Unworthy Servants
Read Luke 17:7-10.
It's a strange parable, no matter how many times you read it through and try to make sense of it. Or at least it's strange to us, who live in an "everyone's equal, don't look down on people" sort of world. We're told no one is unworthy, no one is less than, everyone's viewpoint is valid. Well, we are told that, but we don't always live like that. We do treat others as "less than" and we vilify any viewpoint that doesn't agree with "ours" via social media. It can get ugly out there.
Above all else (and maybe most of the reason we vilify others), what we don't want to have happen is for us to become "less than." Yet that seems to be exactly what Jesus is advocating here in this parable. He pictures a scene that in first-century Judea (and in 18th and 19th century America, for that matter) would have been common. A master comes in from his day and expects the servant to get his supper ready. The servant is not invited to sit at the table, nor is he allowed to eat until the master is done. And the servant should not expect a "thank you" from the master! The servant, Jesus says, is to simply do what is expected, knowing that he or she is an "unworthy servant" doing his or her duty.
This is about as far from egalitarianism as you will find. It is important to notice that Jesus is not affirming earthly relationships that look like this; he is simply describing such relationships. He's not saying, "This is the way it should be." He's telling them, "This is the way it is." And not only is it the way it was then, but it is the way it is with God. We are not equal to God. We cannot demand God do things our way nor can we reasonably expect God to wait around on our advice. When you're the creator of the universe, do you really need advice from the creation about how to run things?
And yet, this same Jesus later tells his disciples they are not servants, but friends. In the Upper Room, on the last night he spent with his disciples, Jesus tells them, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15). Jesus has taken us unworthy servants and made us friends. He still doesn't need advice from us on how to run the universe. But he wants us to work with him in accomplishing his purposes. We are unworthy servants, but we are welcome friends.
It's a strange parable, no matter how many times you read it through and try to make sense of it. Or at least it's strange to us, who live in an "everyone's equal, don't look down on people" sort of world. We're told no one is unworthy, no one is less than, everyone's viewpoint is valid. Well, we are told that, but we don't always live like that. We do treat others as "less than" and we vilify any viewpoint that doesn't agree with "ours" via social media. It can get ugly out there.
Above all else (and maybe most of the reason we vilify others), what we don't want to have happen is for us to become "less than." Yet that seems to be exactly what Jesus is advocating here in this parable. He pictures a scene that in first-century Judea (and in 18th and 19th century America, for that matter) would have been common. A master comes in from his day and expects the servant to get his supper ready. The servant is not invited to sit at the table, nor is he allowed to eat until the master is done. And the servant should not expect a "thank you" from the master! The servant, Jesus says, is to simply do what is expected, knowing that he or she is an "unworthy servant" doing his or her duty.
This is about as far from egalitarianism as you will find. It is important to notice that Jesus is not affirming earthly relationships that look like this; he is simply describing such relationships. He's not saying, "This is the way it should be." He's telling them, "This is the way it is." And not only is it the way it was then, but it is the way it is with God. We are not equal to God. We cannot demand God do things our way nor can we reasonably expect God to wait around on our advice. When you're the creator of the universe, do you really need advice from the creation about how to run things?
And yet, this same Jesus later tells his disciples they are not servants, but friends. In the Upper Room, on the last night he spent with his disciples, Jesus tells them, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15). Jesus has taken us unworthy servants and made us friends. He still doesn't need advice from us on how to run the universe. But he wants us to work with him in accomplishing his purposes. We are unworthy servants, but we are welcome friends.
That's why Paul can write these words to the Galatians: "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28). Thanks be to God that we unworthy servants are made friends with Christ!
I think this was the issue with the lady I was telling you about. She had God down to a human level saying that the one who allows evil is as guilty as the one doing evil. God is far from human and His ways are always righteous, even when we have a hard time understanding. He does work it for good for the saving of many.
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