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 plentiful, but the laborers are few.
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.
These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them: "Do not go among the Gentiles, or enter any town of the Samaritans.
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!
Then his disciples came and took the body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.
But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us."
Now Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have been with me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."
Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"
And Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?"
And when it was day, he called his disciples to himself; and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles:
When his disciples asked him what this parable meant,
And, as he was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
You are those who have continued with me in my trials.
Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples.
Now when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?"
From this time many of his disciples went back and no longer walked with him. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, said,
Then some of his disciples said to one another, "What is this that he says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?"
His disciples said, "See, now you are speaking plainly, and not using a figure of speech!