Disciple

In many Christian translations of the Bible, disciple is a term for "learners" or "students;" and especially, for the followers of Jesus.

Disciples should not be confused with the term apostle, meaning "one who is sent" or "ambassador"; while the twelve original disciples of Jesus were all also apostles, the term apostles has an altogether different meaning and function than the term "disciples". All apostles are disciples, but not all disciples are apostles.

While the twelve apostles are the most well known group of people who were identified as disciples of Jesus, there were others: a much larger group of people were identified as disciples in the opening of the passage of the sermon on the plain (an abbreviated Sermon on the Mount) that begins in Luke 6:17. John the Baptist had followers who were called disciples (John 1:35), as did Isaiah (Isaiah 8:16). The twelve apostles call a gathering of their own disciples in Acts 6:1-7; there, they had a "multitude" of disciples.

In many versions of Christian theology, discipleship is used to refer to the decision to become a committed follower of the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught that "as I love you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35, NIV). The process of becoming a Christian disciple is called the Imitation of Christ in several faith traditions, after the famous book by Thomas à Kempis of that title.