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A Servant Is Not Greater Than
His Lord
I. Study
Texts: Matt 10:24-33; John 15:18-20 II. Theme: A
servant is not greater than his master. If the master does things that are
difficult, and suffers abuse, his disciples can expect to do likewise. Sometimes
servants are given assignments that are difficult, and they do them because
they want to please their master. 1. Service is what makes a servant useful. 2. Service is often difficult. 3. Desire for preeminence is not
useful for a servant, Matt 23:1-12. Matthew
10:24-33 Context: Jesus summoned the twelve and
gave them the power to cast out demons and to heal every kind of disease and sickness. How important must a person feel to have Jesus personally grant
him power over demons, disease, and sickness? Shortly after that, Jesus sent the
twelve on what is commonly called "the limited commission." They
were to go to Jewish people only. They were to take no
extra provisions or money. They were to go with this understanding: their
powers would not shield them from the contempt, the hatred, and the abuse of enemies. 1. A
disciple is not more important than whom? A slave is not more important than
whom (verse 24)? 2. What
is the highest expectation a disciple or a slave should have (verse 25)? 3. If
people call the head of the family the prince of demons, what can the rest of
the family expect? 4. Why
did Jesus say that such people should not be feared (verse 26)? 5. What
should they do with the messages that Jesus shared with them privately (verse
27)? 6. Whom
should they not fear (verse 28)? Whom should they fear? 7. How
did Jesus use a sparrow to declare the complete awareness of God (verse 29)? 8. How
did a person's hair declare the complete awareness of God (verse 30)? 9. Why
should their knowledge of God's awareness destroy their fear (verse 31)? 10. Whom will Jesus confess before God (verse 32)? 11. Whom will Jesus deny before
God (verse 33)? 12. Does this statement refer only
to the baptismal confession commonly given by the person to be baptized? Discuss your answer. John 15:18-20 Context: Jesus, who had been
proclaimed king of Israel, is facing betrayal and death. His disciples must
understand that if Israel hated him, Israel would surely
hate them. 1. Whom
did the world hate before it hated the disciples (verse 18)? 2. What
situation would be necessary for the world to love the disciples (verse 19)? 3. What
two reasons did Jesus give for the world hating them (verse 19)? 4. What
saying from Jesus were they to remember (verse 20)? 5. From
whom could they expect persecution (verse 20)? 6. From
whom could they expect serious listeners (verse 20)? IV. Conclusion:
At times in the first
century, Christians were respected, appreciated, and treated well. For a
while, most opposition to Christians was local opposition.
However, Christians became the common enemy of Judaism, paganism (worshippers
of idols), and the government. As
opposition grew, all three cooperated as they opposed this "common
enemy." In the closing years of the first century, it was not
unusual for Christians to suffer simply because they believed in Jesus. Christians must understand that as
servants we are neither more important nor of greater significance than our
Master, Jesus. If we are his disciples, we are not
greater than he. God placed His hard responsibilities
upon His son. Jesus forgave the repentant prostitute, taught the Samaritans,
gave hope to the outcasts, was patient with the
self-centered twelve, and endured rejection and execution. Jesus did the
difficult work no one wanted--for us. We must be willing
to do the hard things for Him. And we can do the things expected of us
because we know that God loves us, and that He
will provide the help needed. What hard work have you done for the Lord this week? |