Matthew 28:19

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations........."

In Hebrew customs, the desire of every boy child was to become a Rabbi. The process was long and tedious. Very few would make it. I read in an article recently that around the age of 6, the boy would go to school at the synagogue to be taught by a Rabbi. Learning the Torah was the first step in the rabbinical process. By the age of 10, the student would commit to memory all of the books of the law.  If the boy failed phase one, he would be sent home to learn the family business ending his dreams of becoming a Rabbi. If the boy successfully completed the first phase, then around age 11 he would begin memorizing the other Old Testament books. Successful completion of the second phase was necessary or the boy would be sent home to work the family business or start his own family around the age of 15.

Once the student learned the necessary material, he would choose a Rabbi and tell him "I want to follow you." While he learned in the synagogue, the boy was considered a student. Once he excelled and chose a Rabbi to follow, he became the Rabbi's disciple.  Each Rabbi had his own interpretation of scripture and called it a "yoke". The disciple would take the Rabbi's yoke upon him by demonstrating an ability to recite scripture and give the explanation according to the teaching of his Rabbi.

Knowing scripture was the foundation for being a disciple. A disciple is a learner and a follower but a learner first. We fail when we try to make disciples of those who are not willing to learn scripture.