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Luke 17:7–10
“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’” (v. 10).
Having explained that even the smallest measure of faith brings great power to those who exercise it (Luke 17:5–6), Jesus moves on in today’s passage to another key teaching about Christian discipleship. In Luke 17:7–10, He highlights the importance of remembering our place in the kingdom and serving God with humility.
Some commentators refer to the illustration that Jesus uses in today’s passage as the “parable of the dutiful servant” because of its stress on the importance of our recognizing that by serving the Lord, we do only our duty. Verses 7–9 borrow from the culture of the day, presenting a servant and his master. Jesus points out that when a servant comes in after a hard day’s work, the master does not lavish him with praise and gratitude for his labors. The servant deserves no special recognition, for he has done only what it is his duty to do. Jesus then says that we should recognize that in serving the Lord, we are doing only what is our duty (v. 10).
These verses are not concerned with telling us how masters should treat their slaves or how employers should treat their employees. It is not saying that it is entirely wrong for us to desire appreciation for our efforts from other people. The point, rather, is to remind us of who has the real authority in our relationship with Christ—namely, Christ Himself—and to help us see that we should not think of our labor as a gift to a needy master. In serving Christ, we are doing no more than giving Him what He is due, and God certainly does not require our efforts to build His church anyway. He has no need for our assistance.
As we consider the wider biblical teaching on rewards, however, we know that although God does not need us, He is pleased to use us and He will commend us even though in serving Him we do only our duty (see 1 Cor. 4:1–5). Good and faithful servants of God will receive a reward (Matt. 25:14–30). In light of those truths, today’s passage shows us that we should not think of our rewards as things that we merit or that God owes us. John Calvin helpfully comments: “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 favor, and not by the value of our works, that God is induced to reward them.”
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Westminster Confession of Faith 16.6 says that God accepts our good works of service only in and through Christ. He looks on our works with favor even though they are filled “with many weaknesses and imperfections” because He views them not in themselves but in Jesus. All that we get as a reward for doing our duty to God comes only by grace.
for further study
- Deuteronomy 11:1
- Psalm 84:11
- Luke 19:11–27
- 1 Corinthians 4:10–15
the bible in a year
- Psalms 120–123
- 1 Corinthians 6