Parable of the Indentured Servant
by Pastor Jim Lincoln on August 5, 2007
In his book, The Greatest Generation Tom Brokaw argued that the idea of duty used to be seen as a precious piece of character. Things have changed. When Debby and I were at the university back in the 60's a group of counter culturalist from Berkeley advocated life without work. They said work was the invention of the bourgeois class to keep the masses down. They said the idea of duty was unnecessary and unnatural.
What is really strange is that somehow the aversion to duty took hold among evangelicals. To do something because you had a duty to came to be seen as inauthentic. I have a friend in ministry that, who says that if you do something because you know that you should, even though you don't want to do it at the time, is hypocritical.
The cultural revolution of the 60's felt the idea of duty should be repealed. Yet, by definition, a duty means that we have some obligations, regardless of our immediate feelings. Immediate feelings may be authentic. But they may be authentically wrong and bad. In Jesus' parable, He says that a servant ought to do his or her duty. So, we know that work isn't an invention of the bourgeois class. God invented work. We've just distorted it.
In reality, you can't grow in your faith without a sense of duty. This whole line of teaching in Luke 17 about obeying commandments and fulfilling your duty is Jesus' response to the disciples' request, "Increase our faith." (V.5)
Now, there is more to Christian duty than stoic and glad less moralism. The gospel always elevates duty as a response of a glad faith. We learned last Sunday that the goal of salvation is that God would be glorified by the obedience that comes from faith. So Christian duty is motivated by the faith we have in the Lord Jesus and the truth that although we are His servants with duties we are also His children who are loved, cherished, and cared for by our heavenly Father. Still, some think that duty is less than authentic Christianity. But let's always remember that Jesus gets to say what is or isn't genuine Christianity.
OK, with that let's look at this parable of the Farmer and his servant doing his duty and see what we can learn about Christian duty or being a servant. I want to say three things about what it means to be a Christian servant.
1. A Christian servant knows in his heart that God owes him nothing.
2. A Christian servant's obedience to the Lord is unconditional.
3. The Gospel redeems our duty and makes it a glad joy (when we are thinking straight, which is not always the case.)
OK, here's where I'm going. A servant of Christ knows:
First, A Christian servant knows in his heart and head that God owes him nothing. Let me jump down to Jesus' lesson in verse 10.
"So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" Luke 17:10 NAS
Some translations use the word "slave" others use the word, "servant." (?????) Those that try to make the parable relevant by translating it "employee" may miss the point entirely. The parable is a story about a farmer who owns a small farm and he has a servant. The servant goes out to work all day long doing his duty and when he comes in he has a few more chores yet to do.
A Strange Story:
Now, at first reading this is a strange parable, isn't it? On the surface this farmer seems really insensitive and rude. Notice what he doesn't say. The farmer doesn't say, "Hey, you look really tired. Pull up a chair and have a glass of ice tea." Put your feet up. Take the load off." Now, isn't that what you would have expected from Jesus? Instead, the farmer says, "Hey, first, you need to finish your chores by making dinner and then you can take the night off."
Now, notice the implication that the servant isn't at all put off or offended by the farmer's remarks or request. He's fine with all of this. This is what he expected. Jesus implies this when He says to say what any servant in his position would say,
"I'm an unworthy servant. I'm just doing my job. I have only done what I ought to have done. I don't deserve a bonus. I don't deserve a watch or a break. I don't deserve a profit sharing plan or a 401K. I was just doing my what? DUTY. A servant like this one says to his master, "You don't owe me anything."
Now, here's the question? How could a slave or a servant be expected to have an attitude like this? It seems really magnanimous doesn't it?
One of our difficulties is that when we read the word slave we immediately see it through the lens of American slavery. American slavery was not only based on racism, but the master also owned the slave's person and had complete power over the slave. Many American slave owners did inhuman things to their slaves. I recommend the short autobiography of Fredrick Douglas to gain a perspective of slavery from a man who was one. If I'm correct Jesus was talking about what used to be called and an indentured servant.
Indentured Servants: Debby's great uncle (Uncle Jim) was an indentured servant not too much unlike this one. In Jesus' day, an indentured servant was someone who had fallen into such serious debt that he could not repay it. Rome didn't have bankruptcy laws. Today, when a person goes bankrupt the government legally dissolves all the debts. Rome didn't think that was a good or even just idea. So, if you incurred a debt far greater than you could pay you only had two options. Either you could pay off the debt or you could go to jail (debtor's prison). Now, there was also a third remedy for the creditor... if he was inclined to show mercy. The creditor could let you become his indentured servant until you paid off or worked off your debt. That meant the creditor owned your labor, but not your person. He owned your labor until the debt was paid off.
So, it was a pretty good deal. It had risks. But it provided a remedy for both parties. The creditor got a kind of restitution through the labor of the servant and the debtor got to stay out of prison. Now, remember, the creditor didn't have to do this! According to Matthew 18, Jesus said to settle accounts quickly. Why?...so that your creditor doesn't throw you in prison. The creditor didn't have to take you into his home. He could have left you in prison and had every legal right to do so.
