THE PARABLE OF THE FARMER AND HIS SERVANT (Luke 17:1, 7-10)

1 Jesus said to his disciples:
7 Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep.  Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, “Come along now and sit down to eat”?
8 Would he not rather say, “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink”?
9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?
10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty”.

A PARABLE OF SERVICE

Jesus takes an ordinary incident from everyday life in rural Palestine to illustrate a spiritual truth about service.  The parable consists of a series of questions, the answers to which would have been obvious in an economy based on slavery; it was unthinkable that a master should serve his servant.  Jesus was neither criticizing nor commending the farmer’s attitude towards his slave.  The essential meaning of the parable is found in verse 9, “Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?”  The servant who has obeyed his master’s orders has not earned the right to be thanked. 

There is no harshness implied in this story and it is not the whole truth about God and his ways with people.  However, the application in verse 10, “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do”, makes the point that those who obey God’s commands cannot claim any reward based on merit.  We should serve God without spiritual pride for at best we all are “unworthy servants”, and reward is solely dependent on God’s grace.  

This brief and difficult parable, which only Luke records, emphasized the importance of obedient, humble and faithful service as a response to God’s incredible love.  It also warned of the danger of trusting in the fulfillment of one’s duty to gain merit with God.  Jesus reminded his disciples that they were servants (slaves, in fact) of God (not of man) and they must not try (as did the Pharisees) to claim “credit” with him.  Something of the Pharisee still exists in all of us when we think we can make a claim on God because of our good works.  We can never put God in our debt.  There is no room for merit or pride in Christian service.

DISCIPLES ARE SERVANTS OF GOD

The point of the parable is that the relationship of ownership between the master and the servant allowed the master to make any demands on his servant.  The argument is from the lesser to the greater.  Man can surely give to God what a man (a servant), without complaint, gives to a man (his master) who does not reward (or thank) him.  How much more can God expect of his servants in his kingdom.  The earthly slave’s work was never finished.  God’s servant must be prepared to serve faithfully, to expect no special rewards, and to realize that he does not get praise for doing his job.  Whatever he does in God’s service is still inadequate; we have nothing about which we can boast.  Yet God has promised to graciously reward his servants! 

Jesus taught that our works are inadequate because the very best that we can do is nothing more than our duty.  “Unworthy servants” (NIV), or “unprofitable servants” (AV), does not suggest that the servants have been careless or done less than their duty, but that they had simply done what their master had a right to expect.[1]  Other translations suggest: “We’re nothing special in the way of servants” (Barclay) or “We are servants and deserve no credit.” (NEB) or “There is no merit in our service: we have merely done our duty.” (Weymouth)  The servant was profitable in that he had cared for his master’s property but the master did not owe the servant anything extra for simply doing his duties. 

The parable is a lesson in humility and grace.  Even the most devoted Christian is an “unprofitable servant” in that he has not loved God, as he should have done.  Furthermore God’s blessings are not ours by right; we cannot demand them or bargain over them.  They are never wages for our service for God.  Instead, blessing and reward come from God’s generosity and grace and not because of merit.

As a servant, a Christian is not his own.  Through creation and redemption, God has a claim on all a Christian is and has, and can do.  God demands our all, at all times.  Paul described himself as “a bondservant of Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:10; Titus 1:1).  The word “servant” means a slave, a person owned by another.

The Reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) comments:

“God claims all that belongs to us as his property, and possesses an entire control over our persons and service.  All the zeal that may be manifested by us in discharging our duty does not lay him under obligation to us by any sort of merit; for as we are his property, so he on his part can owe us nothing.

A reward is promised, not as a debt, but from the mere good pleasure of God; for it is by his own undeserved favour, and not by the value of our works, that God is induced [persuaded] to reward them.”[2]

GOD REWARDS HIS FAITHFUL SERVANTS

Jesus sometimes says things at different times that appear to be contradictory.  This parable implies that there are no rewards for our service to God.  Yet elsewhere Jesus promised rewards to people who are obedient without thought of reward: “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35)  Paul affirmed that God rewards his faithful servants, “Each will be rewarded according to his own labour… and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.” (1 Corinthians 3:8, 13-14).  Whatever service we may offer to God, it is no more than his due.  Yet the “God of all grace” rewards us for them.  The reward that Jesus gives his servants is entirely a matter of grace.

Serving Christ should be a delight and not a duty; we should obey him because we love him.  Paul encouraged the believers at Ephesus to “Do the will of God from your heart.” (Ephesians 6:6).  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15).  The psalmist said, “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (40:8)

THE PHARISEES AND THEIR “MERIT THEOLOGY”

When Jesus told this story, he was thinking of the Pharisees and their “merit theology”, their belief that by their “works” they could build a credit balance with God.  The self-righteous pride of the Pharisee can be found among religious people of any age.  Even the disciples had argued as to which of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Regrettably, the delusion of self-righteous legalism dies hard even in today’s respectable evangelical churches. 

Should God favour you, it is the gift of his grace, rather than a reward for your service.  Believers cannot earn God’s approval, and all their good works do not give them any claim on God’s grace.  Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, “For who makes you different from anyone else?  What do you have that you did not receive?  And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7) 

LEGALISM IS THE BELIEF THAT ONE’S WORKS EARN GOD’S FAVOUR

Legalism has been defined as, “The attempt to acquire merit before God through the performance of various rituals and practices.”[3]  It is based on human pride in the obedience accomplished and in the works performed.  It causes a man to adopt false priorities and values while at the same time he considers that he is growing in grace and holiness.  It often leads to contempt for others who do not work in the same way.  Reader, beware of any church where the spirituality of its members is measured by their obedience to the rules of the leaders, regular attendance at meetings, outward conformity to the group’s norms, and compulsory tithing, especially if that church is independent of mainstream Christianity with a self-appointed leader. 

SALVATION IS BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

The basis of salvation is faith in Jesus Christ, not in works of “merit”.  Faith in Christ denies the self-righteousness of the Pharisees.  Paul says, “God has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.  This grace was given us in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:9)  Grace is God’s extravagant goodness to undeserving sinners.  God’s relationship with us is not one of law and duty, but rather of love, grace and faith.  The gospel excludes human boasting, regardless of the human tendency to boast.  Any religious system that teaches salvation by works is an enemy of the gospel of grace.

The hymn-writer Isaac Watts understood the claim of God’s unending love when he wrote:

“Were the whole realm of Nature mine,
That were an offering far too small,
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”

FOR REFLECTION

• In this story Jesus describes God as Master and us as his slaves or servants.  It is fatally easy to think of God as an easy-going Father who allows his children to please themselves, rather than as a Master who demands the best from us.
• There is no place for ego-trips in God’s service.  Does this teaching conflict with the popular emphasis on building our self-image and our self-worth?
• In this parable the servant gives his master unquestioning obedience and first priority.  Is this what God requires of us?
• The Lord is the master and it is our duty to work for him.  Yet it is easy to develop judgmental and self-righteous attitudes to others who serve God differently.  Our responsibility is to do our part well and trust God to reward his faithful servants whoever they may be.
• Do you expect extra credit in return for your service to God?  Why not offer your service as a gift of gratitude to him, instead?
• In the parable of the waiting servants, the returning master prepares a meal for his servants (Luke 12:35-38).

PRAYER                  

Lord, keep me from self-complacency and the spirit of legalism in my Christian service.  In all my service, may I love You for who You are, and for what You have done for me.  Amen.