Plants follow a natural growth process that is referenced frequently in Scripture. A seed, unless it dies and germinates (John 12:24), can be taken away by the birds of the air and never reproduce (Mark 4:4). But once that seed falls to the ground, dies, and germinates, it can establish roots, grow, and bear fruit, more fruit, and even much fruit (John 15:1–8). The germinated seed reproduces and multiplies itself thirty, sixty, or even a hundredfold (Mark 4:20).
Jesus understood that just as plants follow a natural, organic process of development, so too can human disciples. John alludes to this organic discipling process in 1 John 2:12–14, where he talks about the natural growth process of disciples from children to young men (women) and, finally, to fathers (parents). Jesus did not take any shortcuts with this process. Instead, He developed His disciples naturally and intentionally. Moreover, He instructed us to follow His pattern of disciple-making. One of the easiest ways to identify that pattern is to focus on the major challenges Jesus issued to His followers as He developed them: “come and you will see” (John 1:39), “follow me” (John 1:43), “follow me and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19), and “go and bear fruit” (John 15:16). I call this model “4 Chair Discipling.” It is a simple and highly transferable model that helpfully depicts the development of a disciple from before he or she meets Christ until the point when they themselves become a multiplying disciple-maker who is bearing much fruit.
As we begin this journey into looking into the model Jesus gave us, there are a couple of things that we need to keep in mind.
First, the command given in Matthew 28 is to “make disciples of all nations.” This literally means to make disciples who can make disciples. Our command is not discipleship but disciple-making. Discipleship normally refers to what you do with Christians. The term “discipleship” makes most people think of deeper Bible studies or weightier content for Christians. This is important, but it isn’t our mandate. Our mandate is disciple-making, which is the whole process from unbeliever to fully-trained, reproducing disciple-maker.
Second, the genius of Jesus, in my mind, is that He recognized that people were at different stages in the disciple-making journey, and that was okay. He started where people were and intentionally moved them to a deeper level of growth and maturity. He started with seekers (Chair 1) and then moved them to believers (Chair 2). In time, He challenged these believers to become workers in the harvest field (Chair 3) and, finally, fully trained reproducing disciple-makers (Chair 4). With this in mind, let’s begin to look at the four challenges of Jesus represented by these four chairs.




CHALLENGE 1: COME AND SEE (JOHN 1:39)
This first challenge is given in John 1:35–39. It is the invitation to Andrew and John (who is assumed to be the second disciple) to “come and see.” This challenge gives us insight into how Jesus developed His initial relationships with several of His early disciples. Andrew and John were spiritual seekers who were engaged with the ministry of John the Baptist, who preached that the Messiah was coming after him. In fact, John had just identified Jesus as the Lamb of God. So the two men began to follow Jesus as He taught. When He saw them following Him, Jesus asked them a simple question: “What do you want?”
“Where are You staying?” they asked.
Jesus replied, “Come and you will see.”
The Greek word translated “come” literally means “just show up.” This is a critical first step for seekers to take. They must be willing to just show up in order to learn more. Andrew and John were obviously spiritual seekers who were engaged with John the Baptist. They were curious about the one John had identified as the Lamb of God! Jesus sensed their seeking heart, and responded by giving them a gift of His time. John gives us an interesting detail by telling us that this conversation took place around the tenth hour (4 p.m.) and that He spent the day with them. The Jewish day ended at sunset, which means that Jesus spent a minimum of two hours with Andrew and John.
What do you suppose they talked about for those two hours? Like most Jewish people of that day, Andrew and John wondered who the Messiah would be and when, where, and how He would come. Perhaps the conversation went like this:
“Tell me guys,” Jesus began, “what do you know about the coming Messiah?” Jesus was a good rabbi who loved to help people learn by asking questions.
“Well, we know He is going to be born in Bethlehem,” Andrew replied, “for Micah 5:2 tells us that ‘out of Bethlehem … will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.’”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to be born in the Messiah’s hometown?” John added. “I wish I would have been born in Bethlehem!”
