Come Follow Me
Although this is not something I just learned as of this semester, I believe it is important to understand why the disciples would have so simply followed Jesus when he asked them. The reason for it is that in the time of Christ, the highest honor one could have would be following after a rabbi. This is where the phrase "in the dust of the rabbi" comes from. To be in the dust of the rabbi meant that a disciple would follow so close behind that they literally would pick up the dust that kicked off of the rabbi's sandals on their legs.
Around the first century A.D. and a few centuries before, the Jews placed their students in a special type of schooling where through the ages of about six to ten, they would work on memorizing the Torah. After that, if they were good enough, they would go onto more schooling, learning about the rest of the Hebrew Bible. at about the age of fifteen, if the student was good enough, they would follow after a rabbi. The rabbi would choose only the best students and he had the choice of telling them to stop following at any given moment. When asked to follow, the rabbi would simply say, "Come follow me."
We find most of the apostles working simple jobs, mostly with their fathers. This is because if a student was a washout, they would go onto their family trade. The age of the apostles would have been in the teens. Not only did Jesus ask these washouts to follow him, but he was a rabbi with "Shmeha," or authority. This meant he had the entire Hebrew bible memorized! A rabbi with authority asked the lowest of the lows to follow him. He asked total washouts to be his disciples. Is there any question why these youngsters would have followed now? Absolutely not. They followed because this was a second chance and with a rabbi with Shmeha! The only other rabbi with that title when Jesus walked the earth was John the Baptist. Interestingly enough, they were related. Now that's some good genes!
Basically, in our time, this would be like Bill Gates or Donald Trump saying, "Come, take the control of my business when I retire and gain all that I own and know." Most would never pass up on these oppurtunities.
Around the first century A.D. and a few centuries before, the Jews placed their students in a special type of schooling where through the ages of about six to ten, they would work on memorizing the Torah. After that, if they were good enough, they would go onto more schooling, learning about the rest of the Hebrew Bible. at about the age of fifteen, if the student was good enough, they would follow after a rabbi. The rabbi would choose only the best students and he had the choice of telling them to stop following at any given moment. When asked to follow, the rabbi would simply say, "Come follow me."
We find most of the apostles working simple jobs, mostly with their fathers. This is because if a student was a washout, they would go onto their family trade. The age of the apostles would have been in the teens. Not only did Jesus ask these washouts to follow him, but he was a rabbi with "Shmeha," or authority. This meant he had the entire Hebrew bible memorized! A rabbi with authority asked the lowest of the lows to follow him. He asked total washouts to be his disciples. Is there any question why these youngsters would have followed now? Absolutely not. They followed because this was a second chance and with a rabbi with Shmeha! The only other rabbi with that title when Jesus walked the earth was John the Baptist. Interestingly enough, they were related. Now that's some good genes!
Basically, in our time, this would be like Bill Gates or Donald Trump saying, "Come, take the control of my business when I retire and gain all that I own and know." Most would never pass up on these oppurtunities.
posted by Brick At'AAK! at 12:42 PM
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