Who is a disciple according to the Bible

Meaning of disciple

A disciple is a devoted follower. Also, a disciple is one who has dedicated his life to follow the teachings or the way of life of a leader according as he saw or heard at first-hand or according as was handed down to him in the form of information, whether orally or in writing.

The word disciples occurred once in the Old Testament, translated from the Hebrew word limmuwd (Isaiah 8:16). In the New Testament, both words, disciple and disciples, occurred many times, translated from the Greek word mathetes.

In the New Testament, the terms disciple and disciples were translated from the Greek word mathetes – a word which generally refers to any learner, pupil or apprentice. Even in antiquity, mathetes was most often associated with people who were devoted followers of a religious leader or a teacher. Therefore, in translation, the word disciple was preferred as a suitable equivalence of mathetes in the English version of the New Testament.

A disciple is the one who adheres to the teachings or doctrine of another, making them his rule of life and conduct. Even today, the word disciple is understood differently from a student or a leaner; the word is scarcely used to refer to learners pursuing formal education in primary, second cycle, and tertiary institutions; rather, it is set apart to be used in the religious circles to refer to a certain caliber of people who are active adherents and devotees of the teachings of a teacher.

Briefly, three things define a disciple.

  • He follows; imitates.
  • He lives not for himself, but follows the course set by someone, the teacher.
  • He is an adherent or a devotee, living discipleship for life.

Spiritual leaders who had disciples

Jesus Christ is well-known to many as one who had disciples. It is not surprising that, upon hearing the word disciple, many a mind misconceive the word to refer to only the earliest twelve followers of Jesus. Contrarily, in both the New and the Old Testaments, the word disciple is used to refer to the followers of the following people: Moses, Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Jesus. However, apart from these four, there were many other religious or spiritual leaders who had disciples.

Disciples of Prophet Moses

Then they (Pharisees) reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples (John 9:28).

At the time the Pharisees said this, Moses was long dead and gone – about a thousand years since. But Moses had received and left behind a rich document of laws – ceremonial laws, religious laws, etc. – and the Pharisees were devotees of these laws. They learn it, teach it and live it, at least, in their own way; hence their boldness to think and say about themselves, “…we are Moses’ disciples”.

The claim of the Pharisees to be Moses’ disciples was not false; they were Moses’ disciples indeed, for even Jesus Christ made reference to it in His teaching, saying,

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.” Matthew 23:2-3

Some prominent Pharisees and disciples of Moses during the days of Jesus and His disciples were: Nicodemus (John 3:1), Simon (Luke 7:36-50), Gamaliel (Acts 5:34, Acts 22:3).

John 9:28 confirms that a disciple is he who adheres to the teachings or doctrines of a teacher, a prophet, a mentor, or a leader, who may be dead or alive.

Disciples of Prophet Isaiah

Like Jesus and Moses, Isaiah also had disciples. Though none of his disciples was mention, the Bible gives us enough evidence to believe that his disciples played a very important role in the ministry of Isaiah, and of a truth, his disciples have contributed immensely to preserving the holy Scriptures for our benefit today. Isaiah himself made reference to his disciples when he said,

“Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my (Isaiah) disciples. (Isaiah 8:16).”

“the testimony and law” refers to the message God has given to Isaiah, which has been written down as holy Scriptures.  Isaiah entrusted the holy Scriptures to his disciples for preservation; that nothing should be added or taken away from the Scriptures. Thus his disciples became the custodians of his work, the sacred Scriptures he wrote, keeping them intact. Today we have Isaiah’s Scriptures to read; thanks to his disciples.

Therefore, a disciple also acts as a custodian, entrusted with sacred knowledge, sacred Scriptures, etc. for preservation.

Disciples of the Pharisees

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him (Jesus) in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying … (Matt 22:15, 16).
We see a picture in Matthew 22:15,16 that the Pharisees involved their own disciples in an evil plot to trap Jesus.  Generally, a disciple is known to be overly indulgent towards his teacher or leader, sharing in his deeds, good or bad – such that if the master does evil, so does his disciple; in the same way if the master does good, so shall his disciple do.

Disciples of John the Baptist

John the Baptist is regarded as the last of the Old Testament prophets. John the Baptist was quite different from what we would expect a prophet to be, for he was unkempt and lived in the wilderness, and eat whatever that was available – locust and wild honey.  He did not dress in nice apparel but wore camel skin. Despite his situation, the hand of the Lord was upon him and he went around preaching repentance and many heeded his voice and repented and were baptized by him – where the baptism was a sign of their repentance. Some of these people who repented and came to John for baptism became adherent to John’s teachings and were inspired by him and became his disciples.

John the Baptist’s disciples were among the most genuine-hearted people you could find. Even though John the Baptist had nothing to his name – no money, no home, no clothes, etc. and was despised, he had some people who identified themselves as his disciples and followed him. More so, at some point, John the Baptist was arrested and imprisoned by Herod Antipas. But this did not deter his disciples from being supportive and loyal. The Bible says,

2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2-3). (Also Matthew 9: 14; Matthew 11:2; John 1:35, 37)

So even in prison, the disciples of John the Baptist did not abandon him; they were still serviceable to him in his chains. The Bible says, ‘…. there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.’ By drawing on Matthew 11:2-3, we can also say that a disciple sticks closer like a brother or a friend. One of the characteristics of disciples is that they are devout, putting up uncommon or uncompromising loyalty – that is exactly what John’s disciples did.

One of the disciples of John the Baptist was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, who later became a disciple of Jesus Christ (John 1:40).

