Bible Dictionaries
Labour (2)

　　LABOUR.—The verb ὃ οὐχ ὑμεῖς κεκοπιάκατε = ἐφ ̓ τ.ἐργάτης which occurs frequently in the Gospels, and (cf. e.g. Wisdom of Solomon 13:19), where St. Luke may have become familiar with its uses. A similar spiritual significance frequently attaches to the words ἐργάτης in the Gospel narratives (cf. John 4:38, Matthew 9:37 f. = Luke 10:2, Matthew 10:10 = Luke 10:7; Luke 13:27).

　　Considerations like these show us clearly in what spirit Jesus claimed the active support of His followers. Theirs was to be no half-hearted allegiance. They were expected to work in His cause ceaselessly and in spite of weariness, for the field of operations was large and the toilers few (ἄξιος γὰρ ὁ ἑργάτης τῆς τροφῆς αὐτοῦ, Matthew 10:10, cf. Luke 10:7). His disciples were reminded that they were the successors of a long line of toilers who sowed the seed, of which they were about to reap the fruit (τολλὰ ἐκοπίασεν ἐν Κυρίω, Romans 16:12; see also 1 Corinthians 15:10, Galatians 4:11, Philippians 2:16, Colossians 1:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:12). With this conception of laborious effort as the norm of Christian life we may compare what is told of Rabbi Judah in the Midrash on Genesis, who sat labouring ‘in the law’ before the Babylonish synagogue in Zippor (Bereshith Rabba, § 33). We are reminded of the exhortation respecting those ‘who labour ( [Note: contrast.] 1 Corinthians 9:6, 1 Thessalonians 2:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:8).

　　Not only does the life of Jesus exhibit the great example of self-sacrificing labour for the sake of the souls of men; it furnishes, moreover, the principle that human life in all its phases is, at its best, a life of service. In its earliest stages obedience to parental authority (κ.ὁ τέκτων, Mark 6:3), shows clearly how fully He adopted this principle as regulating the preparatory discipline of His young manhood. Nor must we forget that it was amongst that class which is dependent for its livelihood upon its capacity for physical labour and endurance that Jesus gained His most thoughtful, whole-hearted adherents (cf. Mark 1:16-20 = Matthew 4:18-22, Luke 5:5 ff.), while many of His most beautiful and effective similes are taken from the surroundings of the busy life (cf. John 4:35 ff., Luke 10:2 f., Matthew 9:37 f., Matthew 20:1-15 etc.). On the other hand, He reserved His profoundest commiseration for those upon whom superfluous wealth had imposed a selfish idleness (see Matthew 19:23 ff. = Mark 10:23 ff., Luke 16:19 ff.), and perhaps the most caustic remark in connexion with the life led by the unjust steward was that in which he confessed his inability for honest physical work (περίεργοι, 1 Timothy 5:13, cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:11). Against this abuse St. Paul felt compelled repeatedly to contend (cf. Ephesians 4:28, 1 Thessalonians 4:11), while he set the example in his own life of unflagging industry (see Acts 18:3 etc.). There can be no doubt that in his restatement of the law of social economics (‘if any will not work, neither let him eat,’ 2 Thessalonians 3:10) St. Paul was profoundly influenced by the life as well as by the teaching of Jesus.

　　No thoughtful student of modern problems can fail to note how completely the future of the Christian Church is bound up with her attitude towards the labour question. Year by year that question assumes graver proportions as the danger of a complete breach between employer and employed becomes more formidable. Nor can there be any serious doubt in the mind of a loyal subject of ‘the Kingdom of the Incarnation,’ that in the true interests of Christian development and progress a real active harmony of aims and aspirations between capital and labour must be established. Representatives of both must be taught that the only solution of problems which seem to baffle them lies in the recognition of the truth that at bottom all human life is true and sacred according as it may be measured in terms of service. Jesus, who employed labourers in fields of activity selected by Himself (cf. Matthew 10:5), points out distinctly the complete identification of employer and employed as being the root idea underlying all vital progress (διακονῆσαι), yielding up even His life for the sake of His fellow-men (ὑμᾶς δὲ εἴρηκα φίλους, John 15:15).

　　Literature.—See three remarkable addresses on social service by Westcott in his Christian Aspects of Life, especially that on ‘The Christian Law,’ in which he quotes from Bishop Tucker of Uganda the salutation ordinarily addressed in that country to a man engaged in manual labour, ‘Many thanks; well done.’ Consult also Westcott, Social Aspects of Christianity; W. H. M. H. Aitken, Temptation and Toil, p. 209; E. Griffith-Jones, Economics of Jesus (1905); and The Citizen of To-morrow (ed. S. E. Keeble), esp. ch. vi. with the bibliography on p. 123.

　　J. R. Willis.