The reason the servant is in servitude is probably because he has a debt that he can't pay. And he is now enjoying a kind of grace, which is the opportunity to pay it back. And he knows that. He has no illusions that this creditor owes him anything. By law he could spend the rest of his life in prison. It was very hard to earn money to pay off your debts while you were in prison. In fact, this master may have even been extravagantly gracious and did the servant a favor by letting him work day and night. The sooner he pays off the debt ...the sooner he could go home and be with his family and work to help his family.
Look, when Jesus says that the farmer doesn't say, "Thank you." He's not teaching against common courtesy and gratitude. He is using the parable to illustrate one main point in the relationship. By saying that he doesn't thank the servant, he's identifying the fundamental relationship between the servant and the creditor (master). He's reminding us of who is in debt to whom. They are working out a contract where the debtor is being given the gracious opportunity to pay off his debt. Jesus is not saying,"Don't say please and thank you" when it's appropriate. He's teaching us that the situation between the servant and the master is the situation between God, and us, at least in one simple way. A Christian is someone who knows that he is in to debt God. Because we have been created by God and redeemed by God, we owe Him everything. He owes us nothing. So, He says,
"So, you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, you should say, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty."
Why? Well, not only did God create you, you're a contingent being, God holds the very molecules of your body together. Orbiting around the nucleus of every atom in your body are tiny little protons and electrons revolving with precision and repetitive endurance. As long as you live, they never stop orbiting that nucleus, 24/7, millions of them every moment of every day. Do you know how that happens? God makes that happen. The Bible says, "In Him all things hold together." Look, nobody really knows what gravity is. At one time Einstein called it the cosmological constant. You know what that sounds like to me? It sounds a whole lot like God to me.
Look, we owe God everything. Everyone owes God everything. Everyone is in debt to God. By virtue of being our Creator and the One who makes your heart beat and blood flow, we owe it to Him to make Him the first priority of our lives all the time. Beloved, this is only reasonable because we are in debt to Him for the air we breathe and everything else. Yet, all of us have made other things--lesser things--more important to us than God.
God is under no obligation to provide these good things for us. And yet we turn around and demand and even expect God to give us a "good" life. We expect a life without serious injustice or suffering. Yet, He owes us nothing. Still, we expect and even demand what we think is our 'fair' share of prosperity.
Add to this the way we repeatedly disobey His commandments shows that we have an enormous moral debt as well. That's why in the original language the Lord's Prayer reads, "Forgive us our debts." Our sins therefore are a kind of debt that we owe God. So, a Christian servant knows that God owes him nothing except to throw him into debtor's prison. That's our condition outside of God's enormous mercy and grace.
Application: Look, many are angry with God and depressed about the life He has given them. Many feel that God has failed to treat them as they think they deserve. However, there is an assumption in this thought/anger. If you remove the assumption, the anger fades and looses its grip. Here's the assumption. "God owes me an undisturbed career path, to prosperity, and great relationships, glorious children and excellent health and perhaps good looks. But let me ask you this. Where is the evidence that God owes any of us anything at all? If you take away that assumption and replace it with the mind-set that you are at best and by grace an indentured servant- the justification for the anger evaporates and in its place do you know what is born? GRATITUDE is born. That is why the servant can say what Jesus says he will say.
When Jesus says, "Say you are only an unworthy servant" He's not advocating low self-esteem. He's calling us to an accurate assessment of our relationship with God. All have sinned and become debtors to God, the creator and sustainer of all of life. So, a Christian servant is one who knows that God owes him nothing.
Second, A Christian servant understands his obedience should be unconditional. Again from v.10, "So, you also when you have done everything or all the things you were told to do, say, 'we are unworthy servants.'" we have only done our duty.
Often Jesus followed a parable with an episode that sealed the parable in the minds of the disciples. I think that is the case here. Immediately after Jesus told this parable ten lepers came up to Jesus and begged Him to heal them (1-19).
"As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice. 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us!'"
Notice what Jesus did, "When he was them, He said, "'Go show yourselves to the priests." Jesus didn't heal them right away. He did what? HE GAVE THEM A COMMANDMENT. He gave them a DUTY.
Now, remember that lepers not only suffered terribly from their physical condition, but because leprosy was incurable and thought to be highly contagious, they were by law, social outcasts. Legally, lepers couldn't come close to people. Luke says that they stood at a distance. They yelled at Jesus from a distance. By law they had to stay a prescribed distance outside of every town and every person. Try to imagine life without the physical touch a hug or a kiss from those you loved. They begged Jesus to do something for them."
What did Jesus do? He gave them a command and ordered them saying, "Go show yourselves to the priests."
Now the priests were the community health officials of the day. They declared someone a leper or clean. Notice that Jesus doesn't first heal them. He says, "Go and show yourselves to the priests."
What would you have thought about this if you were one of those lepers? You look at your body and it is covered with sores and deformities. If they go and present themselves to the priests for inspection they will be punished for breaking the law. They ask Jesus for mercy. Instead, He gives them a command that is certain to get them punished and in hot water with the priests. Obeying Jesus (from what they knew at the moment) was only going to make matters worse. Would you have obeyed that command and made the priests angry with you for wasting their time?
