Message

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THE ATTITUDE OF AN UNWORTHY SERVANT

Luke 17:1-10

Key Verse:17:10 “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.”

  In today’s passage Jesus teaches us what kind of attitude his disciple should have as spiritual leaders. His teaching is not only for the spiritual leaders, but also for all Christians who received the grace of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

First, Jesus’ disciples must overcome temptations (1-3a). Look at verse 1. “Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.” Here the words, “things that cause people to sin” is the familiar skandala, literally meaning ‘trap’, the bait-stick of a trap which triggers off trouble.  People use a trap to lead others to stumble. Whoever causes others to fall into sin is accountable.  How do people cause others to sin? The most direct way is when they spread their own sinfulness.  For example, evil people spread their sinfulness through the Internet. They make child pornography and spread it through the Internet to make money.

 However, causing others to sin is often more subtle. Bad influence and godless social consensus cause others to sin. Leaders are influential whether they are at home, at school, at church, in the nation, and their influences affect in positive or negative ways, often very critical. For example, three decades ago, two popular TV evangelists’ scandal led numerous believes astray from their faith and they left their churches confused and angry. Such things are happening these days, too. Some people say that the same sex marriage is genetic or a preference of their lifestyle. Same-sex couples adopt children and send them to public school so that many children are confused about moral and family values.  

What will happen to those who cause others to sin? Look at verse 2. . “It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” In this verse ‘one of these little ones’ refers to children or young believers who are vulnerable to temptations (Mt 18:6, Mk 9:42). Those who cause one of God’s precious children to sin will be severely condemned. Here a millstone is not a small rock, but a huge stone which is turned by a donkey to grind grain in ancient times. When it is tied up around a neck and thrown into the sea, that’s it. Sinning is not a joke but a serious matter, and its punishment is fatal. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. (Ro 6:23a)

The words “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come” imply the inevitability of temptations to sin. These words are translated in another version; “There will always be temptations to sin…” (NLV). As long as we live in this sinful world, we cannot be free from temptations. Then how can we overcome temptations and avoid things that cause others to sin? Jesus gives us an answer. Look at verse 3. “So watch yourselves.” Here watch yourselves means ‘watch and pray’. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus taught his disciples how to prevent themselves from being tempted. He said in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Jesus asked his disciples to watch and pray. First, we must watch in order not to fall. The Bible says, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall. (1Co 10:12)  Then we should pray. Prayer is a very powerful and potent weapon for believers. Prayer is complete dependence on God. Satan is very deceptive and powerful and we cannot resist him with our own will and power. We need God’s help through the power of the Holy Spirit. Even our Lord Jesus fasted for forty days and nights before he was tempted by Satan. (Mt 4:1,2) We must admit that we are weak and vulnerable to temptations and that we must depend on God through prayer. Jesus taught us in his prayer, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Mt 6:13)

  In order to overcome temptations, we should have fear of God. Joseph in the Old Testament was a Hebrew slave, but was chosen to be a steward of the household of Potiphar, the Egyptian army commander. Since Joseph was handsome and well built, he was noticed by Potiphar’s wife who tried to seduce him day and night to sleep with her. However, Joseph overcame her ‘fatal attraction’ because he had the fear of God. He said to the woman. “My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Despite her persistent seduction, Joseph refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. (Ge 39:9,10) We should have the fear of God. Sexual immorality is not only sinning against people, but against our Holy God who officiates our marriages.

  In order to overcome temptations, Jesus’ disciples must hold the words of God in their hearts. Psalm 119:9-11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. (Eph 6:17) When we are tempted, we pull out the word from our hearts and defeat our enemy Satan. The word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword… (Heb 4:12) Daily memorizing key Bible verses is a very effective strategy for defeating Satan’s temptations and rendering glory to God. Amen.

Second, disciples must learn how to forgive. (3b-6)  Look at verse 3b-4. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” Jesus teaches his disciples how to deal with those who sin against them. “Rebuke and forgive.” Rebuking is not condemning. Rebuking is correcting with love expecting reconciliation and salvation. Jesus said, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.” (Rev 3:19)When those who sinned against us repent through our rebuke, we must forgive them. Forgiving seven times a day does not mean punishing them when they sin the eighth time, but means forgiving them without limit. In the Bible, the number ‘seven’ is a perfect number of completeness. By forgiving others we are perfect as the Lord is perfect.

Still, it is not easy for us to forgive others, especially those who sin against us intentionally and repeatedly. Timothy Kelly said in his book, “The Reason for God”, that real forgiveness is costly suffering. He meant that forgiveness means bearing the cost for others’ misdeeds yourself.  He writes, “You are absorbing the debt, taking the cost of it completely on yourself instead of taking it out of the other person. It hurts terribly. Many people would say it feels like a kind of death.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his book “The Cost of Discipleship” that true forgiveness is bearing other’s sins. He writes, “And the only way to bear that sin is by forgiving it in the power of the cross of Christ in which I now share…Forgiveness is the Christlike suffering which it is the Christians’ duty to bear…”  The word “forgiveness” is one of the most beautiful words which we can find in the Bible, but only when it is practiced. C. S. Lewis said, “We all agree that forgiveness is a beautiful idea until we have to practice it”.

