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Will the Theologians Please Sit Down  /  Chapter 12: What Happened When the Theologians Wrangled  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 8
Jesus’ warning about the servant who “begins to beat his fellow servants” (Matt. 24:48–51) is applied directly to theologians who tolerated persecution; what forms of “beating fellow servants” might exist today without physical violence (platforming the state, lawsuits, cancellations, slander, dehumanizing labels like “blasphemy”), and how should that passage reshape our instincts?
Another way to ask: Jesus warns about a servant who starts “beating” other servants (Matt. 24:48–51), and Bercot applies this to theologians who allowed persecution. What are modern ways to “beat” other believers without violence—like using the state, lawsuits, cancellations, slander, or dehumanizing labels—and how should this warning change our instincts?

Direct Answer Bercot applies Jesus’ warning to any professing-Christian behavior that harms fellow believers—especially when leaders tolerate or promote punishment to “sniff out” error. Even without physical violence, the passage presses Christians to fear becoming oppressors rather than patient servants.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot quotes Matt. 24:48–51 about the servant who “begins to beat his fellow servants,” concluding Jesus “is not going to put up with professing Christians who beat, let alone kill, their fellow Christians.”
  • He criticizes theologians who “turned a blind eye” to persecution because they were “too busy sniffing out any vestiges of Arianism.”
  • He highlights how exile and state punishment were embraced “with glee,” showing the spirit of “beating” can include coercive punishment.
  • He notes “blasphemy” became a favored accusation, like Jewish theologians, used in persecuting others.
  • He emphasizes persecuting others “dishonor[s] Christ” more than many doctrinal errors.
Discussion Follow-ups What habits in our circles treat fellow Christians as enemies to crush rather than family to correct? How should fear of Christ’s judgment change how we argue and how we use influence?

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