Understanding Luke 17:10 – “We Are Unworthy Servants”

Main Text: Luke 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.’”

🔍 1. The Background: A Question About Faith

At the beginning of Luke 17, Jesus was teaching His disciples about forgiveness. After hearing how often they should forgive others, the disciples responded by saying:

Luke 17:5: “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’”

They felt that living this kind of forgiving life required more faith. In their minds, bigger results required bigger faith.

But Jesus gave them a surprising response:

Luke 17:6: “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.”

✨ This shows that faith is not about size but substance. Even a small, living faith is powerful when it trusts fully in God. Faith doesn’t grow by asking for more — it grows through obedience and humble service.

👣 2. Jesus’ Parable of the Servant (Luke 17:7–9)

Jesus immediately followed His teaching on faith with a parable:

Luke 17:7–9:
“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’?
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’?
Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?”

This parable points to how servants relate to their masters: They don’t expect to be thanked for simply doing their job. They serve as an obligation — not for praise or personal benefit.

🔑 3. The Main Message – “We Are Unworthy Servants” (v.10)

Luke 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.’”

Jesus is teaching a key principle:
True disciples serve God without entitlement.

📖 Biblical Theology Applied:

A. Grace vs. Works

We don’t serve God to earn favor or blessings. All that we receive from Him — including salvation and faith — is by grace, not merit.

Ephesians 2:8–9:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Jesus reminds us in Luke 17:10 that even if we obey perfectly, we haven’t earned anything. We’ve only done our duty. This destroys spiritual pride.

B. Servanthood in the Kingdom of God

Jesus calls His followers not to seek position or recognition but to serve with humility, just as He did.

Mark 10:45:
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Kingdom greatness is measured not by status, but by sacrificial service.

🧠 Why This Matters Today

Many believers grow weary in serving God — especially when it seems like there’s no reward or recognition. Some stop serving when life doesn’t improve or when blessings seem delayed.

But Jesus is calling us to mature faith — faith that continues to serve God even without seeing immediate results.

Even if you preach for 20 years and see no outward success, or give sacrificially and still struggle financially — don’t give up. Don’t demand answers. Serve God faithfully, knowing that He sees, He remembers, and His timing is perfect.

Hebrews 6:10:
“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

🙏 The Call: Become a Humble Servant

Let us take Jesus’ words to heart and say:
“Lord, I’m not serving You for reward. I serve because You are worthy.”

Whether He blesses us now or later, our identity is not in what we receive — but in whom we belong to.

Romans 14:8:
“If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

✅ Conclusion:

Don’t seek faith by asking for more — activate the little faith you already have.
Don’t serve expecting payment — serve because it is your privilege to serve the King.
True faith is active in humble obedience.
The path to spiritual power is through humble, selfless servanthood.

Understanding Luke 17:10 – “We Are Unworthy Servants”