Matthew 28:19 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

As hundreds of faithfuls make their way for the National Outreach at Malaba, a town located on the main Nairobi-Kampala highway northwest of Kenya’s capital city Nairobi, it is of paramount importance that we examine this noble role Yahshua Messiah gave us. The Messiah wants us to be fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). For any fisherman to catch any fish, he must put a bait. God’s word is the bait by which we present to men in order to win them over. To be effective fishermen, we need to delve into the life of our Messiah and his disciples, emulate them and be successful in the ministry.

Yahshua Messiah was born a Jew (Matthew 1:1), he is also known as the King of Jews (Matthew 2:2). Though He was raised in a humble home, his parents managed to give him an excellent Jewish educational background. He was adept in learning the Torah at the age of twelve years. He grew up strong in spirit and in wisdom (Luke 2:41). We are told that his parents found him discussing Torah with some teachers, probably the rabbis, while in the Temple (Luke 2:46-47) and went with his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast (Luke 2:41-42).

Just like Messiah, the disciples lived in Galilee which was a very cosmopolitan region. Galilee was a throughway to the sea (Matthew 4:15), and thus the disciples spoke some languages including Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic among others. Despite the people of Galilee being highly belittled and found uneducated, they were among the most observant Jews in the first Century. It is not a wonder that Yahshua chose the twelve from the little regarded region.

The Hebrew word for disciple is Talmid. Therefore, the twelve disciples of Yahshua were known as Talmidim (plural), and the Messiah was the Rabbi (teacher). The word talmid comes from the root word lamad which means ‘to learn’. Therefore the goal of a talmid was to learn from his rabbi.

Yahshua used the rabbi-talmid educational system to teach his talmidim. This was the system used in the first century Judaism. Unlike the relationship between a teacher and his disciples that is more often passive and only aims at making the students learn theoretically and attain good grades, the rabbi-talmid system is much better and efficient. A rabbi and his talmidim lived, ate and worked together every day and night. The goal of the talmid was to learn from the rabbi and emulate him, while the rabbi had the responsibility of giving his best.

The benefit of this system is that it was not limited to a schedule, but it went on 24/7. The talmid entirely lived in the reality of his rabbi. This system made a change of intellect on the part of the talmid, and it also transformed his overall mentality.

In addition, the prophet Samuel lived together with his disciples. Yahshua trained his talmidim in the same system. As a result, the twelve disciples trusted and followed Yahshua. These simple men of Galilee succeeded in emulating their rabbi, and they changed the world although most of them lost their lives in the process.

Being a follower of Yahshua is not just about going to study theology in colleges as the world thinks. It is about being immersed in the vision and mission of our Rabbi, Yahshua. It also entails giving up our lives for him. It’s the destiny of every Jew to ‘Tikkun Olam’ (repair the world). Therefore, are we bold enough to walk on water as Apostle Peter did when Yahshua told him to do so? Let us endeavor to follow our Rabbi Yahshua, even though we might have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, in the end, we will reap handsomely. Shalom.