What is a Disciple?

Our name is Raising Everyday Disciples, but what exactly is a disciple?

Everyone is a disciple of something or someone. They have someone that they look up to or follow no matter what or they have something that they are learning from someone that they really believe in. As believers in Jesus, we are Jesus’ disciples.

In Matthew 4:19, Jesus says,
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Marks of a Disciple: “Follow Me”

As Jesus went about His ministry on earth, he had 12 disciples who followed Him around and learned from Him as they went. They got the sneak peak into His life, they saw whether what He said backed up with what He did, they got insight into what all of His crazy parables meant that no one else understood.

He taught them what it looked like to get up early in the morning to pray and spend time with His Father.

He modeled for His disciples how to submit to God in every aspect of life and how to love Him with all of their hearts, souls, minds, and strength.

He showed them how to love their neighbors sacrificially and whole-heartedly.

He went against the tide of society and loved the outcast, spent time with sinners, and preached the gospel of His Kingdom everywhere that He went.

These men saw how His daily life was deeply impacted by the relationship He had with His Father.

So, when He says “follow me,” He’s telling them to watch closely and follow after Him in all the things He does. He calls them to leave everything they have to follow Him. This was no easy task- they had to abandon their jobs, their families, their entire lives to follow Jesus.

But this sort of radical obedience was something that was worth it in order to be in the presence of the King of the Universe and in a relationship with Him.

Not sure if you are a follower of Jesus? For more on following Jesus and what this means, check out this post: What is the Gospel?

“I Will Make You”

While His calling demanded radical obedience, as they followed Him, they were promised that HE WILL MAKE THEM fishers of men. This is the next mark of a disciple.

A disciple is someone who not only follows Jesus- is willing to put Him above all things in their life and make Him Lord of their life- but it is someone who is transformed by Jesus.

Romans 8:29 says that God chose us “to be conformed to the image of His Son.” It is His desire to not only walk in a relationship with us but also to make us like Christ in our character, attitudes, and actions.

This is a lifelong process. It is not a sprint, but a marathon. As we continue to faithfully pursuing Christ, His Spirit works in us to make us more like Him. We must seek time with Him, grow to know Him in His Word, through prayer, and fellowship with other believers, and draw near to Him each day as He works in us to transform us.

“Fishers of Men”

So, Jesus calls them to Himself, transforms them to be more like Him, and lastly makes them fishers of men. The last mark of a disciple is that they have a desire to share Christ with those around them! When we know the great, gracious, and mighty God that we serve, when we truly know Him and experience His love, we are not only transformed to be like Him, but we also can’t help but tell of His greatness to those around us. When His praise is on our hearts, His praise is on our tongues as well.

“For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34b.

Simply put, a disciple is someone who follows Jesus, is transformed by Jesus, and is proclaiming His greatness to the world around them.

This is an infectious thing, when one disciple follows Christ boldly, it causes others to do the same, and then others to do the same. Disciples who make disciples, who make disciples, to the ends of the earth.

For more on making disciples, check out this post: Why Make Disciples?

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20