Rabboni; which is to say, Master” (John 20:16, KJV).
I know, and you know, that it means “teacher.” But not just any teacher. He is master among them all, master above them all. He is my master. Is He yours?
Eliezer and Abraham
When, in Genesis 24, Eliezer encountered Rebekah and then her father, his first recorded words on entering the house showed how clear his focus was: “I will not eat until I have told about my errand” (Gen. 24:33, NKJV).1 Not even food could dissuade or distract him. Eliezer was on a mission for his master. Eliezer’s goal as a servant was to carry out his master’s wishes. He had no other goal than to do his master’s will.
Doulos—Servant or Slave?
In the New Testament, the Greek word doulos, often rendered “servant,” may quite reasonably and often be translated as “slave.” Note how various versions translate Paul’s self-introduction in Romans 1:1: “Paul, a bond servant of Jesus Christ,” says the Amplified Bible; “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus,” says the New American Standard Bible (NASB); and “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,” renders the New Living Translation (NLT).2
But what difference is there between servant and slave? And what might be its spiritual significance?
A slave is their master’s property both in body and in service. The expression “willing slave” may well be an oxymoron, for what slaves will in relation to the service they render usually matters not at all.
On the other hand, a servant engaged for salary, however measly, as contrasted with being mere property, may exercise choice with regard to serving. I remember my mother. The job title she bore was “domestic servant”—cleaning and cooking for wealthy families. A yawning social gap separated her from her employers. But my mother would not hesitate to terminate her employment if she felt that any of them mistreated or disrespected her in any way. Had she been a slave, she would have had no choice in the matter. Leaving the job and abandoning her master would have been out of the question.
Paul as Slave
Since a slave may serve a master unwillingly, and out of obligation, one wonders why the apostle Paul chose to refer to himself as Jesus’ slave. Is Jesus an arbitrary tyrant in search of souls from whom to extract mindless drudgery? Did God not give humans the power of choice in the Garden of Eden? Were they not allowed to choose their course of action from the beginning? God’s instruction (Gen. 2:15-17), by contrast with the turn of events (Gen. 3:1-6), shows that they were able to choose. And even their choice to sin makes a point. That choice to sin, God’s distress at the choice, and His lament at its effects (Gen. 6:1-6), all suggest that God’s desire is for servants who have given Him their will, and not for slaves to exploit. God is looking for servants all right, for servants who serve out of gratitude, as opposed to those who serve by obligation.
Francine’s Story
Francine was desperate to find someone who would provide care for her octogenarian mother. Mrs. Alice Coopersmith was of sound mind, but with failing eyesight and an ailing body that refused to cooperate in completing life’s ADLs (activities of daily living). After making inquiry from her friends and acquaintances without any success, Francine decided to place an ad in the local newspaper of a small Midwestern town. Before long, a middle-aged woman appeared at her front door and applied for the job of caring for Mrs. Coopersmith.
Within a few weeks Francine noticed a change in her mother’s personality. From being often depressed, of few words and a saddened countenance, she had progressed to a euthymic disposition and then to a cheerful temperament. Whereas she had had little to say, she was now eager to initiate conversation. Francine could not help noticing the care with which Lilly went about her duties. The pay was not much, and Francine would have gladly given greater remuneration if she could have afforded it. Mother was always well-groomed and well-fed.
One day, after several months, Francine finally mustered the courage to let Lilly know that she actually wanted to give her remuneration commensurate with the service being rendered, but just did not have the money. It was only then that Lilly revealed to Francine that she had applied for the job not because of the pay, but because of the opportunity to serve someone who had done so much for her. Upon seeing the ad in the newspaper, the only thing she wanted to make sure of was that this was the very same Mrs. Alice Coopersmith who had been her high school teacher.
Their conversation lasted well into the night as Lilly shared how Mrs. Coopersmith had saved her life. She told of how, as a 16-year-old, she had contemplated suicide after her 18-year-old boyfriend had dumped her upon learning that she was pregnant with his child. Moreover, he had chosen that moment to inform her that he had never been in love with her, that there was someone else who was his ‘real’ girlfriend, and that he wanted her to have an abortion.
It was Mrs. Coopersmith who had found her sobbing in the girls’ bathroom and had counseled her against aborting her son. It was Mrs. Coopersmith who had gone beyond the call of duty and had intervened, even taking the role of mediator in calming her irate, single mother. It was Mrs. Coopersmith who had given of her means to help purchase baby clothes, and it was Mrs. Coopersmith who had assisted with financing the costs of day care that facilitated her journey to graduation. Her son, her only child, now a Stanford-educated engineer, was a constant reminder of the unselfish sacrifice of a loving teacher. Lilly took a checkbook from her purse and handed it to Francine. Francine could see from Lilly’s records what Francine hadn’t realized before—that Lilly had not spent a penny of her pay. The account included the total amount of wages Francine had paid Lilly for caring for Mrs. Coopersmith.
