#144 Lu. 17:7-10 SERVANTS TO THE MASTER Introduction: This lesson is about disciples of the Lord learning to be faithful servants to the Lord. I. The background for our text Back in Luke 9:51 we learned that Jesus started on His journey toward Jerusalem for His crucifixion. In Luke 13:22 it was said that as He went toward Jerusalem, He went through various cities and villages teaching. He apparently was teaching both the saved and the unsaved. He was teaching the unsaved their need of salvation and how to be saved. He stressed that except they repent they would perish. He told them about the rich man who died and went to hell and about Lazarus who went to heaven. Yet He was also trying to teach His disciples and so as to prepare them for what lay ahead for them. In His over-all ministry He tried to teach them all they would need to know in order to become good disciples. But at this point, He is chiefly trying to prepare them for His trial and crucifixion. This would be a tremendous ordeal for them. But actually, He was looking beyond His crucifixion. He was trying also to prepare them for the time when He would no longer be with them to lead and guide them. He was trying to teach His disciples how to carry on the work of God after He was gone. In Luke chapter sixteen He taught His disciples not to make money their chief objective in life. He said, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." In out text last Sunday He tried to prepare them for the persecution that would come upon them and how to get along with one another after He was gone. They were to learn to talk out their problems and learn to forgive. In our text today, Jesus is still trying to prepare those disciples for the things that lay ahead after He is gone. Somehow they still have the wrong impression about what is going to take place at Jerusalem. They had always been taught that when the Christ would come, He would drive out the Gentile powers and set up His throne in Jerusalem and rule the nation of Israel in great power and great glory. In spite of the fact that Jesus told them that He was going to Jerusalem to be crucified, they still expected that somehow He was still going to set up an earthly kingdom and rule from Jerusalem. They were expecting to become high governmental officers in His kingdom. That is one of the things they had argued about among themselves. Some made no bones that they wanted the top positions under Christ in the new kingdom and the other disciples got hopping mad about it. That is one reason He taught the lesson on forgiveness. In this text today, Jesus is trying to get across to them, that when they get to Jerusalem they are not going to occupy any exalted positions in an earthly kingdom. Rather each of them would occupy the lowly position of a servant. They were not going to be princes on thrones, but servants to the Master. II. A look at the text With this in mind, let us look at out text. Let us not only seek to see what Jesus was trying to get across to them, but let us also see what He is trying to get across to us today. Keep in mind that they were expecting that when they got to Jerusalem, Jesus would establish Himself as king and appoint them as officers in His kingdom. That, of course, was not going to happen. V. 7, "But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?" Now get it fixed in you mind what they were expecting. They were expecting that the hard part was just about over and the gravy train was about to start. They had followed the Lord faithfully for three years. They had devoted themselves to Him daily. Except for a few short trips when He had sent them out two by two, many of them had traveled right with Jesus daily. Where He was they were. It had been a grueling three years with very little time for rest and relaxation. But the worst was over now---or so they thought. It was now time to sit back and relax---or so they thought. It was time to be exalted to high positions---or so they thought. But the problem was: They thought wrong. Jesus asked them, "Which of you who has a slave who works hard all day long for you in your field or pasture will say to that servant when he comes in from the field, Come now and sit down and let me feed you your evening meal?" Now get the picture. The picture is that of a slave-master saying to his slave after a hard day's work, "Just sit right down and relax. In fact, just come right on over to the table. I know you have worked hard all day and so I have prepared a fine meal for you. You will feel better after you get something under your belt and have a little time to relax." Now which of you would do that? The answer is: Not one of them would do that. Here is what they would do. V. 8, "And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?" Each of them would say, "Hey, fellow, get up from there! Do you think you are going to sit and rest while I serve you? You've got this thing all wrong. I am the master and you are the slave. You have forgotten who gives the orders around here. Get up from there and fix my supper and serve me my meal. Then when I am through with my meal, you can eat." Now without exception, that is what they would all do. Jesus pursues the question still further: V. 9, "Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not." The question is: Does the master say to his slave, "I sure do appreciate you for going out to my field and working hard all day for me"? No! He doesn't say that. And after that slave who has worked hard in the field all day and he fixes the evening meal for his master and serves the meal and cleans up the dishes, does the master say, "Slave, I want you to know that I sure do appreciate you for cooking my meal and letting me eat first." No! He doesn't say that! You've never heard of such a thing. III. Putting the text in a modern setting Let's put this in a modern setting. We don't have slaves around these days, do we? It is hard for us to understand the relationship of a slave to his master. So let us think in terms of an employee and his employer. Can you imagine your employer saying to you, "Say, I surely do appreciate you for coming to work for me today"? Can you imagine that? Can you imagine him at the close of the day saying, "You must be tired, come on out to my car and I will drive you home"? "You must be hungry, too. So I will fix you a good meal when you get home and bring you the evening paper and turn the TV on to your favorite show. I just want you to know how much you are appreciated around here. And by the way, you will find an extra big bonus in your paycheck this week. I just appreciate you so much. I'm going to find a way some how to cut down on your work load. I'll try to arrange it so that you can spend most of the year on vacation." Can you imagine your boss saying something like that? No! Not at all! Not in your wildest dreams. I'll tell you what he is more apt to say. He is more apt to say, "When you finish with what you're doing I've got something else for you to do. And when you finish that, there is plenty of work to keep you busy. Not one time does he say, "Hey, I surely do appreciate all you are doing around here." After that slave in our text gets through with all the work that the master has for him to do, then he can sit down and eat. And after you put in a hard week's work, you will get your paycheck. That will be all the thanks you will get --- and it's all you expect. Your paycheck will be thanks enough. You are just glad to have a job. IV. The application of the lesson to the disciples In verse 10 Jesus makes the application to His disciples. V. 10, "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." Our Lord still had work for those disciples to do. Their work would not be over when they reach Jerusalem. It would just be getting started. Jesus would soon say to them, "I've got more work for you to do. I want you to start at Jerusalem and be witnesses for me throughout Judea, throughout all Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the world. I want you to preach the gospel message to every creature so that everybody will know how to be saved. I want you to baptize those who get saved. I want you to teach and train those who are saved and baptized. I want you to establish churches throughout the world. I have a lot of work for you to do. Oh yes, when you have done all that I have commanded you to do, don't go around bragging about how great a servant you are and don't expect anybody else to brag on you for doing that which is your duty to do." Now the time would come for those disciples to rest and the time would come for Him to reward them. But that time would not come when they reach Jerusalem. There would still be a lot more work to be done. So it is with Christians today. We need not think that when we got saved that we were saved to sit down and do nothing. We need not think that we can now sit back and relax and enjoy all the good things that God has in store for us and we will be expected to do nothing. So we make a profession of faith in Christ as Savior and follow Jesus in Scriptural baptism and get our names on the church roll. We may think, "Now I can just sit back and relax and see what God can do for me. If I need this or that I will pray and ask the Lord to give it to me and I will say, "Thank you, Lord. It surely is nice to just sit back and relax." We may say, "I came to church and showed my respect to the Lord. That surely is all that He requires of me. I even gave a sizable offering. Surely that is all the Lord is going to ask of me." Not so. We were not saved by our works, but we were saved to work. We were saved to work for the Lord. When we got saved, we became His servants to work for Him. In our text that slave was working for his master. He was working for the man who had bought and paid for him. He was working for a man who had complete authority over him. So it is with us. Only we are not working for One who bought us with money. We are working for One who bought and paid for us with His own blood. He did not give money for us. He gave His life for us on Calvary's cross. He died for us that we might be saved. If He had not bought us and saved us we would spend eternity in the fires of hell. We owe Him our all. We own Him our undying gratitude. The Lord does not owe us His thanks for serving Him. Rather we owe Him our thanks for saving us by His grace and keeping our unworthy souls out of the fires of hell. When we have given Him our best, (if we ever do) we can say, "I simply did what was my duty." The time will come when God's people can take their rest. And when that time comes, the rewards for our labor will be fabulous indeed. But until that time, let be faithful to the task of doing the work that the Lord has saved us to do and called us to do. Conclusion: Listen, are you saved? If you have not been saved then you are headed straight for the fires of hell. You don't have to go to hell, but you will go there unless you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ to save your soul. But if you will call on Jesus today and trust in Him to keep you out of hell, He will save your soul and take you to heaven. Won't you come and call upon Jesus Christ and ask Him to save your soul? If you are saved, won't you come and render your faithful service to Jesus Christ? Do you attend church and Sunday School every Sunday? Do you witness for Him to the unsaved? Do you support the local church and the cause of missions throughout the world? If not, when are you going to get started? Today would be a good time.