a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower. –Dictionary.com; A disciple of Christ is one who (1) believes his doctrine, (2) rests on his sacrifice, (3) imbibes his spirit, and (4) imitates his example (Matt. 10:24; Luke 14:26, 27, 33; John 6:69). –Easton’s Bible Dictionary on BibleGateway.com
Have you read Rob Bell’s ‘Velvet Elvis’? he talks in movement 5 (chapter 5), about the way that Old Testament rabbis taught & chose their students, their talmidim, their disciples. He sets the historical scene really well. You reaslise that Jesus, as a Jew, would have grown up through this teaching.
BUT with Jesus there is one basic difference. he did not choose the cream of the crop to be his talmidim, he chose the ordinary men who did not make the rabbi’s special level, and in doing so he made them feel special.
The bottom line of Bell’s argument is that God choses each one of us because we are all special to Him, and he wants us all as His talmidim. We need to have faith and belief not only in Him but also in ourselves – the faith that He has in us.
your comment sheds light on not just what it means to be a disciple, but on what we need to understand about how we are all chosen to follow.