Disciple - Bible Thought - WISE

WISE - Disciple

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The concept of a Disciple was not new in the time of Jesus Christ. Christian Discipleship as evidenced in the New Testament has three primary sources.

Old Testament

Old Testament prophets such as Samuel (1 Samuel 19vv20-24), Elijah (2 Kings 4v1), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 36v32) all had disciples. These disciples saw the prophets as their master and this thinking was throughout the society of Israel. Take for example Isaiah, who refers to the people around him as disciples, where the relationship is primarily educational (Isaiah 8v16). The disciples referred to here were not only followers of Isaiah, but also of God. The relationship was based on a reciprocal support in order to reveal what the Lord was saying to Israel.

Greek culture

Classic Greek literature refers to disciples in three senses: learner (general), adherent (technical) and institutional (restricted). For those who were in the adherent context, they followed rules set by their master. Another aspect of some first century Greek thought was that a person’s highest achievement was to become like god.

First century Judaism

Within Jewish society at the time of the New Testament, disciples were attached to recognized masters, teachers or groups. The disciples of the Pharisees were probably attached to an academic group. Those who followed John the Baptist were seen as radical, eschewing as they did normal Jewish society. Those Jesus referred to as the disciples of Moses, concentrated on their ‘honoured’ status as followers of the one to whom God had made Himself known. One major stream of Jewish thought at the time, said that the goal of discipleship was to see God.

Jesus’ Disciples

Of course there were those were disciples also of Jesus, and not just the 12 disciples but all who followed him. The word we have for disciple means a pupil or learner. Therefore a Christian disciple in its base level is a follower of Jesus. A learner is a person who is undergoing life change and transforming increasingly into the image of Christ. A Christian disciple is somebody learning to be like Jesus in every facet of life, practising His presence with them and engaging their life so intimately with Him that He truly lives through them.

As a Disciple of Jesus Christ, if you are one, you are called to be growing and maturing in a process that is called discipleship. This will inevitable lead to your being asked the reason for which you have your hope in Jesus Christ. If you are not actively growing and maturing, then why would anybody ask you the reason for the hope that you have in Jesus Christ? Jesus said that for you to be His disciple, it meant you have to love God totally and love other people openly. It is perhaps the best measure of the seriousness of your discipleship of Jesus Christ.

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