“That would be exciting, wouldn’t it?” Jesus said. “By the way, did you know I was born in Bethlehem? When my mother was pregnant with me, Caesar Augustus issued a degree that everyone had to return to their hometown to register, and since my parents were from the line of David, we returned to Bethlehem. It was during that time I was born in Bethlehem.”
“I thought You were born in Galilee. What an amazing privilege to be born in the same village that the Messiah is coming from!”
“Yes it is!” Jesus smiled. “Tell me, what else do you know about the coming Messiah?”
“The rabbis don’t understand this,” Andrew said, “but we are told that the Messiah will come out of Egypt, as it says in Hosea 11:1: ‘Out of Egypt I called my Son.’ How can you be born in Bethlehem, yet come out of Egypt?”
“Yes, that does seem like a problem,” Jesus said. “Do you think it could have happened this way? I was born in Bethlehem around the time Herod the Great killed all the male babies. An angel appeared to my stepfather, Joseph, and told us to flee, and we fled to Egypt, where we lived for a few years. After a few years, an angel told my stepfather it was safe to return. We wanted to settle in Bethlehem, but the angel instructed my parents to settle in Nazareth. So my situation is just like that. I was born in Bethlehem, yet I was called out of Egypt.”
“Yeah, that makes a lot of sense,” John replied. “I’m going to share that with my rabbi.”
About then Andrew was struck with a realization. “Wait a minute,” he said. “You’re not hinting that You might be the Messiah, are You? You are from Nazareth—and nothing good can come out of Nazareth, can it?”
Again Jesus smiled and said, “Is that right? Look again at Isaiah 11:1. Isaiah tells us in this Messianic passage that ‘a shoot (netzer) will come up from the stump of Jesse.’ The town named Nazareth alludes to the royal descent of Jesus as the Natzorean (“branch”) from the stump of Jesse. Some people call Nazareth ‘shoot town.’” Jesus paused. “I am from ‘shoot town.’ In fact, I am that ‘branch’ from the stump of Jesse, the original Natzorean, the one from Nazareth! I am the Messiah. I was born in Bethlehem, came out of Egypt, and am the branch from ‘shoot town!’”
This is a fictional conversation, of course, but it is based on three passages of Scripture Matthew references in his gospel (Matthew 2:1, 15, 23). It is clear that a conversation like this took place, because Andrew bursts out of his first meeting with Jesus and proclaims, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). Can you hear the excitement in his voice? Isn’t this what happens when seekers find the Savior they are looking for?
When relating to these religious seekers, Jesus did what He did with a couple of His disciples on the Emmaus road in Luke 24. He opened the Scriptures (24:32), explained to them what the Scriptures said about Himself (24:27), and then allowed the Holy Spirit to open their minds to the truth (24:45).
Spending time with seekers and inviting them to “come and see” is the first step in making disciples. It’s a step that is easy to duplicate. After spending time with Jesus Himself, Philip invites Nathaneal to come and see (John 1:46). The Samaritan woman with whom Jesus had conversation at a well returned to her village and invited everyone in it, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29).
In the book of Acts, the apostles took the Gospel first to the Jews and later to the Gentiles, focusing their attention on those who were curious and were investigating spiritual things. From preaching at Pentecost (Acts 2:5–36) to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26–39), this pattern was observed. Paul found the responsive seekers in the synagogues (Acts 13:14–44; 14:1; 17:1–3; 18:1–4; and 19:8). Paul also sought out the responsive Gentiles and met them at their point of interest (Acts 16:13–15; 17:22–34; 19:9–10). This simple challenge to “come and see” was built upon the premise that the Father through the Holy Spirit is drawing people to Himself (John 6:44), and our job is to simply discern who these people are and be ready to provide an answer to them why Jesus is the Savior (1 Peter 3:15). It is not a difficult first step. It simply requires us to be willing to be used by God to give the gift of time and show the love of Christ to those who are seeking God.

