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LUKE 17:10 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Luke 17:9Luke 17:11
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.
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 — we are unworthy servants (douloi achreioi, useless servants — the same word as the unprofitable servant of Matthew 25:30): we have only done our duty. The elimination of merit-based discipleship: kingdom service is the expected obedience of those who belong to the king, not the exceptional performance of those who deserve special reward.

Church Fathers on Luke 17:10

Because faith makes its possessor a keeper of God’s commandments, and adorns him with wonderful works; it would seem from thence that a man might thereby fall into the sin of pride. Our Lord therefore forewarned His Apostles by a fit example, not to boast themselves in their virtues, saying, But which of you having a servant plowing, &c.

Theophylact · 11th century

Or else; To the many who understand not this faith in the truth already present, our Lord might seem not to have answered the petitions of His disciples. And there appears a difficulty in the connection here, unless we suppose He meant the change from faith to faith, from that faith, namely, by which we serve God, to that whereby we enjoy Him. For then will our faith be increased when we first believe the word preached, next the reality present. But that joyful contemplation…

Augustine · 4th century

Or the servant departs from the field when giving up for a time his work of preaching, the teacher retires into his own conscience, pondering his own words or deeds within himself. To whom our Lord does not at once say, Go from this mortal life, and sit down to meat, that is, refresh yourself in the everlasting resting-place of a blessed life.

Bede · 8th century
Read all 9 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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Luke 17:10 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy