Disciple
A
disciple (from the
Latin discipulus, a pupil) is one who receives instruction from another; a scholar; a learner; especially, a follower who has learned to believe in the truth of the doctrine of his teacher, and implies that the pupil is under the discipline of, and "understands", his teacher; an adherent in doctrine.[
1]
Disciple should not be confused with
apostle, meaning "one who is sent" or "ambassador". While a disciple is one who learns from a teacher, an apostle is sent on a mission, such as to deliver those teachings to others.
Disciple may refer to:
*the followers of any teacher (
e.g. the disciples of
Plato)
*the followers of a specific teacher:
**the followers of
Jesus of Nazareth::While the twelve apostles are the most well known group of people who were identified as disciples of Jesus, there were others: a much larger group of people were identified as disciples in the opening of the passage of the
Sermon on the Plain that begins in
Luke 6:17.
**the twelve disciples of Jesus sent out as apostles::The twelve original disciples became apostles when Jesus sent them to preach and to heal (
c.f. Mark 6:7-13). While all apostles were disciples of Jesus, not all of his disciples were apostles.
**the followers of
John the Baptist (
c.f. John 1:35)
**the followers of the prophet
Isaiah (
c.f. Isaiah 8:16)
**the followers of the Apostles::The twelve apostles call a gathering of their own disciples in
Acts 6:1-7; there, they had a "multitude" of disciples. The word "discipline" essentially means "to learn".
*a Christian:In many versions of Christian
theology,
discipleship is used to refer to the decision to become a committed follower of the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught that "as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (
John 13:34-35,
TNIV). In several Christian traditions, the process of becoming a disciple is called
the Imitation of Christ, after the famous book of that title by
Thomas à Kempis.
**a member of the Christian group calling itself the
Christian Church (Disciple of Christ):There is a modern
Christian denomination known as the Christian Church (
Disciples of Christ). They use this name in an effort to emphasize discipleship and Christian unity over adherence to a particular
creed or
sect. In this context,
disciple is always
capitalized.
*the
Christian rock band
Disciple*the
Christian hardcore punk band
xDisciplex A.D.*any of the games in
Strategy First's fantasy series
Disciples, including
Disciples: Sacred Lands and
Disciples II: Dark Prophecy*the London
reggae band
The Disciples*
The Disciples a 1993
novel by
Joe AndrewNamed by all three
Synoptic Gospels:
*
Simon, called Peter (according to
Mark and
Luke he was named so by
Jesus)
*
Andrew (whom Matthew and Luke identify as the brother of Simon Peter)
*
James (according to Mark he was surnamed Boanerges by Jesus, and Mark and Matthew identify him as the son of Zebedee)
*
John (whom Mark states was surnamed Boanerges by Jesus, and Mark and Matthew identify him as the brother of James)
*
Philip*
Bartholomew*
Matthew (who Matthew identifies as a publican)
*
Thomas*
James, the son of Alphaeus*
Simon (who Mark identifies as a Canaanite, and Matthew and Luke state was called a
zealot)
*
Judas IscariotThe other disciple of the twelve, according to Mark was called
Thaddaeus, and according to Matthew was named Lebbaeus but surnamed Thaddaeus. Luke, however, identifies him as
Judas, brother of James.
The Gospel of Luke also identifies as disciples the women named Mary:
*
Mary, called Magdalene (Luke 8:2, 24:10)
*
Mary, the sister of Martha (Luke 11)
*
Mary, the mother of James (Luke 24:10)
And Luke also identifies the following minor characters as disciples:
* Simon the Pharisee (Luke 4:36-50)
*
Joanna, the wife of Chuza (Luke 8:3, Luke 24:10)
*
Susanna (Luke 8:3)
*
Cleopas (Luke 24:18)
*
Joseph of Arimathea (Luke 23:50-54)
*
What were the names of the apostles?
