Jesus said:  “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.” (Matthew 10:24-25a)

I remember hearing an observation about life in the military and the difference in status between officers and enlisted personnel. It is said, “There is no one more private than a General, and there is no one more general than a Private.”

Perhaps it is the nature of leadership to reflect a pyramid-like structure, with just a few individual leaders at the top and multitude of followers at the bottom. We see this not only in the military, but in corporations, government, and athletic organizations. We often see it in our local congregations and the Church in general. Over the history of Christianity, believers have wrestled with questions of ecclesiology, and how best to structure the institution of the Church for service in the world. Even in the most equitable of systems, there are leaders and there are followers.

But when we speak of Christian Discipleship, it should be obvious who is the Leader and who are the followers. We as individual believers follow our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, together as his disciples. We are the many; he is the One.  As John wrote of the vision that was revealed to him:

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:11-12)

This attribution of unique greatness to Christ as Lord embodies the very spirit of the First Commandment: “I am the Lord your God… You shall have no others gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3). The heavenly doxology expresses our praise to the One who is above all. It is in harmony with what Christ himself called the first and greatest commandment: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Matthew 22:37-38).

There is no one more faithful than Christ, and there is no one who sees the need for Christ more than the faithful. This is the confession of a true disciple.

So when our Lord gave us the commission to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and we seek to carry out that commission, we should be clear about what this means. Christ is not calling us to create a cadre of followers for ourselves, making others our students; but rather, he is calling us to enjoin others to be his followers. In the army of the Lord, we are all the very “general” privates who serve the same unique General.

As one who encourages people live out their faith in relationships of “life-to-life” discipleship, it is important for me to remember and emphasize that “where two or three are gathered” there is only one Master – and that master is not me!  Occasionally, I have heard experienced pastors casually say things like, “I have been discipling (so-and-so) for several years…” — and, of course, I know what they mean. They have been serving as a mentor to help this person in their journey of faith.

Like Philip who was sent by the Spirit to come alongside the eunuch on the Gaza road (Acts 8), it is essential to recognize that Jesus calls us to walk with one another and to help each other understand and live out his promise in our daily lives. But at the same time, it is important for us to keep in mind that – wherever we may find ourselves on that journey — we are all disciples of the same Lord. On that day in Gaza, Philip did not make a disciple for himself, but Christ made his own new disciple of the eunuch through Philip. Philip was merely the earthly means of grace through which God carried out his purpose.

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master,” Jesus said. For us, as Christians, Jesus himself is that Teacher and Master.

So as we walk together in faith as Christ’s disciples, we must remind ourselves that we all look to the same Lord. God has brought us together to help each other and lift each other up along the way. We  share lives of mutual discipleship, so that, “whatever [we] do, in word or deed, [we] do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

– Pastor Steven E. King