But *ye*, be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your instructor, and all *ye* are brethren.
The Lord says this to His disciples, right after exposing the scribes and Pharisees who loved public greetings and the title "Rabbi." He is not correcting bad manners; He is naming who alone teaches His people, and what that leaves everyone else to be.
The title was a mark of rank, and it came with a ladder of grades to climb.
A title of respect among the Jews, meaning 'master, teacher.' There is no record of anyone using it until the time of Herod the Great... Jesus told His disciples not to let anyone call them Rabbi, for one was their Master (kathegetes), even Christ. According to the Jews the levels of honour rose from Rab to Rabbi, and from there to Rabban or Rabboni.
That word, kathegetes, means more than an ordinary teacher, and the claim to it did not stop with Israel.
The "leader" here (kathegetes) is more than a teacher: he is the teacher who may have many teachers under him... But it was so in Israel then, and it has become so in much of the Christian Church today. Those who should have been the servants of their brothers claimed to be masters. They stood between the consciences of men and Him who alone is Lord of the conscience.
(Older translations read "one is your Master, even Christ"; the ESV renders it "you have one teacher.")
His followers were to turn all of that around. The change reaches even to how they measure greatness.
The spirit of the disciples was to be the opposite of all that. They were not to let anyone call them Rabbi, for Christ alone was their Master, and they were brothers. They were no longer to call others by the name of father, for only one was their Father, He who is in the heavens. Finally, they were not to let anyone call them teachers, for Christ alone was the One who taught them. Whoever would be great among them was to be their servant. Whoever exalted himself on earth would be brought low, and whoever humbled himself would be lifted up.
The Lord is stopping something at its root, before it can grow.
Such things were not to be among believers. So the Lord next puts His finger on the beginnings of things. If allowed, they would produce the very same thing in Christianity as they had done in Judaism. So — they were to avoid the principles of the Rabbi who sought to form a school around himself. Their Instructor was Christ, and His word their sole authority and unerring guide... And there was to be no leadership apart from the leadership of Christ Himself.
A teacher's job is to make himself unnecessary.
Of course, there are God-given teachers. No one with Scripture in front of him could deny that... It is the intended glory of all these special 'gifts' to enable those they speak to to do without them — to send men from themselves to Christ.
Scripture itself calls some believers teachers and fathers. So the ban is not on the words but on the badge.
Scripture is clear that some believers are, in a spiritual way, "fathers" (1 Cor. 4:15), "teachers," "pastors," "evangelists" (Ephesians 4:11), and "leaders" (Heb. 13:17). But the Lord forbids anyone to give or to accept such a title. Only Christ has a right to the title "Teacher" or "Leader." Only God the Father in heaven has the right to be called "Father." "All you are brothers," He insists. That is, none are above others; all stand on the same level.
What is at stake is not gift but standing.
The question here is not about the various gifts the Lord gives by the Holy Spirit to His members in His body the Church. It is about religious authority in the world, and about the status and respect that come with church office or position.
The name the Lord leaves His people is not a demotion. It is the name He shares with them.
Here as elsewhere Scripture shows the dignity of using the term. Had not Christ said, "One is your Master, even Christ; and all you are brothers"? Besides, He is not ashamed to call us brothers... Since there will only be brothers in the Father's house, let us be only brothers down here.
Yet equality of standing does not erase order of service.
We are glad to receive the truth, "One is your Master, Christ; and all you are brothers." But if we make our common brotherhood a reason for ignoring God's order, we lose its blessedness and disobey the Master... Anyone who thinks that being a "brother" leaves him free to take up any function in the assembly makes a serious mistake.
- One Teacher. "Rabbi" was a graded ladder of honour; Christ removes the ladder by keeping the top place Himself.
- One authority. Christ is the Instructor, so His word is the only authority. No school gathers around a man. No leadership stands beside His.
- One level. The Lord refuses every title that lifts one believer above another. Scripture still names real fathers, teachers and leaders in service.
- One family name. "Brother" is the dignity left to us, and the name Christ Himself is not ashamed to use.
- One order. Being brothers is no excuse to ignore how God arranged service. Equal standing, distinct gifts.
And call not [any one] your father upon the earth; for one is your Father, he who is in the heavens.
The Lord has just exposed the scribes and Pharisees, who loved the best seats and the flattering greetings. Now He turns to His disciples with three short bans. One forbids calling any man on earth "father." Does that mean a child may not call his own father "father"?
The ban belongs to religion, not to family life. Scripture elsewhere tells us to honour our parents, so the Lord must mean something else.
This cannot refer to our father in the flesh. Scripture insists strongly that we owe full respect to our own father and mother on earth. It clearly refers to calling anyone on earth "father" in a spiritual sense, in contrast to the Father in Heaven. To call anyone "father" in a religious sense is an insult to the great Father in Heaven. But the Roman priesthood sets this ban aside. Their fatherhood is plainly a religious one, for they are celibate. Their own Church laws do not allow them to marry.
