Illustration by Nicholas Wilton

Jesus was a master of imparting spiritual truth to His followers. When He wanted to communicate revolutionary ideas, Jesus understood that His disciples needed more than just an explanation of the truth. They needed to see it in action, and they needed to talk about what they'd witnessed.

Jesus' approach to teaching models three important components in the learning process that we can emulate in our discipling relationships: demonstration, explanation, and clarification. Perhaps the best example of this process is found in John 13.

Demonstration

In this well–known passage, Jesus had a final lesson to pass on to His disciples about the importance of sacrificial service. When no one else was willing to wash the disciples' feet, Jesus chose to scrub all 24 of them Himself. In doing so, He demonstrated how leaders should serve those to whom they minister.

This model of leadership was foreign to every other kind of leadership the disciples had witnessed. Note, for example, how frequently the disciples argued among themselves about who was the greatest (Mk. 9:34; Lk. 9:46, 22:24). Just telling the disciples that there was another way to lead would have proved insufficient. A demonstration was critical if their perception of leadership was to undergo genuine change.

We, too, must demonstrate what we want others to learn. Telling a young believer to share the gospel without giving that person the opportunity to see us do it will result in frustration. Neither can we expect someone to have a vibrant prayer life if he has never seen us pray with passion.

One of my fondest college memories is learning to pray by watching my spiritual mentor. Dave modeled a passion for prayer and a dependence on God that convicted and inspired me. Prayer was never relegated just to the beginning or ending of our times together. Instead, it was the centerpiece of our conversations. Dave frequently paused to bring before the Lord whatever we'd been talking about. He showed me how to pray with feeling, expressing matters of the heart, not merely the head.

Dave's prayer life motivated me to seek Jesus as he did. His prayers didn't just make his requests known; they expressed his utter helplessness before God. My mentor's attitude of total dependence has shaped my intercessory life to this day.

Explanation

After washing the disciples' feet, Jesus explained the significance of what He had just done: "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you" (v. 15). Both demonstration and explanation must be incorporated in discipleship. Demonstration models for others what they need to do and how to do it. Explanation reinforces what was modeled.

Dave taught me about prayer by explaining its purpose and place in the believer's life. We spent the better part of one semester studying what Scripture said about it and reading classic books such as Prayer by O. Hallesby and The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Dave placed particular emphasis on Hallesby's assertion that "prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only those who are helpless can truly pray."

I vividly remember one frigid winter night Dave and I spent in a tiny Wisconsin cabin. We prayed and talked for hours by the light of the fire, occasionally venturing into the cold to gaze at the stars. We shared the dreams the Lord had been placing on our hearts for those we sought to influence. That night, everything Dave had been explaining and demonstrating was permanently etched on my heart.

Clarification

Jesus employed a third teaching tool to make the connection between demonstration and explanation: He asked a question of clarification. After washing their feet, Jesus asked His disciples, "Do you understand what I have done for you?" (v. 12). I believe Jesus asked this question because He wanted to make sure they had gotten the message: Explaining and demonstrating were not enough. Implied in Jesus' question about what He had done was the reason why He had done it.

Jesus employed similar clarifying questions on other occasions. In Mt. 16:13–20, He asked the disciples what others were saying about Him. First, Jesus asked, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" (v. 13). Their response showed that they had been listening to the word on the street. Jesus' follow–up question then got at the heart of their understanding of His identity. "‘But what about you?' he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?'" (v. 15).

Clarifying questions enable our spiritual protégés to develop solid biblical convictions. Dave regularly asked me, "How would you pass this truth on to someone else?" That invited me to think through what I had been seeing and hearing. The true test of what I had caught from him was how I would teach someone else what I'd learned.

By emulating Jesus' teaching style—using demonstration, explanation, and clarification—we can reinforce the soul–shaping work He's already doing in the lives of those we're discipling.

Roger Hamilton is director of training for the EDGE Corps, a Navigator ministry that equips recent college graduates to minister to students.