What does Matthew 10:24 mean?

Jesus is warning His disciples that they will experience persecution as they carry out their mission (Matthew 10:5–8; 10:16–22). In the short term, He is sending them out to the towns of Israel to preach His message that the kingdom of heaven is near and to perform miraculous healings to verify that this message is true. The persecution of the apostles, however, won't begin in full until after Jesus returns to heaven following His death and resurrection.

Now Jesus declares the proverb that a disciple is not above his teacher and a servant is not above his master. Established rabbis in Israel would take on disciples as a way of educating and training them in law and ministry. This is how they would pass on their own learning and wisdom. The student, or disciple, would often live with the teacher as his servant, performing whatever tasks he required, as the price for being trained. It was common sense to assume that the student could not expect to be treated with more honor than their master, nor could they demand special treatment above and beyond their teacher.

Jesus is making it clear that His disciples should not expect better treatment than He has received. In fact, a disciple should expect to follow closely to the path of the master. If the path of the master leads to hatred, persecution, and being lied about, the servant should expect the same to happen for him (John 13:15–17; 15:18–20).