Dear Christian friends:

Many years ago I was riding the bus from Great Falls, Montana to Helena, where I planned to conduct a worship service for the deaf that evening. I was conversing with a man who sat next to me. In the course of our conversation I told him that I was a Lutheran minister. He said that he was a Baptist but that he was no longer an active member. I told him that I was sorry to hear that and then asked him why he quit being active. He replied, "I was very active for several years, serving as chairman of the congregation and of various boards and committees, but nobody seemed to appreciate my services or thank me, so I quit."

This incident reveals a serious problem in the Church and that is that church members often expect both God and men to praise them for the good they do, and if they don't get it they cause a lot of trouble in the church and elsewhere.

In our text, which is the Gospel Lesson for today, Jesus helps us to get the right perspective on duty and service.


In order to have the right idea of duty we need to see ourselves as unworthy servants. Even if we were perfect servants, which we are not, we should really not expect praise or thanks for doing our duty.

Jesus teaches us this truth in the parable he tells in the last part of the text: He says, "Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to his servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit and eat?' 'Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper; get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink?' Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 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.'" (verses 7-10)

"Unworthy servants" here does not mean bad or sinful servants; it simply means "servants who deserve no praise." When servants do their duty, that's fine and good, they should. That's what servants are for. They should expect no praise.

Should God thank and praise us when we do our duty? Of course not! That's what we are supposed to do! He created us to do that and to do it perfectly! He also designed us so that we find fulfillment and joy when we do our duty. We feel connected and related to God and his Creation when we do our duty, and disconnected and alienated when we don't.

On the other hand God's joy and fulfillment is not increased when we do our duty. God is complete without us. He does not depend on us. The Bible teaches that "our goodness does not extend to God." (Psalm 16:2) God said to Job: "If you are righteous, what do you give to me?" (Job 35:7) God implies, "Absolutely nothing!"

The great Bible scholar, Matthew Henry, writes concerning this point: "God has no need of us; nor can our services make any additions to his perfections; so we would be wise, therefore, to call ourselves "unworthy servants." (servants who deserve no praise) However, we should call God's services to us worthy of praise, for God is perfectly happy without us, but we are undone without him."

So, even if we were perfect servants we should expect no praise from God or men. Now when you consider that we are not perfect servants, and since the Fall of Mankind into sin cannot be of ourselves, and in fact by nature are rebellious and perverse, even denying that we are servants, thinking ourselves to be lords, should we expect any praise form anyone?

In the first part of the text Jesus sites two examples of our sinfulness as his servants. No doubt, he could have sited one hundred more! First, he sites to us the sin of giving offense to "the little ones."

When we give bad examples, when we are rebellious and perverse servants, we offend little children and new Christians. This is a very serious sin. (verse 2, read it!)

Secondly, Jesus sites to us the sin of dealing harshly with a brother or sister servant who may sin against us. We are often reluctant to confront a brother or sister who has done wrong to us. Instead we remain silent, feeling violated, hurt, angry and perhaps even revengeful. This is not good at all for our family at home and our family here at church. And then when a brother or sister repents we may be reluctant to forgive and forget and fail to be reconciled.

In our text Jesus says, "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." (verses 3-4)

When we take note of the fact that we are servants who deserve no praise, even if we were perfect, and then add to that the fact often act as rebellious and perverse servants, we most assuredly must think of ourselves as "unworthy servants," servants who not only deserve no praise, but servants who really deserve condemnation and termination from our Lord. And this should overwhelm us with guilt and shame.

Jesus' disciples felt this way. They said to Jesus: "Increase our faith!" (verse 5) The disciples sensing their unworthiness to be his disciples wondered if anyone could do his duty as a servant of the Lord. Yet, they, knowing Jesus' grace and mercy, sensed that fulfillment of duty was related to faith. Indeed, they were right!

Faith makes the doing our duty possible. We need only to exercise the faith we already have. What matters is not the amount of faith, or even faith itself, as though we were now obligated to get faith in order to do our duty. Rather faith is instrumental. Even a little faith can do great things! (verse 6 read it!)

Faith joins us to Jesus Christ, the great power that enables us to do our duty. His love and grace, shown by his atoning suffering and death on Calvary's cross for the forgiveness of all sins, is the tremendous power that grips us and enables us to do our duty. That he could be gracious and merciful to rebellious and perverse servants such as we are is the great power that lays hold of us and drives us.

Think of what he has done! He the great Lord became a humble Servant, and was obedient, even to death on the cross, that we might be redeemed and made obedient servants.

So faith is like the electric wire which joins the electric motor or the light bulb to the source of power, the generator at the power plant. Jesus is the great dynamo, our faith is the wire and by his amazing love we are propelled to do our duty!

Wherever there is faith in Jesus and his cross of forgiveness there you will find Christians doing there duty, at least struggling and striving to do their duty, not denying it.

So don't expect thanks and praise from God or anyone when you to your duty, also because even faith is a gift. Really, Jesus gives faith and increases it. (verse 5) The disciples were correct in asking him to increase their faith. Jesus does this through the means of grace, the Word and the Sacraments, which he himself made for us and has given to us for our faithful, salutary use, that we live in repentance.

Jesus does not owe us a thing; it is by his grace alone that we have faith and are able to do our duty at all. (Ephesians 2:10) And although we still are sinners and because of weakness of the flesh fail to do our duty perfectly his merit supplies all our lack. His love covers a lot of sin! So that God now declares us "good and faithful servants."

And, although we really don't deserve any praise and thanks, Jesus will one Day thank and praise us because he is so kind and generous. Listen to his amazingly gracious promise! "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. (Luke 12:37) Isn't that simply amazing! How can we not be his faithful, loyal servants now?

In the sweet bye and bye we shall be lords and kings, and Jesus, the Lord of lords and King of kings will serve us!

The right idea about duty is that we were created for it and find fulfillment in doing it, and since we are servants who deserve no praise we should not expect to be complimented when, by God's grace, we are able to do our duty; but break forth in hymns of praise! "To God be the glory; great things he has done!"

Amen.