Sermon on the Mount - Two Masters

(Matthew 6:24)

By Mary Jane Chaignot

Categories: Sermon on the Mount, Sermon on the Mount (Bible Study)

After discussing the Lord’s Prayer and the Pharisaical hypocrisies, Jesus continues by talking about the pitfalls of discipleship.
Up to this point, the examples have been about mutually exclusive choices, i.e., treasures in heaven or on earth.
Now he moves to a scenario that involves having two masters.
Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters.”
In modern times, most people can do two things at one time. Some can even do a lot more. It’s called multitasking. So what’s the problem?
One can better understand this by going to the Greek word that’s translated—“serve.”
The word is derived from doulos. A doulos is a slave.
Now technically, serving is what he does, but he does it in the relationship of a slave.
In the ancient world, both the slave and his labor belong to his master.
By definition, slaves have no personal rights, and they have no “personal time” for themselves.
A master has absolute control over his slave, and a slave is completely loyal to his master.
Therefore, a slave could never have two masters.
If one master would say, “Go to the marketplace,” his slave would have to do it right then.
If there were another master, he might want his laundry done at the same time. The slave would have to do that too.
A slave simply couldn’t be doing two separate things at the same time.
He could not possibly satisfy them both. Anything less than total obedience meant certain death.
Jesus continues his teaching by approaching the problem from another point of view—the masters.
For the sake of argument, let’s say two masters wanted to share a slave.
To this, Jesus says, the slave “will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
The translation “hate the one and love the other” is somewhat misleading.
“Hate” doesn’t mean hatred as it is thought of today.
It is a Jewish idiom that speaks to one’s level of commitment.
Despite the slave’s best efforts to be fair and impartial, he will pick one over the other.
Similarly, “despise” means something like disregard or “pay less attention to.”
The point is that only one of them will be given absolute loyalty and the full commitment of the slave.
So how does one hear this today? There are no slaves.
It is true that everyone has an ultimate loyalty. There can only be a first place for one thing. Now after that, the loyalties may be shared, but not that first one.
Jesus ends by saying, “You cannot serve both God and Mammon.”
“Mammon” is another word that is transliterated from the Greek. They really don’t know what it means.
It comes from a word that originally meant “entrust.” It was whatever a man gave to someone to keep safe for him.
Over the years, that morphed into something in which people put their trust.
So instead of giving “mammon” to someone for safekeeping, people began to keep it for themselves and put all their faith in it.
How does one understand Mammon, written with a capital “M”?
People have tried the “god of humankind” as a translation. It probably means wealth, and some translations simply say “money,” written with a capital “M.”
It could also mean gain or profit, but it could just as easily be resources, property, possessions, success.
Whatever it is, it is the opposite of the true God.
It is a human god which has very attractive drawing powers.
The point of these last few examples is not meant to be a polemic against wealth.
People can have money, a home, and possessions, but they should not be controlled or mastered by them.
Jesus’ examples speak to the dangers and distractions that entice disciples to lose their focus.
Jesus is saying that the goal of hard work is not personal success, but service to others.
This is definitely at odds with the gods of humankind, the gods of culture.
He’s not asking for fanaticism here. He’s asking disciples to be rational. He’s saying, “You cannot do this.”
He’s offering to liberate them from trying to attempt what is impossible.
And if he says it is impossible, any and all attempts to accomplish it are a waste of time and effort.
He’s asking disciples to turn their backs on the gods of this world and serve only the living God.
The decision is for each disciple to make, but this is a clear example of a case where if one doesn’t choose, one has, in fact, chosen.
The attempt to win people’s attention and God’s is an impossibility. It’s either-or. Either human or divine esteem will be Lord in the disciple’s life.

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