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 enough, but the reapers are few.
Then he called his twelve disciples to him, and gave them power over the foul spirits so that they could drive them out, and so that they could heal any disease or illness.
Then he called his twelve disciples to him, and gave them power over the foul spirits so that they could drive them out, and so that they could heal any disease or illness.
Jesus sent these twelve out, after giving them these directions: "Do not go among the heathen, or to any Samaritan town,
At that same time Jesus walked one Sabbath through the wheat fields, and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of wheat and eat them.
And he pointed to his disciples and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!
John's disciples came and took his body away, and buried him, and then they went and reported it to Jesus.
But he would not answer her a word. And his disciples came up and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps screaming after us."
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, "I pity these people for they have been staying with me three days now and they have nothing left to eat, and I do not mean to send them away hungry, for they may give out on the way."
Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were keeping a fast. And people came and asked him, "Why is it that when John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are keeping the fast, yours are not keeping it?"
Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he questioned his disciples and said to them, "Who do people say that I am?"
When day came, he called his disciples to him, and chose twelve of them whom he named apostles:
His disciples asked him what this figure meant.
Just as he was coming down the Mount of Olives and approaching the city, the whole throng of his disciples began to praise God loudly and joyfully, for all the wonders they had seen,
But it is you who have stood by me in my trials.
So when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had been told that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John??2 though it was not Jesus himself who baptized them, but his disciples??3 he left Judea and went back again to Galilee.
Many of his disciples on hearing it said, "This is a harsh teaching! Who can listen to it?"
In consequence of this many of his disciples drew back and would not go about with him any longer. So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you mean to go away too?"
and then afterward said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was going to betray him, said,
Then some of his disciples said to one another, "What does he mean when he tells us, 'In a little while you will not see me any longer, and a little while after, you will see me again,' and 'Because I am going away to the Father'?"
His disciples said, " Why, now you are talking plainly and not speaking figuratively at all.