Disciples of Jesus Christ

It appears too clear that aside from working miracles, raising the dead, healing the sick, and preaching, raising disciples was also part of Jesus’ ministry. The prophecies of Isaiah (Isaiah 53:1-12) inform us beforehand that the life of the Messiah would be short, and Jesus knew very well that He would be soon gone. And when He is soon gone, if His ministry would remain into the future and be beneficial to the generations yet to come, He would need people to continue from where he would leave off; hence the need for disciples. Jesus proceeded to call to Himself some twelve disciples who were doing full-time ministry with Him.

Apart from the twelve, He had seventy other disciples. Generally, those who came to believe in Jesus and accepted His teachings were all called disciples. Thus apart from the twelve and the seventy, Jesus had other numerous disciples. Jesus’ disciples proved to be very useful after Jesus was gone. In many cases, when Jesus wanted someone to become His disciple, He called them using the word follow: Examples:

  • Matthew: As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him (Matthew 9:9).  Also Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27.
  • Peter and Andrew: Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19). Also Mark 1:17.
  • A disciple: Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Matthew 8:22. But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:21) .Also Lu 18:22, Lu 9:59)
  • The young rich man: Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21). Also Mark 10:21.
  • Philip: The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” (John 1:43)

A disciple is therefore called to follow – to follow the way of life, the worthy examples or the teachings of the teacher and leader.

Elisha, the disciple of Prophet Elijah

By God’s command, Elijah went searching for Elisha and found him plowing on the field with twelve yoke of oxen. Then having found him, Elijah cast his mantle upon Elisha, meaning Elisha has been anointed to replace Elijah as a prophet when he, Elijah, is no more. Afterward, Elisha abandoned his career and his family and followed Elijah to become his disciple. Elisha faithfully followed Elijah and served him.

When the end of Elijah’s time was at hand, Elijah asked Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee.” And Elisha answered saying, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And Elijah said, “Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.” Elisha was with Elisha even to the time he was taken away and he saw Elijah ascend by the chariots of fire and the whirlwind. Thus, Elisha received a double portion of Elijah’s anointing and replaced Elijah as major prophet of Israel. Reference 1 Kings 19:19-21, 2 Kings 2:1-13.

A disciple replaces his teacher, leader, and mentor; and continues from where his teacher, leader, and mentor left off.

Baruch, the disciple of Prophet Jeremiah

Prophet Jeremiah was a stench in the nostrils of the political leaders of his time and he was unpopular; this was largely due to the prophecies of doom that he prophesied. Jeremiah suffered so much and was often subjected to persecution; he was frequently arrested, accused falsely, imprisoned, interrogated, disgraced, and, often, there were plans afoot to eliminate him.

Against the odds, there was a man called Baruch who was not shy and singularly followed this Jeremiah who has lost favor in the eyes of the leaders. Baruch put his life on the line to serve Jeremiah faithfully; Jeremiah dictated the prophesies that the Lord had given him to Baruch and had him write them on a scroll (Jeremiah 36:4); Jeremiah made Baruch risk his life to read his prophecies of doom in the Temple of Solomon to the people (Jeremiah 36:5-10); Baruch was called by the political leaders to answer for Jeremiah (Jeremiah 36:11-18); and, needless to say, Baruch shared in whatever persecution that the leaders and the people inflicted on Jeremiah (Jeremiah 36:19; Jeremiah 36:26).

What happened between Jeremiah and Baruch was nothing but discipleship; and Baruch, the scribe, was a disciple of Jeremiah, the prophet.

Reasons why spiritual leaders need disciples

Jesus’ ministry of preaching salvation, healing, raising the dead, etc. would have ascended to heaven with him had it not been his disciples who were there to continue from where he left off. Spiritual leaders need disciples for the sake of the continuity of their ministries. Jesus commanded His disciples to continue His ministry – Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15.

Disciples are custodians. Isaiah entrusted the preservation of his Scriptures to his disciples (Isaiah 8:16), and indeed, they did preserve it. Today, we are beneficiaries of the work of Isaiah’s disciples, because we have Isaiah’s Scriptures at our disposal to read. Also, the Jewish religious elites – the Pharisees, the scribes, the priests, etc. – who were largely disciples of Moses (John 5:45; ), jealously ensured the preservation of the Law – the five books of Moses. Today, we have this ancient Holy Scriptures to read, thanks to these disciples.

The disciples were also servants of the spiritual leader. They go on errands for the spiritual leaders to ease his task. Jesus Christ sent His disciples to prepare the Passover (Matthew 26:17-19); Jesus Christ sent His disciples to get Him a colt that He might ride it to Jerusalem (Matthew 21:2-7; Mark 11:2-7; Luke 19:30-35). John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus a question on his behalf (Luke 7:19-20).

Disciples help the spiritual leader to widen his catchment area. Jesus’ disciples were very instrumental in evangelism and Jesus sent them two by two to many places at the same time to preach. Jesus, during the short three and half years of His ministry, had a profound impact on the lives of the people because of the relatively large disciples He had who helped Him. Had Jesus been left alone to do it, He would not have reached so many people in the short period of His ministry.

Conclusion

Discipleship, in concept, has always been there, from of old; and the habit pattern of disciples have not changed since – they are loyal, devout followers, adherent and well-drilled in the teachings and doctrines of a teacher or a leader or a prophet.

Food for thought

  • Considering the salient points on characteristics of a disciple above, are you a disciple?
  • If you are a disciple, do you do what your teacher and leader did?
  • Are you like your teacher and leader?
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