A Slave for Christ Part 4
Scriptures: Matthew 8:6-10; 20:25-27; 23:11; Luke 16:13; I Cor. 9:19;
Introduction:
In my last message I shared with you the history of slavery during the New Testament times. I shared with you that the Romans and Greeks had taken slavery to a whole new level. I spent most of the time discussing Rome as it had a direct impact on the New Testament Scriptures. This morning we will begin examining the words of Christ and some of the references He made to slavery. From there we will continue to the letters of Paul. However, before we do this, we must first examine a few words from the Greek so that the Scriptures we read will be understood in context of what was written.
As I have shared with you previously, the Greek word translated as “slave” in the New Testament is “doulos”. It is often translated as bondman or servant in Scripture. The “doulos” (slave) was properly the “bond man;” the one who was in a permanent relationship of servitude to another and whose will was completely subject to the will of another. He was a “doulos” (slave) apart from any service he rendered at any given moment. This is important as we will find that there were other words translated as “servant” but carried a different meaning from the word translated as slave. The word “doulos” focuses on the relationship, not the service a person provided. “Doulos” stresses the relationship of slavery versus other words focusing on an act of service like a waiter or house servant. Doulos means slave and originally was the lowest term in the scale of servitude. It came to mean “one who gives himself up to the will of another” and became the most common and general word for “servant” in the New Testament (i.e. Matthew 8:9). What is interesting is that this word when translated as servant often did not carry any idea of bondage. This is why we need to understand how the word servant is being translated as it will change the meaning of the verses read. With this in mind, let’s examine a few scripture references that use the word servant but carries a different meaning. We will start with Matthew 8:9.
I. Translating The Word “Servant”
Matthew 8:6-9 records the story of a centurion who came to Jesus for help. Let’s read what the centurion said in verses six and eight. “And saying, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented….but the centurion said, ‘Lord I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” In these two verses the word translated as “servant” does not mean slave. It is the Greek word “Pais” which means a servant versus a slave (someone who is owned by another person.) The role that this servant plays in the centurion is not described fully, but it is clear that this individual is not a slave but a servant to the centurion and his family. When we examine verse nine there is a shift in the meaning of the word translated as slave. Verse nine reads: “For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my (servant) slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” In this verse the centurion uses the word servant again but he is actually referencing a slave. It is important to understand the difference in what the centurion was saying in order to fully understand Jesus’ reply in verse ten. When Jesus heard what the centurion said, he made this statement in verse ten: “……Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.”
Do you understand why Jesus was so impressed with what the centurion said? The centurion came to Jesus because a servant in his household that he cared about was sick. He cared enough for his servant who was not a slave that he went to Jesus for help. Jesus offered to go to the centurion’s home but the centurion told Him he was not worthy of Jesus entering his home. The centurion went on to explain to Jesus that Jesus could just speak the words and his servant would be healed. He said he was a man under authority and had others under his authority. He gave examples of how he would tell those under him, including his slave, to do something and they would do it. He told Jesus that all He had to do was speak the words and his servant would be healed. What he was telling Jesus was that he understood that sickness, disease, demonic spirits and everything else came under Jesus’ authority. He said that these things were actually slaves to Jesus when it came to who had the authority. He had no doubt that if Jesus spoke the word the sickness would leave his servant because the sickness was under Jesus authority. Jesus was impressed with the centurion’s understanding of His authority and credited his faith. He had not witnessed that faith even with His own disciples. What I need you to understand is that Jesus gave that same authority to us! We do not walk in it because we have not been taught and yes we are so accustomed to living in sin and failure that it is difficult to rise to a life of victory over sin.
I was talking with someone a few weeks ago about how God still heals miraculously today. This individual made the statement that healings do not take place or more specifically, that because of how we live today it is not needed. The individual said their pastor told them that miraculous healings does not take place in today’s time. I told the person that I disagreed with their pastor and gave them several examples of how God had healed people that I knew. The person was really impressed because they truly believed that there were no miraculous healings taking place today. Our conversation was cut short but I wanted to ask them if there were no more healings taking place why do we bother praying and asking God to heal anyone? This is the mentality of the world in which we live. God is here to comfort us and help us through all situations but He is not present to heal us. The healing must come through medicine. I hope and pray that as we learn what it means to be a slave for Christ and to begin to walk in His authority that those things that we thought could not be will become a reality. Let me continue. So far we have reviewed an example of the word servant being used as a slave and as a household servant. Turn to Matthew 23:11.
