TALMID - DISCIPLE

Petra Hadžidaova
Dec 7, 2025
5 min read

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Matthew 16: 24 (NIV)

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INTRODUCTION

Here was Simon, later on in life more commonly referred to as Peter. It was a long yet sadly fruitless day. As any other morning, he set out his sails for fish to catch. But lately, the catches have been coming up empty. His hope for a better day seemed all but lost until a very strange man approached the shore.

“…and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so tha“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”

Luke 5: 2-11 (ESV)

Yeshua came to Peter while he was cleaning the nets and entered his boat. That day was an appointed day for Peter. After Yeshua gave his sermon, he told Peter to set out nd cast the nets again. The day's efforts were not lost. But Yeshua was not done yet. He called Peter to follow him, for he was to become a fisher of men. Peter answered the call by leaving everything behind, even his life. He became Yeshua’s disciple, His talmid.

IF YOU WANT TO BE MY DISCIPLE

Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Judas Iscariot, Matthew, Thomas, James, the son of Alpheus, Bartholomew, Judas Thaddeus, and Simon Zelotes were the original twelve men that Yeshua called out from their jobs and lives to become His disciples.

To be a disciple of Yeshua is not easy. It took the original twelve disciples leaving behind everything to become one. It is no different for us today. Matthew 16: 24 records Yeshua’s words. He stated that if one wanted to be His disciple, they needed to deny themself and follow.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Matthew 16: 24 (NIV)

In Luke 14: 26-27 it says that one must hate everything in comparison to Yeshua and His ways, if one really wants to be His disciple. If you do not, they may tempt you not to follow Him fully.

“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. “

Luke 14: 26-27 (ESV)

We may very well be asked to leave behind jobs, circumstances, and places if so told. But what is a disciple?

WHAT IS A DISCIPLE

Generally speaking, a disciple is “one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another,” per Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2)

Cambridge Dictionary says that a disciple is “a person who believes in the ideas and principles of someone famous and tries to live the way that person does or did. (3)

Per Biblical definitions, a disciple is “a scholar, sometimes applied to the followers of John the Baptist (Matthew 9:14), and of the Pharisees (22:16), but principally to the followers of Christ. (4)

Four attributes were appointed to a true believer of Yeshua:

belief in his doctrine,
resting on his sacrifice,
imbibing his spirit,
imitating his example (4).

THE HEBREW WORD FOR DISCIPLE - TALMID

The Hebrew word for disciple is talmid (plural talmidim). In ancient Israel, only Rabbis with smicha were permitted to have talmidim. Talmidim are also called “the ones who sit at the feet” of the rabbis. (5)

The whole point of a disciple was that they would live exactly like the Rabbi. That is why they tended to shadow and live with the Rabbi, so they would know how to treat people and respond to every situation and bear the same fruit. (5)

A DISCIPLE OF YESHUA

It was common for a rabbi to be approached by a disciple who desired to be taught by him. Yeshua, on the other hand, did not wait for their willingness. He sought his disciples on his own. It is quite possible that none of his disciples were even qualified to be one. They were not the best of students. It is said that Peter was not well-versed in Torah and knew no Greek. (5)

Yeshua saw their hearts, found them unqualified, and chose to look past it to see the potential in them. He saw who they could become with his guidance. Yeshua was also the only one, alongside Rabbi Akiba, who permitted women to be disciples. When it was stated that Mary was sitting at His feet, it was alluded to her being a disciple of His. There were 6 of them in total. (5)

Like his original disciples, Yeshua has called us to. Not because we are qualified, but because he saw the great potential in us of who we can become. Are we willing to answer? (5)

CONCLUSION

It takes denying oneself each day to become a disciple of Yeshua. The Hebrew word for disciple is talmid. In ancient Israel, only rabbis with smicha were permitted to have talmidim, and usually they were approached by the wanna-be disciples themselves. Yeshua did things differently. He chose his disciples himself. He looked upon their hearts, and though he found them wanting, he saw the potential of who they could become.

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