Being like the master

 This week's verses are Matthew 10:24-25:

“A disciple is not greater than his teacher, nor a slave greater than his master. It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much worse will they call the members of his household!

 Jesus is talking here to his disciples. He is telling them about the persecution that will come, and how they must be ready for it. He compares discipleship to how a student or a slave might attach themselves to their master.

At the time when the disciples were alive, the way a student would learn from a master would be to follow him around and imitate everything he did. They would eat together, hang out together, work together, and so on. They would learn by sharing life and by observing and imitating the behavior the master modeled.

For slaves, it was similar. If you were a slave in Roman times, you might have been saved from starvation or death by the act of your master buying you. Your food, and your clothing, and your housing, and everything you would have had, was provided by your master. So you would have had a strong incentive to make sure he was happy, because he could take all of those things away. He had the power to do with you as he liked, because you belonged to him. You kept your eyes on him and you watched and learned everything you could.

Eventually, after all of that time of observation and practice, the student and the slave would begin to resemble their master. They would use the same technique. They would apply some of the same stylistic flourishes, make similar value judgments for materials, and so on. The master's values would eventually become their values.

We will never be as good as our master, but we will become more and more like him, if we keep our eyes on him and do as he asks. We will never be greater than Jesus. The best we can do is just to become like him. But he says that is enough. His grace takes care of the rest.

If Jesus, who was perfect, didn't even meet the standards of the evil world we live in, how much more will we be condemned by it? If they called him names, we'll likely be labeled with the same ones. He is telling them that they will never be greater than him. If Jesus suffered such persecution, despite being perfectly righteous, the disciples' mixed track record is definitely going to turn people against them.

 So, as we move forward with our Christianity, we have to keep two things in mind:

* If we are following Jesus, we should begin to resemble him. That means that those who hate Jesus will hate us too.

* It is enough for us to be like him. While we should strive for perfection, Jesus pays the difference.

Jesus isn't asking us to achieve perfection on our own. We don't have to earn his favor or prove our worth. We are called to follow Jesus and engage in the student's practice of continual observation and imitation. As we begin to resemble him, those who oppose Jesus will oppose us too, for following him. It's part of the path we're on.