“HUMILITY FORGIVES AND HUMILITY SERVES”
LUKE 17:1-10
I. Introduction
God is love! 1 John 4:8 says so. Let’s look at it in its context…
*1 John 4:7-10
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (satisfactory payment) for our sins.
So God is love. He doesn’t have love, He is love. But love is only one of His many attri-butes. God is also immortal, infinite, and eternal. He is unchangeable, unsearchable, and self-existent. He is just and righteous. He is glorious and perfect. He is life and truth. He is sovereign and holy. And God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. His Spirit is always everywhere, He has all power, and He knows everything that is known or can be known.
Every one of God’s attributes is complete. Nothing can be added to any of them. And every one of God’s attributes is in full harmony with every other one. No one attribute has preeminence over any other. God’s attributes are not like the parts of a machine where each part plays a role distinct from every other part. So God’s attributes are not parts of His nature. All of them together, in their perfect fullness, are God’s nature.
Apart from God His attributes do not exist. They were never “out there” somewhere for Him to go find, acquire, accumulate, perfect, and then put on display for us to see. Just as with His love, God does not possess His attributes, He is His attributes. If you want to know about things like immortality or justice or perfection or holiness, or omnipotence, you must look to God. That’s because, just like love, God is all of those things.
Having said that, there’s another attribute of God I want us to look at this morning. It is not popular to talk about it, but today’s text in Luke’s gospel brings the subject before us for our consideration and study. That attribute is God’s wrath, and it is just as perfect and complete, and I might add, just as righteous and holy, as any other of His attributes.
The Holman Bible dictionary defines God’s wrath this way:
“Wrath is the personal manifestation of God’s holy, moral character in judgment against sin. Wrath is neither an impersonal process nor irrational and fitful like anger. It is in no way vindictive or malicious. It is holy indignation – God’s anger directed against sin.
God’s wrath is an expression of His holy love. If God is not a God of wrath, His love is no more than frail, worthless sentimentality; the concept of mercy is meaningless; and the cross was a cruel and unnecessary experience for His Son.”
In John MacArthur’s commentary on Romans 9 he says this:
“God is glorified in displaying His wrath, just as surely as in displaying His grace, because both those attributes, along with all the others, comprise His divine nature and character, which are perfectly and permanently self-consistent and are worthy of adora-tion and worship. Even God’s anger, vengeance, and retribution poured out on sinners are glorious, because they display His majestic holiness.”
Just what is it that arouses God’s wrath? There are a number of things that do so. A few of them are unbelief, idolatry, willful and deliberate sin, and opposition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But in a larger sense, anything that stands against God and His holiness will reveal His wrath. Paul sums it up for us in the opening chapter of Romans.
Romans 1:18a
18a For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…
It’s often said God hates sin but loves sinners. However, David tells us something else.
Psalm 5:4-5
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You.
5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.
And Solomon tells us God hates those who are prideful.
Proverbs 16:5
5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; assuredly, he will not go unpunished.
Notice that it isn’t the sin that is punished; it’s the sinner. In these last two passages I’ve just read, boastfulness (human pride), sin, and punishment are linked together. But it isn’t just here that it occurs. This linkage is seen throughout the Scriptures. That’s because human pride is at the core of all sin, and a holy God will not tolerate it. Why does God hate it so? Wasn’t it pride that caused Satan’s fall from heaven? And wasn’t it pride that caused Adam and Eve to sin?
In Isaiah 14:13-14 Lucifer (Satan) went before God and told Him that he was going to take over. He said, “I will sit on the mount of assembly, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, I will make myself like the Most High (God).” But Satan was cursed and cast out of heaven.
In Genesis 3:6 Adam and Eve disobeyed God because they wanted what they wanted.
And they were cursed and cast out of the Garden of Eden. As Adam and Eve’s descend-ants, it is pride that causes us to sin. When we break God’s commandments, it is because we want what we want. It is because we place ourselves, our desires, and our lusts above all else and demand our way. Isn’t our fallen nature driven by the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life?
The consequences, the fallout, the wreckage left behind by human pride are immense and devastating. The suffering and anguish left in the wake of human pride are all but incal-culable. Consider the cross. It was the pride of the scribes and Pharisees that kindled their hatred of Jesus. They were proud of their self-righteousness; they were proud of their position and their power and their wealth and their man-made rules. They claimed to live for God and others, but in reality, they lived only for themselves. The fact is they were hypocrites of the first order. And when Jesus confronted them with that truth and exposed them for what they were, they did not repent. Rather, they plotted His murder.
