The call of Jesus was straight forward….come and follow me. Another way to translate that is “come and be my disciple." In the first century world, Discipleship was the apex of the Jewish education system. There were three levels to Jewish education. The terminology, “Christian” is used 2 or 3 times in the new testament and only in a negative light. Whereas disciple is used 268 times in the NT, more than any other moniker to be the sons and daughters of God. Jesus’ followers were called “disciples” long before they were ever called “Christians.” Jesus used the term disciple but never Christian.
The word disciple in Hebrew is “tal-ma-deen”. It can also be translated as “follower”, or “student." The best descriptive word is “apprentice”. Jesus was known as Rabi, and he was telling them because he was a Rabi, he was going to make the disciples “great teachers”. That’s the heart and soul of “apprenticeship”. Another Greek term for “disciple” in the New Testament is mathetes, which means more than just “student” or “learner.” A disciple is a “follower,” someone who adheres completely to the teachings of another, making them his rule of life and conduct. John Mark Comer has a great teaching about this topic.