CHALLENGE 2: FOLLOW ME (JOHN 1:43)
The second challenge, represented by Chair 2, was given to many in various ways. We see it first in John 1:43, where we are told that Jesus “decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’” This second challenge moves the seeker in Chair 1 to the status of a believer. It implies that a person has made a decision about Christ. An inner transformation has taken place. A seeker has been moved by the Holy Spirit to “repent and believe” and had decided to trust Jesus for salvation. Now they are ready to take the next step. The second challenge is, “Follow me.”
Throughout the disciples’ journey, Jesus challenges them to “follow me” as a reminder of their primary responsibility. At the beginning of their relationship, Jesus tells Matthew the tax collector, “Follow me,” and “Matthew got up and followed him” (Matthew 9:9). Later Jesus drew His disciples into a deeper commitment when He said “follow me” and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). In Matthew 10:38 Jesus makes it clear what’s at stake for those who waver in following Him. “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me,” Jesus says, “is not worthy of me.” Following is the mark of a true believer in John 10:27, where Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Even at the end of His ministry, Jesus returns to a discouraged Peter who had denied Him three times and says, “Follow me” (John 21:19, 22).
This word translated “follow” is the Greek word akoloutheo, and it literally means to come behind, to follow in my steps, to learn of me, to join me in the journey as a disciple.
It was my job, as a young boy of eight years old on our South Dakota farm, to milk our two cows every morning. We affectionately called them Betsy and Beulah. On those mornings when we woke up to two or three feet of fresh snow, my dad would put on his overshoes and cut a path in front of me to the barn where the Betsy and Beulah stayed. As he broke a path for me in the snow, he would say, “Follow me.” I simply walked behind him, placing my feet in the steps he laid ahead of me. This is a vivid illustration of Jesus’s challenge. “Come,” Jesus says, “learn of Me. Follow in My steps.”
“Come and see” assumes curiosity. “Follow me” assumes commitment. This challenge is a call to a deeper level of the discipling journey than just “come and see.” It assumes a desire to learn from the rabbi. It demands a learning process of walking in the steps of the master. It paints a picture of becoming like the one we are following, allowing Him to lead us. It demands that we walk as He walked, love as He loves, do what He did, serve as He served. It is a challenge to be a learner, which is what the word “disciple” (mathetes) literally means.
This is a common challenge in disciple-making throughout the New Testament. Paul picked up on this challenge in 1 Corinthians 11:1, where he instructs his readers, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” The Greek word Paul uses that is translated “follow” is the word mimethes, from which we derive the words “mimic” and “imitate.” In other words, Paul is saying, “As I follow Christ, imitate my life and you too will learn of Him.” It is a challenge we should be able to extend to others as we mature in Him.
John 3:22 tells us Jesus spent time with His disciples. If the disciples were going to imitate Him, He had to give them time to get to know Him. Jesus knew that life change comes through relationships. And relationships cannot be rushed. So Jesus took His disciples with Him to a wedding party (John 2:2), and on a journey, along with His mother and brothers, to the city of Capernaum for a couple of days (John 2:12). He then took them to an important religious service (Passover, John 2:13), to some meetings with religious leaders (John 3), out into the Judean countryside (John 3:22), into some potential family conflicts (John 3:20), and on a short-term missions trip (John 4:4). These early followers learned from Jesus as they followed Him.
“Follow me” is a practical and simple step any of us can take as we make disciples. It requires us to invite people into our lives and spend time with them, allowing them a chance to get to know us and for us to get to know them. It simply requires loving people as we love God.

CHALLENGE 3: FOLLOW ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN (MATTHEW 4:19 ESV)
The third challenge is a summons to leave the comfort of Chair 2 and move into Chair 3. Two parallel passages of Scripture, Matthew 4:18–22 and Mark 1:16–20, help us understand this critical challenge from the heart of our Master Disciple-Maker. This third challenge, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men,” is one of the most misunderstood and least lived-out of the teachings of Jesus.