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II. Text
As we return to our verse-by-verse study of Luke, we find Jesus in the final months of His life on this earth. While making His last journey to Jerusalem, the primary focus of His ministry has been to two groups of people. One group is the scribes and Pharisees. The other is His disciples. The scribes and Pharisees are the purveyors of false religion. With lives characterized by human pride they display everything God hates, and they illustrate the polar opposite of what Jesus expects His disciples to be and to do.
In teaching His disciples, Jesus uses the pride of the scribes and Pharisees as an example of what Jesus expects them not to be and to do. Today’s passage presents the contrast between the pride God hates and the humility God loves. In it we’ll see two illustrations of godly humility. The first is seen in forgiveness. The second is seen in service.
*Luke 17:1-10 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
1 And (Jesus) said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come!
2 “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.
3 “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.
7 “But which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’?
8 “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk; and afterward you will eat and drink’?
9 “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were com-manded, does he?
10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
As we delve into this passage there are two essential facts concerning pride that we need to keep in mind. Both are found in Proverbs 16. The first is: “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not go unpunished (v. 5).” The second is: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling (v. 16).”
*Luke 17:1-2
1 And (Jesus) said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come!
2 “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
At first glance these two verses may seem to be unrelated. But by keeping the larger con-text in mind, they will make sense. Remember that the pride of the Pharisees and their false teaching has been one of Jesus’ main issues in the last few chapters of Luke’s gos-pel. It’s that false teaching that has caused so many of their followers to stumble.
Jesus is saying that false teachers will come. These false teachers are themselves the very stumbling blocks the Lord is talking about. They will come because they must! In fact, the Greek literally says, “It is impossible that stumbling blocks not come.” “Stum-bling blocks” is translated from the plural form of “skandalŏn,” which refers to the bait in an animal trap.
This world is filled with traps into which you and I, as Christians, can so readily and so easily fall. We’re always at war with our old nature – the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life – but many of the greatest and most sinister traps are baited and set by false teachers. Consider just some of the lies the Pharisees told about Jesus.
• In Matthew 9 they said Jesus’ power came from Satan (v. 34). (They said that on more than one occasion.)
• In Luke 5 they accused Him of blasphemy (v. 21).
• In John 8 they called Him a liar (v. 13).
Such lies about Jesus, taught and perpetuated by the scribes and Pharisees, led many peo-ple down the broad road to eternal destruction. The Lord said so in no uncertain terms.
*Matthew 23:15
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte (convert); and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” (back to Luke 17)
But false teachings will come, and when they do, the second part of Luke 17:1 makes it clear that those who bring them will be punished. In Luke 17:2 Jesus pulls no punches. Their destruction will be sure. Millstones are used for grinding grain into flour. They’re so large and heavy that a donkey or some other beast of burden is needed to turn them.
Jesus’ use of the term “little ones” in v. 2 refers to all believers, not just little children. In the parallel passage in Matthew’s gospel He uses the children who are present at the time to illustrate His point, but “little ones” speaks of God’s children. Therefore, all Christians, regardless of chronological age, are God’s “little ones.”
I won’t try to soften Jesus’ meaning here in Luke 17:1-2. It doesn’t matter who it is – an unbelieving false teacher or a disobedient believer – if anyone leads a Christian into sin, he is guilty before God. And Jesus’ point in v. 2 is that a horrible execution is more pre-ferable for them than eternity in hell.
What’s the lesson for us? Humility before God will lead us to pursue His truth, not ours. And humility before men will lead us to seek their good, not ours. Humble believers will lay aside their own freedoms so as not to offend weaker brothers and sisters in Christ.
*Luke 17:3-4
3 “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
“Be on guard!” These are strong words that are akin to “Beware!” Think of a sign on a dark country road that says, “DANGER – BRIDGE OUT!” Jesus says, “Beware!” and warns us of a number of imminent dangers in the gospels. What are some of them?
• In Matthew 6 Jesus warns us against hypocrisy (v. 1).
• In Matthew 10 He warns us that we will be persecuted for following Him (v. 17).
• In Matthew 16 He warns us twice not to be led astray by false teachers (vv. 6, 11).
• In Luke 21 He warns us against being unprepared for His coming (v. 34).
These are all clear danger signs. For a Christian to ignore or minimize them is foolish because we do so at our own peril. Now notice what Jesus says about how we are to deal with a brother or sister in Christ who is committing sin. We are to rebuke them!
This is not optional. It is a direct command from the Lord. This is what is often called “the Matthew 18 principle.” Let me be clear. This principle has nothing to do with dif-ferences of opinion over secular issues or trivial matters. It has everything to do with sin.
*Matthew 18:15-17
15 “And if your brother sins [against you?], go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
17 “And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer.”
