The Disciplemaker: John 13-17 - What Matters Most to Jesus by Gary Derickson & Earl Radmacher and published by Schoettle Publishing.
The Gospel of John offers theology that brings people to belief in Christ and strengthens the faith of those who already believe. This is nowhere more apparent than in the “Upper Room Discourse” of John 13–17. In The Disciplemaker, Gary Derickson and Earl Radmacher provide a masterful study of John 13–17, calling Christians to return to the neglected task of discipleship.
In the “Upper Room Discourse”—the subject of this book—Jesus speaks to his disciples with a message that goes beyond justification to discipleship. This work of God is the concern of Jesus as he teaches his disciples in the final hours before his sacrifice on the cross. These last words take on special significance as Jesus seeks to instruct his disciples who are about to be scattered and even betray him. In spite of this knowledge, Jesus knows that he must provide comfort, direction, and prayer to guide them to be the kind of men who would one day be pillars of the church and evangelists to the ends of the Roman Empire.
The theological and exegetical insight in The Disciplemaker is considerable. We find in these chapters Christ’s teaching and example of servanthood, the possibility of failure and the denial of which each of us is capable, and the comfort and encouragement of God. We discover the secret to Christian maturity in the metaphor of the vineyard, and we learn of the assurance of God’s abiding presence in the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the most exciting and humbling part about this is reading the actual prayer of Jesus to the Father for each of us—the true Lord’s Prayer.
This sorely needed study of John 13–17 outlines the content and the process of Christian spiritual growth. The theological and exegetical insight is considerable, and it is written in a manner that makes it easily understood by students and laypersons.