Somehow they are persuaded this is the right thing to do. They obey and go to the priests. Remember what Jesus said in the parable, "When you have done everything you were told to do."
You see an indentured servant obeys everything. Not just when the command that makes sense to him, but even when it is counter-intuitive to all his senses and native wisdom. If these lepers didn't obey they would have missed the healing. Their obedience was the evidence of their faith. This is the obedience as Paul said, that comes from faith. If you only obey when you understand why...if you only obey when you see that it is going to help you... If you only obey when it makes sense to you or when you can see the pay off, then you are not really obeying at all. You are merely agreeing or approving of God's commands.
If our obedience is conditioned on anything, it's not obedience. It becomes a deal. If you bring forth conditions you are not a servant. You are treating God as your consultant. You're saying, "advise me and I'll get back to you on that.'
What if the lepers said, "We're sorry, we're not going to obey until we feel that we can." Or "If you first clean us, then we will obey." Notice that the strength and the healing came in the midst of obedience. It came as they were obeying. Their healing came in a response to the walk of faith. Remember when Joshua and the people of Israel were told to cross the Jordon? The river didn't divide until the priest carrying the arc stepped into the water and not a moment before. Salvation and healing come as you obey on the basis of faith in what it is that God commands. God is the master, not your consultant. A servant obeys unconditionally. It's his duty.
OK, A Christian servant knows that God owes him nothing and that He owes God everything. A Christian servant knows that he is called to obey unconditionally and will find many blessings only as he is obedient.
Finally, this morning, Grace and the gospel redeem our duty and make it a joy.
OK, here's a question. As His indentured servant, how are you going to pay back the debt you owe God? Is the essence of serving God simply a matter of working off a debt? Hold those two questions for a moment. Notice this about the lepers...How many after they were healed came back to Jesus? One: a foreigner.
"When he saw that he had been healed he turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice and fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving thanks to Him He was a Samaritan."
I believe that this leper illustrates the point of the parable of the indentured slave. What could this leper have done to heal himself? How much money could he have raised to pay someone to heal him? What doctor or clinic could he have gone to be cured? What could he have done to regain legal status, respect, dignity, and hope, a loving touch from a wife or child or grandchild? Beloved, the answer is NOTHING! Today he would be a Palestinian leper in Israel.
So, what does this one leper do when he recognizes that he has been healed? He returns to Jesus, throws himself on the ground, praises God, and thanks Jesus. He's on the ground TAKING THE POSITION OF AN INDENTURED SERVANT. Why does he do this? Is it to pay off his debt? Of course not. What could he ever give that would be equal to the gift? Nothing. There was no amount of money that could buy a leper's healing. There was no length of service that could satisfy the debt.
Yet, he knows in his heart of hearts that he owes Jesus everything. It's the only right thing to do to indenture himself to Jesus. This is his duty. But, he doesn't do it only for the sake of duty...It is never less than duty...But there is nothing onerous and over burdensome about his servant hood. He comes gladly, joyfully, with loud singing and praise! He's eager to become Jesus' servant. With every fiber of his being he wants to be Jesus' indentured servant. It is a debt of love, gratitude and joy. He has been healed, cleansed and restored.
This is what it means to become a Christian...to be saved and born again. The healing of lepers captures it. When you become a Christian, you see that Jesus has healed the deformity of your heart and made it receptive to God. He paid the debt you owe (unworthy servants). He rescued you from the prison of hell and gave you eternal life, His Spirit, and His promises. He justified you before the one and only Holy God. He gave you a legal standing before God. He did for you what you could have never done for yourself in a thousand lifetimes. In a sense He became a leper for us, a legal, social outcast so that we could become the children of God.
Here, this leper worshipped at Jesus' feet. He had a visceral recognition of the Lordship of Jesus and a compulsion to serve Him. He didn't do this simply because he ought to although he was obligated and had a duty to do so. But in addition to that...he did it because no one ever loved him like that. For once pleasure and duty were joined.
We sang it earlier. "Oh, to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be. Let Thy goodness like a fetter; bind my wandering heart to Thee."
Grace binds us, grace constrains us. John Newton wrote our pleasure though opposite before, since we have seen His beauty are joined apart no more.
Our pleasure and our duty used to be opposite. I used to think that to obey God was going to cost me some real satisfaction and pleasure. But when you see his grace and beauty clearly, they are pleasure and duty becoming united, joined, and apart no more.
"To see the Law, by Christ fulfilled, and hear His pardoning voice, transforms a slave into a child and duty into choice. "
In Christ, we are servants, and even that by grace. And, we are by grace much more! We can throw ourselves down with grateful praise and say, "Command me what you wish-you have proven your love and worthiness. I'm only an unworthy servant."
Jesus calls us to repent and believe in Him. He calls us to be healed of the deformity in our hearts and to be forgiven. He will forgive the debt- beloved, the whole thing. Receive this gospel and be healed! Then return to Jesus and throw yourself down at His feet and commit yourself to a life of joyful duty. Amen.