disciple

(dĭ-sī'pəl)
n.

1. 1. One who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another.
   2. An active adherent, as of a movement or philosophy.
2. often Disciple One of the original followers of Jesus.
3. Disciple A member of the Disciples of Christ.

[Middle English, from Old English discipul and from Old French desciple, both from Latin discipulus, pupil, from discere, to learn.]

discipleship dis·ci'ple·ship' n.

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noun

One who supports and adheres to another: adherent, cohort, follower, henchman, minion, partisan, satellite, supporter. See over/under, precede/follow.

n

Definition: believer, follower
Antonyms: god

Discipleship is the term used in the gospels to designate the condition of being followers of Jesus. The usage probably originated from contemporary Jewish school life (the talmid or "disciple of the wise"), perhaps through the circle of John the Baptist who had disciples (Matt 11:2); but Judaism in turn could have been influenced by Hellenistic gymnasium practice. The OT did not yet know this terminology (but see Is 50:4). Etymologically, disciple means learner and has an intellectual or academic connotation, correlative to the designation of Jesus as teacher. It is an important term because the whole life-style of the follower of Jesus is included in it. It is a gospel word which declined in importance in the rest of the NT when it was gradually replaced by other terms such as believer or Christian. One of the most difficult problems in understanding gospel use of the term is whether it refers exclusively to a closed group like the twelve apostles or is extended to all who hear Jesus sympathetically, for example, the crowds. Both usages seem to be present but it is difficult to be sure in each case which sense is meant.

Jesus taught his followers to make the pursuit of the Kingdom of God their highest priority (Matt 6:33). Discipleship is a life-style which first seeks the kingdom and its justice, follows Jesus wherever he goes and is willing to renounce all other interests to the extent that they become obstacles to these goals (see Rev 14:4; Matt 8:19-20; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 14:26; cf Matt 10:37; Luke 18:29; cf Matt 19:29; Mark 10:29-30). As this series of texts shows, at least some of Jesus' followers were urged to abandon parents, wife, children and property, and prepare themselves for martyrdom. Jesus' demands on his disciples were extremely radical, at times even harsh, as when he told someone who wanted to follow him to "let the dead bury their own dead" (Matt 8:21-22; Luke 9:59-60). This radical discipline was probably necessary to overcome the exaggerated family loyalty common in the Levant, and to insure the freedom for a life of itinerant preaching. It is also an application of the command to love God with one's whole heart, soul and might (Deut 6:5), interpreted in such a way that heart means all one's affective faculties, soul means life (to the point of martyrdom), and might means material possessions. Thus discipleship is a radical form of love.

In presenting the total picture of the disciple, each of the evangelists puts the accent on different aspects: Mark highlights life in the shadow of the cross (Mark 8:34) as well as the disciples' lack of understanding. Matthew stresses just the opposite; the good disciple is one who understands the teaching of Jesus (Matt 13:51-52). Matthew is the only evangelist to mention the church, and the disciples whom he usually identifies with the Twelve, have a role in it (Matt 18:1, 17-18). As church leaders, the disciples share in the authority of Jesus, even to the point of forgiving sins (Matt 9:8). Disciples obey the commandments of the earthly Jesus (Matt 28:16-20). They do not set themselves up as teachers independent of Christ (Matt 23:8-10). Luke distinguishes between the Twelve and the rest of the disciples (Luke 6:13; 10:1), some of whom are called elders in Acts 14:23. He lays great stress on the voluntary poverty and love of the poor which should characterize the disciples (Luke 12:13-21; 16:19-31; 19:1-10), yet he admits that the radical demands of the first period can no longer be applied without modification (Luke 22:35-38). For John discipleship is identical with being a Christian, through believing (John 2:11), abiding in the word (John 8:31), living in a community of mutual love, service and humility (John chaps. 13 and 15). It is sometimes said that there are no ranks among the disciples in John, but in fact many individual disciples are singled out, for example, Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, Nathanael (John chap. 1); Mary, Martha and Lazarus (John chap. 11); Thomas (John chap. 20), and again, Simon Peter (John chap. 21). The beloved Disciple is also an important and unique feature of the fourth gospel. The term disciple is mentioned in John 12:16, though this is often obscured in translation. John represents a spiritualizing of the concept of disciple, leaving out some of the harsh specific demands listed in the other gospels. Paul does not use discipleship terminology. He tends to replace it with more Hellenistic terms like imitation or mimesis of Christ. (I Cor 4:16; 11:1; Eph 5:1; Phil 3:17; I Thes 1:6; 2:14; II Thes 3:7, 9; Heb 6:12; 13:7).

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The followers of Jesus, who adhered to his teaching and transmitted it to others. The Twelve Apostles were the disciples closest to Jesus.

In general, a disciple is an active follower of a leader or movement, religious or otherwise.

IN BRIEF: Noun- One who accepts the doctrines of another and assists in spreading or implementing them.

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Quotes:

"Every great man nowadays has his disciples, and it is usually Judas who writes the biography." - Oscar Wilde

"Disciples be damned. It's not interesting. It's only the masters that matter. Those who create." - Pablo Picasso

"Once the good man was dead, one wore his hat and another his sword as he had worn them, a third had himself barbered as he had, a fourth walked as he did, but the honest man that he was -- nobody any longer wanted to be that." - Georg C. Lichtenberg

For a list of words related to disciple, see:

• Individuals and Titles - disciple: follower of religious teacher or leader
• Individuals and Objects - disciple: devoted follower

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See words rhyming with "disciple."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Disciple.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - discipel, lærling

Nederlands (Dutch)
discipel, leerling

Français (French)
n. - disciple

Deutsch (German)
n. - Jünger, Schüler

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - οπαδός, μαθητής, (θρησκ.) μαθητής, απόστολος

Italiano (Italian)
discepolo, allievo, alunno

Português (Portuguese)
n. - discípulo (m)

Русский (Russian)
ученик, последователь

Español (Spanish)
n. - discípulo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - lärjunge

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
弟子, 门徒

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 弟子, 門徒

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 문하생, 그리스도의 12사도의 한 사람

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 弟子, 使徒

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) التابع لقائد ( سياسي مثلا) أو رجل دين أو أستاذ‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תלמיד, מעריץ, חסיד, אחד מ-21 התלמידים של ישו, כל מאמין קדום בישו‬

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