“The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained
will be like their teacher.”
(Luke 6:40)
I’m sure you remember the old schoolyard scam. You tell someone they have discovered a magic lamp and the genie has offered to give them three wishes. “What do you wish for?” you ask innocently enough. They think for a minute and then respond with their best answers. “I would wish for 10 million dollars, a sexy new sportscar and the ability to get a date.” You smile. They have fallen into your trap. Now, it is your turn to show them just how much wiser and more astute you are than they could ever hope to be. You say, “What an idiot! I would ask for 20 million dollars, five sexy new sportscars and three more wishes!” Hilarity ensues as you walk away feeling so superior while they look so chagrined (until they pull the same prank on one of their friends).
I do apologize. Here’s a fun thought experiment. Let’s suppose you are writing a blog that defines discipleship in ten verses. May I ask what ten verses would you choose to highlight? What ten qualities would you want to include? As you are thinking of your top ten, please pay no attention to the smile that is beginning to materialize on my face. Yes, you begin to suspect that some scam is afoot, but let’s face it, it’s your own fault. Never trust anyone who says they can define any idea in ten quick verses.
In the beginning there was one verse. Jesus said (Mt. 16:24), “Follow me.” This was enough for us to define discipleship and chart a path for how we are to live. And while that one verse says it all, we felt it was best to add some specific traits to flesh out what it means to be a disciple. Over the last two months, we have added eight more verses that give light to our calling. We are to live out God’s Word. We are to bear fruit. We are to love God and love others. We are to abide in Christ through prayer. We are to forgive those who sin against us. We are to endure hardships. We are to persevere and not give up. And we are to embrace Jesus’ mission as our own. Those are nine strong statements of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. And now, we have come to our last verse, the tenth verse, the last post in this series. And as you are thinking about what one verse we will choose to cap off this series, you might notice a quick smile cross our face. You are ready to suggest several verses that would serve as a fitting conclusion, but narrowing it down to just one is difficult. But there is only room for one. Which verse will you pick? And as you make your selection, you may notice that smirk again because instead of sharing one last verse on discipleship, I posit the equivalent of three more wishes. My tenth verse is Luke 6:40: Everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” What does it mean to be a disciple? It means to “be like Jesus.”
You may, at this point, cry “foul” because it certainly appears that my last verse is more of a loophole than an actual choice. Yes, we are called to “be like Jesus,” but that tenth verse doesn’t seem to stand on its own. Instead, it seems to embody a whole host of other verses. For instance, all of the following verses can be squeezed into Luke 6:40 because they all describe how Jesus lived. . . .
- Mark 10:43-45 – Jesus came to serve
- John 13:15 – Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and put their needs first
- Mark 4:40 – Jesus had faith in the middle of the storm
- Matthew 25:45 – Jesus ministered to the “least of these”
- Matthew 9:13 – Jesus was merciful and kind
- Luke 9:23 – Jesus denied himself and took up his cross
- Matthew 12:50 – Jesus did the Father’s will
- Luke 22:19 – Jesus overflowed with gratitude, even when he was facing the cross
Granted, Luke 6:40 doesn’t sound like a fair or proper choice at all; and if this was a game, I would agree. But the call to “be like Jesus” transcends all of that and needs to be included simply because too many of us claim to be Jesus’ disciples, but don’t live like him at all. I know there is some debate as to whether or not Gandhi ever said this, but truer words may never have been spoken. He said (allegedly): “I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” When we see “Christians” vying for power; demanding places of honor; bolstering up their financial portfolios; showing contempt and disdain for the poor and needy, refusing to show mercy and kindness, repudiating the very idea that we are to love our neighbors, offer compassion to the stranger and show grace to our enemies; rejecting God’s command to act justly and to do mercy and to walk humbly before him; and living like they are self-made and independent, it is right to ask if they have ever encountered Jesus in the gospels or the call to be like him. Today, more than anything, we need to sound the call to die to selfishness and greed and lust and hate and fear and, instead, simply strive to be like Jesus. And if that sounds like a radical form of discipleship, then so be it.
But I fear, we need more than to say, “be like Jesus.” It won’t get us too far. Instead, we need something a little more concrete. Thankfully, we have something that is perfect. I would argue that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is not only a great sample of Jesus’ teaching, but is also an auto-biographical piece of teaching. When you read the Beatitudes, who is the first person (only person?) who comes to mind who fulfills these characteristics? It is Jesus. When you read the antithesis about “cutting off your right hand rather than allowing it to lead you into sin,” who comes to mind? I see Jesus declaring to the Father “not my will, but yours be done” as he gives himself to the cross. Jesus was cut off for us rather than to defy his Father’s will. Who turned the other cheek? Who loved his enemies and prayed for those who persecuted him? And who loves us as perfectly as God loves us? Jesus is the Sermon on the Mount incarnated. Every topic in the Sermon on the Mount describes who Jesus is and how Jesus lived. So, if we want to be like Jesus, then this is the best place to start. Many years ago, someone recommended a Bible-reading plan that really grabbed my heart. They suggested I take a manageable-sized text (no more than four chapters) and read those chapters every day for thirty-days straight. The first ten days are engaging. The next ten days seem repetitious. But in the last ten days, the text speaks to you with more force than ever. Here’s my suggestion. If we want to be disciples of Jesus, we need to absorb his Sermon on the Mount, not so that we can know all about it, but so that (blog post 2 in this series) we may be thoroughly equipped to do good works, to hunger after righteousness, to be peacemakers, to be salt and light, to die to anger, to treat people with dignity and honor, to turn the other cheek, to pray for our enemies and to love like God loves.
And when we drink in the Sermon on the Mount, perhaps we will also gain a new motivation. I love these words from Bonhoeffer: “In the New Testament our enemies are those who harbor hostility against us, not those against whom we cherish hostility, for Jesus refuses to reckon with such a possibility. The will of God, to which the law gives expression, is that men should defeat these enemies by loving them. Indeed, those who follow Jesus must treat his enemy as a brother and requite his hostility with love. His behavior must be determined, not by the way others treat him, but by the treatment he himself receives from Jesus; it has only one source, and that is the will of Jesus.” Our goal is to be like Jesus, and the way that happens is when our goal is to embody Jesus to the people around us because we want to do his will.
Do not misunderstand me here. The Sermon on the Mount is not easy. It will take hard work and training. But our verse has already informed us of that. Jesus says (Lk. 6:40): “Everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” The goal of discipleship is to be like Jesus. The means of discipleship is to be trained in the way of Jesus. The joy of discipleship is to see Jesus alive in us.
Let me conclude this series with a great prayer from Søren Kierkegaard. See, discipleship is always about a choice. We can be followers of Jesus who desire only to admire the way and wisdom of Jesus or we can be followers of Jesus who seek to be like Jesus. Kierkegaard’s prayer sets us on the right course. He prays: “Lord Christ, you did not come to the world to be served, nor to be admired either, or in that sense, worshipped. You yourself were the way and the life—and you require only followers. If we have dozed off into this infatuation, wake us up! Rescue us from this error of wanting only to admire you, instead of wanting to follow you and to be like you.” Amen and Amen.
