Walking in the Steps of the Rabbi

Introduction: What It Meant—and Still Means—to Follow Jesus

When we read Jesus’ words, “Follow Me,” they sound simple. But in His world, those two words carried a whole education inside them.

In Hebrew thought, a “way” wasn’t an abstract belief system; it was a pattern of life. The Hebrew word halakhah (from halakh, “to walk”) described how a person actually lived out Torah… how they walked. Every rabbi had a way… his own interpretation of how to apply Scripture to daily life. To follow a rabbi was to take on his halakhah.

So when Jesus called fishermen and tax collectors, He was inviting them to learn His interpretation of life under God’s reign; what He called the Kingdom of Heaven. They weren’t signing up for lectures; they were stepping into motion.

That’s why the Gospels describe discipleship with movement words: come, go, leave, follow, walk. Faith in the first century wasn’t measured by how much theology you could repeat but by how closely your steps matched your teacher’s.

Maybe that’s still true. Maybe the first act of modern discipleship isn’t believing harder but moving closer; choosing each day to align our pace, our tone, our mercy with His.

“Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” — 1 John 2:6

Keep reading below for the full study: how rabbis called their disciples, why Jesus’ invitation broke every rule, and what His method of teaching still means today.