A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly 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.
- BSB A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully 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 13:16Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither one who is sent greater than he who sent him.
- Matt 10:24–25“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord.
- John 15:20Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
- Matt 23:15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much of a son of Gehenna as yourselves.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.