The disciple is not above his teacher, nor the bondman above his lord.
Jesus has just sent the twelve out to preach, and He has warned them that their message will meet refusal. Now He gives the reason, taken from ordinary life: no pupil ranks above his teacher, and no servant above his master — a hard warning that is meant as comfort.
The verse names two ranks, and the next verse adds a third. Each one settles the same question: what should a follower of Jesus expect from the world?
"It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his Lord." "If they have called" (or nicknamed — it is more a surname or nickname) "the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household?" There you have the relation of the disciple to the teacher, the relation of the servant to his Lord, and of those who live in his house to the master. They should not be surprised at how they were treated, once they thought about what the Teacher, the Lord, the Master received.
What does the word "disciple" actually mean?
This word means strictly "a learner" or "pupil." … When large crowds followed the Lord, He turned to them and told them to count the cost of really following Him. Such a person must hate (compared with Christ) all his natural relations and his own life too. He must take up his cross and follow Christ, and he must give up all that he had, or he could not be His disciple. Luke 14:26-33. … It was true association in heart with a rejected Christ. Matt. 10:24-25; John 15:8.
The Lord is not lowering their hopes for the sake of realism. He is removing fear, and the very next words are "have no fear of them."
He was going through this Himself now, and they would have to feel it in their turn. "So have no fear of them." The first reason not to fear is this: I have walked the same path; do not be afraid.
He gave the warning before they set out.
This work of grace kept going, and it even spread wider. Yet He warned the twelve ahead of time that they should not expect their message to be received.
Verse 25 gives the example. The household gets the name people gave the head of the house — and that name is bitterly ironic.
If they had called the Master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they call those of His household. Beelzebul means the "lord of the dwelling" — the Satanic "master of the house," who made people possessed by demons his home. Yet the One they called this was the rightful Master, the One stronger than the strong, who set the poor captives free (Matt. 12:29).
The words "it is enough" are not a limit imposed grudgingly. They set the highest goal a learner could be given.
What is the measure and standard in God's school? It is enough for a disciple to become like the teacher. It is enough for the servant to become like his Lord, the teacher. Too high? This is what the Teacher and Lord has in mind for disciples, Matthew 10:24-25.
The same words also rule out serving Christ from a seat of worldly rank.
What corruption there is in Christendom, a loud contradiction of Christianity! Men turn the service of the Lord into worldly rank and wealth. They compete with the pride of life and claim to be above their rivals — and they do it in the name of the Crucified One. He had nowhere here to lay His head, and He laid down that it is enough for the disciple to be as his teacher, and a servant as his lord.
Being "as his master" covers more than the treatment He met. It also decides where the road ends.
You remember what the Lord said to His followers: "It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord" (Matt. 10:25). So if you are faithful to the Lord Jesus, you may be sure of this. Your path is where the light shines: (1) suffering in this world for Christ's sake; (2) glory to come with Christ on high.
- Relation. The verse fixes two links — pupil to teacher, servant to master — and verse 25 adds a third, household to head of the house.
- Expectation. Because the links hold, the treatment runs down them. He told the twelve to count on rejection, so it would never take them by surprise.
- Name. They gave the true Master of the house the name "Beelzebul," lord of the dwelling. He was the opposite: the stronger One who set the captives free.
- Measure. "It is enough" is not a low bar but the highest one. To become like the Teacher is all God's school aims at. It also rules out serving the Crucified One from a seat of worldly rank.
- End. The disciple who shares his Master's treatment here will share His glory there.
[It is] sufficient for the disciple that he should become as his teacher, and the bondman as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household?
The Lord has just warned His twelve disciples to expect hatred as they go out, and here He gives the reason: the world measures them by what it did to Him. Two questions press on the verse — what does the strange name "Beelzebul" mean, and why does sharing His treatment count as "enough"?
The verse names three relationships. Each one measures the disciple by what his Lord received.
"It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master." "If they have called" (or surnamed — it is more a surname or nickname) "the master of the house Beelzebul…" You have there the relation of the disciple to the teacher, the relation of the servant to his Lord, and of the members of his house to the master. They ought not to be surprised at how people treated them when they thought what the Teacher, the Lord, the Master got.
Commentators differ on where the name comes from. They agree on the charge behind it.
The meaning of this word is much disputed. Some connect it with BAAL-ZEBUB, "lord of the fly," in the Old Testament, but others believe it to be a term of contempt meaning "lord of dung." The Jews made the blasphemous charge that the Lord cast out demons by Beelzebul (as it should be spelled). They call him "the prince of the demons." That makes their meaning clear: the head of those demons was enabling the Lord to cast them out.
Another reading of the name turns the insult into irony. They gave the true master of the house the title of the false one.
Beelzebul means the "lord of the dwelling" — the Satanic "master of the house," who made the demon-possessed his home. They called Him this who was the lawful Master, the One stronger than the strong, who set the poor captives free (Matt. 12:29). What, then, would they call the men of His household?
The word "household" names the disciple's position, not only his treatment.
First of all our Lord speaks of the position of the disciple… The position of the disciple, according to these words, is identification of the closest kind with his Lord.
The hatred was not about a teacher men disliked. It was aimed at God, and it follows the servants who carry on His testimony.
They would have to bear the consequences of their Master's rejection. That rejection was not just the dislike people feel for an enlightened reformer. It was the expression of the enmity of man's heart against God — against God shown in goodness… As they carried on the testimony and the power, the same hostility that people had shown against Jesus would come against them.
The warning is meant to steady the disciples, not to crush them. The Lord's next word to them is not to fear.
He was proving this now, and they would have to feel it in their turn. "Fear them not therefore." The first reason for not fearing is this: I have travelled the same path. Do not be afraid… As it was with Me, so will it be with you. But do not be alarmed. Be full of good courage, and persevere in the testimony.
Sharing His path now also says where that path ends.
So you may be sure that if you are faithful to the Lord Jesus, your path is where the light shines: (1) suffering in this world for Christ's sake; (2) glory to come with Christ on high.
- The measure. Three relationships — disciple to teacher, servant to Lord, household to master — fix one ceiling. To share His treatment is enough.
- The name. Commentators differ on whether Beelzebul means "lord of the fly," "lord of dung," or "lord of the dwelling." Either way it named the prince of the demons — and the crowds pinned it on the One who set the captives free.
- The household. Name the master of the house that, and you have named his people too. The disciple's position is identification of the closest kind with his Lord.
- The reason. The hatred was not dislike of a reformer. It was the enmity of man's heart against God shown in goodness, so it passes to whoever carries on His testimony.
- The result. He has already walked this road. So the warning ends in courage, not fear: suffering now for Christ's sake, glory later with Him on high.