▪ The noun comes from the Greek word mathetes (lit.

,
learner or apprentice). It has a long period of usage since
the time of the early Greek writers and philosophers. The
term is usually understood in relation to the teacher (Grk
didaskalos).
▪ In the gospels the disciple are those who learned from
Jesus. The phrase in Mark 3:14, “that they be with him”
shows that being a disciple means having a lifelong
relationship with Jesus. The disciple is not there merely to
learn from the teacher but to share his whole life with him
without reservation even at the face of death. As Dietrich
Bonhoeffer puts it, “when Jesus bids his disciples to follow
him, he bids them to come and die.”
▪ The disciples may be divided into three groups. The larger
group is that of the crowd who followed Jesus. Within this
group we can identify a sub-group of the twelve. Still within
this sub-group is the triad of Peter, James and John.
▪ Discipleship is probably the second major theme in the
gospel of Mark, next to the theme of Jesus’ suffering.
Notably, the term alone is used more than forty times in the
gospel. While discipleship is an important part of Jesus’
teachings, the disciples in many instances are portrayed in
a negative light. To be fair with them, some of what they do
deserve affirmation. They respond immediately to Jesus’
call (1:16-20). At least in the early chapters of Mark they
accompany Jesus, assist him in many ways, and partake of
his ministry—healing preaching and teaching (see for
example, 3:9; 6:7-13).
▪ However, early on the disciples show a bit of
misunderstanding Jesus. In Mark 4 (parable of the sower)
before Jesus explained to them the idea of using parables,
he rhetorically inquires,

“Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you
understand all the parables?”
▪ After the calming of the storm, the disciples also have to ask, “Who
then is this [Jesus], that even the wind and the sea obey him (Mark
4:41)?”
▪ They also apparently do not have any clue about Jesus’ feeding
miracle in 6:30-44, for when Jesus joined them on the sea with the
calming of the wind, the narrator notes that the disciples “were
utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves.”
(6:51-52).
▪ Finally, in Mark 8:14-21 the disciples have forgotten to bring any
bread, and when Jesus cautioned them about the leaven of the
Pharisees they thought it was an admonition. Here we can note Jesus’
increasing frustration for their inability to understand.
▪ The second half of Mark’s gospel sees the disciples
grappling with the issue of discipleship and the essence of
following Jesus. But sadly, towards the end of the story the
disciples still are not able to get Jesus’ point. Notably, they
all ran away when their master was arrested.
▪ If any want to become my followers, let them deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Mark 8:34
▪ “to deny oneself” does not imply self-hatred. It rather
conveys the idea of rejecting one’s selfish longings or
interests. Those who have committed to become Jesus’
disciples must be ready to accept that the one who leads
the will is no longer the self. Personal desires and
ambitions are no longer central in one’s life.
▪ ‘Taking up the cross’ here can be better understood in light of the
cross. Its imagery is connected with the execution of a criminal. The
condemned criminal usually carried his own cross to the site of
execution. This imagery will become more concrete as Jesus—the
teacher himself—would experience carrying the cross and be
executed on it. The cross symbolizes a machinery in an oppressive
regime that eliminates or deter subversion. The cross means the
reality and possibility of suffering and even death for the sake of the
gospel. The disciple then must be ready to take both the shame and
disgrace discipleship bears.
▪ To follow Jesus conveys the challenge to share his fate, to
follow in the path of the leader. Thus, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer
puts it, “when Jesus bids his disciples to come, he bids
them to come and die.”
▪ another lesson on discipleship:
Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and
servant of all (Mk 9:35).
▪ Jesus makes it clear that greatness is rooted in servanthood.
The illustration of a child is instructive. That greatness is
found in taking the side of the insignificant and powerless.
Jesus further warns the disciples to empower them, not to
exacerbate their powerlessness.

If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who
believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung
around your neck and you were thrown into the sea (Mk 9:42).
▪ More strikingly, these weak and insignificant individuals
are important figures in the Kingdom of God. Entry to the
kingdom is not by virtue of greatness, but of nothingness.

Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these
that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive
the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it (Mk 10:14-15).
▪ Thus, the rich man who comes to Jesus misses the
point (10:17- 25). He thinks eternal life (i.e., life in
the kingdom) is something like a property that can
be inherited. Rather, it is the other way around. He
has to lose everything, like a child who possesses
nothing, in order to have it. He cannot respond
positively to Jesus’ injunction to “go, sell what you
own, and give the money to the poor.” He walks
away sad because of his possessions.
▪ James and John, as well as the rest of the twelve, also
miss this point (10:35-45). They ask Jesus to place
them in prominent positions in the Kingdom. Jesus
explains that the Kingdom is not a “scepter and a
crown” thing. Those who are in it must suffer pain
and humiliation.

Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your

servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be
slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mk 10:43-45).
in the Gospel of Mark