  For the last two weeks, I have experienced how difficult it is to forgive the one who hurt my foot. Even thought I decided to forgive him, whenever my foot began to ache, I changed my mind. How can we forgive our brothers and sisters when they damage our body, property, relationships, reputation and so on? How can we not only forget but also forgive them from our hearts? It is possible when we look at Jesus on the cross and fix our eyes on him. Jesus was the sinless Son of God. He was a good shepherd for God’s flock of sheep. He healed the sick and preached the good news of the kingdom of God. However, he was falsely accused by the religious leaders and crucified on the cross by the Roman soldiers. Jesus had enough reasons to depend on himself and to execute justice by punishing his enemies. However, he did not do so. Instead, he prayed for those who persecuted him and were killing him, saying, “Father, forgive them. For they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34). In the movie “Ben Hur”, Judah Ben Hur could not forgive his enemy Messala, who had destroyed his family and caused his mother and sister to become lepers. Even though Judah got revenge on Messala in a deadly chariot race, hatred and anger remained in his heart. But, when Judah heard Jesus’ prayer on the cross for the forgiveness of his executors, he put down the sword of hatred and anger.

When I remembered the perpetrator who attacked me, I prayed that God might deal with him. However, Jesus didn’t pray like this. He prayed for their sins to be forgiven and for God to have mercy upon them. Jesus did not condemn them, but he was condemned in their place. He received punishment on the cross in their places. He died for their sins, our sins, and for the sins of the world. We call this Jesus’ ‘substitutional’ death. 

  Those who remember the grace of God forgive others.  Jesus told a parable: “There was a servant who owed million dollars to his king. When the servant knew that he couldn’t pay back the debt right away, he begged the king to be patient until he paid it all. The king had pity on the servant and cancelled all his debts. On the way back home the servant met his friend who owed him only a few dollars. The servant choked his friend and threw him in jail. The servant forgot the king’s mercy on him and was not merciful to his friend who owed him only a few dollars. When the king heard this, he became furious and ordered the arrest of the unmerciful servant and put him in jail. Jesus said, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (Lk 18:23-35) We are greatly in debt to God. The penalty of our sins remains as an unpayable debt. But God cancelled all our debts when he forgave us. As God has forgiven us, we must forgive others from our heart.

  What was the disciples’ response to Jesus’ teaching? Look at verse 5. “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The disciples thought that it was impossible for them to forgive their enemies unlimitedly. To them, forgiving even one time was difficult. Their faith capacity was not enough to practice what Jesus said. So, with half frustration and with half eagerness, they shouted, ‘Increase our faith!” How did Jesus answer?  Look at verse 6. “He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds. A mulberry tree grows as tall as thirty- six feet high and lives for more than 600 years. So, its root spreads wide and holds the dirt firm. However, when we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can root out the tall and strong mulberry tree as easily as a sprouting weed. Let us pray that God may increase our faith until we obey Jesus’ word. Thank God for helping me to forgive the person who attacked me through this passage. Amen.

Third, we are unworthy servants. (7-10)  Humility is one of the most essential characteristics which Jesus’ disciples should have. Look at verses 7-10. “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink? 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.” These verses explain the relationship between a master and a servant in Jesus’ day. A servant had to work hard all day long in the field. After coming back home, he had to serve his master by serving food and cleaning the room. After his mater finished eating, then the servant could eat and rest. Even though he worked hard all day long, he could not expect to be thanked by his master because he did what he had to do.

We are the servants of God. As the servants of God we need this attitude of an unworthy servant. Some church members work full time at a hospital and study as full time students. After coming back home from work and school, they have to deal with more responsibilities at home. But I hear none of them complaining or despairing because of their hard work. This is because they have the attitude of the unworthy servant in today’s passage.

  How can we have such an attitude when we are not machines made of steel? This is possible when we remember the grace of God. When we remember how God has served each of us through his son Jesus Christ, we can serve God and his sheep with gratitude.  The Apostle Paul suffered much for Christ’s name sake. He confessed that he had worked hard through the grace of God. He said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Co 15:10) Jesus came to this world as a servant. He served God’s flock of sheep day and night. He had no time to eat regularly and no place to lay his head. Finally he gave his life as a ransom for many. (Mk 10:45) But, God raised him from the dead and made him our Lord and Savior. When we finish the life on this earth and enter into the kingdom of God, Jesus will welcome us and serve us. (Lk 12:37) He will wipe every tear from our eyes and will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! ...Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Rev 21:4, Mt 25:21)

  In conclusion, as disciples of Jesus we must not cause others to sin. Watch and pray so that we may not fall into temptation. Forgive others as God has forgiven us! Remember God’s grace and be thankful in all circumstances because we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Co 15:58) Amen.

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