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 [G5485, charis -grace, kindness]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.’”
At first glance, it is diffifult to understand what this passage has to do with grace. The following link does an excellent job explaining: http://www.jesuswalk.com/lessons/17_7-10.htm
- 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. The master wasn't there to serve the slave, but the slave to serve the master.
- Of course, says Jesus. The master doesn't "owe" the servant a reward for his hard work."Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?" (17:9)
- He understands that he is doing his duty. That's all. He doesn't deserve a reward for doing it, but he knows he'll be punished for neglecting or shirking his duty.
- While we might expect a "thank you," in Greek the word charis implies more. Here the phrase, literally "have gratitude" is used in the sense of "to be grateful," the idea of a debt of gratitude that must be offered to even the score, placing the master somehow in debt to the slave.
"Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 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.' " (17:9-10) - But do we gain some special hammer-lock on God if we obey his commands and do what he says? Doesn't our piety earn us some special treatment? To be true disciples we must dispense with an attitude of "entitlement" and instead see ourselves as "unworthy slaves." The adjective is Greek achreios, "pertaining to being unworthy of any praise, 'unworthy.' "
Jesus probably directed this parable at the Pharisees who felt as if God owed them rewards for their acts of piety. - The New Testament is quite clear about the difference between merit and grace. Perhaps the classic statement of this is by Paul the Apostle:
"Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." (Romans 4:4-5)
- We are not to allow ourselves to be soft and pampered, so as to excuse ourselves from hard labor and hard hours in serving the Lord. Don't kid yourself; he expects that of you and me!
- We are not to presume upon God and expect his thanks. Instead we are to serve him dutifully without any expectation of reward.
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:13-15)