The command protects something. A rival father on earth would weaken what the disciples felt toward God as their own Father.
Nothing was to be allowed that would weaken their sense of relationship to God as their Father.
Verse 9 sits in the middle of a set of three names. Each one belongs to Christ or to the Father, and the Lord ends by turning the usual order upside down.
They were not to be called Rabbi, for Christ alone was their Master, and they were brothers. They were no longer to call others by the name of father, for only one was their Father, He who is in the heavens. Finally, they were not to be called teachers, for Christ alone was the One who taught them. Whoever would be great among them was to be their servant. Anyone who exalted himself on earth would be brought low, and anyone who humbled himself would be lifted up.
The same three words appear elsewhere in Scripture for ordinary believers. So the ban falls on the title, not on the work behind it.
On the other hand, Scripture is clear that some are "fathers" in a spiritual way (1 Cor. 4:15), and others are "teachers," "pastors," "evangelists" (Ephesians 4:11), and "leaders" (Heb. 13:17). But the Lord strictly forbids giving or accepting any of these as a title. Only Christ has a right to the title "Teacher" or "Leader." Only God the Father in heaven may be called "Father." "You are all brothers," He insists; that is, none are above others, but all on the same level.
The Lord is not limiting the abilities He gives His people. He is dealing with official position and public respect.
The question here is not about the various gifts which the Lord gives by the Holy Spirit to His members in His body, the Church. It is about religious authority in the world, and about the status and respect that come with church office or position.
The warning is not just ancient history. When servants take the place of masters, a man stands where only the Lord should stand. And the people themselves often want it that way.
But it was so in Israel then, and it has become just as common in the Christian Church today. Those who should have been the servants of their brothers claimed to be masters. They stood between the consciences of men and Him who alone is the Lord of the conscience. Neither the Church as a whole nor any group of men in it can rightly claim an authoritative place for their teaching. Scripture alone, as the word of the Lord, has that place. Yet in many forms this is what men keep doing, and the people of God, for their part, are not merely allowing the claim but encouraging it.
The same principle reaches past the word "father" to any title that borrows honour belonging to God. Take the word "reverend," which older translations use in Psalm 111:9 where the ESV reads "awesome."
It is striking that the word "reverend" is found only once in the Bible, and that time it refers to God. It appears in Psalm 111:9. That verse tells us God's name is reverend, and no other name in Scripture is ever called this. How then can any mortal man, however godly and worthy of respect, be given or take a title which God's Word gives to God alone?
- One Father. The title belongs to heaven, and heaven already fills it. The ban guards a relationship, not good manners.
- One level. Since the Father is one, the disciples are brothers — none above the others, all on the same level.
- One Lord of conscience. A title lets a man stand between your conscience and Christ, who alone rules there.
- One service. Spiritual fatherhood, teaching and leading are real in Scripture. The Lord forbids turning them into titles of rank.
- One direction. The whole passage runs downward. The great one serves, the one who exalts himself sinks, and the one who humbles himself rises.
Neither be called instructors, for one is your instructor, the Christ.
The Lord has just exposed teachers who loved public greetings and grand titles. Now He turns to His own disciples with a third ban. After "Rabbi" and "father" comes this one. If Christ alone is Leader among His people, what happens to every human title that competes with Him?
Behind the word "instructors" stands a Greek word that the Lord keeps for Himself. Older translations render it "masters." One writer gives its meaning:
Kathēgētēs means a Guide or Leader. It appears three times, and the Lord applies the title to Himself in Matthew 23:8, 10.
One writer notes how high that rank goes:
The "leader" here (kathegetes) is more than teacher: he is the teacher who may have many teachers under him.
The three bans of verses 8-10 belong together. Each one leaves a place open for Christ or the Father alone:
They were not to be called Rabbi, for Christ alone was their Master, and they were brothers. They were no longer to call others by the name of father, for only one was their Father, He who is in the heavens. Last, they were not to be called teachers, for Christ alone was the One who taught them. Whoever would be great among them was to be their servant.
Something easy to miss sits in the second half of the verse. Jesus calls Himself "the Christ." One writer uses this verse to settle a question about how the Lord spoke of Himself:
Matthew 23:10 proves that He did call Himself "the Christ." So Carr is wrong to say, about this passage in John, that our Lord applies the term "Christ" to Himself only there.
This ban does not touch the abilities God gives people to help others. It touches something else:
The question here is not about the various gifts the Lord gives by the Holy Spirit to His members in His body the Church. It is about religious authority in the world, and a certain status and respect that come from holding church office or position.
