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.
Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered which shall not be revealed, and secret which shall not be known.
The Lord has just warned the twelve — the disciples He was sending out — that men will slander and hate them, as they did their Master. Now He gives them a reason for courage: a coming day when nothing stays hidden.
One writer gives the first reason not to fear: the Lord has already walked the same road.
"So have no fear of them." The first motive for not fearing is this: I have travelled the same path; do not be afraid. "Have no fear of them… for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." He means: you will understand the reasons and motives of people's unbelief another day, if not now. Everyone who knows the truth and does not follow it must dislike those who do. 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.
Messengers had brought this same "fear not" before. Here the Speaker is different.
And now He speaks the word which is to calm their fears: "Fear not." What meaning it has coming from such lips! Angels spoke the word "Fear not" long ago. They are only creatures sent with a message from the Throne. But the One who speaks here is the Creator Himself, made a little lower than the angels He had created… He tells them of the day when everything will be uncovered, and the secret things made known. This fact is to be before them, and before us, every day. Let us learn to look at all things in the light of the judgment seat! "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God" (1 Corinthians 4:5). In view of this revelation of the secret things our Lord tells us to be bold and to declare the whole counsel of God.
One writer draws three truths out of this one sentence.
Three great principles are here presented. First, the great general truth: man can keep nothing secret, though it may seem so. He can hide nothing. All must be in the light. God must have the upper hand, and light will win. Second, we must give an account of ourselves to God. Third, we are not to fear the secret schemes of men. We are to fear God, and bear witness according to the light given to us. To say that man can hide nothing is still not strong enough. There is nothing secret that will not be brought to light.
What if something could stay hidden from God?
This is a very important principle. It upholds the authority of God as light. If anything could be kept back from that light, it would escape His power and judgment, and evil would go on independent of Him. It also upholds integrity of conscience.
The lies told about the disciples seemed to be winning. That will not last.
They may well trust the strength of His own word: "have no fear of them." Their falsehood may seem to win for a time. But it will be fully exposed, to their own shame. Truth will win its complete victory in the end.
The disciples were to live now in the way God will act then, holding nothing back.
They themselves were to hold nothing back. They were to proclaim on the housetops all that they had been taught. God would bring everything into the light — their faithfulness to Him in this, as well as everything else. This answered the secret plotting of their enemies. It was also to mark the ways of the disciples themselves. God is light, and He sees in darkness as clearly as in light. He will bring everything out into the light. They were to do this now, in the way they lived.
This same truth searches the heart that would rather stay hidden.
All this is to keep the conscience in the light before God. Where there is anxiety about being exposed before other believers, shame before men still rules the heart and will. Self-love and reputation govern the mind. We are not in the light before God. Sin does not have its right character in our eyes. The reason is that self still has its power and place.
- Light wins. Nothing can be kept back from God's light. If anything could be, evil would go on beyond His reach.
- So fear falls. The One saying "fear not" is the Creator Himself. He points to the day when God uncovers everything hidden.
- So slander dies. Lies may seem to win for a time. But they will be exposed, and truth will win completely.
- So speak openly. God will bring everything into the light one day. So His servants hold nothing back now.
- So live searched. That same light searches us. Fear of being seen shows that self-love and reputation still rule the heart.