“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” John 8:31
Do you consider yourself one of Jesus’ disciples? Often when we hear that word, we think of the followers of Jesus, especially the twelve who were the closest to him. Many people confuse the words disciple and apostle. That can be an easy confusion since they are both used frequently in the New Testament. The word disciple, which appears around 300 times in the New Testament, simply means “a follower, a learner, or a student.”
A teacher with disciples was not new in Jesus’ day. We read in Mark 2:18, “Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, ‘How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?’” Here both John the Baptist and the Pharisees had disciples.
In the book of Acts all Christians were given the name disciple. “The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly” (Acts 6:7). Acts 11:26 tells us that eventually Jesus’ disciples took on the name Christian. “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”
Although we know that by faith we follow Jesus, there are several hints given in the New Testament that tells us what being a disciple includes. Luke 14:33 says, “Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” Luke 14:27 tells us, “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” John 13:35 instructs us, “Everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” What a privilege it is to be counted among Jesus’ disciples!
From Precious Words of the Bible by Reynold R. Kremer