What Is A Disciple?

 

What is a Disciple?

            If an individual was asked, “what is a disciple?” on the street today, their answer would most likely come from a Christian worldview of the term. The term ‘disciple’ over the millennia has been closely linked to Christianity, and in particular, the group of twelve men that had an intimate pedagogical relationship with Jesus. For many the term is synonymous to salvation, but as we will see, this term cannot take on the meaning of salvation for eternity, based on its historical and Biblical use. If we do not get the definition o discipleship right there is a potential to disobey the command of make disciples.

            One would be surprised to learn the term disciple was not original to those that followed Jesus. Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato had disciples and were the first to use the term. “Plato. . .used the term freely to refer to ‘learners’ and ‘adherents’ where there was no danger of misunderstandings. . .Five hundred years before Jesus was born, a disciple was one who committed his all to follow a master teacher.” (Hull, Bill The Complete Book of Discipleship 2006, 54). Though the ancient Greeks had disciples associated with their philosophies that guided their lives, the origins of discipleship are even older than the Greeks and Romans and have their roots in the Bible, not the New Testament and Gospel side of Scripture. “[R]eligious leaders were using the same kinds of activities in the Semitic world. This culture actually pre-dated the Greco-Roman world. The words: mathetes as talmidh: The Hebrew equivalent to mathetes [Greek for – disciple] is talmidh, which means ‘taught one’.” (Hull, 55).

The other common term for disciple in the Old Testament is limmudh. Ezra makes reference to disciples (1 Chron. 25:8). Isaiah repeatedly refers to the position of discipleship (Is. 8:16, 50:4, 54:13), and the most familiar relationship of training can be seen with Moses and Joshua, although the usage of talmidh and limmudh are not used Joshua is spoken of as Moses’ aide (Ex. 24:13), and was his constant attendant in training till he would eventually replace Moses as the leader (Deut. 31:1-30; Josh. 1:1,2). This type of training one's replacement or training someone to emulate your leadership was the prevalent style in Jewish culture and was spoken of by Jesus (Matt. 10:24,25). This kind of discipleship is shown within Scripture to be unto designated positions such as prophets, priests, and as in the case of Moses, leaders of the nation.

Three Groups of Disciples in the NT

            As time developed in the Jewish nation, divisions of study, interpretation, and application of the Law of Moses became more prevalent, and discipleship followed suit. Discipleship was designated to individuals following a rabbi’s or Pharisee’s particular interpretation.

“[D]isciples could attach themselves to individual Pharisees in order to study with them and to become involved in their projects. . .If a person was a disciple of the Pharisees, then that one was adherent of the teachings of the Pharisees, was in training to become a part of that group, and possibly even belong to one of the academic institutions. The disciples of the Pharisees, therefore, would have centered their activities on traditional interpretations that would lead to a more complete understanding and personal application of Torah.” (Wilkins, Michael, Following the Master 1992, 85).

 

Scripture mentions three types of disciples during the time of Jesus: The twelve disciples of Jesus, John the baptist’s disciples, and the Pharisees disciples (Jn. 1:35, 3:25; Lk. 5:33, 7:19 ).

            Likewise, it is known that the Apostle Paul, when he was known as Saul of Tarsus, was being discipled by Gamaliel a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:34, 22:3). Rabbi’s also followed this training as noted in the Talmud and Mishnah, but to become a student of a rabbi, one had to have completed formal school and been a top student. “If the rabbi thought the student could make the cut, he extended an invitation to follow him until the age of thirty, which is when most rabbis began their own ministries. Three prominent first-century rabbis were Hillel, Shammai, and Gamaliel.” (Gallaty, Robby, Rediscovering Discipleship 2015, 34).  It can be presumed that Paul’s training was such that he was seen as a star pupil and being polished to eventually become a rabbi himself (Acts 9:1,2; Phil. 3:4,5). In all intensive purposes, the definition of a disciple is follower or learner of, this suggests they are under the tutelage of one who has mastered what is being taught.

In the Jewish sense, this would mean the books of the law. Since Jesus is the fulfillment of the law (Matt. 5:17,18) His disciples were learning a direct application of the law, which Jesus states is love, and Paul reiterates later (Matt 22:37-40; Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:14). This is why Jesus claimed the yoke, a term used for interpretation of the law, was unattainable for the rabbi’s and Pharisee’s disciples to accomplish (Matt. 23:4), yet His interpretation of love was easy and light (Matt. 11:28-30).

Make Learners

The definition of a disciple is essential as one seeks to understand Jesus’ last command and what is seen as the primary verse for discipleship.

Before ascending to His throne in heaven as an accomplished High Priest (Heb. 10:11-13), Jesus gave His last instruction to His disciples (Matt. 28:18- 20).

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NASB).

Within this passage, Jesus designates how He wants His followers to accomplish His goal of reaching the lost and leading them into discipleship. He starts, ‘go’ or more correctly translated because of the emphasis and structure of the word ‘as your going’. He wants His disciples to leave from Galilee, the place He called them from, and share the news of the Messiah to all of the tribes of Israel. The importance of His command to go or get moving was emphasized by the angel that appeared immediately after He had left and asked why are you still looking up and not doing what you were commanded (Acts 1:9-11). Later, the emphasis to evangelize and disciple would be extended to the gentile nations, which was always Christ’s intention (Gen. 22:18; Matt. 15:21-28; Lk. 19:10; Jn. 4; Acts 10, 11, 15:7-9; Rom. 1:16; Gal 3:8).

