In Christianity, a disciple is a person who strongly follows Jesus. This word appears in the New Testament only in the Gospels and the book of Acts. The idea of a disciple began in the ancient Near East and refers to someone who follows a teacher closely. Being a disciple is different from being a student today. In the ancient biblical world, disciples tried to live and act like their teacher. This was a serious type of training that helped disciples become like their teacher in both actions and beliefs.
The New Testament describes many people who followed Jesus during his life. Some disciples were given important tasks, such as the Little Commission, the mission of the seventy in Luke’s Gospel, the Great Commission after Jesus rose from the dead, or the conversion of Paul. These tasks made them apostles, who were responsible for sharing the Good News about Jesus with people around the world. Jesus taught that being his disciple would require great effort and sacrifice.
Background of the term
The word "disciple" comes from the ancient Greek word mathētḗs, which means "someone who learns from a teacher" or "a student who follows a teacher closely." In religious settings, like the Bible, a disciple is someone who lives with and learns from a teacher, especially one who is respected for their knowledge or beliefs. The word "disciple" entered English through Latin, where it meant "a learner." However, because of its use in the Bible, it should not be confused with the word "student," which is more common in everyday language.
A disciple is not the same as an apostle. An apostle is a person who is sent to share a message, especially one who is chosen to spread religious teachings. In the Bible, the term often refers to a group of people who were specially chosen to teach others about God. While a disciple learns from a teacher or leader, an apostle is someone who is sent out to teach others and help start new communities of believers.
The meaning of "disciple" comes mainly from how it was used in ancient times, not just from its original language. People who were called disciples existed outside the Bible as well. For example, in ancient Greece, students (disciples) learned by copying the teacher's way of life, not just by listening to their words.
The first-century philosopher Seneca wrote about the importance of the close relationship between a disciple and their teacher. He described how disciples learned from the teacher's daily life and personal example.
In the Bible, a disciple was someone who followed a teacher, such as a rabbi, philosopher, or master. A disciple wanted to learn not only the teacher's lessons but also to copy how the teacher lived. They did not just listen to lectures or read books; they lived with the teacher and tried to act like them. A disciple hoped to become like the teacher they followed.
A Christian disciple is a person who believes in Jesus and tries to live like Him, showing others how to follow Him (1 Corinthians 11:1). A disciple first becomes a believer by placing faith in Jesus (Acts 2:38; see also "Born again" in Catholicism). This means they have changed their life to follow Jesus and take part in Christian practices that reflect His teachings. A mature disciple also helps others learn and follow the faith, sharing what they have learned (1 Corinthians 4:16–17; 2 Timothy 2:2).
Great crowd and the seventy
In the beginning of the story about the Sermon on the Plain, there is a larger group of people called disciples, in addition to the Twelve Apostles. Also, seventy (or seventy-two, depending on which version of the Bible is read) people are sent out in pairs to help prepare the way for Jesus, as described in Luke 10. These people are sometimes called the "Seventy" or the "Seventy Disciples." Their tasks include accepting any food offered to them, healing the sick, and sharing the message that the Kingdom of God is coming.
Undesirables
Jesus often shared meals with people who were considered outsiders, such as those who broke religious rules, tax collectors, Samaritans, and women. The gospels describe these individuals as "sinners and tax collectors." Sinners were Jews who did not follow religious laws or Gentiles who broke rules meant for all people. Tax collectors collected money for the Roman government, which caused conflict in the region because they helped take land from local people and give it to distant landlords. In the culture of that time, this behavior was seen as unfair.
Samaritans lived between Jesus’ hometown of Galilee and the Jewish region of Judea. Jews and Samaritans were enemies, but Jesus taught people in Samaritan areas.
In the Gospel of Luke, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, is shown sitting with Jesus while her sister, Martha, was busy with tasks. Jesus praised Mary for choosing to listen to him. In another part of Luke, a woman who was not named anoints Jesus’ feet. Luke also mentions several women who followed Jesus and supported him, including Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna. These women helped provide for Jesus and his followers. Mary Magdalene and Joanna were among those who prepared Jesus’ body for burial and later told others about his resurrection. Mary Magdalene is the most well-known of Jesus’ followers, and more details about her are recorded in the gospels than about other women.
Other parts of the gospels describe different women who were present during Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Mark mentions Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, while John includes Mary, the wife of Clopas.
Tabitha, also called Dorcas, is the only woman in the New Testament explicitly named as a disciple.
In Luke, a man named Cleopas and another disciple walked with Jesus after his resurrection. They discussed recent events with a stranger, who later revealed himself as Jesus during a meal. After this, they hurried to Jerusalem to tell others about their experience. This story is only found in Luke’s Gospel.
Discipleship
Jesus explained what it means to be a disciple in the Gospel of John 13:34–35: "I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (NRSV) In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 14, Jesus responded to a challenge about Jewish Sabbath rules by comparing his teachings to the ways people in society lived, showing how being a disciple is different from following strict religious rules.
The Bible, including the Gospels, the book of Acts, and letters from Paul, teaches that disciples should follow the example of Jesus or God. This means living in a way that shows obedience through good actions. Christian teachings say that becoming a disciple means changing how a person lives and thinks, moving away from other ways of seeing the world and toward the life and teachings of Jesus. Because of Trinitarian beliefs, this change is also about becoming like God.
Paul the Apostle said that being a disciple requires changing how a person thinks, not just learning rules or acting better. He wrote that disciples must "not be conformed to this world" but must "be transformed by the renewing of [their] minds" so they can understand what God wants—what is good and perfect. A disciple is not just someone who learns about Jesus or follows rules, but someone who changes their life completely to follow Jesus’s teachings and fully devote themselves to God.
In many Christian traditions, becoming a disciple is called the "Imitation of Christ." This idea comes from Bible verses like "be imitators of God" (Ephesians 5:1) and "be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). A book called The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis helped spread this idea in the 14th century.
Making new disciples is a common practice in Christianity. At the start of Jesus’s ministry, he called Simon Peter and Andrew to follow him, saying, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). At the end of his life, Jesus told his followers to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20a).
Jesus taught that being a disciple means giving up wealth and family ties. In his time, family was a person’s main source of identity, so leaving it meant losing that connection. In Luke 9:58–62 and Luke 14:26, Jesus used strong examples to show how important this was, saying, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple." Different people have different ways of understanding what this means.
The "Discipleship Movement" (also called the "Shepherding Movement") was a group in some British and American churches during the 1970s and 1980s. This group focused on Bible verses that talk about helping one another and following the example of mentoring, as Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:2. However, the movement was controversial because some people said it encouraged controlling or harmful behavior, with too much focus on obeying leaders. Some of the group’s leaders later criticized it, but some similar ideas still exist today.
Radical discipleship is a movement in practical theology that started because some people wanted to follow Jesus’s original teachings more closely and were unhappy with how mainstream Christianity had changed. People like Ched Myers and Lee Camp believe that modern Christianity has moved away from Jesus’s core teachings, such as forgiving others and avoiding material things. The word "radical" comes from the Latin word radix, meaning "root," which refers to returning to the basic truths of being a disciple.
Radical discipleship also refers to the Anabaptist Reformation movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1527. This movement started because some people thought the Protestant Reformers, like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli, did not change enough in their reforms.