NOTES for Mat 10:24-33

At first, the words that a disciple cannot rise above his teacher may seem to limit the disciple’s possibilities. But if we consider that becoming like the teacher is already no small thing, and that not every disciple is capable of equaling the teacher, then we can see here a call for disciples to grow. If the subject is discipleship under Christ, then the call to become like the Teacher reveals Christ’s special attitude toward those who follow Him. It tells us to what exalted level Christ intends to raise fallen humanity: He wants to deify us.

Even in the stern warning that Christ will deny the one who denies Him, we can see how highly He regards the human person. For this concerns a relationship that almost makes one think of equality... It would, of course, be an enormous impertinence to use this as grounds for forgetting reverence before His majesty and introducing familiarity into our relationship with Him. He did not become one of humanity so that we might introduce into spiritual life “the human, all too human,” that is, in one author’s words, “always something animal.” But what draws us near to God is a gift that imposes responsibility.