What Is a Disciple?

by Josh Pennington

               What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ?  Many people have different ideas and thoughts about what a disciple is or should be.  Bottom line, the process of becoming a disciple involves training and developing Christ-likeness and being empowered for service.  The Greek word for disciple, mathetes, denotes “one who follows both teacher and teachings.” It is important to note that the word “disciple” in Latin, Discipules, is derived from the verb discere, meaning “to learn.” In the Jewish world, a disciple was one who attached himself to another to gain practical or theoretical knowledge by instruction and experience.  The word disciple was also used to describe apprentices learning a trade, as well as students learning the teacher’s philosophy and wisdom.

               Usually, a disciple would leave home and move in with his teacher. The teacher would primarily take care of the food and lodging. A disciple was under complete submission to his teacher.  A noted author once said that a teacher will bend his pupil towards a set goal, with the purpose of training him step by step, until he becomes identified with the teacher himself.

               We must realize that discipleship is more than just a call; it is a lifestyle that is never to stop until eternity. It is a continual learning and growing in Christ. Discipleship is also reciprocal, that is, when one is trained, he or she must make a commitment to train someone else. The term disciple is consistently used in all four Gospels to describe the relationship between Christ and His followers.  Just as the disciples then were instructed to learn from and follow Christ, we too are called to follow Christ and make disciples of others.

 The Calling of the Twelve

               Jesus carefully selected the 12 disciples after spending a whole night in prayer (Luke 6:12). This is significant because, Jesus recognized the need to rely upon guidance of the Holy Spirit when making such an important decision.  Some argue that the reason Jesus chose 12 is because, the number 12 represents the 12 patriarchs of Israel and the 12 tribes.  His 12 disciples now represent the new Israel and the future believers. It is encouraging to know that the kind of disciples Jesus picked were not theological professionals, but simply common people from different backgrounds with diverse personalities – fishermen, tax collectors, former revolutionaries, and just plain old sinners.

               Jesus launched His new ministry with just common folks with common problems. This holds great truth.  We need to simply trust that He will continually transform us as we follow Him. The various “call scenes” that appear in this section (Luke 5:8-11, 27, 28; 6:12-16) seem to suggest several principles about discipleship. First, in Luke 5:8-11 Luke recorded the story of Peter, James, and John fishing unsuccessfully. In spite of their apparent failure to catch any fish, Jesus instructed them to launch out into the deep and let down their nets (verse 4).  This is fascinating, because Jesus, who is a teacher and the son of a carpenter, is telling fishermen how to fish.  The point is clear, discipleship is more than following; it is complete obedience to the instructions of the Master.  The men quickly obeyed the instruction, and because of their obedience, they caught a great number of fish (verse 6). Blessing will always follow obedience. Jesus used the miracle of the fish to demonstrate to Peter and the others that He was calling them to a new occupation.

               The call to these three fishermen was to catch men instead of fish. The word “catch” (zogreo) means to “catch alive,” or it also means “to catch for life.” This is suggesting that they would no longer catch a fish for death, but they were to catch men for life (Matthew 4:19). This demonstrates that discipleship is not just giving obedience to the call, but it is also making a commitment to reproduce Christ in other people.

               In the last call scene of Luke 5:27 and 28, Luke records that Jesus deliberately called Matthew, the tax collector, to be one of His disciples. Matthew seems to have been an unlikely candidate for a disciple. However, Jesus’ simple words, “Follow Me,” caused Matthew to leave all and follow Christ. Matthew’s job as a tax collector wasn’t the most favorable job to have. Tax collectors were despised in the Jewish society because they used the tax system to line their own pockets. He made a wealthy living by abusing the system for his own wealth. His abandonment of all to follow Jesus is quite interesting. What would cause him to leave all and follow Christ? Undoubtedly, he saw something in Jesus that made him want a different life. Matthew’s abandonment to follow Christ teaches us that there is always a sacrifice involved in following Him. The decision to be committed to Jesus will always require us to leave the world and follow Him fully.

Requirements of Discipleship

               Discipleship has many responsibilities, as well as requirements, all of which can be strenuous and challenging. It is one’s willingness to meet those requirements that distinguishes the supposed follower from the devoted disciple. While great multitudes followed Him, the Master’s call was to “any man” (Luke 14:26). Jesus made a profound statement to His followers, that if they were to follow Him they must take up their cross (Luke 9:23). This is significant, because the people understood that “taking up one’s cross” meant more than just enduring a particular hardship or circumstance in life, for they watched executions daily and knew that the cross was an instrument of death.

               Jesus used the cross to demonstrate that if they wanted to follow Him, they must die to their own selfish desires and ambitions and follow Him fully. Historically, a condemned criminal was forced to carry one bar of His cross to the place of his execution. He was “on a one way journey and would not be back.” Jesus was simply saying that the requirement to following Him was to die to oneself and never look back to his old life.  Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” In addition, Jesus instructed his disciples that “whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:24, NKJV).  At first glance, this Scripture may appear to be confusing, but upon further examination, the true context of the Scripture is revealed.

