who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The Bible clearly says that before becoming a human, Jesus was the Word, and the Word was God. He is the almighty God who worked in creation, and He is the great God who can do all things. Yet, the Word who is God was willing to become human, become a servant, be made like humans, suffer, and even die in shame on a cross. This is the example that Jesus set, which is why He says, 'learn from me.' We are completely unworthy to be compared to Him who is so great. In fact, we are sinful and weak humans who must realize that we are nothing. Therefore, when we are taught to be humble, it should naturally be that way because there is absolutely nothing in us that we can boast about.
Humility means acknowledging and submitting to the greatness of God. It means realizing that we are nothing before Him and that we are limited humans. A humble person is someone who is ready to be taught to look at God's greatness, someone who is ready to live in the way of Christ, and someone who admits that they are not better, greater, or more capable than other humans. In 1 Peter 2:21, “For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.”
1. If Jesus looked at our daily schedule from the past week, would He find a time when we truly enjoyed His presence, or would He only see our busyness? What is our biggest obstacle to "sitting quietly" with Him?
2. In what areas is God teaching us to be gentler and more humble?
3. How does Jesus show an example of being gentle and humble in the Bible?
4. What happens when a disciple does not have gentleness and humility?
5. What does it mean that Jesus places a “yoke” on those who come to Him?"