The term is applied to Christians in general, not to the Twelve only. It emphasises the importance of Jesus Christ's followers learning from Christ as their teacher.
Disciples learning from their master
Isaiah 8:16; Amos 7:14 See also 1 Kings 20:35; Nehemiah 3:8; Isaiah 19:11; Matthew 10:24; Mark 2:18 parallel Luke 5:33; Luke 6:40; John 1:35, John 9:28
Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples.
“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.
Those referred to as disciples in the NT
The disciples as the apostles
Matthew 10:1–2 The apostles were uniquely appointed as founding pillars of the church, but in some respects they were also representative disciples.
And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
The disciples as believers in general
Matthew 28:19; Acts 19:1–2 Christian believers, not fully mature. See also Luke 6:13, Luke 6:17; Acts 6:2, Acts 11:26
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
The disciples as an intimate circle of believers
How disciples are called
It sometimes implies physically following Jesus Christ and leaving everything
Matthew 4:19 parallel Mark 1:16–20; Matthew 8:18–22 parallel Luke 9:57–60; Matthew 9:9 parallel Mark 2:14
Calling in a more general spiritual sense
John 21:19 See also Luke 9:23, Luke 14:25–27; John 8:12, John 12:26, John 21:22
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And after He had said this, He told him, “Follow Me.”
How disciples learn from Jesus Christ the teacher
By repeating the words of Jesus Christ
Luke 11:1–4 The rhythmical form of much of Jesus Christ's teaching suggests he intended his words to be remembered verbatim. See also Matthew 5:3–10
One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” So Jesus told them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
By signs
John 2:11 See also Mark 5:37, Mark 5:40 parallel Luke 8:51
Jesus performed this, the first of His signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
By understanding the OT Scriptures
John 1:45 See also Luke 18:31–33, Luke 24:27, Luke 24:32, Luke 24:44–45
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
By understanding the parables
Mark 4:11–12 parallels Matthew 13:10–11, Luke 8:9–10 See also Mark 4:34
He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables, so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’”
By practical experience of mission
Luke 10:23–24 These words follow the sending out of the seventy-two. See also Mark 6:6–11; Luke 9:1–2 parallel Matthew 10:1
Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
In periods of being alone with Jesus Christ
Mark 6:31 See also Matthew 16:21
And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
In spite of their faulty understanding
Luke 24:25 See also Mark 9:32 parallel Luke 9:45; Luke 18:34
Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.