Her voice came across the phone, “You just don’t understand what I’m going through.” She had been complaining about a persistent issue in her life and I had offered some biblical advice. I stifled my frustration and the temptation to roll my eyes. I countered with, “Maybe so, but Jesus has some wisdom about this.” She quickly responded, “Yeah, but I’m only human.” And with two common, yet fallacious comments, she shut the door on any chance of learning from Jesus how to cope with her situation.

This person had basically disqualified Jesus from being able to provide any wisdom for her because 1) only someone who has experienced her specific situation could provide relevant counsel and 2) Jesus was divine so any counsel he gave was too difficult or even impossible for mere humans.

These arguments are common tactics used by people who don’t want to change. What is so sad, is Jesus truly is her lifeline. Paul states in Colossians 2:3 that in Jesus “lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” 

Along those lines, Dallas Willard writes of Jesus:

“He is not just nice, he is brilliant. He is the smartest man who ever lived. He is now supervising the entire course of world history (Rev. 1:5) while simultaneously preparing the rest of the universe for our future role in it (John 14:2). He always has the best information on everything and certainly also on the things that matter most in human life.“
The Divine Conspiracy

Jesus is brilliant! He is THE master of human life.

Even more amazing, he calls anyone and everyone to follow him as his apprentice. As THE master of human life, he is fully capable of teaching anyone to become an equal practitioner of human life like him. That’s why he invites anyone and everyone to learn from him:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus is such a master of life that even though he was a single, Jewish man, who lived 2000 years ago, he is fully capable of teaching anyone throughout history how to live life as if he were living in their place. This is apparent as we look at the countless people throughout history and from various backgrounds who have learned from him how to live life.

Nothing disqualifies us from becoming his apprentices — age, gender, education, occupation, status, health, geography, ethnicity, family. Nothing.

Well, there is one thing…

The thing that stands in the way is our own unwillingness to let go of everything so as to relearn from Jesus how to live life. In other words, an unwillingness to repent — to rethink our thoughts, values, feelings, priorities, decisions, actions, and relationships — prevents us from learning from him.

This is why Jesus said, 

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” 
Matthew 16:24

In order to be Jesus’ apprentices, we must give up our own way. Our way gets in the way of learning Jesus’ way. That’s because our way is the wrong way to live life. But taking up our cross puts our way to death and prepares us to truly submit to Jesus’ masterful teaching on how to life his life.

So giving up our way and taking up our cross are prerequisites for following Jesus as his apprentices. Jesus is not being mean or arrogant when he says this. Rather, we simply cannot learn from him if we’re clinging to the very things we need to first unlearn. 

Years ago, when I took drumming lessons from a master drummer, he told me I had to stop striking the drum heads with my current technique in order to relearn his correct technique. This kind of thing is true in any form of teacher/student, mentor/mentee, or master/apprentice relationship.

At another time, Jesus said,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” 
John 14:6

This statement is very similar to what he said in Matthew 16:24. If we want Jesus’ life (naturally embodied love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faith, compassion, goodness, etc), then we must first embrace his way (his unhurried lifestyle and practices) and his truth (how he understands and interacts with God, the world, life, and reality in general). And in order to embrace his way and truth, we must give up our way and truth.

Remember, our way and our truth have led to our life.

In his book, Practicing the Way, John Mark Comer describes his encounter with a Jesuit priest named Father Rick:

“Years ago, a Jesuit priest named Father Rick was kind enough to offer me spiritual direction. He was old and wise and full of insight, but the thing I most remember about our times together is how peaceful he was. When I was with him, I would literally feel my heart rate slow down, my body calm, and my anxiety dissipate. It’s like he set the atmosphere in the room, and just breathing the same air cleaned out my soul. Just being with him did something to me.”

Based on Comer’s description, Father Rick was someone who learned from Jesus how to embody Jesus’ life of love, joy, and peace. It was evident that he had embraced Jesus’ unhurried way so that his peaceful presence affected Comer’s body and emotions. And it was evident in that he had embraced Jesus’ truth, becoming a source of wisdom and insight.

So the choice that constantly faces us as Jesus’ apprentices is:

Our way, our truth, and our life? Or Jesus’ way, Jesus’ truth, and Jesus life?