Luke 17:7-10--Unworthy Servants

Luke 17:7-10
English Standard Version
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Unworthy Servants
7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

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The disciples may not have meant to derail Jesus' message by interjecting their question about faith, but that would have probably been the result if Jesus had given them a full answer to their question.  Jesus' point of much of this teaching was to get people ready for the end times--to tell them that man is appointed once to die, and after that the judgment.  His message to this point has been largely pointed at the Pharisees, but it seems now that His message and His target audience changes.  He instead seems to be talking to His disciples about the nature of those that will truly follow after Him and be real servants.  This is a lesson He will continue to teach them at The Last Supper by washing everyone's feet, but right now He's reminding them that even though they may be chosen to be apostles, they are still servants with no rights or status or privilege.

We will not spend time talking about this, but this word "servant" is probably more correctly translated as "slave," and if  you have the NASB or a few other translations that seek to give as close to the exact word-for-word translation as possible, then you also might see "slave" in your translation.  This is not someone who has any rights or status or privilege like how we might think of a butler or a maid who is a "servant" (employee) of their "master" (their employer), but this is really talking about a slave who has been purchased by someone and is owned by their master.  While there are other ways to describe our relationship with God, He is the sovereign and we are His vassals.  That is an accurate depiction because we have been bought with a price and we are not our own.  (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Now that we have established that Jesus is talking to us who call ourselves His disciples, He is saying to us that a slave is not worried about receiving praise for the work that he does, nor does the slave insist that he receive immediate gratification for the hard work that he does.  When the slave who has been out in the fields taking care of the crops or the animals comes in from a hard day's work, he would be dirty and smelly and not fit to be in the presence of his master until the slave cleaned himself and put on new clothes (this is what happens to us at the time of salvation that we are washed and given new garments).  We are then fit to come before our Master, but our role is still that of a slave and we are to serve Him first, even though we have been working hard, we are not to expect the King to ask us to immediately sit down at the His table (go to heaven) immediately upon our getting cleaned up (that is our salvation).  There is still work to be done--that is The Great Commission and ministering through the local church.

Only after the master had been served his dinner by the slaves and had his fill would the slaves be allowed to eat what was leftover.  And should the expect thanks and recognition for doing what he commands?  Of course not.  It is their job to do what he commands.  Their response should be as Jesus says here, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.”  So then, everyone who claims to belong to Jesus and His slave has a duty and an obligation to be obedient to Him and to obey immediately and fully.  Does that describe your relationship with Jesus?  If it doesn't, examine yourself to see if you truly belong to Him because you have been bought with a price and are not your own.  Your only correct response when He speaks is total obedience without expectation of thanks or reward because He already gave up His own life to purchase you.