One of the most familiar verses in the Bible is Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19 to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” But what did Jesus mean by the word “disciple?” The Greek word translated “disciple” comes from the verb, which means “to learn.”  So the basic meaning is “learner.”  A disciple of Jesus is someone who has come to learn from him. The gospel writers sometimes use the word “disciple” in this broad sense to refer to the crowds who followed Jesus. But other times they are referring only to the Twelve whom Jesus chose to be with him constantly. In the Greek world, the word "disciple" was used...