I understand that slavery in New Testament times is a world we cannot imagine and have trouble understanding. But these slaves could serve as doctors and lawyers, they could go to school and be educated. This was a different cultural context, with more than 30 percent of the population in the New Testament Roman and Greek world living as slaves, or what today we might call servants. When we read Bible verses about slaves or servants in the New Testament, we have to look at what is being said through the lens of the culture at that time—which is not identical with the slavery we think of today.
