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

The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”

The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!

“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

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