The Little Parable of the Unworthy Servant
Should you receive special recognition and a reward for simply doing your job?
Should your boss hand out special thanks to you for doing what was required by your job-description?
Frankly, those seem to be rather misplaced questions to raise in a post designed as a ‘sermon preview.’ But actually, they have everything to do with an interesting episode in the life of Jesus that transpired as He made His way to Jerusalem where He would be crucified.
In Luke 17:7-10, our Lord addressed this very issue of receiving thanks and special credit for simple obedience to His commands.
As He continued to instruct the Disciples by way of a short little parable (and by logical extension, every believer in Christ), He taught that they should expect no such thanks from Him. And if you’re a little skeptical about this, let me encourage you to pause right now and read this passage from Luke’s Gospel for yourself.
We might even classify these inspired verses as some of the ‘hard sayings’ of Jesus, like several such sayings that we have already encountered in our study of Luke.
When we trace the parable to its ‘punch-line’ in verse 10, we read the direct application that Jesus made to the Twelve: 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.’
As you would suspect, there is much for us to learn in this little parable! There are lessons here about our identity as believers in Christ, our duty as His servants, and the attitude that should characterize our Christian obedience.