The Wicked Servant

Grayson McGrawMorgan Manning

Christology 1

Normal worker

Promoted to Manager, While other manager is on leave.

Cuts Workers Pay

Increases his own wealth

Manager comes back and fires him

Treat Others the Way You Want to be Treated

Explanation• Servants were very commonly used in first century Palestine. It would

have been very easy to relate the job of a servant to the people during this time. Servants were usually treated harshly and many of the common peoples job was to be a servant. Jesus spoke to common people and this would have been a common job many of their family members or themselves would have had.

• Jesus was trying to teach people not to be hypocritical. The servant was a servant at one point and time. The servant got lucky and become the master for a while, while the original master was gone. He then decides to beat and punish his new servants. Jesus is teaching us that if we don’t like to be “beat,” why would we “beat” someone else if we are given more power or a better opportunity. Jesus is referring to treating others the way you would like to be treated. The servant knew how it felt to be a servant but he still decided to treat others poorly even though he was in that situation before.

Explanation

• “That servant, who knew his lord’s will, and didn’t prepare, nor do what he wanted, will be beaten with many stripes, but he who didn’t know, and did things worthy of stripes, will be beaten with few stripes. To whoever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked." (web)

Our parable • A worker who was recently promoted to manager while his manager

was away. The worker was going through some rough times before he was promoted manager. He was getting paid over minimum wage but was looking for an increase. When he became manager he decided to start paying the other workers minimum wage which would increase his pay check and decrease theirs. What the worker should have done when he was promoted was help his workers and maybe increase their wages because he was there at one point going through tough times. However that is not what the worker did. He took the selfish fun way and didn’t treat his workers the way that he wanted to be treated. One day his original boss came back and fired him for being so harsh and ruthless to the other employees and not doing his job as the manager and helping his employees.

Sources• http://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/imported_site/biblical_studies/

parables/Wa-Mt24_45-51.htm•

http://parallelgospels.org/Parable_of_the_Wicked_Servant.htm

• http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/pbl29.html•

http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/readings/parables/forgiveness.shtml

• http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/pbl29.html