In Luke 17, Jesus teaches us a message that distinguishes between a master and his servant. It’s a message of humility and perspective that we need to understand if we are to be citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. But I wonder if we are truly getting the message Jesus intends us to get. Here is the teaching:
“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'?
Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'?
Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?
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.'“ (Luke 17:7-10 ESV).
The way that the master-servant relationship works is foreign to our society. The closest we have to that relationship is the employer-employee relationship. In our culture, we make a distinction between the roles and responsibilities of people and the value of people. We may have different responsibilities, but the CEO of a large company is considered equal in person to an unemployed, disabled person.
But Jesus is talking about the way we need to see ourselves in a master-servant relationship. This set of teachings illustrates the difference in value between the master and the servant. It is hard for us to internalize this teaching, and our initial reaction is to make it say something that it isn’t saying.
It is easier to understand this point when we realize the true master-servant relationship is the one between God and us. We yield to the truth that God is so much better than us in every way. When we remove other people from the equation, we can swallow Jesus's teachings much easier.
We are unprofitable servants. When we do all that we are supposed to do, we have nothing to boast about. We do not deserve thanks. We are simply unprofitable servants. Think about that. No matter how hard we work or how well we perform, we are just doing our expected duty.
That can be a tough pill to swallow for a society that prides itself on inherent value and equality, isn’t it? But let me propose a way to look at what Jesus says in a way we may have never done before. The truth is Jesus goes out of His way to show our value over and over. He shows how He was willing to debase Himself for our benefit because of the way He views each and every one of us. How? When we were still His enemies, He died for us. That’s not exactly like the master we see in Luke 17, who expects to be served and fed before the servant gets to eat his portion.
I believe Jesus is teaching something that should represent the mind of the Kingdom citizen. Luke 17 teaches us how we should see ourselves, which is different from the way Jesus sees us. When we think of ourselves as unprofitable servants, we can only do that with a spirit of humility. Unless we have this spirit of humility, we will not have the character of Kingdom living that transforms us into the image of Jesus.
In Revelation, we witness a scene between God and the twenty-four Elders. These were beings of tremendous honor and power. They had crowns on their heads, and their proximity to God showed their sanctification. Look at how John describes them:
“Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.” (Revelation 4:4 ESV).
The chapter goes on to describe awesome and powerful creatures who are praising and worshiping God. In the midst of this, these twenty-four Elders, who were clothed in white garments and sat on thrones, do something telling:
“the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Revelation 4:10-11 ESV).
Even these twenty-four elders, with all their trappings of power and glory, considered themselves unprofitable servants. They fell down from their thrones and cast their crowns before God, giving all glory and honor to Him. This is the mindset of Kingdom living. Jesus' teaching in Luke 17 illustrates His model prayer when He prays, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
It was God who gave these twenty-four Elders their radiant garments, crowns, and thrones. All blessings flow from our Creator, on Earth, and in heaven. Yet, even with all the honor God heaped upon them, they cast it all before Him. This was their reasonable service.
There is no place in the Kingdom of God on Earth or in Heaven where we cling to our crowns, parade in our garments, or take seats on our thrones while in the presence of God. Our mindset must be that of humility and deference to our Creator and God.
Here is the nuanced thing I want us to consider: It pleases God that we know we are unprofitable servants, but it doesn’t please Him that we are unprofitable servants.
There is something about the character of God that highly prizes the trait of humility.
“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,” (1 Peter 5:5b-6 ESV).
How many times did Jesus teach,
“So the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16 ESV)?
This is what we see from the unprofitable servant in Luke 17. This is what we see in the twenty-four Elders who encircle the throne of God in heaven. This is what we see Jesus doing as He emptied Himself of glory while despising the shame He endured for us. We are not greater than Jesus. If He clothed Himself in humility, then what excuse can we come up with to defend the vice grip we have around our pride?
And Jesus does give us tremendous glory and honor. In His grace, He showers it upon us. He treats us so well that if we are not careful, it can go to our heads and give pride a foothold in our hearts. Listen to what Jesus says about the honor He gives us:
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15 ESV).
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26 ESV).
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 ESV).
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ... For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8, 10 ESV).
“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” (Revelation 3:21 ESV).
“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8 ESV).
We can go on and on talking about the tremendous honor and glory Jesus showers upon us. He doesn’t treat us or even think of us as unprofitable servants. Indeed,
“He is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Hebrews 2:11b ESV).
The essence of kingdom living derives from a heart conditioned by humility. A humble heart tempers our speech, transforms our motives, seeks to serve, and kneels down so we can exalt our God at every opportunity.
And this pleases God. It pleases Him that we know we are unprofitable servants, doing what is our reasonable service without boast or expectation. All the while, it thrills Him to exalt us, making the last first and building a Kingdom of servants fit for the amazing life He is preparing for us when we leave behind this world for the world to come.
I am reading 1 Samuel in my daily Bible reading. God anointed David king, and immediately afterward, we read the story of David's battle with Goliath. That tells us something important about God.
God chose David as a champion for Israel. He would be the shepherd God's people needed. Yet when God moves to answer our prayers and cast His protection on us, it does not mean we won't have to face our enemies or fight our battles.
“Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 17:1-2 ESV).
The Philistines still came after Israel, and the Israelites still had to encamp against them. The people of God would still have to face the battle. But as fearful as they were, the battle was already won because God was with them.
When we pray for deliverance and help from God, it doesn't mean we won't have to face the dread we are praying about. But it does mean we won't have to face it alone. The battle belongs to the Lord.
I got a late start to the day, which meant my stress was starting to rise. I was on my way to drop Ryder off at school when I got behind a school bus. Every time the bus made a stop, I grumbled.
Then, at the four-way stop, I yelled at the person whom I accused of going out of turn. Truthfully, I was just rushed and upset that I had to wait another 8 seconds.
In the end, I was late, but my world did not come crashing down. On my way home, I came to the conclusion that I still have a way to go to get the carnal out of me.
I let myself get angry unjustly, think bad thoughts of other image-bearers of God, and ignore the spiritual way of Jesus' Kingdom. I'm thankful that a heart of repentance and the gift of grace work together to keep me in the palm of God's hand as He continues to transform me into the image of His dear Son.
It's a little after midnight, Sunday morning. My family is heading home from the church building where I had the amazing honor of baptizing my 17 year old son, Landon, into Christ.
My son is also now my brother, praise God.
I am in 2 Samuel in my daily Bible reading. David is elevated to King over all of Israel and is regarded as one of the greatest monarchs of all time to this day.
“And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went. So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people.” (2 Samuel 8:14b-15 ESV).
God was with David wherever he went. What a great thing to be said of you, right? Isn't this what we all seek? Perhaps not to be given a kingdom, but to simply know that God is with us wherever we go.
Yet, look at David's attitude in all of this. He never began to think more of himself than he should. David always knew it was God who gave him his power and riches.
“Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?
And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD!” (2 Samuel 7:18-19 ESV).
Even when David was given a kingdom, he knew it was God behind his success. It wasn't something God had to struggle to provide him; it was a small thing in the eyes of God to provide.
When we open a full panty, sleep in a warm house, choose from many pieces of clothing to wear, struggle over the choice of many things to eat, and plan exciting or relaxing vacations anywhere in the world we want to travel, it is a small thing to God to provide us these things and overflow our cups.
“Who are we, oh God, that You have brought us this far?” should be our humble acknowledgment before our Lord and King whenever we think about the bountiful blessings flowing from the Creator's hand to us.
The moment we forget where our blessings come from is the moment we begin to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. Before we hold too tightly to our riches, let's remember the words of Job,
“And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21 ESV).