Lilly had provided service to Mrs. Coopersmith, all right, but not because she was being paid to do so. Her service was born of the gratitude she felt toward Francine’s mother. There are servants who serve out of obligation, and there are those who serve out of gratitude.
Jesus Shows the Way
Jesus, as master, demonstrated what servanthood meant when He washed the feet of His disciples, all of them. Even the feet of Judas, and those who were contending to be first in His kingdom. As far as Paul was concerned, a God who would leave the glories of heaven and live the life of a pauper, and eventually surrender His life on a cruel cross, was the kind of God that he, Paul, would not mind calling Master, and to whom he did not mind being a slave. Paul was so confident that his Master had only his best interest at heart that he did not mind being bonded to Him for life.
A master may demand total obedience from their slave simply because they own the slave. Interestingly enough, then, Jesus does not demand total obedience merely because He owns us. Instead, it is because of His interest in our well-being that He requires total obedience of us. We are His friends if we obey Him completely (John 15:14). Jesus knows that as slaves to sin we are bent on self-destruction. He knows, as master, that saving us requires our implicit trust in Him (Heb. 11:6), even when we do not fully understand His master plan for our life (Ps. 23:4; Isa. 41:10; 43:2). And while it is imperative that we surrender by choice to the Master’s will (Joshua 24:15; Deut. 30:15), rather than out of cruel compulsion, this total surrender will not take place until as servants we understand that our Master’s only goal is doing what’s best for His servants (Ps. 16:11). But when we do, there is no better state of mind and being that may be contemplated. We have discovered the Eliezer mentality. That faithful servant showed, in his encounter with Laban and Nahor, that he had internalized his master’s wishes, and Abraham’s desire had become Eliezer’s. It is a wonderful place to be in life—the place of a servant who has learned to trust his master, and whose only and focused goal is to do his master’s will.
Brother Slave Builds a House
You must have heard the story before, of the servant whose master went on a far journey, and left him with the responsibility of overseeing the construction of a new house. The servant was given enough money to build a house with only the best material and workmanship. He was to spare no expense. But Brother Slave could think of himself no other way than as a slave. And he could see the world, especially his master’s world, through no other than a slave’s eyes. So, in the drudgery of enforced obedience, he built the house. Yet, with the secret gloating of one who was outsmarting a tyrant, he proceeded to subvert the construction process. Instead of using the funds to purchase the best material possible, he substituted inferior material for the genuine, and hid the money saved so he could build a house for himself. His aspirations went beyond being a slave for life.
And how did it turn out? We all know well. Upon his return, the master revealed to the servant that the house was a gift from the master to him. The all-knowing master recovered all the hidden money. And the slave, forever chafing that he had no choice, and failing to see that it was the choice of his mentality, ended up with a substandard house that would last only for a time, instead of one that would last for eternity.
Jesus’ mastery, then, is not for our tyranny, but for our benefit. We dishonor His love if we see Him as master simply because He has power over our lives. We honor His affection toward us by true gratitude for His sacrifice, a sacrifice that demonstrates that He only has our best interest at heart, and that His plans for us would last for eternity. We, like the servant builder, do have a choice after all. It is the choice to interpret His intentions toward us.
Conclusion
Mary understood His intentions. He had never approached her with exploitative intent, as others had. Rather, He had come as the one who had seen her self-worth and was ready to lay down His life for her while she was yet a sinner. She knew she could trust Him as her friend. He would lay down His life for her (John 15:13). But He was much more than her friend. He was her rabboni; her master teacher, who had taught her about herself and, gloriously, about salvation in Him. She loved Him.
So she went, weeping, to look for Him at the tomb. “Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?” (John 20:15, KJV), someone asked. She did not recognize Him. But then He called her name, “Mary!” Instantly she knew who He was, and called out, “Rabboni” (“Teacher!”), or as in the King James Version, “Master!” He was still her Master, and she His servant. As His servant she had come to the tomb to take care of her Master. In life, and in death, and now in life again, He was still, and ever would be, her Master. Isn’t that how it ought to be?
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1Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2 Bible texts credited to Amplified are from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament copyright © 1965, 1987 by Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament copyright © 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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Errol Liverpool is a Pastor and Clinical psychologist whose new joy in life is his granddaughter, Isabelle. He pastors in the Lake Region Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. This article was published June 21, 2012.
