Most of us have never stopped to wonder what language Jesus actually spoke. After all, we read his words in English, so English it must be, right? Not quite. Jesus didn’t speak English and here’s what might surprise you even more: he likely didn’t speak Greek either, even though that’s the language the New Testament was written in.
Jesus spoke Aramaic, the everyday language of first-century Palestine. We see flashes of this in the New Testament when it quotes exactly the words of Jesus.
“Talitha koum”- “Little girl, get up!” (Mark 5:41)
When he called people to follow him, he likely used the word talmidim, which translates better as “apprentices” than “disciples.”
This isn’t just a translation detail. It changes everything.
A disciple is someone who learns by listening. They sit at the teacher’s feet, absorb knowledge, and try to understand concepts. But an apprentice learns by doing. They watch their master work, then try it themselves. They make mistakes, get corrected, and slowly develop the skills through practice.
Imagine if Christianity had matured thinking of followers as apprentices instead of disciples. We might have focused less on getting the right beliefs and more on learning to do what Jesus did. Instead of asking “What do you believe about Jesus?” we’d ask “What are you learning to do like Jesus?”
Church would look different too. Instead of sermons about theological ideas, we’d have mentors showing us how to love broken people, serve the poor, and stand up for justice, pray for the sick. We’d expect to mess up while learning, just like any apprentice does. The focus would be on developing the skills of compassion, mercy, and radical love through hands-on practice.
An apprentice doesn’t just study their master’s techniques, they work alongside them, gradually taking on more responsibility. They learn by trial and error, knowing that mistakes are part of the process. Most importantly, the goal isn’t to understand the master’s methods but to become skilled enough to do the work themselves.
The tragedy might be that institutional Christianity often became more about learning about Jesus rather than learning to live like Jesus.
Reflection Questions
Q. If you saw yourself as Jesus’s apprentice rather than his disciple, what would you want to learn to do?
Q. What skills of Jesus do you feel most called to develop in your own life?
Q. How might your church community change if everyone approached faith as apprentices learning a craft together?
Q. Where have you been focusing more on understanding Jesus rather than practicing his way of life?
Q. What would it look like to find a mentor who could teach you to live more like Jesus through hands-on experience?
Q. If following Jesus was about developing skills rather than believing the right things, how would that change your daily routine?
