Did you know that the word “disciple” does not simply refer to a follower of Jesus? It carries the idea of “student” or “learner.” Certainly a disciple is one who follows Christ, but not merely in a locational or positional way. A disciple of Christ is one who sits at His feet and learns from Him and His other disciples. In Luke 10:39, Martha sits at Jesus’ feet and learns from His teaching. Meanwhile, Martha is distracted by the task at hand, preparing a large dinner. Martha approaches Jesus to ask that He instruct Mary to help with the work. Jesus gently and lovingly rebukes Martha, affirming that Mary has pursued the better thing: learning from Jesus.

We need to take time to learn from Jesus through His word. At the same time, we should be learning from His disciples who are tasked with training future generations. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus commands His disciples to make new disciples and teach them what He taught. So not only is learning from Jesus a biblical principle, but so is learning from His disciples. There are many godly disciples who have written down their teaching so others can learn from them. The holiday season is usually spent with family and friends. While we rejoice that Jesus came to earth and paid for our salvation, we must not forget to sit at His feet, and learn from Him and His disciples.