Luke 17:1-10 Increase Our Faith

Luke 17:1-10 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

Jesus said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2It would be better for that person if a millstone would be hung around his neck and he would be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3Watch yourselves.

“If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. 4Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

5The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

6The Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7Which one of you who has a servant plowing or taking care of sheep will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at the table’? 8Won’t the master tell him instead, ‘Prepare my supper, and after you are properly dressed, serve me while I eat and drink. After that you may eat and drink’? 9He does not thank the servant because he did what he was commanded to do, does he? 10So also you, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have only done what we were supposed to do.’”

Increase Our Faith

I.

It had seemed easy at first. All they had to do was to listen and learn. Sometimes sitting in a classroom seems monotonous, but even an inattentive student tends to learn at least some things. All of them learned. He taught using parables, their Teacher did. Each time he taught, they gleaned more and more nuggets of information; their knowledge base continued to grow.

At times there were also things to do that had been added to their status as his students, but these hadn’t been all that arduous, either. Gather some people together to listen to their Teacher speak. Take him from one place to another on the lake, using boats they were totally familiar with and knew exactly how to operate. Pass out food to people, and later collect the leftovers. Even these tasks included lessons that were to be learned.

In fact, one of the lessons they had learned some time ago was: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29, EHV). Doesn’t that sound serene? Perhaps a painting featuring rolling hills and a gently babbling brook with a tree perfectly positioned to lean against as you contemplate the meaning of life.

Just before today’s Gospel Jesus had told another one of his parables, the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus. The rich man cared only about wealth and creature comforts. Lazarus, even though his life was hard, recognized God’s guiding hand, and put all his faith and hope in the ultimate promises of God. Lazarus found himself in heaven, while the rich man, having totally rejected everything about God, found himself in hell after he died.

That set the scene for Jesus to launch into today’s Gospel. “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!’” (Luke 17:1, EHV). All these things believers have learned, not just the disciples who followed Jesus around every day while he walked this earth, but you and me today, too, come with responsibilities.

Start with Jesus’ first phrase. Let me translate it very literally: “Impossible it is for stumbling blocks not to come.” The Greek word for stumbling block is σκάνδαλον (skandalon). You can hear the English word “scandal” in there. It refers to something that is the trigger of a trap. There are plenty of stumbling blocks in this world; plenty of things that are “temptations to sin,” as the EHV puts it. Jesus says that while stumbling blocks of temptations might be all around: “woe to the one through whom they come.” In other words, all of us disciples of Jesus are to be on our guard not to be the trigger for the trap.

Parents have probably noticed it. Their children tend to imitate their behavior and their words. Certain behaviors and words that are part of your everyday life might often be seen in the words and actions of your children.

Then Jesus adds the teeth to his “woe”: “It would be better for that person if a millstone would be hung around his neck and he would be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3Watch yourselves” (Luke 17:2-3, EHV).

When Jesus said “cause these little ones to sin,” he wasn’t only speaking about being a parent or grandparent of young children. “Little ones” can also refer to someone who is young in faith, or even an unbeliever. Your actions in the workplace or when you are hanging out with your friends gives them an example of what being a Christian means. Or does it?

It’s really serious, Jesus says, when your words and actions don’t reflect your status as a disciple of Christ—you status of Christian. The consequences are severe, so “watch yourselves.” Pay attention to your words and actions. Be careful to behave like the Christian you are. Still, back to the literal translation of Jesus’ first words: “Impossible it is for stumbling blocks not to come” (Luke 17:1, Pastor Schamber). And despite the “woe” that followed, impossible it is for the disciple of Jesus to be so perfect as to never be the stumbling block that might cause someone else to sin.

“If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3, EHV). Sin is serious. It is important that every sinner see how serious his/her sin is and fall down before God in repentance. It may be that the person sinned because of the stumbling block you threw down; it may be they just got caught up in the regular stumbling blocks of this world. Either way, you may have to call out that person’s sin and encourage repentance. When there is repentance, immediately announce forgiveness.

“Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him’” (Luke 17:4, EHV). It doesn’t matter how often it happens, always be prepared to announce forgiveness.

II.

Appearances are deceiving. Remember the serene painting of resting by the babbling brook amid the rolling hills for the rest for your soul Jesus promised? Maybe that was the picture Jesus’ early disciples had at first, too. They had been excited to follow him, interested to learn from his words, happy with the menial and mundane tasks they had performed for him.

It might have seemed at times that following Jesus was easy. But what Jesus had just told them made being a disciple seem much more difficult. “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith’” (Luke 17:5, EHV).

If we have such challenges of faith that we might accidentally cause someone to stumble into sin, our own faith might be a problem. If we have trouble confronting a fellow believer about sin, or announcing forgiveness when someone admits sin, our own faith might actually be lacking.

“Increase our faith.”

“The Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you’” (Luke 17:6, EHV). That’s pretty humbling, isn’t it? A tiny, tiny faith can do great things. Have you ever heard of or seen a faith that can do such great things?

Jesus continues with an illustration. A servant is tasked with working at various projects. When those projects are completed, the master doesn’t tell the servant to take a break and relax; instead, still more tasks are given that need to be performed. The master doesn’t even say “thank you” when the tasks are completed, because it was just expected that the work would be completed.

“So also you, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have only done what we were supposed to do’” (Luke 17:10, EHV).

Put that in the context of Jesus’ instructions before. If you have managed to lead no one into sin; if you have confronted a sinner, and then offered immediate forgiveness when there was repentance; if you have been able to do that consistently and frequently; that’s nothing that will win you high praise. It’s just what you were supposed to do. At the end of the day—at the end of your Christian life—all you can do is admit: “We are unworthy servants. We have only done what we were supposed to do.”

III.

You know, the One who did deserve to be told: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” is the Lord Jesus. Temptations to sin came his way, sometimes even from his own disciples, but he never once fell into the trap. Certainly Jesus never was the cause of someone falling into sin. Jesus didn’t just forgive 7 times in a day, or 77 times, as he once told the disciples. He forgave every sin ever committed by anyone. Hanging from the cross and making the actual payment all sins, Jesus still cried out: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34, EHV).

And as for you and me, the “unworthy servants” who have “only done what we were supposed to do,” that same Lord Jesus did say to us: “Come at once and recline at the table” (Luke 17:7, EHV). He gave his life on the cross so that he could invite us, unworthy servants though we are, to dine on his body and blood, in, with and under the bread and wine—the very body and blood he poured out on the cross to pay for our unworthiness. At the end, he will bring us to his heavenly dining table, where we will recline forever with him.

IV.

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith’” (Luke 17:5, EHV). Only God can do anything about our faith. Only the Holy Spirit can give us faith in the Lord Jesus in the first place. When a person sees all the pitfalls and potential disasters to faith that are out there in the world, and those that are self-inflicted, and those we might be the cause of for others, we know that only God can guide us and guard us through all those things.

Earlier in his time with his disciples (Luke 13:18-21) Jesus had told the parable of the mustard seed. Though it was a tiny seed when planted, it grew to a plant that often resembled a tree. Now Jesus tells them: “If you had faith like a mustard seed...” (Luke 17:6, EHV). Perhaps the disciples thought back to the earlier parable. The tiny mustard seed grew to a huge plant. When they now asked Jesus: “Increase our faith,” and he answered with “if you had faith like a mustard seed...” perhaps they thought of the growth of a tiny seed. And they knew that only God can cause such growth.

God grows the faith we need. The faith the size of a mustard seed can accomplish incredible things.

Pray: “Lord, Increase Our Faith.” Then go and live your life as a Christian. Lead by your example in words and actions. Announce forgiveness to those who repent of their sins. Display your mustard seed of faith, and share with others the great things Jesus has done for all. And one day, when the time comes, you will recline at the banquet table of heaven. God bless your mustard seed of faith. Amen.