Perfectly Trained to Be Like Jesus

David W Palmer

Seemingly out of the blue and without obvious lead up, but while in the flow of revealing some deep truths about following in his footsteps, Jesus said:

(Luke 6:40 NKJV) “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.”

Like a proverb, Jesus joined this to his preceding statement, which the Holy Spirit calls a parable:

(Luke 6:39 NKJV) And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

The Master wants us to make the connection between the two statements so we can draw on his wisdom. (Remember, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Prov. 25:2 NKJV)). Let’s now look at the two statements side-by-side to see the connection:

(Luke 6:39–40 NKJV) And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? {40} A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.”

Initially, the connection may be difficult to see. When Jesus says the “disciple is not above his teacher,” the word “above” means, superior to, or more than.

The initial application implies that we should be very wise about who we follow. If our leader or teacher cannot see where they are going; that is, if they don’t genuinely have the light of life from God, they will end in a ditch somewhere. Be warned; Jesus says that we cannot arrive at a superior outcome to the person we are following. We may think it won’t happen to us, but Jesus says it will. What’s worse is that we will become like the person we are following. So if they do not have the authentic fruit of the Spirit, do not follow them. Follow and imitate only those who are walking in Jesus’s footsteps; Jesus says that you will become just like the person teaching and leading you.

Secondly, our Lord is also telling us that if we genuinely follow him by hearing his voice, obeying him, and by walking in his spirit, we will become like him, but not superior to him. We know we cannot be superior to Jesus, so why is he saying this? He is helping us see that following another leader, and thinking we will get a different or superior outcome to that person, is deluded thinking; it simply cannot happen. To believe otherwise is deception that is rooted in the devil’s pride.

I believe Jesus is showing us that our path and destination can only ever be the same as the person we are following. For example, if your friend were to follow you home, they would have to travel on the same road, and arrive at the same destiny—your house, not theirs. Similarly, if they are to follow your precise lead—word for word and step-by-step—they simply cannot end anywhere but your destination. This is the same for us following any leader, and especially Jesus.

If we follow a leader, pastor, preacher, or teacher, we need to know for sure that they are honestly following Jesus. For example, the apostle Paul had this thought uppermost in his mind when speaking of himself as a leader; he put it like this:

(1 Corinthians 11:1 KJ2000) “Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

So, how do we know if a leader is following Jesus or not? How can we tell if they are leading us to his destination, or leading us into a ditch?

(Matthew 7:15–16 NKJV) “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. {16} You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?”

We certainly don’t have the authority to judge people from our own hearts, but we do have a responsibility to inspect their fruit. Jesus says that this is how we can know whether or not they are following him.

True prophets point to Jesus, and their whole ministry equips us to follow him more effectively; false ones do not. They are deceptive; the enemy uses them to divert us from the path that leads to life (Mat. 7:14). How can we identify them? Inspect their fruit: do they have the authentic fruit of following the Spirit of Holiness? His genuine fruit cannot be counterfeited. If you are a true follower of Jesus, and if you are walking in his Holy Spirit, you will know exactly what that walk is like. Therefore, you will be able to recognize it in others; you will know and discern the submissive humility needed for keeping in step with the Spirit of Holiness—the fruit of whom is the type of actions and speech produced by yielding to him.

Furthermore, you have the Holy Spirit inside; he knows the true from the false:

(1 John 2:18–20 NKJV) Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, … none of them were of us. {20} But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.

The Aramaic in Plain English Bible translates verse 20 like this:

(1 John 2:20 APE) “You have an anointing from The Holy One, and you discern every person.”

This is clearly one of the Holy Spirit’s roles in our life. He enables us to “discern,” or “see” every person. We would say, “See through” every person. But again, if we are following Jesus and walking in the Spirit, we would never use this for any evil reason. If we “perceive” things about a person who is not claiming to be our leader, then we can use this Holy Spirit insight to help them, to pray for them, and/or to disciple them.

The Holy Spirit may show us their problems, difficulties, heartbreak, immaturity, or fears. Then with his help, he will show us how to guide them forward in their discipleship and relationship with Jesus the healer. (If on the other hand, they are incorrigible or not interested in a submissive relationship with the Lord, the Holy Spirit may direct us to avoid them.)

When contemplating following any leader, we can and should be super sensitive to the Holy Spirit showing us their fruit, and allowing us to see through any wrong motivations. Again, the objective is not to judge them, but to be wise about whom we follow. If the Holy Spirit gives you a green light to allow them to teach and lead you, then you have his assurance that this will help you along the path that leads to life. But whether it be following directly, or by imitating another proven follower, the one we are ultimately to follow is Jesus; he is the only one I know of who made it to heaven on his own track record, and then came back to lead us there. I’m following him. Any true leader will sincerely be able to confess with the apostle Paul: “Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

From Jesus’s teaching today, we have three applications:

First, make sure you are not following anyone who is not led by the light of life—heaven’s revelation.

Second, don’t try to lead others unless you are leading them by the light of Jesus. If you don’t have light on a given situation, follow Jesus’s lead in John 11; stay where you are until you have some light, then and only then lead others (See: John 11:6–10).

Third, if you are a genuine follower of Jesus, you know that your destiny is eternal life at God’s right hand in Christ. However, the way Jesus leads you to get there is what he calls the narrow gate and “constricted” path that “leads to life” (Mat. 7:14 DKJV). It goes by the way of:

Gethsemane, where your closest followers run away from you

False arrest and deceptive trial

Torture, ridicule, and mockery

The Via Delarosa, where you deny self and carry the cross for others

All the way to Golgotha, where your old life completely dies, and you lay it down to take up responsibility for other people’s shortcomings

But, it also is the path filled with life, light, love, miracles, healings, outpouring, joy, and abundance

Today if you are following Jesus, you will never be able to be above him—thinking you are too good or too important to go through what he went through, including the cross; even when you are perfectly trained, you can only ever be like him.