What does the Bible say about discipleship?

The Bible passages below can be used in sermons, prayers, pastoral care, or worship planning focused on discipleship. 

• Although the word discipleship does not occur in the New Testament, the presence of Jesus' disciples is dominant in the gospels. The Greek word for disciple is mathete, which means student or apprentice. In the New Revised Standard Version translation of the Bible, the word occurs 263 times in the New Testament, 235 of which are in the four gospels, with the remaining 28 occurrences in Acts. 

• In the epistles, believers in Christ often are not referred to as disciples but as brothers and sisters in Christ or members of the body of Christ. 

• In the ancient world, wise teachers, philosophers, and (in Jewish circles) rabbis would attract a following of those who wished to learn at the feet of a master. Some apprentices were selected by the master; others volunteered to join. Jesus always took the initiative when calling his inner circle of twelve disciples, although there is evidence in the gospels that Jesus had also a much wider following of disciples, including both men and women. 

• In Acts 11:26 we read that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. It is possible the term Christian soon became the common way to refer to Christ's followers, eclipsing disciple. But the use of this word in Acts indicates that in the earliest days of the church, anyone who joined the church called a disciple (as opposed to the remaining eleven disciples — and later also Paul — who were soon referred to principally as apostles).  

• Acts 6:7 is typical of this association: "The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith." 

• When Ananias is directed in Acts 9:10-19 to go meet with Saul after his Damascus Road experience, Ananias is likewise called a disciple. Thus, despite the lack of this term in New Testament letters, the idea that believers are all disciples of Jesus — and the idea that lifelong efforts at learning from Christ and imitating Christ constitutes ongoing discipleship — has continued in history. 

Sermon ideas about discipleship 

The Great Commission 

Sermons about discipleship can highlight Jesus' commissioning of his followers as the single most vital text indicating that disciple-making did not end with the ministry of Jesus: "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 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). Here we see that the church is to be in the business of continuing to produce apprentices to Jesus Christ, and that baptism into the triune name of God is the first step of discipleship, followed by a lifelong instruction in the teachings of Jesus. Disciples may well be saved by grace alone, but grace also transforms believers such that obedience becomes the hallmark of all true discipleship. 

Sermons about discipleship can point out that among the teachings of Christ that would surely fit the category of "everything that I have commanded you" were all his words about self-giving and sacrificial love. On the final night of his life as recorded in John 13 and memorialized on Maundy Thursday, Jesus talked of a new commandment he had given—the commandment to love one another as Jesus had loved them. Their love for one another was the way that others would know that they are Jesus' disciples (John 13:34-35).  

Because this new commandment followed Jesus' taking on a servant's role in washing the dirty feet of his disciples — and because this comes just before Jesus lays down his life for the creation by dying on the cross — it is clear that the love Jesus commands is a self-forgetting, humble, potentially painful, and sacrificial form of love in which we regard all others as worthy of all the service we can offer.  

Sermons about discipleship can also show that Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount also count as commands to be taught and followed. There Jesus radicalized the literal meaning of the law by getting to the root of why God had forbidden things like murder and adultery. It is not enough for a disciple not to kill someone literally: anger, hatred, and all that leads to name-calling in our very hearts also are ruled out. Committing adultery is not only waking up in the wrong bed; for disciples the silent lust of the imagination with which one fantasizes about such a tryst is also ruled out in their hearts and minds.  

Discipleship, in short, is about a wholesale transformation of not only a disciple's actions but the very patterns of a disciple's thoughts. 

Uniqueness of Jesus' disciples 

Our sermons about discipleship can point out the many ways in which Jesus' leadership of his disciples was unique. First, Jesus called his own disciples, whereas the rabbis of his day mostly accepted those who asked to be a student. Indeed, a few times in the gospels Jesus even seemed to reject those who wanted to sign up as disciples by making the demands of discipleship so daunting that many turned away (Luke 9:57-62).  

Second, Jesus did not teach in formal classroom or synagogue settings but mostly assembled his followers in the open air, teaching them all along the way wherever his ministry took him. Third, unlike other rabbis who mostly repeated and endorsed tradition, Jesus taught many things new and from scratch, even claiming that his own words superseded or fulfilled various aspects of Jewish tradition.  

Finally, unlike most rabbis at the time, who tended to accept disciples from a traditional milieu, Jesus called disciples from a variety of places and vocations, from fishermen to tax collectors to political activists. As noted above, it appears that women were likewise included in the wider circle of Jesus' disciples during his ministry. 

The cost of discipleship 

Sermons about discipleship can mention Dietrich Bonhoeffer's classic book The Cost of Discipleship. In the original German, the book's title was simply Nachfolge, the German word for discipleship, which means to follow after. Disciples are the ones who trot along behind Jesus, following where the Master leads and taking their behavioral cues from Jesus' own words and actions.  

Because the way of Christ ultimately leads to the way of the cross, discipleship is never a cheap or easy prospect. Grace may be free, but it does not come to anyone without the very dear cost of no less than the life of God's own Son. Indeed, Bonhoeffer would hold that if anyone claims to be a Christian but does not seek to imitate Christ and follow his commands, theirs is a false version of Christianity — indeed, it is not Christianity at all.  

A more recent author who wrote at length on the absolute necessity of a serious discipleship is Dallas Willard, particularly in his book The Divine Conspiracy. Like Bonhoeffer, Willard believed that too few Christians today regard discipleship — actually trying to be like Jesus — as the utter necessity for the Christian faith that it is. 

Excerpts about discipleship 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org sermon resources about discipleship: 

"Discipleship as a Christian, then, means to recognize that, wherever we are planted in the Church, we have been issued a divine, priestly and prophetic calling, for we are 'little Christs' by virtue of our baptism and our chrismation." Article about Scripture by Edith M. Humphrey from ancient Faith Ministries   

"Jesus paints a picture of an all-or-nothing commitment, a challenge that will lead not only to the cross, but also to life: one cannot be gained without the other." Scripture Meditation or Sermon by Anna Drew from the Methodist Church   

"Surely a missional understanding of discipleship necessitates that 'love God' practices take shape in, among, and with the neighborhood, and therefore, are consistently absorbed and integrated with 'love your neighbor' practices." Article about Church Life and Leadership by Karen Wilk from Missio Alliance