7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he 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 Will 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.’” Luke 17:7 – 10
Picture yourself as a landowner who employees slaves, and Jesus said to you; You send one of your slaves into the field to plow or into a hillside to tend sheep. What would you do when the slave returned from doing his work for the day? Would you rush to him and invite him to sit down and eat a wonderful meal you had provided? Of course not! You would sit at the table and wait for the slave to go to the kitchen, prepare the meal, and bring your food. Only when this part of his daily work was done could the slave expect to eat something himself. Or would you rush out to the slave coming from the field and say, “Oh, thank you for working in the field today. That is so wonderful of you.” You would never even think about acting in such a manner.
Many Bibles translate the Greek doulos as “servant,” but the word used in this passage describes a slave, probably the only slave of a small farmer, a slave who not only works in the field, but also performs household chores. To Jews in the First Century Roman empire, slavery was a fact of life. The average person didn’t own slaves, but many villages would have one or more wealthy people who owned slaves. In those days, slaves did not just have servile duties. Some might be tutors, physicians, companions, household managers, sales agents, and administrators. But the slave Jesus describes in this brief parable, probably the only slave in this household, got mostly hard labor—plowing, looking after livestock, as well as cooking and household chores. His was a pretty hard existence.
In Roman culture, servants existed to serve their masters faithfully. Faith entails the obedient submission to his commands. The point of this week’s parable is that a servant should expect no special reward for doing what was his duty in the first place. The demanding standards Christ set may have seemed too high to the disciples, but they represented only the minimal duties for a servant of Christ. Those who obey are not to think their obedience is deserving of praise.
One may wonder if it was fair for the master to expect his servant to prepare his meal after working in the field all day, the point here is that, fair or not, the slave was expected to work in the fields and fix the food. That was his duty. I have a contractor friend who on occasion demands that his crews work into the wee hours of the morning to get an office ready for a client. That’s part of the job; it comes with the territory. And though my friend’s workers don’t especially like it, they do it because it is required. People in our culture work two or three jobs because they have to. Is it fair? No. But it’s required by the responsibilities they have.
Should the master be expected to thank his servant for doing what he was told (or ordered or commanded) to do, for doing his duty? Should we expect thanks from God for obeying him and doing what he tells us to do? Doesn’t our piety (being devout or reverent) earn us some special treatment?
No. Do not load this poor servant down with your 20th century baggage. That isn’t the way he thinks in the 1st century. He understands that he is doing his duty. That is all. He does not deserve a reward for doing it, but he knows he will be punished for neglecting his duty. To be true disciples we must dispense with the attitude of “entitlement’ and instead see ourselves as “unworthy slave.”
In verse 10 Jesus makes this point clear to his disciples. You have gone out on mission for me, he told them. You have preached and healed and exorcised. You follow me each day, surrendering normal home life. You have done much but remember that what you have done is simply what God expects of you. God is actually the one at work, doing what you prayed for. So, having done all you know to do, simply sit down and say to God, We are worthless slaves. All we have done is the task assigned to us to do. Faith is accepting the role of an obedient servant without expecting great gratitude and reward. Faith trusts Jesus and so follow Jesus.