Talmidim/Disciples: Following the Master in the Way of Covenant

By Hebrew Boy

In the days of Yahusha ha’Mashiach, the word talmidim(disciples) carried a weight far greater than our modern idea of “students” or “learners.” In the Hebraic world, a talmid was not someone who merely attended lessons or memorized teachings. They were apprentices in life itself, binding themselves to their teacher in order to imitate every aspect of his walk. To become a talmid meant to take on the discipline, worldview, values, and practices of the one you followed, shaping your life after his example.

For Yahusha’s talmidim, this was no light matter. It meant embracing the Torah as the foundation of life, because Yahusha Himself lived by it. (Mattithyahu/Matthew)5:17 records His clear statement: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete.” The Hebrew word for “complete” here carries the sense of bringing to fullness, filling up what was given, and showing the perfect application of Yahuah’s instructions. Yahusha did not come to replace the Father’s commands but to reveal their fullness through His life.

The Master’s Example

When the messengers stood with the men of Galil after Yahusha ascended, they declared, “This same Yahusha, who has been taken up from you into the heaven, shall come in the same way as you saw Him go into the heaven” (Ma’asei/Acts 1:11). These men were not casual acquaintances. They were talmidim who had walked with Him daily, shared His meals, observed His Shabbat gatherings, gone up with Him to the Feasts, and witnessed His steadfast obedience to Yahuah.

From the beginning of His ministry to the end, Yahusha upheld the Torah in word and deed. He honored the Shabbat (Luqas/Luke 4:16), went to Yerushalayim for the appointed Feasts (Yoḥanan/John 7:14), and taught the deeper matters of the Torah such as right-ruling, compassion, and belief (Mattithyahu/Matthew 23:23). He confronted the Pharisees and scribes when they elevated the traditions of men over the commandments of Yahuah (Marqos/Mark 7:6–9). Even His miracles, such as healing on the Shabbat, were in perfect alignment with the Torah’s heart of mercy.

Yahusha’s obedience was not just for His own righteousness. He was modeling for His talmidim and for all of us what it looks like to walk in covenant with the Father. 1 Yoḥanan/John) 2:6 reminds us, “The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.”

The Life of a Talmid

In first-century Israel, the relationship between a rabbi and his talmidim was intimate and demanding. A talmid followed so closely to the rabbi that they were said to be “covered in the dust of the rabbi’s feet,” meaning they walked right behind him wherever he went, learning by observing and participating in his life. It was not a part-time arrangement. Every aspect of the teacher’s life was open for imitation including how he prayed, how he handled disputes, how he ate, and how he kept the commands of Yahuah.

This closeness is why Yahusha’s talmidim could later testify with authority about His life and teachings. They had seen with their own eyes what it meant to obey Yahuah in a corrupt and politically charged world. They learned that obedience was not about self-righteousness, but about love. As 1 Yoḥanan 5:3 says, “For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy.”

Training for the Kingdom

Yahusha’s training of His talmidim was deeply intentional. He prepared them not just to follow Him during His earthly ministry but to continue His work after His ascension. In Mattithyahu 28:19–20, He commissioned them to “go, therefore, and make talmidim of all the nations, immersing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Set-apart Spirit, teaching them to guard all that I have commanded you.” Notice that He did not send them to preach a lawless message. They were to teach others to guard all that He commanded which included Torah observance, the Feasts, and the heart of righteousness.

The talmidim carried this charge faithfully. In the Book of Acts, we see them attending the Feasts (Acts 20:16), observing Shabbat (Acts 13:42–44), and continuing in the prayers and customs rooted in Torah (Acts 3:1). They understood that to follow Yahusha was to remain anchored in the covenant of Yahuah.

The Call for Today

Centuries have passed, but the call to be a talmid of Yahusha has not changed. He still seeks followers who will take up their stake, deny themselves, and walk as He walked. In a world that has twisted His example into a license for disobedience, true talmidim stand out as those who reject lawlessness and cling to righteousness.

We are living in days when the return of Yahusha is near. He will be looking for those who have guarded the Torah and the testimony of Yahusha ha’Mashiach (Revelation 14:12). The world may mock, label it “legalism,” and call it bondage, but the Scriptures declare it freedom and love. Obedience is not a burden. It is the evidence of our relationship with Yahuah and the fruit of our faith.

The question remains: when He returns, will we be found as true talmidim? Will our lives show that we have walked in the Way, guarding the Torah and holding fast to the testimony of Yahusha?

May we answer that call, walking so closely to our Master that the dust of His feet becomes our covering, until the day He returns to gather His faithful ones.