How do the ethics of the cross and Jesus’ political theory connect?

a.       The call to the cross is a call to be a faithful slave given the context of the word of the Father and the opposition of slaves to that word.

b.       The call to the cross is faithfulness to the master without present reward, only to see the greater reward come to pass.

c.        Because the master of our household is about to receive the earth, the most faithful slaves under him will receive great rewards— large portions of the earth itself.

d.       Thus, faithfulness to the cross and political goals go hand in hand.

1.       Devotion

This is the heart of the matter.  For a person to be fully devoted to God is to be fully aligned under God as their king, with no one in between.  The faith that Jesus’ showed is that he was devoted to the Father alone and no one or nothing else held his devotion.  One of his major criticisms of the Pharisees is that they held equal devotion to money as they did to God.  To be devoted to God is to have God alone be the one focus of one’s existence, the one unchangeable entity around whom everything else in one’s life revolves. 

This kind of devotion is the best kind of faithfulness.  It is what kings look for—loyal servants who willingly volunteer their lives in service to their liege.  These special servants, known as “slaves” to the king, are given special tasks by the king that a normal “subject” of the king would not receive. These “slaves” are “workers” dedicated to the king, their lord/master. 

Any slave of a household receives in part whatever blessing their master receives, and, to the contrary, they would also receive of whatever cursing or loss the master receives.  The goal in being a slave of God is to receive of his blessings, especially when all the nations of the world are under Yahweh’s direct control.  If one is faithfully devoted to Yahweh, the expectation is that Yahweh would then pass on the blessings of the earth to his faithful servants.  Those who are devoted to him would still be slaves, but they would be stewards—slaves given much responsibility in the household of their master.  When the master’s household is the whole earth, then many slaves of God will be given rulership over cities and countries, as governors under their master, the ruler of the earth. 

Jesus is the ultimately faithful slave to Yahweh.  His whole concern is to do everything he does in devotion to the Father.  Jesus is the best slave, and thus he becomes the best appointed master over the other slaves.  The other slaves are placed under Jesus in order that they might learn of his devotion and dedication to the Father, the master of the household. 

2.       Obedience

If a slave is to be a functioning member of a household, then they must be obedient to the master.  It is the basic requirement of a slaves’ devotion.  If the slave obeys his master, then he will be doing his work properly, in accordance with the master’s will.  This is most significant.  The slave is working for the master to do his will, to establish the master’s order, not his own.  The slave that is disobedient is interested in establishing their own order, not their masters.  Because the basic idea of slavery is working for another, the work must be done in accordance with the other’s will.  If it is not, then the slave is no longer working, or no longer working for the master.  The proper slave works hard and works for the master’s will.

In obeying the most devoted slave, the other servants can be assured that they are rightfully obeying the master’s desire as well.  If the master is especially pleased with the head slave—so much so that he is called “son”—then the other slaves can do no better than to obey the Son.  It is in their response to the Son that they are shown to be faithful slaves to the master or not.

3.       Confidence

When the master speaks, he is to be obeyed.  Any slave that does not do as he says, is set out of the household.  Thus, if a master makes a promise that something is going to happen—given that he has enough slaves to do it—then it will happen and you can rely on that promise.  And so Yahweh has enough slaves to rule the earth, and he has promised to do so.  Yahweh has made many promises—and given that he has the authority to do so, they will all be fulfilled. 

Since this is the case, Yahweh’s promises can be relied on fully.  These promises can be “stood on” and depended on, even in the face of circumstances that seem in opposition to the promise.  For instance, Jesus was going to be crucified by his enemies.  He had the promise of the Father that he would be risen from the dead, but all the circumstances pointed away from it.  The disciples looked at the circumstances and at the reality of what had happened in the past—i.e., people who were killed were gone forever.  But Jesus relied on the promise of God and so was risen. 

Even so, the slaves of the Most High can rely on his promises, even if all the circumstances and people around them seem to say otherwise.  The master is powerful enough to do as he says, and he is faithful enough to be reliable.  Thus, the slave can have confidence in the Master’s word and rely on it.  In this way, miracles, or things that seem out of the norm, can occur.  Because they are relying on the principle of God’s faithfulness, not on what has always occurred.

4.       Boldness

The slave has a word of the master.  The word of the master is that which the slave must obey.  And the word of the master is something the slave can have utmost confidence in.  Therefore the slave must speak that word, even in light of opposition.  The master commands the slave to speak it, therefore the slave must, out of obedience.  The master spoke it, so it must be true, and it is a principle that is to be lived by, therefore it must be told to others, especially to other slaves of the master. 

This places the bold slave in a place of akwardness for there are many slaves of the master who do not know the master’s word or does not listen to it.  The slaves who cannot accept this word will  be hated and chastized and persecuted.  But the slave who has the master’s true word must speak it.  In this he will show his obedience, and so his devotion will be complete.  The slaves who do not listen to the master’s true work will show themselves to be disobedient and so be put out of the household.

Speaking the Master’s true word also has a political aspect.  The master’s word is the word of law, the rule of the household, soon to be the rule of the earth.  Anyone who speaks the true word of the master, is also the possesser of the true rule of God, and becomes a judge, or a lawyer.  In as much as this rule is used by the spokesperson in the world around them, so they are involved politically in speaking and determining judgements around them.  This is not to say that they are judges in and of themselves, but rather they can use the word of the master as the judge.  But they are judges-in-training.  They are advocates for the master, presenting his case to the household.  In the end, if they present the law in a just manner, they will be declared judges over others in the world-wide realm.

5.       Love

Apart from being devoted to the master, the main word the master has for his slaves is to do slave-service for each other. 

To do slave service for others is to develop a constituancy—a group of those faithful to the master who will acknowledge one as a true worker for the master.  The more witnesses come up from among the master’s slaves who say this one is a  true slave of the master, the more the master will be inclined to offer that slave a position in his kingdom. 

6.       Humility

A slave is naturally humble.  The one who works for another is in a humble state because they are lower than others.  The one who works for a master is more humble than the master—than anyone else who is a master.  The one who works for others in the household is more humble than the one they are working for.  The one who receives commands quietly and does them is more humble than the one who gives the commands. 

But if the master commands you to work for others—even if that means temporary humility—then when the master has determined that the work is finished, he will reward the one who has been the most humble, for that one has proven to be most faithful.

7.       Endurance

Any slave of a household receives in part whatever blessing their master receives, and, to the contrary, they would also receive of whatever cursing or loss the master receives.  Because Jesus himself, as head slave, received much opposition by other slaves in the household, then those who represent Jesus will also receive much opposition.  Because Jesus’ words are opposed by those who are in the household, the one who speaks those words will also be opposed. 

In light of this opposition, the call to be a faithful slave to the master is a call to endurance.