Disciple (Christianity)

For other uses, see Disciple (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Apostle.
"Faith formation" redirects here. For ministerial formation in the Catholic Church, see Formation in the Catholic Church.
Jesus giving the Farewell Discourse (John 14–17) to his disciples, after the Last Supper, from the Maestà by Duccio, 1308–1311

In Christianity, a disciple is a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. Originating in the ancient Near East, the concept of a disciple is an adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the same as being a student in the modern sense; a disciple in the ancient biblical world actively imitated both the life and teaching of the master.[1] It was a deliberate apprenticeship which made the fully formed disciple a living copy of the master.[2]

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.

  1. ^ Köstenberger, Andreas J. (1998). "Jesus as Rabbi in the Fourth Gospel" (PDF). Bulletin for Biblical Research. 8: 97–128. doi:10.5325/bullbiblrese.8.1.0097. S2CID 203287514.
  2. ^ Sri, Edward (2018). "In the Dust of the Rabbi: Clarifying Discipleship for Faith Formation Today". The Catechetical Review (#4.2): online edition.