Faith and Duty

The(A) apostles(B) said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”(C)

“If you have faith the size of[a] a mustard seed,”(D) the Lord said, “you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

“Which one of you having a servant tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’?(E) Does he thank that servant because he did what was commanded?[b] 10 In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are unworthy (F) servants; we’ve only done our duty.’”

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Footnotes

  1. 17:6 Lit faith like
  2. 17:9 Other mss add I don’t think so

Faith and Obedience

Then the apostles told the Lord, “Give us more faith!”

The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of[a] a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!

“Suppose a man among you has a servant plowing or watching sheep. Would he say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and have something to eat’? Of course not. Instead, he would say to him, ‘Get dinner ready for me, and put on your apron and wait on me until I eat and drink. Then you can eat and drink.’ He doesn’t praise the servant for doing what was commanded, does he? 10 That’s the way it is with you. When you have done everything you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless servants. We have done only what we ought to have done.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 17:6 Lit. faith of