For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Giving instructions to someone can be difficult, and to do so well, we have to put the concepts we know into words someone else can understand. If we are not careful, we can get lost in the weeds of smaller details before we explain the main concept. When we’re discipling others, it’s important to make sure we “keep the main thing, the main thing.” Apollos wasn’t out to try and gain followers who would back his interpretation of Scripture; his aim was to point people back to who Jesus was and what He had come to do. We can encourage each other in many good things. We can pass on values, traditions, and tips but as we see in this passage and throughout Scripture, our primary message is to be who Jesus was and what He came to do. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain.”
When we’re engaged in discipling others, it’s easy for us to jump straight to the practical: telling them what to do through good truths and principles. These things are important, but the foundation of our hope lies not in practical principles but in the reality of Jesus being the Christ!
- What are some things you feel you can teach someone else about following Jesus?
- How has Jesus’s resurrection changed your life?
- Pray and ask Him to help you stay focused on the hope of His resurrection.
