Luke 17:7-10 (3)
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-Let me encourage you to...
...turn to Luke 17 and follow along in your own Bibles.
We’re going to be looking at Verses 7-10 this morning.
-And, what we have in these verses is...
...a short parable with a message...
...that (much like last week)...
...is quite foundational in nature...
...yet, is often overlooked and under-emphasized.
I imagine that there are...
...a couple of different reasons for that:
1.) It’s only four verses, and Luke alone records it.
2.) It’s a direct assault on our pride...
Particularly upon our ministerial pride!
(i.e., the pride that has the tendency to grow in our hearts...
...as a result of the service we render to Christ)
None of us (myself included)...
...are inherently immune to that temptation...
But this text (by the grace of God)...
Should help us with that...
...by helping us to...
...re-frame the way we view ourselves...
...in light of our earthly service to Christ.
I think it’s a...
Correction
Reminder
...that we could all use.
-Let’s read it together...
And then we’ll pray.
This is the authoritative and inerrant...
...word of our Lord and Master.
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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Pray
-If you will, direct your attention back to verse 7 with me...
And let me point something out to you...
...that isn’t readily apparent in the ESV...
Something that could be germane to...
...the way we understand this section...
And that’s the fact that, in the original autograph...
...Jesus appears to have begun Verse 7...
...with the equivalent of...
...our English conjunction “but.”
For example, the LSB says:
7 “But which of you...
Most English translations seem to omit the word altogether...
To be honest, I’m not exactly sure why...
(though, I’ve found there’s always a reason).
In any event...
...all that to say:
It’s quite possible that I may have...
...unintentionally misled you last week...
...when I began by saying, that...
...Verses 5-6 seemed to be...
...completely disconnected from Verses 7-10.
I hadn’t really studied ahead (only read ahead in the English).
Either way, I apologize
-Now, if the two sections are connected...
(and I’m still not fully convinced that they are)
...this would seem to be the most likely correlation:
The Saviour . . . at once considered that even the bare prospect of the accomplishment of so great deeds was capable of making them immediately again selfish and haughty. — Lange
Remember what Jesus had said in Verse 6:
6 ...“If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
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So, in other words, Lange is saying, that...
...today’s verses, in light of that forecast...
Were meant to humble the apostles IN ADVANCE!
That certainly seems plausible...
You be Good Bereans.
-Now, also notice, that Jesus...
...begins the parable...
...with a rhetorical technique...
...that we’ve seen him use many times before.
Notice:
7 “Will any one of you who has a _______ . . .
Do you recognize that construction?
5 . . . “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”
Or, similarly:
15 . . . Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?
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Do you remember those?
Do you remember what Jesus was doing with them?
He was:
Using a real life situation...
...that everyone could relate to...
...and that no one could argue with...
And using that by way of comparison...
...to prove a very similar spiritual point.
-Well, that seems to be...
...the same thing that he’s doing here...
With the one obvious exception being...
...that he isn’t trying to...
...point out his apostles’ hypocrisy...
...like he had done with the pharisees...
Instead, he was trying to...
...prevent them from falling into sin...
...in the first place.
-Let’s read on:
7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep...
So, what’s the servant doing?
He’s serving!
The context is, of course, agricultural.
And it’s POSSIBLE, that...
...Jesus was intending for those agricultural tasks...
Plowing...
Shepherding...
...to serve as spiritual metaphors...
...for the work he was calling his apostles to do.
(We can’t be sure of that, though)
(So, we won’t make too much of it)
-Let’s read on:
Here, is the rest of the first question ...
Again, it’s rhetorical
The implied answer was an obvious “no!”
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’?
“at once” = immediately
Remember:
To “recline at table”...
Didn’t mean to rest...
It meant to EAT!
-So, you might be thinking:
“Why WOULDN’T he do that?”
“What would be wrong with it?”
“Wouldn’t that be the RIGHT thing to do?”
If so, let me urge you to...
...consider a few pertinent factors:
Remember (from Commentators):
1:
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Doing Our Duty
The situation Jesus described would have been unthinkable
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Doing Our Duty
To recline at table was virtually to be treated like a member of the family. Masters, therefore,
(Doesn’t that make texts like these...
...all the more astounding?)
27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
2: (Again from a commentator)
Luke: An Unexpected God Humility (17:7–10)
It is a scene that seems most unfair
Furthermore, remember:
Luke: An Unexpected God Humility (17:7–10)
...
-With that in mind...
...look at Verse 8:
Jesus answers his first question...
With another (rhetorical) question:
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’?
Again, we need to avoid...
...reading this anachronistically.
Remember, again:
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Doing Our Duty
Even after a full day’s work out in the fields, a servant still had to do
This part is so important:
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Doing Our Duty
The master was not there to serve the servant, but the other way around. It was not the master’s responsibility to make life easy for his servant, but the servant’s responsibility to work hard for his master
And again, doesn’t that make...
...texts like these all the more astounding?
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,
4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.
5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Is it any wonder...
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?”
8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet....
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They understood this far better...
...than we’re able to today!
The hypothetical scenario of Verse 7...
Would have been scandalous
Defied social etiquette and norms
Simply wasn’t done.
Furthermore… going back to the spiritual parallel:
Nowhere in the Bible do we find the kind of easy egalitarianism between God and men and women that is found in some professing Christian circles today.
God alone is God — John G. Mason
This text is a powerful reminder of that!
-Alright, look at Verse 9.
It sort of “presses home...
...the application of the parable” :
He asks a third question...
Again, with an obviously implied “no” . . .
...as the response:
9 Does he thank the servant...
The word “thank” there is interesting...
It’s not the most common NT word for thanksgiving (Eucharisteo)...
But rather a more expressive phrase...
