Reference: Disciples
Hastings
In the ancient world every teacher had his company of disciples or learners. The Greek philosophers and the Jewish Rabbis had theirs, and John the Baptist had his (Mr 2:18 'the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees'; cf. Joh 1:35; Mt 14:12). In like manner Jesus had His disciples. The term had two applications, a wider and a narrower. It denoted (1) all who believed in Him, though they remained where He had found them, pursuing their former avocations, yet rendering no small service to His cause by confessing their allegiance and testifying to His grace (cf. Lu 6:13; 19:37; Joh 4:1; 6:60,66-67). (2) The inner circle of the Twelve, whom He called 'Apostles,' and whom He required to forsake their old lives and follow Him whithersoever He went, not merely that they might strengthen Him by their sympathy (cf. Lu 22:28), but that they might aid Him in His ministry (Mt 9:37; 10:1,5), and, above all, that they might be trained by dally intercourse and discipline to carry forward the work after He was gone. These were 'the disciples' par excellence (Mt 10:1; 12:1,49; 15:23,32; Mr 8:27; Lu 8:9; Joh 11:7; 12:4; 16:17,29). See also Apostles.
David Smith.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.
Summoning His 12 disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness.
Summoning His 12 disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness.
Jesus sent out these 12 after giving them instructions: "Don't take the road leading to other nations, and don't enter any Samaritan town.
At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain.
And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!
Then his disciples came, removed the corpse, buried it, and went and reported to Jesus.
Yet He did not say a word to her. So His disciples approached Him and urged Him, "Send her away because she cries out after us."
Now Jesus summoned His disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they've already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way."
Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. People came and asked Him, "Why do John's disciples and the Pharisees' disciples fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"
Jesus went out with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"
When daylight came, He summoned His disciples, and He chose 12 of them-He also named them apostles:
Now He came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:
When Jesus knew that the Pharisees heard He was making and baptizing more disciples than John
Therefore, when many of His disciples heard this, they said, "This teaching is hard! Who can accept it?"
From that moment many of His disciples turned back and no longer accompanied Him. Therefore Jesus said to the Twelve, "You don't want to go away too, do you?"
Therefore some of His disciples said to one another, "What is this He tells us: 'A little while and you will not see Me; again a little while and you will see Me' ; and, 'because I am going to the Father' ?"