More Is Caught Than Taught: Six Priorities Jesus Lived Before His Disciples

Jesus did not hand His disciples a workbook. He did not give them a syllabus. He did not start a twelve-week course on “Foundations of Discipleship.” Instead, He lived with them. He took them to a wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12), walked through Samaria (John 4), attended the Passover in Jerusalem (John 2-3), and spent extended time with them in the Judean countryside where “he spent some time with them” (John 3:22). For up to eighteen months, Jesus simply shared life with His new disciples. And in that shared life, He modeled six priorities that they would carry for the rest of their lives.

1. Full Dependence on the Holy Spirit

Jesus was conceived by the Spirit, anointed by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and empowered by the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 18; Acts 10:38). Everything He did flowed from dependence on the Spirit, not from His own strength. For us, this means teaching new believers that the Christian life cannot be lived by willpower. The same Spirit who empowered Jesus dwells in them. Dependence on the Spirit is not weakness - it is the only way to live.

In a remote Javanese village, this might look like teaching a new believer to pause and pray before making decisions, rather than relying on traditional customs or pressure from neighbors. It means learning to ask, “Spirit, lead me” before asking, “What does everyone expect me to do?”

2. Centrality of Prayer

Jesus began His ministry in prayer at His baptism (Luke 3:21). He ended His ministry in prayer on the cross (Luke 23:46). And in between, Luke tells us that Jesus “would often slip away to pray” (Luke 5:16). Over forty-five times the Gospels record Jesus withdrawing to pray. His disciples watched Him pray so often that they finally asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

The best way to teach new believers to pray is to let them hear you pray - not polished, religious prayers, but honest, real conversations with God. Pray with them when they are sick, when they are afraid, when they are grateful, when they do not know what to say. Let them see that prayer is breath, not ritual.

3. Obedience to the Father’s Will

“I seek not to please myself but him who sent me,” Jesus said in John 5:30. And Hebrews 5:8 tells us something remarkable: Jesus “learned obedience from what he suffered.” If the Son of God learned obedience through suffering, new believers should not be surprised when obedience is costly.

We teach new believers that obedience is not optional - it is the love language of the Father. “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). This is not about rules. It is about relationship. And the best way to teach it is to model it: let new believers see you obeying God even when it costs you something.

4. Centrality of God’s Word

Jesus quoted the Old Testament over ninety times from seventy different chapters. Scripture was on His lips from the temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4) to His final breath on the cross (Luke 23:46). The Word of God shaped every word Jesus spoke and every action He took.

For new believers, especially in an oral culture, the simplest method is powerful: tell the story, discuss what it means, and decide how to obey it this week. Three questions work in any village: What does it say? What does it mean? What will I do about it? The goal is not information - it is transformation.

5. Exalting the Father in Everything

“I do nothing on my own,” Jesus said. “It is the Father living in me who is doing his work” (John 14:10). Jesus consistently deflected attention from Himself to the Father. When people praised Him, He pointed upward. When miracles happened, He credited the Father.

Teach new believers to give God glory for everything - even small victories. This protects against pride and self-reliance. In village ministry, when someone is healed or a prayer is answered, the instinct is often to credit the person who prayed. Teaching “God did this” protects both the leader and the community from developing dependency on human mediators.

6. Intentional Relationships of Love and Integrity

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). Jesus moved into the neighborhood. He called His disciples friends (John 15:15), wept with Mary and Martha (John 11:35), and built a community of trust and love. New believers need a family, not a program. The church must be their home.

In an oral culture like rural Central Java, new believers learn by watching, not by reading manuals. A church-planter who takes a new believer with him when visiting families, praying for the sick, and sharing Scripture is modeling far more than any lesson could teach. The new believer catches the life before learning the doctrine.

Your Life Is the Curriculum

The most important principle in all of this is the simplest: more is caught than taught. What are the new believers around you catching from your life? Do they see you praying? Do they watch you depend on the Spirit? Do they hear you respond to Scripture? Do they notice you giving glory to God?

You are the curriculum. Not your words. Your life.