...that could be translated literally:
Echei Charin (To have grace/favor) ...
(from a root word that means “to rejoice”)
What’s the point?
I imagine that it connotes the idea of...
“exhuberant gratitutde”
In response to the servant’s diligent service.
Suggesting that...
The Master’s favor has been obtained...
...through the servant’s exemplary performance!
And our natural inclination is to say...
Yeah!
Of Course!
He did well!
He ought to be praised!
But guys, the implied response is...
NO!!!
He Won’t do that!
Why?
9 ...because he did what was commanded?
9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?
The point is, that...
...the servant didn’t actually do anything gratuitous!
He just did his job.
He just performed his duty.
Even in that long hard day of service...
...He didn’t go beyond what he was obligated to do!
Ergo…
His master didn’t owe him anything extra!
His master wasn’t indebted to him in any way!
-Verse 10 makes the spiritual application:
10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded...
See the connection:
He’s saying:
Apply this principle to your own service to God.
Look at your service to Christ...
...through this same lens!
Think about your labors in the Kingdom of God...
...the same way as that.
Watch:
10 ...when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants...
Now notice something important here...
...before we examine it further:
10 ...when you have done all that you were commanded, say...
What he’s about to say...
The evaluation that’s about to be made...
ISN’T coming from the master (i.e., God)...
It’s not saying that...
...this is the way God views our service...
Rather:
This is the way WE ought to...
...view our own service.
We shouldn’t fail to...
...harmonize this text with other texts...
...that show us God’s gracious disposition...
...toward those who serve him faithfully.
Texts like:
21 … ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Or texts like:
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
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We have to be careful...
...to interpret this passage...
...in the light of those passages...
...and vice versa!
Your faithfulness and sacrificial service to Christ...
...DOES matter to Him!
That’s not what verse 10 is refuting.
It’s just making sure you and I understand...
(in our own hearts)
...that he doesn’t OWE us...
Any gratitude
Any reward.
He’s not like earthly masters...
He appreciates our service, sure...
But he doesn’t NEED it...
And he doesn’t become indebted to us...
...when we render it.
Even his recognition and rewards...
...are gratuitous on his part!
Watch:
And remember, that this is...
...the way we’re being told...
...to view ourselves:
10 ...when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants...
The word there is very important.
It only appears three times in the NT...
The other two times are:
30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness...
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
However, I think that if we...
Take the connotation of those verses...
And apply it to ours EXACTLY...
We’ll misunderstand our Lord’s point.
I don’t thing He’s saying that we should...
...view our service to Christ as:
Worthless...
In the sense of deserving condemnation...
Rather, as the NET renders it:
10 ...We are slaves undeserving of special praise;. . .
Here’s the basic definition of the word.
I think it’s helpful:
ἀχρεῖος -ου, τό; (achreios), ADJ.
Adjective Usage
1. unprofitable —
Does that help you to see the idea?
Look at it in conjunction...
...with the rest of the verse:
10 ...We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ”
Guys, this is theology 101.
Think about some of these texts:
Think about how pervasive...
...this idea is in the Scriptures:
Eliphaz:
2 “Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right, or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?
Elihu:
6 If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand?
Job’s counselors didn’t get EVERYTHING wrong!
Why do I say that?
A.) Paul quotes a portion of the above passage in Romans 11
B.) God weighs in on it himself in:
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
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What man has ever:
Helped God out?
Supplied God’s needs?
Rendered a service to God...
That left God indebted to him?
ABSOLUTELY NO ONE… EVER!
That is theology 101.
Consider this from I. Howard Marshall:
The Gospel of Luke iv. The Parable of the Unprofitable Servant 17:7–10
The saying can be understood as an attack upon the Jewish attitude, especially that of the Pharisees, which argued that the performance of good works constituted
The Gospel of Luke iv. The Parable of the Unprofitable Servant 17:7–10
Jesus repudiates such an attitude; men
The Gospel of Luke iv. The Parable of the Unprofitable Servant 17:7–10
To be sure, this does not mean that God does not reward his faithful people; the corresponding parable in 12:35–37 stands in sharp contrast to this one and indicates that God will treat his servants with gratitude and reward.
The Gospel of Luke iv. The Parable of the Unprofitable Servant 17:7–10
What is wrong is the
Paul said in...
16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward...
Speaking hypothetically...
Because he just said that “necessity was laid upon him” to preach...
Ergo:
17 ...if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.
Was Paul doing Christ a favor...
...by preaching the gospel so boldly?
Or, was he simply...
Doing his duty?
Rendering to Christ the service that Christ deserved?
Calvin, makes an important observation...
...bringing us back to our text :
With respect to merit, we must remove the difficulty by which many are perplexed; for Scripture so frequently promises a reward to our works, that they think it allows them some merit.
The reply is easy. A reward is promised, not as a debt, but from the mere good-pleasure of God.
It is a great mistake to suppose that there is a mutual relation between Reward and Merit; for it is by his own undeserved favour, and not by the value of our works, that God is induced to reward them.
By the engagements of the Law, I readily acknowledge, God is bound to men, if they were to discharge fully all that is required from them;
but still, as this is a voluntary obligation, it remains a fixed principle, that man can demand nothing from God, as if he had merited any thing.
And thus the arrogance of the flesh falls to the ground; for, granting that any man fulfilled the Law, he cannot plead that he has any claims on God, having done no more than he was bound to do.
When he says that we are unprofitable servants, his meaning is, that God receives from us nothing beyond what is justly due, but only collects the lawful revenues of his dominion. — Calvin
Isn’t that beautiful?
Guys, it really is true:
10 … ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’ ”
-Let’s end with this:
It encapsulates the whole thing:
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.
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That’s the “Heart of Christ’s Servants” (Screen)
Amen?
Let’s Pray
