Luke 17:5-10

The Voice

The Lord’s Emissaries: ⁵ We don’t have enough faith for this! Help our faith to grow!

Jesus (pointing to a nearby mulberry tree): ⁶ It’s not like you need a huge amount of faith. If you just had faith the size of a single, tiny mustard seed, you could say to this huge tree, “Pull up your roots and replant yourself in the sea,” and it would fly through the sky and do what you said. So even a little faith can accomplish the seemingly impossible.

⁷ Imagine this scenario. You have a servant—say he’s been out plowing a field or taking care of the sheep—and he comes in hot and sweaty from his work. Are you going to say, “You poor thing! Come in and sit down right away”? Of course not! ⁸ Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, “First, cook my supper and set the table, and then after I’ve eaten, you can get something to eat and drink for yourself”? ⁹ And after your servant has done everything you told him to do, are you going to make a big deal about it and thank him? [I don’t think so!]^{[a] 10} Now apply this situation to yourselves. When you’ve done everything I’m telling you to do, just say, “We’re servants, unworthy of extra consideration or thanks; we’re just doing our duty.”