August 3, 2026
In the Gospel of Luke, we find a number of parables that begin with a question for which the answer is obvious. For example, Jesus asked, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4). Elsewhere, we read, “Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost?” (Luke 14:28).
Other parables start with questions to which everyone would answer in the negative. For example, “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?” (Luke 11:11).
The parable of the obedient servant starts out with not just one question, but three—two of which call for a negative answer and one which would receive a positive reply.
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).
In this parable Jesus speaks of a servant, which in some Bible translations is translated as a slave. The reason for this is that the Greek word doulos can be translated as either servant, bondservant, or slave. In the time of Jesus, slavery was common throughout the Roman Empire. It has been estimated that between twenty and thirty percent of the people throughout the empire were slaves. The fact that Jesus used an example of a servant or slave does not mean that He condoned slavery. He used a servant/slave in His parable to make His point, as it was so common in those days and was a concept people were certain to understand.
We perhaps get a glimpse of Jesus’ attitude about slavery in His call for His followers to forgive others their debts, which would have undermined the basis for debt slavery (Matthew 6:12). We’re also told in Scripture that Jesus, “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6–7). The word servant here is also doulos.
Slavery in the time of Jesus had no relation to race, as it did under colonialism starting in the 17th century. In the time of the Roman Empire, it was believed that the freedom of some was only possible because others were enslaved. The concepts of freedom being a right for all and of slavery being evil would have been very foreign. The majority of slaves in those days were from the losing side in battle, as well as their subsequent children.
Some people also sold themselves into slavery to escape poverty or to pay debts, while others did so to obtain particular jobs. Slaves could sometimes control property and own their own slaves. It was not uncommon for slaves to be set free or to purchase their freedom at some point. Some slaves were educated, and many functioned in sensitive and highly responsible positions. Some were trained and served as physicians, architects, craftspeople, shopkeepers, cooks, barbers, and artists. Some ran their masters’ businesses and were considered part of their master’s household.
In the culture of that time, many people derived a sense of meaning and personal honor, as well as economic and food security, through serving someone of a higher social and economic status and being attached to their household. While this wasn’t always the case, it was not uncommon. However, regardless of their circumstances, slaves in Jesus’ day were nonetheless slaves, and not free persons.1
The response to the opening question as to whether anyone who had a servant plowing or keeping sheep would invite them to come and recline at the table would have been that no one listening to Jesus would ever consider doing so. The traditional roles of master and servant were well defined in those days, and to allow such a thing would have implied that the servant had the status of an honored guest or was equal to the master. Starting His parable with this opener would have piqued the curiosity of those listening.
Jesus then goes on to pose His second question: “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?’” (Luke 17:8). While to us it sounds quite harsh that someone who has done a day’s labor in the fields would be expected to prepare a meal, serve the master, and only after fulfilling these tasks be allowed to eat, in the ancient world this was considered normal.
In the context of the time, no one listening to this parable would expect that a servant would be given special treatment for fulfilling his duties. The servant was simply doing what was expected of him as a servant. The master wasn’t indebted to the servant for keeping the sheep or plowing the field, and no one would expect that the servant would be given privileges for simply doing his job.
When those listening heard the third question, “Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?” (Luke 17:9), they would again respond with “Of course not.” The Greek word translated as “thank” is charis, which is usually translated in the New Testament as “grace.” However, in the Gospel of Luke it is also used to convey the meaning of credit or favor. So the question is: Does the master give credit or reward to the servant for doing what he was told to do?
Kenneth Bailey explains this as follows:
The master may well express appreciation to a servant at the end of a day’s work with a friendly word of thanks. The issue is much more serious than this. Is the master indebted to his servant when orders are carried out? This is the question that expects a resoundingly negative answer in the parable.2
At this point, Jesus addressed the listeners, who in the context of Luke’s Gospel are His disciples, saying: “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 17:10).
Here the phrase “unworthy servants”—or as it is rendered in other translations, “unprofitable servants” or “worthless servants”—can also be translated as “without need.” In other words, Jesus is stating that the servants or disciples who do what they are commanded to do are “without need,” meaning that they aren’t owed anything by their master.
The message, as applied to the disciples, was that those who serve God do not put God in their debt. God isn’t beholden to those who serve Him. God owes us nothing, while we owe Him everything, including our very lives. As Paul wrote: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t reward those who love and serve Him, but rather that our relationship with God is not one where we earn, deserve, or bargain for reward. A disciple is a servant who serves the Lord out of love, worship, and faithfulness to Him.
The apostle Paul called himself a doulos (servant/bond-servant/slave): “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1). (See also Titus 1:1.) This means that he saw his relationship to the Lord as one who labors out of love and commitment to fulfill his calling rather than for financial or other gain. He serves with a sense of total security, knowing that his master will take care of him.
Our salvation is a gift bestowed upon us by God; we don’t work for it or earn it. Our service to Him is done out of gratitude and love, as well as out of commitment and faithfulness to the one who has redeemed us. When we have done what He has commanded us, we understand that He doesn’t “owe” us anything. We shouldn’t be keeping a mental ledger of all the things we’ve done for the Lord, with the expectation that God is indebted to us for these.
This doesn’t mean that there is no reward for those who serve God, as Jesus spoke of rewards numerous times.
When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6:3–4, 6).
Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:34–36).
We are promised a reward, but our relationship with God is not a matter of deserving, bargaining for, or working to attain or earn it. As servants of the Lord, we work for Him out of love for Him and we fulfill our duty to Him out of gratitude. What we receive from God is a gift from His hand, not a payment for services rendered. We serve Him because He saved us and we are grateful. We serve Him because we love Him. And it’s because our service to Him is motivated by love and gratitude, not reward, that He rewards us.
Originally published October 2017. Adapted and republished August 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.
1 Points taken from J. A. Harrill, Slavery, in C. A. Evans & S. E. Porter, eds., Dictionary of New Testament Background. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 1124–1127.
2 Kenneth Bailey, Through Peasant Eyes (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1980), 120.
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