What is a Disciple

When I wonder about the meaning of a word or phrase I always like to find an accepted definition. I found these on Google.

According to Google the general definition of a disciple is-

“A follower or student of a teacher, leader or philosopher.”

According to Google the biblical definition of disciple is-

“A dedicated learner and follower of Jesus Christ, committed to His teachings, imitating His life, and spreading His mission, which involves a transformed heart, mind, and actions, not just intellectual agreement but a lifelong process of becoming more like Him.”

Again, according to Google-

Three common marks of a true disciple of Jesus are obedience to God’s Word, bearing spiritual fruit (like love, joy, patience), and loving others, which involves service and self-denial for Christ, as they follow His example and commit to His mission. These characteristics signify a deep, transformative relationship with Jesus, not just intellectual belief, involving a willingness to endure hardship and grow in faith. 

I believe the best definition of discipleship I have ever read was spoken by Jesus in four verses in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus defines His definition of a person that wants to be His disciple. It can’t be said any clearer than Mark 8:34-38…

³⁴ Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me and for the Gospel will save it. ³⁶ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

“Deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.” To the people listening to Jesus that day, the cross was a very scary thing. They often saw people dying or dead hanging on a cross as they walked down the road. It was a common means of execution in those days used to keep the Jewish people under the control of Rome.

Today we think of the cross as a place where Jesus sacrificed for us. We see nice looking crosses in many places and even wear them as jewelry. They are on all church buildings signifying a place that worships Jesus. But Jesus said, take up your cross and follow Me. What does that mean to us today? Do we even know what our cross is? Are there places where we are ashamed to admit we follow Jesus? We need to memorize these four verses if we want to live the life of a disciple.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “Take up their cross and follow Me”?

Here are key aspects of “Taking Up Your Cross”:

Daily Surrender: It is not a one-time event but a daily decision for us to follow Jesus. Waking up and saying to the Holy Spirit here I am. Use me where You will.

Dying to Self: This means laying down our own plans, pride, and selfish ambitions. Fulfilling our part of the Body of Christ.

Enduring Hardship: It involves facing trials, betrayals, or difficult circumstances with a godly attitude, not with bitterness. Reflecting Jesus will show the world His way.

Sacrificial Love: It often requires sacrificing our personal comfort to serve God and others with our time, talent and treasure which were all given to us by God in the first place.

In short, taking up our cross is about losing our selfish life for Christ’s sake in order to gain true, eternal life. The interesting thing that happens when we live that way is we find a sense of joy, contentment and “the peace that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

I have counted over 30 times in the Gospels were Jesus said to someone “Follow Me”. They were all individual calls to change their life and do what He asked them to do. Peter, Andrew, James and John were called off their fishing boats by the words “Follow Me”. Jesus found Philip and said, “Follow Me” and he did. Jesus saw Matthew in his tax collector booth, said, “Follow Me” and he immediately left the booth.

In Matthew, Mark and Luke we have a story of a person rejecting the call. Here is Matthew’s version in Matthew 19:16-22…

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

¹⁷ “Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

This man could not let go of the things of this world. He was very religious, but not willing to be a true disciple and follow Jesus. I have often heard the phrase “we need to be in the world but not of it”. We are either disciples or we are not. There is no middle ground.

Years ago, there was a book written titled “What Would Jesus Do?” Probably anyone who was around churches back then will remember it. It was very popular. Many of us wore rubber bracelets with WWJD on them, what would Jesus do? The book was a story of a pastor’s challenge to his congregation on how to handle everyday situations. What should the businessman do when faced with a challenging customer? What should a mother do with a disrespectful child? What should a teenager do when their peer group is headed in the wrong direction? Any of a million real-life situations that happen every day. 

That is the mindset of a disciple. If we want to be like Jesus, we need to know what He would do with the situation in front of us. The good news is, when we give our lives to Jesus, we have been given the Holy Spirit as our guide and counselor. All we need to do is think WWJD, what would Jesus do, and listen for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. He is right there waiting for us to ask.