Commentators differ on how literally the words bind us. One points out that Scripture itself uses these same words of disciples. So the ban falls on the claim, not on the words:
Scripture itself uses all these terms — "teacher," "father," "leader" — of disciples. So they cannot be meant to be forbidden in an absolute way. But in Israel then, as widely in the Christian Church today, those who should have been the servants of their brothers claimed to be masters. They stood between the consciences of men and Him who alone is the Lord of the conscience... The louder and more commanding the Church's voice, the more the voice of God in His word goes unheard.
Another applies the words straight to religious titles in use today:
Such titles as Rabbi (Teacher) or Father or Master (Leader) are neither to be given to men, nor are men to accept them. The Lord is clearly speaking in a spiritual sense. Of course children may rightly call their natural father by that name. But we must refuse completely any title that puts a person in a place of spiritual prominence. Men may invent variations of these, such as "reverend," which is worse, for the title means "worthy of reverence."
The trap is subtle. It shuts when honest respect for a good person turns into surrender of the conscience:
My Christian friend, allow no one to stand between you and Christ! Christ alone is your Master. You must give account to Him alone... Of course, you don't refuse the help that He gives you through another: that would be pride and self-sufficiency. But one of Satan's most subtle and successful traps catches us here. We fall into it when we let the respect we have for one another, the rightful confidence in someone's genuineness, wisdom or godliness, make that person the director of our consciences in the things of God.
- One Leader. The word behind "instructors" means guide or leader — not just someone who teaches, but the head others follow. Christ keeps that place for Himself.
- One clearing. The three bans of verses 8-10 work together. Rabbi, father and leader all go, so that nothing stands where Christ and the Father belong.
- One claim. The Lord does not condemn gift or usefulness. He condemns religious standing claimed by office, when men who should serve their brothers act as masters.
- One conscience. The real damage comes when someone steps between a soul and the only Lord of the conscience. Commentators differ on whether the titles themselves are banned outright.
- One account. Help from others is His gift, so take it. But let no one direct your conscience: you answer to Him alone.
But the greatest of you shall be your servant.
Jesus has just told His followers not to take titles like "rabbi" for themselves. Here He puts something in their place. He does not cancel greatness. He redefines it.
Jesus says this while exposing religious leaders who loved status. One writer separates two things: the gifts God gives His people, and the status men give themselves:
We have to pray against letting in the world's spirit — the love of being first, both inside and outside. So the word is, "Do not be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers." ... The question here is not about the various gifts the Lord gives by the Holy Spirit to His members in His body, the Church. It is about religious authority in the world, and about a certain status and respect that come from a church office or position. But the great moral principle of the kingdom (which is always true) is enforced here: "The greatest among you shall be your servant."
Service is not the price of greatness. It is where greatness lives:
"The greatest among you shall be your servant." In service — in the ability to serve — true greatness is. And if the spirit of service is love, and love is the spirit of heaven, then this must follow. There is no avoiding so plain a fact: "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
The saying works in two directions. It cuts down ambition. It also shows what real leadership looks like:
The principle, "The greatest among you shall be servant of all," seems to have two sides. The first, perhaps, is this: any thought of self-importance only makes it necessary for a person to be brought low. The other side is this: the best proof of a spirit of rule is to serve the beloved sheep of Christ, in a place where they face all kinds of attacks. So He, the true King, could say in the fullest way, "I am among you as the one who serves."
The rule has a face. One writer sees Christ in the law of the Hebrew servant. That servant could go free after six years, or stay with his master out of love:
Verse 11. "The greatest among you shall be your servant." Here is the opposite principle. ... When I go to Exodus 21, I see the Hebrew servant serving six years, a full term of service. Then he has the chance to go out free. Outside, liberty; inside, service. The question arises: which will love choose? Love delights to serve; there is the path of the Lord Jesus Christ. On the mount of transfiguration He has the glory there. The Father says, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." Yet He comes down and goes to Calvary! There He plainly says, "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free." He will not be in the glory alone.
The same danger did not stay in the past. One writer traces it into the church of today:
In Israel then, those who should have been the servants of their brothers claimed to be masters. They stood between the consciences of men and Him who alone is Lord of the conscience. That is also what has largely come to be in the Christian Church today.
So aiming at the top is itself the failure. The way up runs through other people's needs.
Anyone who seeks to be great, and to take the lead among Christians, has completely falsified the Christian character. He will be the last of all. The true way to have the highest place is to serve. Count yourself the slave of what other disciples need.
- Servant defined. Service is not the reward of greatness. Greatness is service: "in the ability to serve, true greatness is."
- Servant chosen. Christ is the pattern: offered freedom, love chose to stay and serve, and He would not enter glory alone.
- Servant tested. The saying cuts both ways. Self-importance has to come down. Real leadership shows itself by caring for Christ's people.
- Servant, not master. The verse stands against titles that put a man between another conscience and its only Lord.
- Servant last of all. Chasing the top place falsifies the Christian character. The highest place goes to whoever becomes the slave of other people's needs.