| It is good to remind ourselves of the basic
mindset of discipleship. Here in our passage this morning the Lord
gives us a good lesson about what we can expect as disciples of our Teacher,
the Lord Jesus Christ who is also our Master, who owns us in every aspect
of our being.
The expression found here was used by the Lord on four different occasions
(Here, in John 13, John 15, and in Luke 6, probably an indication that
he frequently used it). And the idea that is taught here is clearly
repeated many more times in the recorded sayings of the Lord. It
must have been important to him, and it does us well to think about how
we fit into the phrase. Can I say in all honesty, "It is enough that
the disciple be as his teacher and the bond slave as his master."
Can you join me in affirming that truth?
I. FIRST, THINK ABOUT THE REASONABLENESS OF THE WORDS.
1. Nobody could quarrel with the thesis. It is a matter
of common sense and proper humility that the disciples take a subordinate
place to their teacher and slaves are subjugated to their masters.
(For such is the meaning of the word doulos* that is translated with the
more general word "servant" here in the R.S.V.) Jesus' disciples
would have understood it that way. They would not have, for a moment,
thought that they should have better food or better living accommodations
than their teacher-master.
2. And certainly this applies in some way to those of us who are culturally
and historically very different kinds of disciples and bond slaves than
the 12 Apostles who were the Lord's hearers in all four of these cases.
We are disciples in a somewhat less literal sense than those Galileans
who followed him about the cities and towns and roads and fields of First
Century Palestine. We are disciples in a metaphorical sense, but
we are nonetheless surely disciples of him who teaches us every day through
the inspired Word of his Apostles. In a very real if not the same
cultural sense, we are bond slaves and disciples of our dear Master and
Teacher.
There can be no question of this in the mind of anyone who understands
the nature of his atonement in which he specifically bore our personal
sins. There can be no question in the mind of anyone who understands
how God the Father imputed the personal righteousness of the Son to us
in the hour that we first believed. Our salvation is all, in its
entirety, the work of Jesus Christ, and there can be no question that we
are his disciples and bond slaves. Nothing could be more reasonable.
There was a law in Charlemagne's time (who lived on both sides of A.D.
800) when he ruled as Holy Roman Emperor, that was designed to save pathetic,
exposed children from certain death. It said that the common law
held that the child who was rescued from death became the servant of the
one saved him. We might have some problem with that but we could
never object to the rightness of the proposition that the one who is saved
by the redemptive work of the infinitely heroic efforts of the incarnate
Son of God becomes the property of the one who saved him from so great
a loss -- not just physical death but eternal death.
*It is one of the 5 Greek words in the N.T. for a servant:
Diaconos, one who serves; huperetes, a hired servant; pais, a boy
servant; misthios, a worker; doulos, used here, one who is owned by his
master.
We are not only his disciples -- in the sense that we learn
from him, but we are his servants, his bond slaves. And "a disciple
is not above his teacher nor a bond slave above his master."
Do you have this view of your salvation -- this Biblical view, God's view?
It has not even occurred to many professing Christians, and is one of the
things making our form of Christianity something unique and much different
than membership in a fraternal order. Is this Biblical view your
view?
II. BUT THINK ABOUT THE WEIGHT OF RESPONSIBILITY THAT THESE WORDS PLACE
UPON US.
1. "It is enough that the disciple be as his teacher and the
bond slave as his master." This rule governs your life in its every
aspect if you are a Christian. There aren't any exceptions.
2. Let us think about some of the areas where "it is enough that the
disciple be as his teacher and the bond slave as his master." Just
looking at these four uses of the phrase in places in Matthew, Luke and
John, gives us some idea of how it does indeed apply and how it might reasonably
apply in ways that are not mentioned.
3. The context of the phrase here in Matthew 10 and in John 15 speaks
of persecution for the sake of righteousness. We are not big on persecution,
but never let us forget that there are those who, in this very hour, suffer
great persecution for the sake of Jesus and that there is a long heritage
-- a virtual trail of blood -- throughout all the years since the day of
our Master's death on the cross, of those who have given their very life
as a result of following him.
4. Another repetition -- the usage in John 13 -- has to do with living
a life of the subjugation our own personal privilege to the work and people
of God. This is something that American Christians should think about.
For they are in the habit of having a mercantile view of Christianity.
The Christian establishment is the seller; the individual is the customer.
And he looks for the best bargain in churches. It is not uncommon
to see Christians just shopping for the best bargain in church attendance.
It is like hunting for a new condo or a new sport ute -- getting the most
for one's investment. Think about this: If you were to take the whole
company of the people that you believe to be true Christians, what percentage
of them do you think are making the work of Christ's kingdom a major part
of their life and what percentage of them are out for the best bargain,
with the particular church that offered them the most services, entertainment
and solace for their time and money? And in this they are no different
from many of their leaders who are out for the best bargain in employment.
And how do you stand -- how do I stand in connection to these categories
of people?
The Lord is seen in the Gospels as living something of a normal life.
He obviously enjoyed himself with friends. Probably he enjoyed human
ingenuity, having been trained as a carpenter. He obviously enjoyed
creation as he saw it around him. And yet there was a purpose for
his life. He lived his life for, and died for, his church.
We do not imitate him in the specifics of his life but yet there is a lesson
there. He is your teacher and your master; my teacher and my master.
"It is enough that the disciple be as his teacher and the bond slave as
his master."
5. Certainly another sense in which this applies is the willingness
to suffer hardship for the sake of Christ without bitterness and without
complaint. For some of us this seems to be harder than martyrdom.
This may be due to the unlikely possibility that they would really rather
be martyred, or to the fact that no one gives you credit for suffering
hardship, but at least you would have your 15 minutes of sympathy if you
attained literal or figurative martyrdom. Who knows? But it
is difficult to submit to hardship for Christ's sake without bitterness
or complaint.
Remember our Lord Jesus Christ, "who though he was rich, yet for our
sake he became poor that we through his poverty might be rich."
For he took upon himself the form of a bond slave; And being
found in fashion as a man, he became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. It is enough that the disciple be as
his
teacher and the bond slave as his master.
6. And it applies to entering into the suffering that is a normal concomitant
of life in the world. God has not exempted us from the law of suffering
-- pain, physical affliction, accident, the burden of other people dependent
upon us, or untimely death. We think it is too bad, but God has not
exempted us. And presumably the Lord Jesus Christ experienced all
of these things. And "it is enough that the disciple be as
his teacher and the bond slave as his master."
This is a heavy responsibility and sobering thought. There might
be somebody here who will be called to have more than the average portion
of these natural forms of suffering and difficulty. What aspect of
your life is like this? Remember your Master, Jesus Christ, who,
as Peter puts it "first endured the sufferings and then the glory."
So you, too, will be rewarded in heaven to come for your faithful endurance.
"It is enough that the disciple be as his teacher and the bond
slave as his master."
And, in the meantime be assured that your Master is looking on approvingly,
giving you grace, permitting exactly the right combination of things for
you since he knows you thoroughly to the core and what is best for his
glory and your eternal welfare.
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