In this chapter, Jesus speaks to the audience which included His disciples about the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees. He describes how the scribes and Pharisees exercise their authority over the people and does things in public to draw attention to them. Jesus described how they love to have the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues. In verse eleven He tells the audience the following: “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.” The word Jesus used that is translated as servant does not mean slave. This is the Greek word “diakonos.” This word means an attendant; waiter of a table or in other menial duties. It was also the word referring to deacon, deaconess or minister. The word describes what the person does versus the relationship the person has with someone else. In using this word Jesus was telling His disciples that the greatest among them would be the one who serves. Remember, if we are slaves to Christ we cannot be slaves to each other. A slave can only serve one Master and our master is Christ. That being said, we can “diakonos” one another in our role as a slave for Christ. Remember, the word slave is about the relationship one person has to another and all other uses of the word slave are about a role of service that they perform. Turn to Luke 16:13.
Jesus said the following in Luke 16:13: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Since I have begun this series you have heard me say on several occasions that no slave can serve two masters. Well do you know the word servant in this verse that Jesus references does not mean slave? The word that Jesus uses describes someone who has a choice and a slave does not have a choice. The person Jesus describes could choose to be devoted to and love their master while the slave would have a job to do regardless of how they felt about their master. Jesus was describing someone who had a choice and could decide whom they would willingly serve understanding that they could not serve two masters with their whole hearts. The Greek word for servant in this verse is “oiketes” and it describes someone who is a “fellow resident” and/or “household servant.” This person was one of the family, of the household, but not necessarily born in the home. Can you see how this word can easily describe us as Christians? We are now a part of God’s family but we were not born into His family. We are now a part of His family and serving Him by our willful choice – not because we have been forced into it. There are a couple of other words translated as servant in the New Testament that I will not cover as we have captured the fullness of their meaning in what we have already discussed. However, the last word I want to share with you is a word that Paul used in reference to himself. Turn to 1 Corinthians 9:19.
First Corinthians 9:19 says the following: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave (servant) to all, so that I may win more.” In this verse the Greek word translated slave is “douloo.” This word means to enslave; to bring into bondage; to make a slave. Paul was describing what he chose to do to himself in order that he might bring more people to Christ. The bondage that he chose to place himself in was one that allowed him to be who he needed to be in order to reach those he needed to reach. Paul writes in the verses that followed that for the Jews he became a Jew; to the weak he became weak; etc. What he was saying was that he was willing to be a slave to everyone if that would allow him to reach them for Christ.
I wanted to take you through the different Greek words for servant so that you will begin to consider what the verses actually mean as it relates to slavery. From this point forward, we will examine the Scriptural references that apply to slavery only as we begin to consider how to become slaves for Christ.
Conclusion – Serving One Another
Before I close this message, I want to leave you with one additional Scripture for your consideration this week. We read this Scripture last year which is the foundation for our mission statement. Turn to Matthew 20:25-27. It reads as follows: “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” Jesus contrasted the world’s view of power and authority with His way. He told His disciples if they wanted to be great they must first be a servant. This was about service, not relationship. They were to be willing to serve one another in action. Then He told them that if they wished to be first among them shall become a slave. Slavery at this point was a choice that they could make as part of their service to Christ (similar to what Paul did). Jesus was using this as an example to help the disciples separate how the world viewed power and how they should view it. The disciples had power; over sickness; diseases; demonic spirits, etc; and Jesus did not want them to view this as a means to “mentally/spiritually” enslave others. He also did not want them to be competing against each other to determine who was the greatest of all. He taught them this because what they now had and were experiencing could have easily gone to their heads and they could have become like the scribes and Pharisees whom Jesus detested. Jesus wanted them to be humble and walk in their quiet strength. He did not want them competing with one another for greatness but to use all of their time and energy serving those that Christ was sent to redeem. They were not to use their position to be served but to serve.
When we consider the instruction that Jesus gave His disciples about authority and service I believe He would not be pleased with how some of His leaders are using their positions for financial gain and public recognition. There are many leaders who expect to be worshipped and actually are worshipped by their members and society in general. They walk a certain way and they have a certain air about them. Some Pastors believe and teach their members that in their role as Pastor they should be “taken care” of because they are God’s servant. This belief causes many to revere their pastors and leaders and put them on pedestals. This is not what Jesus wanted for His leaders. Jesus requires a servant’s actions and a slave’s mentality. I should be willing to serve you through my actions while at the same time having a slave’s mentality as it relates to my relationship with Christ. In that world I would be willing to do whatever is necessary so that my Master would be pleased. It would not be about my conveniences or what is best for me, it would be about what my Master wants me to do. My relationship with my Master is one where I am a slave. My actions towards you are those of a servant who is under orders to serve you, not the other way around. Does this make sense?
Next week we will continue examining what Jesus said about slaves. May God bless and keep you is my prayer.
