Disciple or Apostle?

 

Luke 6:13 ... He called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles.

What exactly was Jesus doing here?

We don’t often make a significant distinction between “disciple” and “apostle” so when I read this verse, I decided to look up the meanings of those two words to understand what was happening.  

A DISCIPLE is a student, a follower, a learner.

An APOSTLE is a delegate or ambassador, a representative.  

The implications of this distinction are huge when it comes to one’s relationship with Jesus.   

Up until now, the twelve men named were learning from Jesus. They were His DISCIPLES.

Now He was putting them in an advanced position.   

They were merely following Him before and now they would be acting as His representatives.

They would be speaking with His authority.

They would be acting on His behalf.  

 It makes me stop and think harder about my own relationship with Christ.   

Am I a DISCIPLE or an APOSTLE?   

Am I just a follower, or am I His representative to others? 

Lots of people continued to be Jesus‘ disciples during His ministry but these twelve men took on a higher level of commitment.

I want to be that committed to following Jesus. 

I want to be His representative to the people around me.