It is important to recognize that whenever a Jewish person was spoken to in Acts the message was repentance from the rejection of Jesus, and the gospel of His death, burial, and resurrection typically is not mentioned unless it is as Peter saying they crucified Him (Acts 2:36, 4:10). Yet, when a gentile is initiated into discipleship, there is always a gospel presentation of belief in Jesus presented (Acts 13:31). Partnered with the message of repent of their rejection, Peter called them to be baptized (Acts 2:38). This is seen as an individual's initiation into discipleship; Paul would also baptize people that had believed as well (Acts 13:33).

Immerse

            This idea of baptism as initiation was what Jesus instructed in the Great Commission.

“The first mark of a disciple is baptism. It is one of the first acts that identifies us as a follower of Jesus Christ and initiates us into a life of obedience. . .baptism is the initiatory rite of the Christian. . .the symbolism of baptism serves as a public statement of the believer’s personal commitment to Christ. . .” (Koessler, John, True Discipleship 2003, 14).

Immersion would be the means of a new life for these individuals in Jesus; they would be immersed into water as a means to be initiated into discipleship and immersed into His teaching to gain the walk of a disciple. Observing all He commanded “involves more than downloading information. Disciple-making is about comprehensive training in obedience leading to reproduction and multiplication.” (Earley, Dave & Dempsey, Rod, Disciple Making Is 2013, 5). Baptism would set these individuals apart as followers of Jesus and His teaching as well as start them in the process of being multipliers.

          The second significant relation of note in the passage is baptizing and teaching. The term baptize is a transliteration of baptizo, which means to immerse, and in Scripture it is used of fire (Matt 3:11), Spirit (Luke 3:16), water (Luke 3:21), wine (John 13:26), and blood (Rev. 19:130).  This passage could be two descriptors referring to each other teach them in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and immerse them in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It may not be a command to water baptize, but a command to immerse individuals or saturate them in the teaching of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism by water is essential and would not go without instruction as one immerses the fledgling disciple in Christ and obedience to Him. No matter how one interprets this aspect of baptize to be as initiation as a disciple, or as immersion into teaching, it cannot be overlook that Scripture – obedience – and Discipleship are linked to a life of following Jesus as our Rabbi.

The Point is ‘Do It!’

Every believer is called to disciple, instruct, and immerse others in the relationship of Jesus. The structure of Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:18-20 is written as a chiasm, and the entire book of Matthew is structured as one giant chiastic work, which was the style of teaching many rabbi’s used in the time of Christ. As Gary Derickson points out, sets of chapters are laid out in relation to one another, and within those chapters, the teachings of Jesus contain a chiastic form. (Derickson, Gary, Bib Sac163 Oct.-Dec. 2006, 425, 426). The common element is the center of the passage, “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” If this is as Derickson states, than the teachings chiastic layout would look as such:

A--All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
B-----Go therefore
C--------and make disciples of all nations,
D-----------baptizing them
X--------------in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
D----------teaching them
C--------to observe
B-----all that I have commanded you.
A--And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

In this diagram, A matches with A and B to B and proceeding down, with X being the central theme to all. In taking into consideration that chiastic structures tend to follow rules of three. The passage could look like this:

A--All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
B-----Go therefore
C--------and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
X--------------in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
C------- teaching them to observe
B-----all that I have commanded you.
A--And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

However t the chiasm is structured,  making disciples is a matter of observing Christ commands. Obeying the commands of Jesus is something Earley champions, and he consistently stresses the importance of obedience. He states, “Before you can be a disciple, you need to begin obeying everything Jesus commanded.” (Earley 2013, 49). Obedience is where discipleship starts, and it was where Jesus began with His call to ‘follow Me.’

Still, the most critical aspect of growing someone in Jesus is to teach them all about Jesus! This lies at the heart of the rabbinical practice. As Hull points out, “Disciples learned the teacher’s words verbatim to pass along to the next person. The highest calling of a disciple was to imitate his teacher.” (Hull 2006, 63, 64). To be immersed in the teaching of the Rabbi, Jesus is of the utmost importance as it guides (Psalm 119), instructs, and corrects (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) the learner.

Through History

            The concept of creating learners of Jesus and initiating them in the immersion of water in His likeness, and grow them in obedience to His teaching remained relatively unchanged through the ages. The first church was committed to teaching and application (Acts 2:42).

The Apostle Paul, being a central figure in the early church as a church planter and evangelist, viewed discipleship in the same way as Jesus, he was to instruct to those teachable (2 Tim2:2), and he taught Timothy his disciple and son in the Lord to do the same. As Dave Earley relates, “Optimal fruitfulness calls for wise selectivity.” (Earley 2013, 159). Paul also believed that a disciple was to experience teaching in action, much like Jesus did with the twelve, “Timothy had the opportunity to see Paul in action for a three-year period as he did evangelism and discipleship.” (Ibid, 161). There is no better instruction than on the job training. This same instruction, although not apparent in the Scriptures, is seen in other apostles' lives like John. Tradition states John and Peter had multiple disciples that eventually became disciplers and teachers themselves. “Peter commissioned Clement to ministry.” (Hull 2006, 75). John discipled Polycarp, “and by him ordained bishop of Smyrna.” (Ibid., 78). John  invested time “as Ignatius’s mentor.” (77). John is believed to have discipled, Ignatius, Polycarp, Clement, and Papias.

John’s disciples carried the torch of their discipler. Ignatius was considered a mentor to many heads of the early church and guided them in their positions. “Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons. . .considered himself Ignatius’s disciple.” (76,77). Eventually, someone took the time to reach out to you – so the chain has remained unbroken.

The church is where each individual takes ownership of their personal walk with Christ and that of the growth of others. What churches and the believers that make up the church need to do today is focus less on programs, politics, and pew filling, and focus in on equipping the saints to take charge of ministry and invest in others spiritual lives as followers – disciples – learners, of Jesus.