John 15:15, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”
John 12:26, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will [my] Father honour.”
We throw the word servant around very loosely. We declare that we are servants of God, we serve God, He is our master. Yet, clearly in John 15:15 Jesus is not calling us servants, He is calling us friends. Apparently He can’t make up his mind as to whether we are His servants or His friends because just a couple chapters earlier he calls us servants in John 12:26.
Actually, in both the Aramaic and Greek text two different words are used in these verses. In John 12:26 Jesus calls us his diakone which is one who cares for another. An appropriate word would be a minister or one who ministers. This would be used for a nurse or caregiver. The word in Aramaic meshanamshana also carries the same idea. In the Aramaic this is one who voluntarily preforms a service often without any pay or reward. A meshanamshana serves another person or a nation out of love and duty and often makes a great sacrifice in that service. Years ago there was a little song about Saint Dominic teaching that poverty was his companion and he traveled around the world never asking for reward he just served the Lord. That is a meshanamashana and that is what Jesus calls us in John 12:26.
In John 15:15 another word is used in the Greek and Aramaic but most our modern translations still render this as a servant. Here the Greek word is doulos which is used for a bond servant or a slave. A bond servant is still a slave but he has voluntarily agreed to be a slave out of love for his master. The Aramaic word, however, is more direct. It is the word ‘avad and comes from a Semitic root word for a forced worker or laborer. This is the Aramaic word for a slave. A slave is one who must work for a master, obey the commands of a master or else he faces severe punishment or even death. Eventually by the time of Jesus this word ‘avad came to take on the idea of one who was obligated to obey a command. Thus, an ‘avad was also a word that was applied to a disciple. To be a disciple one had to obey ever command of his master. Still one chooses to be a disciple so ‘avad evolved to mean one who would follow a command.
This is probably why most our modern translations including the KJV uses the English word servant for both words, as doulos and diakone, like ‘avad and meshanamashana tended to dove tail during the time of Jesus and was used interchangeably as the nature of slavery and servitude culturally changed. However, considering the context and our 21st century Western concept of a servant and slave, I believe it is best that we use the English word minister in John 12:26, where Jesus says that if we minister to Him we will be His minsters. Again translators would baulk at using the word minister (although some modern translations do use that word) because ministering to someone means meeting their needs and surely the God of the Universe who created everything could have no needs. If He needed anything He just creates it. However, there are things that even God cannot create. He cannot create a being with a free will and then command or force that person to love him because if you force someone to love you that is not love. Love’s very nature is voluntary. A master cannot force a slave to love him or to perform a work out of love. This is how we can minister to God; we can give Him something that He cannot obtain on his own. God is perfect in love but he created us in His image. This is another tough translation because the word image immediately creates the idea of a physical appearance and that isn’t really what the Hebrew word tsalam means. Tsalam which we render as image is really the word for shadow or reflection. It is a word the ancient Semites used to describe a child who resembled his father, not physically but in attitude, purpose, emotions and behavior. We say “like father like son” not to express the idea that the son looks like his father, but that he is behaving like his father. Tsalam was the ancient Semitic way of saying, “He is a chip off the old block.” Hence, being made in the image of God does not mean that God has two arms, two legs eyes, ear, nose etc., it means that we are created as a reflection of God’s nature which includes the ability to love. He created us because he longed to be loved by someone who would love Him voluntarily, who would choose to love Him. God can create an angel to stand by His side and say “Praise His name” but that would mean nothing more than teaching your parrot to say, “I love you.” He had to give man a free will and then out of that free will man will say, “I love you.” Therein is love fulfilled, that is how we can minister to God to tell him that from the very depths of our soul and heart that we truly do love Him.
Which brings me to the next part of John 15:15, where Jesus says that he no longer calls us a doulos (slave) or in the Aramaic, ‘avad that is a slave who must serve his master under threat and intimidation, but he calls us friends. Here is where the Aramaic trumps the Greek. Jesus spoke in Aramaic so he did not say philos as we have recorded in our Greek text which simply means brotherly love or friendship. He calls us His racham His beloved, the one He cherishes. Racham is a love which is voluntarily returned, it is the love between a husband and wife, a love between two lovers who just adore each other. It is what I see when I drive by Morton High School at 2:30 every day in my bus and I see all the scholars leaving school and among them are the rachams, the Twinkies, the guy and his beloved little girlfriend holding hands, so enchanted with each other, so in love they love each other’s little toes and are looking adoringly into each other’s eyes they are not even aware of a big bus bearing down on them as they cross the street. That is racham that is what Jesus calls us, not just friends but His beloved, the ones he cherishes. The idea of gaining heaven and not going to hell, getting raptured to avoid seven years of tribulation is rubbish. Heck we are so in love that if God tells us that He is rapturing everyone else but wants to keep us on earth to share His love during the seven years of tribulation, we would consider it an honor, a privilege, nay even a joy to be able to express our love to Him in such a way.
If your only reason for serving God is to escape hell and catch the tail end of the rapture, then you are no more than a doulos or an ‘avad (a slave). But if you can declare like the Apostle Paul, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21) then you are His racham, His beloved, you are God’s Twinkie.
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