WE HAVE ONLY DONE OUR DUTY

Passage: Luke 17:1-10

Key verse: 10

NIV

Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble(A) are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.(B) 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones(C) to stumble.(D) 3 So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister[a] sins against you, rebuke them;(E) and if they repent, forgive them.(F) 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”(G)

5 The apostles(H) said to the Lord,(I) “Increase our faith!”

6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,(J) you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.(K)

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(L) while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank 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.’”(M)

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Footnotes
  1. Luke 17:3 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Temptations to Sin

17 And he said to his disciples, (A)“Temptations to sin[a] are (B)sure to come, but (C)woe to the one through whom they come! 2 (D)It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.[b] 3 Pay attention to yourselves! (E)If your brother sins, (F)rebuke him, and if he repents, (G)forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you (H)seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Increase Our Faith

5 (I)The apostles said to the Lord, (J)“Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, (K)“If you had faith like (L)a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this (M)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Unworthy Servants

7 “Will any one of you who has a servant[c] plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and (N)dress properly,[d] and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are (O)unworthy servants;[e] we have only done what was our duty.’”

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Footnotes
  1. Luke 17:1 Greek Stumbling blocks
  2. Luke 17:2 Greek stumble
  3. Luke 17:7 Or bondservant; also verse 9
  4. Luke 17:8 Greek gird yourself
  5. Luke 17:10 Or bondservants
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Watch yourselves (1-6) Jesus teaches us that we are responsible for our influence on others. Furthermore, a Christian cannot be indifferent to the spiritual needs of others. He must care enough to rebuke his brother when he sins. And he must love his brother enough to forgive him--without limit. The apostles knew that it was a matter of faith. Jesus told them that they didn't need much faith--only a little! 2. The hard working servant (7-9) When a person does his duty, he has a sense of accomplishment and inner peace. He doesn't expect any reward or praise for doing his duty. A man who works hard all day doesn't expect his boss to cook dinner for him.He doesn't even expect to be thanked. We are servants of Christ Jesus. He bought us with his blood, redeemed us from the power of sin and death, and we belong to him. Whatever we do for him, however small, is done in response to his grace. Serving Jesus is our duty and our highest joy. When we have done everything we were told to do, we can only say, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty."

Prayer: Lord, I belong to you, saved by your grace of forgiveness. I am an unworthy servant; please use me in your work in any way you choose.

One Word: Rejoice to do our duty