Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
All Commentaries on John 13:16 Go To John 13
Cyril of Alexandria
AD 444
Christ proceeds to strengthen the effect of His action by [deriving the same lesson from] laws that may be termed necessary, and shows that the transgression of His beneficial commandment would be in the highest degree dangerous. For when a law is confirmed by an oath, the transgressor of it cannot escape a just accusation. He says therefore that it is an offence admitting of no palliation, for servants to refuse to be of the same mind as their own masters: because a passionate longing for greater things, and for things higher than our merits deserve, is really covetousness and nothing else. And just so He would with perfect justice bring the same charge against the Apostles, namely, of seeking to be on a higher level than He Who commissioned them. For the mind of Him Who sent them should suffice for them, as the measure of all their glory. But this is nothing else than to use exactly the following argument:----"You will justly be laughed to scorn before the Divine tribunal if through excess of pride you refuse to do for each other the same things that I have done for you, although you have received as your lot the common name of servants, whereas I have been from the beginning in My nature God and Lord." For it would be truly preposterous, or rather not without indication of a share in the most extreme madness, for those who are servants, and therefore inferior to their Master and Sender, to blush with unsuitable shame at the idea of being servants to one another.
