Luke 17:7

But who is there of you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say unto him, when he is come in from the field, Come straightway and sit down to meat; and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, until I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank the servant because he did the things that were commanded? Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.

This remarkable parable is clearly a lesson designed to teach humility, obedience, and a sense of lacking any merit in the sight of God. The apparent connection in context is this: the apostles contemplating the marvelous spiritual attainments indicated by Jesus' promise that they had the faith to move trees into the sea would naturally be tempted to pride and vainglory by such envisioned achievements. This parable was to show that no man can merit salvation.

This parable is hailed by Trench as one of "great difficulty";[11] especially because it presents the relationship of Jesus and his followers in a much sterner aspect than in most of his teachings. Did the Lord not say, "I have called you friends," and that "no longer do I call you servants"? (John 15:15). While this is true, Paul did not hesitate to call himself the "bondservant" of Jesus (Romans 1:1); and this sterner aspect of the Christian's relationship to the Lord needed stress then, and it needs it now. For example, the glaring misuse of this parable surfaces in a comment like this: "Men who only carry out God's commands have no claim on any reward!"[12] Jesus said, "If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17); and there is absolutely nothing in this parable to indicate that the obedient servant was denied his true reward. As a matter of fact, there was never a servant on earth who did "all that was commanded," as did this one; and therefore he should be called the "hypothetical servant," for that is exactly what he is, as indicated by the supposition (for the sake of the hypothesis) that the twelve apostles would have been bondservants (Luke 17:7)! It is the failure to discern this key fact that has confused the exegetes.

Some have tried to get around the difficulty Trench mentioned by supposing that this is a parable of the religious establishment, so clearly discernible in practically all of the parables in this section. Both Grotius and Venema were cited by Trench as alleging the parable as a representation of the scribes, Pharisees, etc.;[13] but that is absolutely impossible. To view them as having "done all that was commanded, contradicts everything Jesus said about that class of leaders. But is it not true also that no Christian who ever lived did "all that was commanded"? Indeed it is. The message of this hypothetical servant is, therefore, that even if any person whosoever, Jew or Gentile, should actually do "all that was commanded" (repeated twice in the parable), he would not by such obedience place Almighty God in a position of being debtor to him. Salvation is by grace. No man ever did, or ever could, merit God's redeeming love; but, make no mistake about it, this is no promise that God will overlook the principle of obedience in them that hope to be saved. If one performing all that God commanded, if such a thing were possible, is saved by grace, as appears here, how utterly beyond redemption is that man who fancies that there is no requirement for him to obey? Ash summarized the teaching here thus:

Man can never repay God's natural blessings, much less those bestowed by grace. The claim of love can never be fully discharged. Man cannot earn heaven.[14]

Russell, in his summary, expressed it thus: "This rebukes the self-satisfied Christian who thinks that in obeying God he has done something especially meritorious."[15]

THE HEALING OF THE TEN LEPERS

Interpreter's Bible denies this miracle as having happened, stating that "It is probably a variant of Luke 5:12f ... (Luke) has increased the numbers of lepers from one to ten!"[16] There is no way to justify such a comment; and there is no way to justify churches in purchasing such comments and making them available as "authentic Christian literature" in their libraries.

[11] Richard C. Trench, Notes on the Parables of Our Lord (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953), p. 476.

[12] S. MacLean Gilmour, The Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1952), Vol. VII, Luke, p. 297.

[13] Richard C. Trench, op. cit., p. 478.

[14] Anthony Lee Ash, The Gospel according to Luke (Austin: Sweet Publishing Company, 1972), p. 78.

[15] William J. Russell, op. cit., p. 182.

[16] S. MacLean Gilmour, op. cit., p. 297.