Mat 23:11

But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

Alternate version: But the greater of you will be your attendants.

It just occurred to me that what Christ is predicting here is the success of free enterprise: those who produce the most will get the most. Like so much of what Christ says, it may predict a reward in the afterlife, but without even worrying about that, it predicts what will and is happening here on earth.

In contrast the world of coercion that Christ lived in, where the strong elites controlled the state and lived off of everyone else, Christ is predicting a time like the one in which we live where those who produce the most value for others become more successful than those who produce little value.

This is also one of those interesting phrases where the current meaning of the English word was actually created by the Biblical verse. The best translation of servant would be "minister," but because of Christ's words, "minister" has come to mean a clergy member or priest, not its original meaning of one who ministers or serves others.

"Greatest" is meizôn, which means "bigger" and "greater" and is the comparative form of megas, which means "big" and "great."

"Servants" is not the usual doulos, ("slave"), but diakonos, which is translated in an earlier verse as "minister," from the noun diakonos, which means "servant," "messenger," and "attendant." This is the source for our word "deacon." As a verb, it is from diakoneô, which "to act as a servant," "to minister," and "to perform services." To me, this means that there are two groups of servant: a larger group that took the message to the guest and a special, smaller group that takes the bad guest outside.

Mat 23:9 And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Mat 23:10 Neither are you called masters: for one is your Master, [even] Christ.

Was Christ really saying that we should not address our male parents as our "father?" How does this make sense? Yet it is the idea in all popular English translations. What is missing here is the context. Christ is specifically referring to the "scribes and Pharisees" or, more generally, to all ministers and priests.

All popular translations also put the verse ten in the passive form: don’t let yourselves be called “master” or more precisely, "guide." However, the verb form is exactly the same as the preceding two verses, where we are clearly being told not to call the priests these names.

A better translation would be: And never call [them] your father on the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither call [them] guides: for one is your Guide, Christ.

Once we recognize Christ was talking specifically about religious leaders, we have another problem. Christian practice, in this case among Catholics, who were the only church for over a thousand years, differs dramatically from Christ's words. How could the practice of calling priests "father" could ever get started, given that Christ specifically condemns it. The first priest that were called "father" certainly knew the Bible well enough to know what Christ said.

This brings us to the heart of Christ’s teaching. Social organizations are, by their very nature, about hierarchy. Once the church became a social organization, it fell into the trap of all social organizations. The church was no longer about an individual’s relationship with God, but about the relationships among the people within the organization.