servant

In the Gospel According to Matthew 6:24 (NABRE), Jesus makes a statement about what it means to be a servant of God: “No one can serve two masters.” The remainder of this passage goes on to explain what Jesus meant in more depth, but even with all that additional context, it’s easy to miss one of the more important implications of this passage because of the translation.

The verb translated here as serve is δοῦλος (doulos), related to the Greek word for slave. This word describes someone born into bondage and destined for a lifetime of slavery. Note that in this passage there’s no choice as to whether or not someone will be a servant or slave but only who will be the master. What do you think this suggests about Jesus’ view of humanity? Do you agree or disagree with this point of view?

related topics: humility; Letter to the Philippians; slave

you also may like our study of Saul, David & Solomon
The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provides an in-depth look at the First and Second Books of Samuel to learn how the lives of the monarchs Saul, David, and Solomon point ahead to the kingdom of heaven. The unified reign of King David is seen as a foreshadowing or type of the unity that is one of the four marks of the Church—the kingdom of God—established by Jesus Christ. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

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