It comes as a surprise to many people to learn that the events recorded in Mark 1:16–20 took place at least eighteen months into Jesus’s ministry. In these verses, Jesus is passing along the Sea of Galilee when He calls to Simon (Peter) and Andrew, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Contrary to popular belief, this is not the first time Jesus encounters these men. They had been following Jesus for several months. But in this episode, Jesus challenges them to go deeper. They move from simply following Him to becoming His ministry team. Four individuals are involved in this challenge. They are James and John and Simon and Andrew. Later Matthew will be added to this team.
This third challenge by Jesus is loaded with meaning. It is clearly strategic. First and foremost, the challenge is relational. As in the previous challenge, Jesus invites the disciples to “come and follow me.” But from this point forward, Jesus is going to make an even greater investment of time in these men, who will later become a part of His twelve apostles. These are not the Twelve yet—they are simply what I call His ministry team: a team of faithful followers that He is going to take deeper.
Second, this challenge is clearly intentional. Jesus clearly says, “I will make you.” He had a clear goal and a clear plan for developing His disciples as reproducing disciple-makers. Immediately after challenging these disciples to become fishers of men, Jesus led them on six “fishing trips” to give them confidence in sharing their faith. Shortly thereafter he led them intentionally on four additional mission trips, which extended over several days. He was intentional about developing His disciples as “fishers of men,” teaching them to reproduce their lives in others.
Mark 1:21–2:17 clearly lays out these evangelistic fishing trips. First Jesus takes the disciples to a synagogue where they watch Him cast out a demon in the presence of a religious unsaved crowd (Mark 1:21–28). He then leads them to Peter’s home where He heals Peter’s mother-in-law (family ministry, Mark 1:29–31). Next Jesus preaches to the crowds in Peter’s hometown of Capernaum (neighborhood ministry, Mark 1:32–34). Each step of the way, the disciples are learning new principles for sharing their faith as they watch Jesus.
After a late evening of ministry, early the next morning Jesus arises to get His marching orders for the day by slipping away to pray. The disciples search everywhere for Him. Indeed the whole city was looking for Him (Mark 1:37). In the eyes of the disciples, I’m sure what Jesus did next must have seemed foolish—He turned His back on the crowds and said, “we must go to the other cities and towns … that is why I have come.” What a moment this must have been for His disciples as they watched Jesus intentionally stay focused on His priorities. He was helping them understand what it means to be fishers of men rather than crowd pleasers consumed with the demands of the multitudes.
After these initial fishing trips, Jesus changes gears and takes His disciples on what I like to call His second missions trip. This trip probably lasted several weeks (Josephus tells us there were at least 204 villages in Galilee large enough to have synagogues), as they traveled to all the area synagogues “preaching and driving out demons” (Mark 1:39). I can imagine Jesus allowing the disciples to share in the reading of the Scriptures and testifying about who the Messiah was as they traveled to the synagogues. This time Jesus gave them repeated examples of fishing for men so they could learn to do it themselves and not just be “amazed” (Mark 1:27).
From here in the Gospel of Mark we find Jesus reaching out to the leper—the unlovely of the community (Mark 1:40–45). On this fishing trip, Jesus was clearly shaping the disciples’ values. He was teaching them that it is not always the people who look just like us about whom we should be concerned. They were beginning to observe that there were many seekers among the unlovely that needed the touch of the Master.
Next, in Mark 2:1–2, Jesus invites many of the religious leaders and teachers of the law to a home, where they are seated inside while the crowds gather outside. A group of men, deeply concerned for their friend, go to great trouble and expense to get their friend close to Jesus. They lower him through the roof after tearing it apart. “When Jesus saw their faith,” He healed the man. This experience taught the disciples that faith is visible and can be demonstrated by actions.