               The word “life” in verse 24 is psuche, which in this context means “corruptible life, natural life, a life that quickly passes away.” With that in mind, Jesus was simply instructing His disciples that they were not to do something that would quickly pass away. If a person saves his life, that is, works to please himself with temporal things of the world, he will lose his soul eternally. In contrast, Jesus states that if you are willing to lose your life for my sake, you will save it.  In other words, Jesus simply was saying that if one will give up his life in order to please Christ on this earth, he will then save his life eternally.

               Jesus emphasized that a person can gain the whole world and everything he wants, but end up losing everything that really matters, including his own soul. It is a terrible thing to lose one’s soul over a piece of this world. It is better to have little of this world’s goods than to lose one’s soul eternally. Jesus encourages his disciples that if they are going to follow Him and be true disciples, they must not be ashamed of Him, Jesus warns that He will be ashamed of them before His Father and the angels.

Cost of Discipleship

We Must Be Willing To Pay the Price.

               Some people do not understand what it really means to follow Jesus. There are those who follow Christ when it is convenient, but faith that is driven by convenience will fail when it is challenged. However, to be a follower of Christ will always cost us something. The discipleship Jesus calls us to means lives of complete surrender to God’s will and sacrifice for His cause. Even Jesus’ 12 disciples did not make the journey without it costing them something; to some of them it meant their own lives. Someone once said, “That which costs nothing is not worth anything.” When King David needed to build an altar to the Lord, he would not accept the free gift of the threshing floor because it cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:21-25). To David, a sacrifice was worthless if it costs nothing.

               Jesus illustrated these same principles in Luke 14:25-33. He spoke series of short parables to reveal that following Him is a costly journey. First, Jesus clearly stated that if one wanted to be His disciple, then it is necessary for one to hate his own family and even his own life (verse 26). This statement at first glance sounds like Jesus is promoting hatred. This is not the case. There is no place in the teachings of Christ to promote literal hatred. So what was Jesus trying to say? The word “hate” in this passage actually means “to love less.” In other words, Jesus was simply saying that in order to be His disciple, then one’s love for Him has to be greater than his love for his family or his own life.

There Is a Cross to Bear

               Next, Jesus states that “whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be My disciple” (verse 27, NKJV). The disciples were very familiar with the cross. They understand that it represented death. So what did Jesus mean by “bear his cross”? Jesus was simply saying that if you want to follow Him, then you have to die to your own selfish ways and follow Him with your whole heart. A famous author once said, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. This is the path the Master trod, should not the servant tread it still?” Jesus understood that not all would respond to His hard message of commitment. His message would cause some to walk away. That is why Jesus expressed in the latter part of this parable that one should count the cost before agreeing to truly follow Him.

               Jesus used the analogies of the builder and the king. In both of these analogies, each one had to count the cost. In the case of the builder (verses 28-30), he had to count the cost to determine if he had enough to finish the building, then Jesus said that others would begin to say, “This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” The same thing happened in the story of the king. Jesus said that a king would not go out to war without counting whether he had enough men to win the battle (Luke 14:31, 32). Forsaking all to follow Jesus is certainly not an easy task; however, whatever we might give up in this world for His sake will certainly be repaid in the next life. Martin Luther once said, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing is worth nothing.”

Conclusion

               A leadership magazine once ran a cartoon that showed a church with a billboard in front of the church that said: “The LITTLE CHURCH: 24% fewer commitments, home of the 7.5% tithe, 15-minute sermons, 45-minute worship service; we have only 8 commandments—your choice.” Many people would laugh at this cartoon; however, there is a lot of truth in it. The cartoon really does reflect some people’s relationship with God and church. The words such as “casual, convenience, comfort, and cost-free actually does describe some people in the modern church. In spite of the casual Christians that are around, Christ is still calling for a higher standard of living among His followers. His followers are called to total abandonment to His cause and purpose.  Missionary Jim Elliot once said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

               C.T. Studd wrote the poem “Only one life, ‘Twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” How true! Just as Jesus was aware of the cost and requirements in following His Father’s plan, even being obedient unto death, we too can follow the example of our Master disciple who calls us to follow Him. Regardless of the sacrifices we incur, when accepting and following the call of Christ there is no greater joy or reward that one may know than to follow the Savior.

               At the close of life, the question will not be “How much have you gotten?” but “How much have you given?” Not “How much have you won?” but “How much did you lose?” Not “How much have you saved?” but “How much have you sacrificed?” It will be “How much have you loved and served?” not “How much were you served?” The cost of discipleship may be hard at times, but we can be assured that the reward of following Christ will always outweigh whatever we may give up for Him in this life.