David
David was ‘King David’ the greatest of all the Hebrew Kings. David was born in Bethlehem and, as a young man, is said to have cared for his sheep on the hills around Bethlehem. The prophet Isaiah wrote that the one who would come to save Israel would come from the ‘stock of Jesse’, King David’s father. (Isaiah 11:1-10)
David was ‘King David’ the greatest of all the Hebrew Kings. David was born in Bethlehem and, as a young man, is said to have cared for his sheep on the hills around Bethlehem. The prophet Isaiah wrote that the one who would come to save Israel would come from the ‘stock of Jesse’, King David’s father. (Isaiah 11:1-10)
Disciple
In the time of Jesus it was common for a teacher (Rabbi) to gather a group of students (disciples) around him so they could learn from him and come to follow his way of thinking. In the Gospels we read that John the Baptist had disciples and, of course, so did Jesus. We are not sure how many disciples Jesus had. Luke 10:1 mentions 72 disciples being sent out in pairs, so we can guess that maybe there were about that number, perhaps a few more.
The Gospel of Mark gives us a good picture of what being a disciple of Jesus meant. A disciple was someone who followed Jesus’ way of life, who gave selflessly and who was prepared to serve others. Jesus sometimes criticised his disciples for not understanding him and at other times he praised them. Sometimes the disciples are named; Simon, Andrew, James and John (Mk 1:16ff), Levi (Mk 2:14ff) and Mary Magdalene (Mk 15:40ff) for example. Sometimes though they are anonymous figures whose names have been lost; Simon's mother in law (Mk 1:31ff), the centurion (Mk 15:39ff), the woman of Bethany (Mk 14:3-9) and the poor widow (Mk 12:41-44).
So, simply, a disciple is the student of Jesus whose words and actions indicate their commitment to him.
However, it’s a bit more complicated than that, so if you want to know a bit more, read on.
Sometimes the gospel writers talk about the ‘disciples’ and at other times they speak about ‘The Twelve’. The Twelve were a group of 12 men among the bigger group of disciples. The Twelve carried important symbolism as they represented the twelve tribes of Israel. The list of who made up The Twelve is not clear (compare Mk 3:13-19, Mt 10:1-4 and Lk 6:12-16) so we think that by 60 CE the memory of most of them had faded and they were just 'names in lists'.[1]With the exception of Matthias, who was elected to take the place of Judas Iscariot to keep the number at twelve for the coming of the spirit, The Twelve were not replaced after their deaths. They were 'once for all'.[2]
Within The Twelve, Peter, James and John form a special group. They are present for ‘private’ teaching; at the transfiguration (Mk 9:2-8), in Gethsemane (Mk 14:32-42) and on two other occasions Jesus spends time with them alone. (Mk 5:37 and Ch.13)
One more complication! Luke sometimes calls The Twelve ‘apostles’. Watch out for when he does that but remember it’s the same group Mark and Matthew call The Twelve.
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[1] Brown, R., Donahue, J., Senior, D., and Collins, A. Aspects of New Testament Thought in Brown, R., Fitzmyer, J. and Murphy, R. Jerome Biblical Commentary, p1381
[2] Brown, R. Responses to 101 Questions on the Bible, p117.
In the time of Jesus it was common for a teacher (Rabbi) to gather a group of students (disciples) around him so they could learn from him and come to follow his way of thinking. In the Gospels we read that John the Baptist had disciples and, of course, so did Jesus. We are not sure how many disciples Jesus had. Luke 10:1 mentions 72 disciples being sent out in pairs, so we can guess that maybe there were about that number, perhaps a few more.
The Gospel of Mark gives us a good picture of what being a disciple of Jesus meant. A disciple was someone who followed Jesus’ way of life, who gave selflessly and who was prepared to serve others. Jesus sometimes criticised his disciples for not understanding him and at other times he praised them. Sometimes the disciples are named; Simon, Andrew, James and John (Mk 1:16ff), Levi (Mk 2:14ff) and Mary Magdalene (Mk 15:40ff) for example. Sometimes though they are anonymous figures whose names have been lost; Simon's mother in law (Mk 1:31ff), the centurion (Mk 15:39ff), the woman of Bethany (Mk 14:3-9) and the poor widow (Mk 12:41-44).
So, simply, a disciple is the student of Jesus whose words and actions indicate their commitment to him.
However, it’s a bit more complicated than that, so if you want to know a bit more, read on.
Sometimes the gospel writers talk about the ‘disciples’ and at other times they speak about ‘The Twelve’. The Twelve were a group of 12 men among the bigger group of disciples. The Twelve carried important symbolism as they represented the twelve tribes of Israel. The list of who made up The Twelve is not clear (compare Mk 3:13-19, Mt 10:1-4 and Lk 6:12-16) so we think that by 60 CE the memory of most of them had faded and they were just 'names in lists'.[1]With the exception of Matthias, who was elected to take the place of Judas Iscariot to keep the number at twelve for the coming of the spirit, The Twelve were not replaced after their deaths. They were 'once for all'.[2]
Within The Twelve, Peter, James and John form a special group. They are present for ‘private’ teaching; at the transfiguration (Mk 9:2-8), in Gethsemane (Mk 14:32-42) and on two other occasions Jesus spends time with them alone. (Mk 5:37 and Ch.13)
One more complication! Luke sometimes calls The Twelve ‘apostles’. Watch out for when he does that but remember it’s the same group Mark and Matthew call The Twelve.
-----
[1] Brown, R., Donahue, J., Senior, D., and Collins, A. Aspects of New Testament Thought in Brown, R., Fitzmyer, J. and Murphy, R. Jerome Biblical Commentary, p1381
[2] Brown, R. Responses to 101 Questions on the Bible, p117.
