Who is a true disciple of Jesus Christ?

Introduction

46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” 48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! (Matthew 12:49). These were Jesus’ honest words. His disciples were more than just disciples to Him; they were His family; that was how highly He regarded them in His own sight.

Believing and obeying to become a true disciple of Jesus

It is conceived by many that the term disciple became redundant shortly after the end of the first century, since by then all the earliest followers of Jesus were dead. However, the Bible’s definition for disciple of Jesus Christ allows the term to be used to refer to certain individuals in this generation and those of the generations to come. A disciple of Jesus Christ should appear as such in the sight of God and in the sight of man. To avoid any present or future tendencies of confusion or misconception about who His disciples are, Jesus did well to define which sort of people are His disciples. This is how Jesus defined who His disciples are:

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed

John 8:31

History, as recorded in the Bible, has it that one day Jesus Christ was delivering a sermon in the temple of Jerusalem, as usual, amide a crowd of Jews. In the course of his sermon, He made big claims such as:

I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  

John 8:12

Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

John 8:23

I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.

John 8:21

These claims of Jesus began to confuse, provoke, and offend His Jewish audience and the atmosphere was saturated with unbelief and resentment. However, amid the confusion of mind, the resentment, and the unbelief, some of the Jews who were listening believed in Him.

Congratulations to those Jews who, against all the odds, found the courage to believe in Jesus. But did it end there? No. At this point, knowing very well that some of the Jews have believed in Him, Jesus addressed these Jews who believed in Him, telling them that if they continue in His word, they are His disciples indeed.  This is how the Berean Literal Translation puts it,

Therefore Jesus was saying to the Jews having believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples.

John 8:31 BLB

It is so clear and easy to understand. I do not know about you, but I for one see a well-defined equation in Jesus’ statement in John 8:31 KJV. What I see is this:

who is a disciple of Jesus
Believe in Jesus + Continue in His word = Disciple of Jesus
disciple of Jesus Christ
Accepting Jesus + obeying God’s word = Disciple of Jesus
disciple of Christ Jesus
Belief + obedience = Disciple

Thus a true disciple of Jesus Christ is not the mere churchgoer, nor the one who merely says ‘Lord, Lord,’, nor the one who merely professes to be a Christian. Also, a person is not a true disciple just because he preaches, or calls himself a pastor, or sings gospel songs, etc. Rather, a true disciple of Jesus Christ is anyone who believes in Jesus and obeys God’s word.

It takes faith to become a true disciple

Faith is nothing more than the sum of two things which are belief and obedience. The very act of believing in Jesus and obeying the word of God is called faith. It is written,

17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2: 17, 18, 26).

Faith is not all about believing in something; faith is to believe in something and to live up to what you believe. That is why believing in Jesus and obeying Him is termed faith. So if belief and obedience are what makes you a true disciple then we can say that it takes faith for one to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

When does one become a disciple after having accepted Jesus Christ?

Though it takes believing and obeying to become a disciple of Jesus, it does not also mean that upon believing in Jesus, it would take minutes, hours, days, etc. for God to accept you as a disciple upon realizing that you are obeying His word. No, that is not the case. The truth is by accepting Jesus into your life, you have both believed and obeyed at the same time and faith has occurred there and then. Accepting Jesus into one’s life in itself is the greatest deed of obedience and it is the first true obedience to God’s will. This is what Jesus Himself said about it –

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life …..”

(John 6:40)

Drawing on John 6:40, we see that it is the will of God for a person to believe in Jesus to receive eternal life. Believing in Jesus is the first and the most important act of obedience to God. Hence faith, which is believing and obeying, occurs at the point when you believe in Jesus with your heart and accept Him as your Lord and Savior, resulting in your salvation and your discipleship. You become a disciple and begin to follow Jesus right from the moment you sincerely accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Therefore, God regarded you as a disciple of Jesus right from the moment you accepted Jesus into your life; though, at that moment, it seemed you have done no good deed to merit your acceptance as a disciple of Jesus. The truth is, sincerely accepting Jesus alone is enough obedience to get you started. And having done your first act of obedience by believing in Jesus, you should not stop there; you have to continue being obedient to God’s word so that God will continue to reckon you as a disciple of Jesus.

Examples of people who were regarded as disciples of Jesus Christ

With respect to the New Testament, these are examples of those referred to as disciples of Jesus Christ:

  • The twelve followers,  Matthew 10:1, 2, 3, 4, Matthew 11:1
  • The seventy people sent, Luke 10:1
  • Other followers, John 6:66; Acts 6:1-2, 7; Acts 9:19; Acts 19:31

Examples of other individuals who were called disciples of Jesus.

  • Tabitha, Acts 9:36
  •  Joseph of Arimathaea, Matthew 27:57
  • Ananias of Damascus, Acts 9:10

What is the difference between the 12 disciples and other disciples of Jesus?

The difference between the twelve disciples and the other disciples is similar to the difference between the pastor and the congregation. The pastor and the congregation are all Christians. However, pastors, bishops, apostles, etc. are Christians who are doing fulltime ministry. Though Jesus had many disciples, He called to Himself twelve of them to be with Him all the time and to help Him in His ministry. The twelve disciples were full-time ministers, unlike the other disciples, for they were not only believers and followers of Jesus but also coworkers of Jesus.

CONCLUSION

It is way too easy for someone to deceive himself, thinking or claiming to be a disciple of Jesus Christ just because he is affiliated to a certain church or a certain Christian denomination. Disciples of Jesus Christ are defined by their faith, that is, they believe and obey Jesus with loyalty and free will.

Furthermore, one cannot be a disciple of Jesus without works of obedience to God’s word, for according to John 8:31, it is a requirement; we can neither compromise on it nor forgo it.

Lastly, God regards us as disciples of Jesus right from the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

  • With respect to John 8:31 and John 15:8, how would you define ‘disciple of Jesus’?
  • What is the difference between a disciple and a mere churchgoer?
  • How would you help a churchgoer to become a disciple?
  • Which of them are you, a disciple or a churchgoer?
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