Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? 8 Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? 9 Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”
Jesus continues on the road to Jerusalem teaching his disciples how to live as servants of God. After speaking about scandal, constant forgiveness, and faith (vv. 1-6), he turns to the inner posture that must guide all obedience (vv. 7-10), echoing his earlier call to watchful service (cf. Lk. 12:35-38) and his own example as the one who serves (cf. Lk. 22:27).
The short picture is familiar in the ancient world. A servant who has worked in the field comes in at day’s end. No master says, “Sit and eat first.” Rather, the servant prepares the master’s meal, serves, and only afterward eats (vv. 7-8). Jesus is not endorsing harsh treatment; he is using a known social setting to explain discipleship. Following him is not a contract where we trade effort for perks. It is service under the true Lord, the kind of whole-life worship Paul describes as a “living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1), done “from the heart” as for the Lord (Col. 3:23-24).
Jesus then asks whether the master “is grateful” because the servant did what was commanded (v. 9). The point is not that gratitude is wrong but that duty, strictly speaking, does not create a claim on the master. In God’s kingdom, this becomes a safeguard for the heart: we serve because God is worthy, not because our work earns leverage over him. Scripture is consistent here: “Who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid?” (Rom. 11:35; cf. Job 41:11). Even our ministry is stewardship, not ownership: God entrusts us with his mysteries and gifts as “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God,” and what is asked of a steward is to be found trustworthy—not to act as proprietor (1 Cor. 4:1-2). The charisms we use are given “to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace,” so the gifts, the work, and the fruit finally belong to God, to whom we will give an account (1 Pt. 4:10; cf. Mt. 25:14-30; Rom. 12:6-8; Jn. 3:27).
The saying climaxes with the line disciples are to make their own: “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do” (v. 10). “Unprofitable” does not mean worthless in God’s eyes. It means we cannot place God in our debt. Even when we obey fully, we have only fulfilled what love and justice already require. God remains the giver; we remain receivers who gladly serve. Paul’s reminder fits: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7). And yet God truly sees hidden fidelity—“God is not unjust to overlook your work” (Heb. 6:10)—so humility does not cancel hope.
Read in the flow of the chapter, this corrects two temptations. After strong calls to forgive repeatedly (Lk. 17:3-4) and to trust God for great things (Lk. 17: 5-6), we might be tempted to measure ourselves and expect recognition. Jesus steers us away from self-measurement toward steady fidelity. He had already warned against practicing righteousness “to be seen” (Mt. 6:1-4), and he shifted their joy away from displays of power to the fact that their names are written in heaven (Lk. 10:20). Faith works, but it does not look back to count its achievements. It keeps serving because God is God.
This also clarifies the joy of Christian obedience. If everything is a negotiation, joy dries up when praise is absent. But if service is the natural response to the Lord’s goodness, it remains steady whether noticed or not. Christ “emptied himself” and “took the form of a slave,” showing the path of humble service (Phil. 2:5-8). The disciple learns to say, “My life is yours; command what you will.” In that posture, even hidden acts—done without applause—become worship. And the Lord’s own parables promise that faithful servants will share their Master’s joy (Mt. 25:21-23), though the timing and manner of recognition remain his (Lk. 12:42-44).
For daily discipleship, Jesus’ picture is concrete and practical. There will be days of “field work” and nights of “table service.” Some labor will be seen; much will be unseen. None of it is wasted. In Christ, duty is not drudgery but the normal work of sons and daughters who trust their Father and follow their Lord. With the psalmist, we ask, “How can I repay the Lord for all the good done for me?” (Ps. 116:12), and the answer is simple: offer ourselves and keep serving (Rom. 12:1; Col. 3:23-24).
Lord Jesus, teach us to serve without seeking applause. Purify our motives, steady our hearts, and let our obedience be worship—for the Father’s glory and the good of others. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: St. Luke. Dublin: Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018 (Luke).
- Orchard, Bernard, et al., eds. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. London: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1953 (Luke).
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