In his classic book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert E. Coleman highlights the crucial patterns in Jesus’ life with His disciples. These patterns reveal Jesus’ strategic approach to teaching His followers how to spread the gospel worldwide. Coleman underscores the secret to Jesus’ effective teaching: His consistent demonstration of how to live a godly life. This concept is vital because the people we mentor spiritually will inevitably adopt standards of living based on what they observe in us.
Jesus made sure His disciples understood His way of living both with God and with others. He recognized that simply bringing people into spiritual communion wasn’t enough. They needed to know how to sustain and share this experience to perpetuate the gospel message. In practical terms, our actions speak louder than words. Just as life requires breathing, eating, and exercising, spiritual growth requires practical application. Jesus deliberately taught His followers the secrets of His spiritual influence because He knew these were essential for effective evangelism.
Take, for example, Jesus’ prayer life. It was no accident that His disciples often saw Him praying. They observed the strength it gave Him, and although they didn’t fully grasp it at first, they realized it was part of His secret. Jesus didn’t force this lesson upon them but continued to pray until His disciples were so intrigued that they asked Him to teach them. When the moment was right, Jesus seized the opportunity to explain the principles of prayer, illustrating His teaching with a model prayer (Luke 11:1–11; Matthew 6:9–13). While some might think putting words in their mouths was unnecessary, Jesus knew that such foundational teaching was crucial. He was determined to instill the importance of prayer in their lives.
Beyond prayer, Jesus demonstrated the significance of the Holy Scriptures. He frequently referred to the Old Testament in His teachings, impressing upon His followers the importance of knowing and using Scripture. With at least sixty-six references to the Old Testament in His dialogues and more than ninety allusions, Jesus made it clear that the Scriptures were foundational to His ministry. By consistently modeling scriptural devotion, Jesus showed His disciples that the Scriptures were the authoritative basis for their faith. This emphasis on Scripture is vital for contemporary Christians, reminding us of the importance of grounding our beliefs and actions in the Bible.
Through personal demonstration, Jesus conveyed every aspect of His disciplined life to His disciples. However, His ultimate goal was to teach them how to win souls. Nearly everything Jesus said and did related to evangelism, whether explaining spiritual truths or demonstrating how to interact with people. His teaching was practical and realistic, as the disciples absorbed lessons without even realizing they were being trained. Jesus’ natural approach to teaching ensured that His disciples learned effectively. He didn’t need gimmicks or manuals; His life was the lesson.
Jesus’ method extended to both His interactions with individuals and His approach to the masses. His disciples were always present to observe and learn. If they didn’t understand something, they asked, and Jesus explained. For example, after Jesus told the parable of the sower to a large crowd, His disciples asked Him to explain it. Jesus spent significant time breaking down the story’s meaning, ensuring they understood (Matthew 13:10–23; Mark 4:10–25; Luke 8:9–18). Similarly, when Jesus dealt with the rich young ruler, He used the opportunity to explain His approach and apply it to the disciples’ lives (Matthew 19:23–30; Mark 10:23–31; Luke 18:24–30).
Jesus’ teaching was more than continuous sermons; it was a series of object lessons. He demonstrated what He taught, proving its practicality and relevance to His mission. By living with His disciples and modeling His teachings, Jesus ensured they learned not just through words but through actions. His classes were always in session, and His life was a constant lesson in living out God’s truth.
Today, the same principle applies. Those of us who aim to train others must be prepared to let them follow us as we follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). We are the example, the living illustration of the Christian life (Philippians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:7–8; 2 Timothy 1:13). People will emulate what they see and hear from us (Philippians 4:9). Through this kind of leadership, we can impart our way of living to those around us, given time and proximity.
We must take this truth to heart. We cannot avoid our responsibility to demonstrate the Christian life to those we mentor. This includes showing the practical outworking of the Spirit’s deeper realities in our lives. This was Jesus’ method, and it remains the only effective way to train others to do His work.
Robert E. Coleman
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