Disciple (Christianity)
In
The New Testament records many followers of Jesus during his ministry. Some disciples were given a mission, such as the Little Commission, the commission of the seventy in Luke's Gospel, the Great Commission after the resurrection of Jesus, or the conversion of Paul, making them apostles, charged with proclaiming the gospel (the Good News) to the world. Jesus emphasised that being his disciples would be costly.
Background of the term
The term "disciple" represents the Koine Greek word mathētḗs (μαθητής),[3] which generally means "one who engages in learning through instruction from another, pupil, apprentice" [4] or in religious contexts such as the Bible, "one who is rather constantly associated with someone who has a pedagogical reputation or a particular set of views, disciple, adherent."[5] The word "disciple" comes into English usage by way of the Latin discipulus meaning a learner, but given its biblical background, should not be confused with the more common English word "student."
A disciple is different from an apostle, which instead means a messenger, more specifically "messengers with extraordinary status, especially of God’s messenger, envoy."[6] But predominately in the New Testament it is used of "a group of highly honored believers with a special function as God’s envoys."[7][8] While a disciple is one who learns and apprentices under a teacher or rabbi, an apostle is one sent as a missionary to proclaim the good news and to establish new communities of believers.
The meaning of the word "disciple" is not derived primarily from its root meaning or etymology but from its widespread usage in the ancient world. Disciples are found in the world outside of the Bible. For example among the ancient Greek philosophers, disciples learned by imitating the teacher’s entire way of life and not just by remembering the spoken words of the teacher.
The first-century philosopher Seneca appeals to the "living voice and intimacy of common life" of the disciple–teacher relationship of many different philosophers:
Cleanthes could not have been the express image of Zeno, if he had merely heard his lectures; he also shared in his life, saw into his hidden purposes, and watched him to see whether he lived according to his own rules. Plato, Aristotle, and the whole throng of sages who were destined to go each his different way, derived more benefit from the character than from the words of Socrates.[9]
In the world of the Bible, a disciple was a person who followed a teacher, or rabbi, or master, or philosopher.[10] The disciple desired to learn not only the teaching of the rabbi, but to imitate the practical details of their life.[2] A disciple did not merely attend lectures or read books, they were required to interact with and imitate a real living person. A disciple would literally follow someone in hopes of eventually becoming what they are.[11]
A Christian disciple is a believer who follows Christ and then offers his own imitation of Christ as model for others to follow (1 Corinthians 11:1). A disciple is first a believer who has exercised faith (Acts 2:38).[12] This means they have experienced conversion and put Jesus at the center of their life and participated in rites of Christian imitation. A fully developed disciple is also a leader of others who attempts to pass on this faith to his followers, with the goal of repeating this process.(1 Corinthians 4:16–17; 2 Timothy 2:2). A special form of passing on leadership through discipleship is called apostolic succession.
Great crowd and the seventy
In addition to the
Undesirables
Jesus practiced open table fellowship, scandalizing his critics by dining with sinners, tax collectors, and women.
Sinners and tax collectors
The gospels use the term "sinners and tax collectors" to depict those he fraternized with.
Samaritans
Samaritans, positioned between Jesus' Galilee and Jerusalem's Judea, were mutually hostile with Jews. In Luke and John, Jesus extends his ministry to Samaritans.
Women who followed Jesus
In Luke (10:38–42),
Other gospel writers differ as to which women witness the
Tabitha (Dorcas) is the only female follower of Jesus named in the New Testament and explicitly called a disciple.[14]
Cleopas and companion on the road to Emmaus
In Luke,
Discipleship
"Love one another"
A definition of disciple is suggested by Jesus's self-referential example from the
"Be transformed"
The
Paul the Apostle stressed transformation as a prerequisite for discipleship when he wrote that disciples must "not be conformed to this world" but must "be transformed by the renewing of [their] minds" so that they "may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect."[17] Therefore, a disciple is not simply an accumulator of information or one who merely changes moral behavior in conformity with the teachings of Jesus Christ, but seeks a fundamental shift toward the ethics of Jesus Christ in every way, including complete devotion to God.[18]
In several Christian traditions, the process of becoming a disciple is called the Imitation of Christ. This concept goes back to the Pauline epistles: "be imitators of God" (Ephesians 5:1) and "be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).[19] The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis promoted this concept in the 14th century.