On the sixth “fishing trip” Jesus does the unthinkable—He invites a “tax collector” to join them (Mark 2:13–20). This pushes the disciples well outside of their comfort zone, especially when Matthew throws an evangelistic party with all his tax collector and “sinner” friends. I can just imagine how uncomfortable the disciples were, hoping that none of their good Jewish friends would see whom they were eating with. Jesus was clearly intentional in making His disciples fishers of men!
Not only was this third challenge relational and intentional, but it was also missional. Jesus clearly knew His mission was to leave behind a movement of disciples capable of reproducing disciples themselves. “I will make you fishers of men.”
Jesus was calling His disciples to recognize that, when they were fully trained, they would repeat this same disciple-making process in the lives of others. Right before He ascended into heaven, Jesus repeated this charge to them in the Great Commission.
While Jesus’s personal mission was to die on the cross for the sins of the world, His ministry calling was to advance His Father’s Kingdom agenda by initiating a movement of multiplying disciples. This movement would become the Church, which eventually spread from Jerusalem to Judea and to the uttermost parts of the world, so that one day, “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” will stand before the throne proclaiming, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9–10).
In other words, Jesus’s mission was not to reach the world but to make disciples who were capable of reaching the world. Jesus knew that if He made disciple-makers, 2,000 years later there would be over a billion Christ-followers through the law of multiplication. If He had reached the world of His day—an estimated 250 million people—but had not trained them to multiply, we would not be here today. The movement would have ended after the first generation. But by training His disciples how to multiply themselves, hundreds of millions of people are following Christ today.
This level of disciple-making is more demanding, but the rewards are exhilarating! Fewer make it to this level because of the intentionality it requires (Matthew 10:37); but when they do, the impact is multiplied. The workers are few, but the harvest remains plentiful.

CHALLENGE 4: GO AND BEAR FRUIT (JOHN 15:16)
Right at the end of Jesus’s ministry, Jesus had just finished His last Passover meal with His disciples in the Upper Room. They sang a hymn and then made their way to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus would be betrayed. On the way, Jesus stopped in a vineyard and delivered His famous teaching about the vine and the branches (John 15:1–11). During this final lesson before His arrest, Jesus makes a couple of very profound statements.
First, Jesus calls His disciples “friends.” Throughout the book of John, Jesus’s descriptions of His disciples become increasingly intimate. In John 1, they are called seekers. In John 2:11, they are identified as disciples. By John 13:13, Jesus calls them servants or coworkers. But now, Jesus says, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
Jesus moves His disciples to a whole new level of relationship with Him, from Chair 3 to Chair 4. And the reason for this is clear. He will be going away soon, and they must “go and bear fruit” (John 15:16). Jesus is now saying, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).
The challenge here is similar to what Jesus will command His disciples in the Great Commission. They are to go and do what He did. They are to repeat the process in others. I have shown you, now go and do likewise. Go, make disciples of all nations, doing what I have done with you. This challenge is not easy, but it is simple. Fruit bearing requires that we “abide” in the Vine (Jesus) and allow the Vine to produce fruit through us. Our task is abiding. His task is bearing fruit. We will bear fruit to the degree that we abide in Him and walk as He walked.
Jesus recognized that people were at different stages in the disciple-making journey. He started where people were and intentionally moved them to a deeper level of growth and maturity. His desired end product was always fruit, and fruit was always a metaphor for multiplication. He knew He could not work this process with everyone, so He had to choose a few who would repeat the process. Jesus masterfully challenged these “uneducated and ordinary” men to become a major force in advancing His Kingdom. He wants to do the same in our lives and teach us to repeat the process with others.




 1. What is your initial reaction to the concept of “4 Chair Discipling”? Be specific.





 2. Take a few moments to read Mark 1:21–2:17. Do you see the six fishing trips identified in this chapter? How do these fishing trips relate to the challenge Jesus issues His disciples to “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”?





 3. In which of the four chairs do you think you are currently sitting? From what you know now, what do you think is your next step?






Dann Spader, 4 Chair Discipling: Growing a Movement of Disciple-Makers (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014).