The ultimate goal of this teaching is two-fold. First, the one being rebuked is to be joy-fully restored. And second, the one (or the ones) doing the rebuking are to humbly forgive. But all of this leads to a question about forgiveness, doesn’t it? Are there some sins that we are to forgive unconditionally, that is, even before a person repents?
Galatians 6:1
1 Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.
The words “caught in any trespass” here carry with them the idea of being caught off guard in a sin. Think of sins or traps into which you fall wherein there has been no pre-meditation on your part. Such sins are to be immediately and unconditionally forgiven.
But what about sins that are willful, deliberate, and ongoing? These are the sins Matthew 18:15-17 addresses. Such sins are to be forgiven only after a person repents. But even those sins, heinous though they may be, are to be forgiven when the sinner repents. Look again at Luke 17:4. We are to forgive, regardless of how many times a person sins.
In the parallel passage in Matthew, Peter must have thought he was being particularly magnanimous.
*Matthew 18:21-22
21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
Do you think Peter got out his iPad, did a quick calculation and said, “Okay, Lord. You want me to forgive him four hundred and ninety times. So then when he sins against me the four hundred and ninety-first time I can quit forgiving him, right?” I don’t think so either. Jesus is not teaching the letter of the Law. That’s what the Pharisees did. On the contrary, Jesus is teaching the spirit of the Law. Forgiveness is to be unlimited!
And let’s just be real practical for a moment here. How would you react if God, over the course of your entire life on this earth, was willing to forgive you four hundred and nine-ty times, but on the four hundred and ninety-first took your life and cast you into hell?
Have you repented and come to faith in Christ? Yes? Then for you, God’s forgiveness is unconditional and unending. So what’s the lesson for you and me? Our forgiveness of our brothers and sisters in Christ is to be unconditional and unending as well.
We say, “I’m not sure I’m up to that! If I’m going to be able to do that I’ll need more faith than I have right now.” Can you relate to that? I can, and so could Jesus’ disciples.
*Luke 17:5-6
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.”
Jesus’ disciples were extraordinarily blessed. Just think of the privileges and honor the Lord had given them. These men knew Him personally, they witnessed His miracles, they saw the resurrected Christ, God used them to build the church, and under the power of the Holy Spirit, they (along with Paul) wrote virtually the entire NT.
But with all of that we can see that they were just like us. They were weak and frail, just like us. When Jesus said things like He does in this passage, they looked into their own hearts and saw how little faith they actually had, and it humbled them. When we are honest with ourselves, it humbles us too. And that’s a good thing, isn’t it? It’s then that we call out to Jesus and say what the disciples said in Luke 17:5. “Increase our faith!”
In v. 6 Jesus agrees with their assessment of themselves. His point is that genuine faith starts out small and seemingly insignificant, but when genuine, small faith grows into great faith. And great faith can do awesome things. Moving a mulberry tree isn’t the issue at all; it’s merely a metaphor. But genuine faith is humble faith and it does things no human power could ever do. Do you remember Paul’s struggle with his limitations?
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 And (God) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is per-fected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Listen, Christian, your strength is not physical; it is spiritual. And your spiritual strength is directly proportional to your faith and to your humility. (back to Luke 17)
*Luke 17:7-10
7 “But which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’?
8 “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk; and afterward you will eat and drink’?
9 “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were com-manded, does he?
10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
Where vv. 1-6 focused on those who are driven by pride, vv. 7-10 zero in on those who crave and even demand to be praised and honored. Such were the scribes and Pharisees. They knew little or nothing of humility, forgiveness, and service. So the Lord holds them up as examples of everything His follower are NOT to be. We are to live lives rich in humility, forgiveness, and service. Taking that point to the next step, this little parable is a stern warning against personal pride.
The fact is that slaves were often better off than many freemen who survived solely on what they could scrape together. At least the slave was assured of having food, clothing, and shelter.
In vv. 7-8 slaves would care for their master’s needs before they would care for their own. In v. 9 slaves wouldn’t expect any particular reward or honor for doing their job. Any such reward or honor would be outside the course of normal expectations. In v. 10 Jesus is saying that when you and I do what we are commanded to do, we’re not to expect rewards and honors in this life. Humility, forgiveness, and Christian service aren’t meant to be rewarded here; they’re meant to be rewarded there.
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III. Conclusion
How do you turn away God’s wrath? You put away the things that God hates – pride, hypocrisy, and the need to be honored by others. And you take up the things that God loves – humility, forgiveness, and service to others. Only then will this often repeated truth begin to make sense to you…
Luke 14:11
11 “For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”
~ Pray ~