The Great Commission
Ubiquitous throughout Christianity is the practice of proselytism, making new disciples. In Matthew, at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, when calling his earliest disciples—Simon, Peter, and Andrew—he says to them: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). Then, at the very end of his ministry Jesus institutes the Great Commission, commanding all present 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).
Family and wealth
Jesus called on disciples to give up their wealth and their familial ties. In his society, family was the individual's source of identity, so renouncing it would mean becoming virtually nobody. In Luke 9:58–62, Jesus used a hyperbolic metaphor to stress the importance of this, and another in Luke 14:26: "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." There are different interpretations of this text on counting the cost of discipleship.[20]
Discipleship Movement
The "Discipleship Movement" (also known as the "Shepherding Movement") was an influential and controversial movement within some British and American churches, emerging in the 1970s and early 1980s.[citation needed] The doctrine of the movement emphasized the "one another" passages of the New Testament, and the mentoring relationship prescribed by the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:2 of the Holy Bible. It was controversial in that it gained a reputation for controlling and abusive behavior, with a great deal of emphasis placed upon the importance of obedience to one's own shepherd.[citation needed] The movement was later denounced by several of its founders, although some form of the movement continues today.[21]
Radical discipleship
Radical discipleship is a
Radical discipleship also refers to the
See also
References
- S2CID 203287514.
- ^ a b Sri, Edward (2018). "In the Dust of the Rabbi: Clarifying Discipleship for Faith Formation Today". The Catechetical Review (#4.2): online edition.
- ^ "μαθητής".
- ^ Danker, Arndt, W., W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 609.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Ibid.
- ^ A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature., p. 122.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ "Christian History: The Twelve Apostles". Retrieved 2007-11-19.
- ^ Seneca. Epistles 1-65. Trans Richard M Gummere, Loeb Classical Library 75. pp. Epist. 6.5–6.6, p. 27–28.
- ^ Talbert, Charles H. and Perry L. Stepp. ""Succession in Mediterranean Antiquity, Part I: The Lukan Milieu" Society of Biblical Literature 1998 Seminar Papers: and "Succession in Mediterranean Antiquity, Part 2: Luke-Acts"". Society of Biblical Literature 1998 Seminar Papers: 148–168 and 169–179.
- ^ McKellar, Scott (2014). "Taking on the "Smell of the Sheep": The Rabbinic Understanding of Discipleship". The Sower (#35.2, April–June): 8–9.
- ^ Born again#Catholicism
- ^ Luke 6:17
- ISBN 0310244927.
- ^ Richard N. Longenecker, ed., Patterns of Discipleship in the New Testament (Eerdman’s, 1996) 1, 5, 141.
- ^ "Rick Warren’s Definition of Disciple" at "Rick Warren's Definition of Discipleship | Exponential". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
- ^ Romans 12:2
- ^ Tyndale Bible Dictionary (Tyndale House, 2001), s.v. "Disciple."
- ISBN 978-0-664-22748-7s.v. "Imitation of Christ, The," 285-286.
- ^ Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: Chapter I Archived June 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Vatican Council
- ^ "Charismatic Leaders Concede They Went Too Far: 'Shepherding' was often accused by outsiders and former members of being cultlike in requiring members to obey leaders in all aspects of their personal lives". Los Angeles Times. March 24, 1990.
- ISBN 9780754616436.
- ^ Myers, Ched (1988). Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus. Orbis Books.
- ISBN 9781587430497.
Further reading
- Barton, S.C. (2005). Discipleship and Family Ties in Mark and Matthew. Monograph series / Society for New Testament Studies. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-01882-1.
- Mattes, M. (2012). "Discipleship in Lutheran perspective" (PDF). Lutheran Quarterly. 26: 142–163. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
- Souvay, Charles Léon (1909). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- Stassen, Glen H. and David P. Gushee. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, InterVarsity Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8308-2668-8.
- Stassen, Glen H. Living the Sermon on the Mount: A Practical Hope for Grace and Deliverance, Jossey-Bass, 2006. ISBN 0-7879-7736-5.
- Weddell, Sherry. Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus. ISBN 978-1-61278-590-5.
- Wilkins, M. J. (2004). Unique discipleship to a unique master: Discipleship in the Gospel according to Mark. Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 8(3), 50–65.
- Vaage, Leif E. (2009). "An Other Home: Discipleship in Mark as Domestic Asceticism". Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 71 (4): 741–761. JSTOR 43726614.