Dorcas - Her Life And Times

Dorcas - Her Life And Times

DISCIPLES

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated into Greek, is Dorcas) (Acts 9:36). She is the only woman in Scripture to be honored with the designation of “disciple.” The presence of women in groups of disciples is implied at times, but Dorcas is the only woman specifically called a disciple.

The word disciple in both Greek and English has its roots in verbs that mean “to learn.” Those two verbs describe the activity or posture of the disciple of the New Testament. The word disciple is used 296 times in the English Bible. Two of those times occur in Isaiah, and all of the rest are found in the Gospels and in the book of Acts. The Scriptures use the word almost exclusively to name someone who is a follower of Jesus.

A disciple is first of all a learner, a pupil. The disciples of Jesus sat at his feet, and he taught them. They listened and soaked up the knowledge and wisdom of Christ as he talked to them and to the crowds that inevitably gathered around him. Jesus taught them many things, but all of his teaching can be summed up in his command to love God and love others (Mark 12:31). As disciples, they accepted what Jesus taught as truth, trusting him as their teacher and willingly putting into practice all of his teachings.

Second, a disciple is a follower. The disciples followed Jesus wherever he went. Jesus’ first words to Peter and his brother Simon were, “Follow me.” When Jesus called to James and John in their boat, they quickly left the boat and their father and followed Jesus (Matthew 4:18 – 22). The word follow here doesn’t just mean being willing to walk along with the teacher, it means being willing to adopt the views and way of life of the teacher. The twelve disciples left their families and incomes and former lifestyles to follow Jesus.

A true disciple, Dorcas had learned of Jesus and had decided to follow him. She had adopted his views and lifestyle, lovingly living out his commands by ministering to the poor around her. There was no mistaking it, no quibbling, no uncertainty — anyone who knew Dorcas knew who she was and whom she followed. Her devotion is recorded for all the generations to follow with those simple, yet profound words: “In Joppa there was a disciple named . . . Dorcas.”