Bible Study series: Luke 17:7-10. You got to do your work before the Lord, not to get the applause of people. Get his approval, if you do his work and complete his mission. He may ask you to do the hard thing, too.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 17:7-10
7 “Who of you having a servant plowing the ground or tending sheep who comes in from the field will say to him, ‘Get in here quickly and recline at table!’? 8 On the contrary, will you not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat and put on an apron to serve me until I eat and drink, and afterwards you can eat and drink!’? 9 You won’t thank the servant because he did what he was ordered to do, will you? 10 In the same way, you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are useless servants, because we have done only what we were required to do.’” (Luke 17:7-10)
Comments:
Two comments before we go verse by verse: This is about being useful in the kingdom. When we are, God will judge us favorably. When we are not, he will judge us unfavorably. Yes, God really will judge our works for him. This does not determine our salvation, but our rewards or absence of them.
Everyone Shall Be Judged by Their Works and Words
Second, this is another short parable.
7:
“servant”: in this passage, I chose servant because in Jewish culture a Hebrew man who sold himself into servitude to his fellow Jew was like an indentured servant whose term of service had a limit; he was freed in the seventh year. But then the indentured servant could stay with his family, if he liked his owner (Exod. 21:2-6; Lev. 25:38-46; Deut. 15:12-18). So there was a lot of liberty even in servitude, in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).
Slavery and Freedom in the Bible
“the ground”: it was supplied from the context. Plowmen plow the ground.
“sheep”: it was inserted from the context. Shepherds shepherd sheep.
“recline”: in those days, people lay down to eat, with their feet sticking out away from the low table. The translation could be modernized to “sit down at the table.”
Jesus sets up a deliberately odd scene. The servants come in from the field, and you (the head of household) say, “Come into my house and sit down at the table! Let me wait on you hand and foot!” In other contexts, there is nothing wrong with the master serving the disciples. Jesus washed their feet (John 13:1-20), to set an example of how they must serve each other. However, here in this quick parable he is setting up another scene. Don’t expect God to serve you and allow you to dictate where and how you serve. Let him lead. You follow.
8:
So Jesus says that no, God won’t serve the servant, but the servant will serve him. Are you willing to serve and obey him? Are you willing to submit and surrender to him, or are you a haughty know-it-all? You may know more than the next guy in certain subjects, but you will never know more than God.
“apron”: the term was supplied because of the context: literally “dressing for serving” (a meal) can include an apron. The translation could be modernized to “put on your liveries” or “put on your waiter’s outfit.” The master eats and drinks first; then the servant eats and drinks afterwards. Get your priorities straightened out.
9-10:
The servant simply did what was ordered of him. He did not go the extra-mile. The lesson we are supposed to draw from these two verses is that when we serve out of duty and obligation and only the minimum work required, then we should not expect thunderous applause.
Paul the apostle: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people” (Eph. 6:5-7, NIV).
The point of the verses from Ephesians is that we are to serve the Lord as slaves from the heart and wholeheartedly.
“useless”: this may stun modern readers, particularly Americans, who have been taught to believe that they are awesome. But taking an inventory of where you are may require you to say some words about yourself that are accurate, at long last! So it works out like this:
“You know, Lord, I have not been living for you at my best. I have not been pursuing excellence.” (Excellence ≠ perfection.) “I have been pursuing my own goals and interests, and I have not put you first. Therefore, I am useless in your kingdom. Lord, I want to turn around and repent. Change me. Make me useful for you and your mission. Give me grace to submit to you. Give me grace to become your servant from my whole heart, not out of duty or requirements. You take the lead, Lord.”
Some have wondered whether this parable endorses rude behavior because the master did not thank the servant, while we do this all the time, nowadays, to servers in restaurants. Yes, it’s polite to thank them, but the context here is different. We don’t have servant-slaves, so we can’t relate. The point here is that God is in charge, and we should do what he calls us to do. We shouldn’t expect him to gush over us when we do the minimum. The point is to do what’s expected without a lot of exaggerated gushing from God.
“Jesus argues that fulfilling one’s duties to God ‘elicits not reciprocal obligation on the part of the master / God.’ … ‘Obedience is based on divine initiative and human obligation, rather than on human initiative and divine obligation’” (Garland, comment on 17:9, citing two other scholars).
I like this promise in Heb. 6:10 (one of my life verses):
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (Heb. 6:10, NIV)
God remembers your anonymous hard work for him and his people. He will reward you.
GrowApp for Luke 17:7-10
1. Do you serve God from duty or your whole heart? Have you been pursuing your own selfish, low-grade goals or his excellent ones (excellence is not the same as perfection)?
2. How can you change from useless to useful for God and in his kingdom?
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 