In Luke 6:12-13 (NASB) we read these words, “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles.”
What is a disciple?
The word translated “disciple” in our English Bible is from the Greek word for a learner or a pupil, it is the word “μαθητής”, pronounced ma-the-tes. The standard definition of disciple is someone who adheres to the teachings of another. So a disciple is a follower or a learner. In today’s culture we might use the word “apprentice” for disciple. It refers to someone who takes up the ways of someone else for the purpose of learning from them. In the case of the passage above from Luke’s Gospel account we find that a disciple is a learner who is under the tutelage of a master teacher or Rabbi.
Jesus emphasized the idea of a “follower” when He called the twelve from their busy lives to be His disciples. For example in (Matthew 4:18-19), we read these words, “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Follow me, these words mark out an important aspect of discipleship. The pupil was to mimic the actions and teachings of the Master by following closely in His footsteps. To be a learner the disciple followed closely behind the Master, observing His life, and listening intently to His words (see I John 1:1-4).
Jonathon Parnell, pastor and teacher, said this of the disciples, “Applied to Jesus, a disciple is someone who learns from Him to live like Him — someone who, because of God’s awakening grace, conforms his or her words and ways to the words and ways of Jesus” (see Acts 4:13). The disciple is constantly learning, and absorbing everything he can from the teacher, striving daily to walk in the footsteps of the Master, for the purpose that others would see “Christ in you the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
It would be no easy task to instruct and equip these twelve for the ministry that they had been called to. These “Ordinary Men” as they are described by John MacArthur, had many faults to overcome. For example, in the Gospel accounts we read that the twelve could be “slow of heart to believe” (Mark 16:14), that they had a defect of jealously (Mark 10:35-37), that they lacked faith when tested (Mark 9:17-19), that they lacked spiritual understanding (Matthew 15:16), and finally that they all deserted Jesus when He needed them the most (Mark 14:50).
The Gospels record the many failings, struggles, and doubts of these twelve men who followed Jesus Christ. They may have been slow to learn, but the disciples of Jesus did learn and as a result they became under Jesus the founders of the Church of the Living God. It has been truthfully said that you don’t have to be perfect to follow Jesus.
After witnessing Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, the Holy Spirit transformed the disciples into powerful men of God who turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6). What accounts for the dramatic change? It is said of the disciples that they had “been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). My prayer is that the same may be said of us as we strive to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, Jesus Christ and to fulfill the work He has given us to do here at Gospel Baptist Church.
Jim York,
Teacher, Berean Bible Study Class
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