Having chosen twelve of his many disciples to become his ‘apostles’, Jesus gathers them together to teach them intensively about the attitudes, lifestyle, ethics and principles of his new discipleship community – which would later become the church. This vital teaching is recorded primarily in Matthew and Luke and is the focus of this series. The apostles will be the first leaders and founders of the church in the future. Jesus is shaping their understanding of the characteristics of the nature of discipleship.