Absolute: Disciple

By Daniel Davis

“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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV)

This passage, commonly called the Great Commission, was issued by Jesus with the light of Easter still glowing in the background. Here stood the risen Lord with all power in His hands, giving His great task to His followers of making disciples. What is a “disciple?”

The term is not used in the Old Testament but shows up frequently in the Gospels and Acts. We are most familiar with the term in reference to the 12 closest followers of Jesus (Luke 6:13). However, others outside of the Twelve who followed Jesus were also called disciples (Luke 14:26–27). The term was not limited to Jesus’ followers, however. John the Baptist also had disciples (Matthew 11:2); and so did the Pharisees (Mark 2:18).

The word is not a special word used only in the Bible. It was a common and proper Greek term used throughout the ancient world. Essentially, the word refers to a pupil, a learner, a student, or an apprentice of a specific teacher or master. From that master, the disciple learns the worldview or theory of the master, as well as how to lead a good life or practice well a particular skill or trade. A carpenter could be a master teaching his disciple the nature and skill of carpentry. A rabbi could be a master teaching his disciple the nature of God and the skill of living in God’s law. A musician could be a master teaching his disciple the theory of music and the skills of composition and performance. And so on.

Thus, we see that those who were called disciples of Jesus in the Gospels were not merely a sect who thought Jesus had interesting ideas. Rather, they understood the brilliance and magnificence of Jesus’ teaching and way of life. Consequently, they chose to learn from him the Truth about God and life, as well as to adopt his way of living in that Truth.

The remarkable thing for us today is to see how the word is used in Acts. The term is expanded, not to refer only to the Twelve or the larger group who followed the earthly life of Jesus in ancient Israel. When we come to Acts, we see that those who were becoming what we now call Christians were called disciples (Acts 6:1, 7; 11:26; 13:52). This means that the original disciples of Jesus were following that Great Commission: they were making more disciples of Jesus. Indeed, this is even reflected in the original meaning of the term “Christian.” The word referred to those who believed in and followed the way of the Christ; hence, they were “Christ-ians.”

We can emphasize this point even more when we look at the context of the Great Commission. The text highlights the term disciple through repetition: “The eleven disciples went away into Galilee... make disciples of all the nations...” (Matthew 28:16,19 NKJV). The Eleven were to make more of what they had become—people who believed in Jesus and learned to live their lives from him.

We should note that in the New Testament, all Christians were called disciples. The term was not reserved for an especially committed group. To be a Christian was to be a disciple—a non-disciple Christian was nonsense. Of course, there could be poor and excellent apprentices to Jesus, but they were all apprentices nonetheless.

This same task given to the Eleven rests with the Church today. The American church in the 20th century has produced incredible results through evangelistic ventures. Untold numbers have been led to “walk the aisle” so their sins might be forgiven. Yet, it might be that we have missed the whole charge of Jesus. We are not merely called to lead people in a “sinner’s prayer;” we are called to recruit apprentices to Jesus. We are called to teach them everything we have learned about who God is and how they can live the God-life here on earth. Every convert is a recruited disciple in need of our teaching of the truth and skills for following Jesus. For this task we have been given the immeasurable power of the Holy Spirit—the resurrection power of God that raised Jesus from the dead!

This article originally appeared in the May 2010 issue of The Pentecostal Messenger.