A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
Parallel translations
- WEB A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
- KJV The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
- NKJV A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
- NASB A student is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
- NLT Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A disciple does not surpass his teacher but, when fully trained, becomes like him. Followers are shaped into the likeness of the one they follow.
Overview
This proverb underscores that disciples will reflect the character of their teacher, for good or ill. It explains the previous warning: a blind teacher produces blind followers. For Christ's disciples, the goal is to be conformed to Him, the perfect Teacher, growing into His likeness through His instruction and grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- John 13:16Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
- Matt 10:24–25A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
- John 15:20Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.
- Matt 23:15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 6:40 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.