English · KJV

Luke 17:10

“Duty of the Servant”Luke 17:7–10

King James Version
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.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
So G3779 likewise G2532 ye G5210, when G3752 ye shall have done G4160 all G3956 those things which are commanded G1299 you G5213, say G3004,G3754 We are G2070 unprofitable G888 servants G1401:G3754 we have done G4160 that which G3739 was our duty G3784 to do G4160.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
So likewise yee, when yee haue done all those things, which are commanded you, say, We are vnprofitable seruants: wee haue done that which was our duetie to doe.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
`So also ye, when ye may have done all the things directed you, say--We are unprofitable servants, because that which we owed to do--we have done.'

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
19 Greek words
  1. οὕτωςhoutōsThusG3779ADVAdverb
  2. καὶkaialsoG2532CONJConjunction
  3. ὑμεῖςhumeisyou yourselvesG4771P-2NPPersonal pronoun Nominative 2nd Plural
  4. ὅτανhotanwhenG3752CONJConjunction
  5. ποιήσητεpoiēsēteyou may have doneG4160V-AAS-2PVerb Aorist Active Subjunctive 2nd Plural
  6. πάνταpantaallG3956A-APNAdjective Accusative Plural Neuter
  7. τὰtathe [things]G3588T-APNDefinite article Accusative Plural Neuter
  8. διαταχθένταdiatachthentahaving been commandedG1299V-APP-APNVerb Aorist Passive Participle Accusative Plural Neuter
  9. ὑμῖνhuminyouG4771P-2DPPersonal pronoun Dative 2nd Plural
  10. λέγετεlegetedo sayG3004V-PAM-2PVerb Present Active Imperative 2nd Plural
  11. ὅτιhotithatG3754CONJConjunction
  12. δοῦλοιdouloiServantsG1401N-NPMNoun Nominative Plural Masculine
  13. ἀχρεῖοίachreioiunworthyG888A-NPMAdjective Nominative Plural Masculine
  14. ἐσμεν·esmenare weG1510V-PAI-1PVerb Present Active Indicative 1st Plural
  15. ὅτιhotiforG3754CONJConjunction
  16. ὃhothat whichG3739R-ASNRelative pronoun Accusative Singular Neuter
  17. ὠφείλομενōpheilomenwe were obligedG3784V-IAI-1PVerb Imperfect Active Indicative 1st Plural
  18. ποιῆσαιpoiēsaito doG4160V-AANVerb Aorist Active Infinitive
  19. πεποιήκαμενpepoiēkamenwe have doneG4160V-RAI-1PVerb Perfect Active Indicative 1st Plural
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Greek, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Greek word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Greek word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “charity” where the gloss reads “love”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

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Study this verse

Written with AI assistance. Always check it against Scripture.

This verse

Jesus teaches us, when we have done all that God commands, to call ourselves unprofitable servants who have only done what we owed him.

“So likewise ye,”

The story now applies to the disciples and to every servant of God.

“when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you,”

The same verb, diatássō, now for God’s commands. Jesus speaks of complete obedience to show that even the best case is only what is owed.

“say, We are unprofitable servants:”

achreîoi doûloi, servants whose account with their master is even, since they have done only what was due.

“we have done that which was our duty to do.”

From opheílō, to owe. Doing our duty is paying what we owe.

Passage studyLuke 17:7–10

We Are Unprofitable Servants

7But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10So 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.

Summary

Jesus asks his disciples to picture a servant coming in from a day of plowing or tending cattle. His master would tell him to get supper ready, tie up his robe and wait at table, and he would let him eat only after the master had eaten and drunk. Nobody would expect the master to thank him for doing what he was told. “So likewise ye,” Jesus says. When we have done all that God commands, we are to say, “We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” Our obedience is what we owe to God, and all that we receive from him comes by his grace.

Where the parable comes in Luke 17

Jesus speaks these words to his disciples straight after three demanding sayings. He warns them against causing others to stumble (Luke 17:1–2). He tells them to forgive a brother who repents, even seven times in a day (Luke 17:3–4). When the apostles ask him to increase their faith, he answers that faith as small as a grain of mustard seed could move a tree (Luke 17:5–6).

The parable follows on from all of that. Disciples who forgive again and again, and who see great things done by faith, could begin to think that God owes them praise or payment for it, and Jesus meets that thought here. Verse 7 opens with dé, a simple Greek connective (“but”, “now”) that carries his teaching on to its next step. He tells the story as questions his hearers could answer from everyday life, and then in verse 10 he turns it on them.

The servant’s long day

“But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle...” The scene comes from the farms that Jesus’ hearers knew. The word for servant, doûlos, comes from a word meaning to bind, and it means a slave or bondman, someone wholly under another’s authority. Servants in Judaea were often slaves, though some were hired labourers, and in either case the master’s commands filled their day. Plowing and tending cattle were heavy work that ran from dawn to dusk.

“By and by” means at once

In the English of the King James Version, “by and by” meant “immediately” or “straightway”. Today it suggests “eventually”, which turns the sense around. The Greek word is euthéōs, “immediately, at once, directly”. So Jesus asks which master would say to his servant the moment he comes in from the field, “Go and sit down to meat?” “Meat” in the KJV means a meal of any kind, and to sit down to it means to take a place at the table, resting and being served. Anyone who has kept a servant knows the answer.

“Gird thyself, and serve me”

Verse 8 gives what the master would say “rather”, the Greek allá, and he gives the servant three commands. “Make ready wherewith I may sup” uses hetoimázō, to prepare or provide, here the getting ready of the evening meal. “Gird thyself” is perizṓnnymi, to gird all around or fasten on one’s belt. People wore long outer garments, and a man tucked them into a belt or sash so that he could move freely at work or on a journey, so girding meant getting ready for active work. “Serve me” is diakonéō, to wait upon someone, to minister to them or care for them, and it is the word for waiting at table. Our word “deacon” comes from the noun behind it, diákonos.

“Till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink” sets the order of the evening. The servant will have his supper, and the master comes first. A full day in the field still leaves duties waiting at the house, and the servant who finishes one task takes up the next. Jesus asks the same of those who follow him, who put God’s will ahead of their own comfort and take up their cross daily (Luke 9:23).

Doth he thank that servant?

Jesus answers his own question, “I trow not”, because a servant who does what he was told has done what he owed. “Trow” is an old English word meaning to believe, think or suppose, so “I trow not” means “I think not”.

The word for “thank” is cháris, which elsewhere is often translated “grace” or “favour” and which also means gratitude. Here it is the sense of obligation a person feels for a benefit received. The master feels no such obligation, because the servant has given him only what was already his.

“The things that were commanded him” uses diatássō, to arrange thoroughly, to prescribe or appoint, the word for orders given by someone in authority. The servant did as he was ordered, and Jesus uses the same verb again in verse 10 for what God commands his people. In that society a servant’s labour belonged to his master as a matter of course, and a servant who failed to do it could be severely punished. So Jesus’ hearers found it entirely natural that the master gave the servant no special thanks, and that common understanding is the ground of his lesson.

We are unprofitable servants

“So likewise ye” (houtō kai hymeis) turns the picture on the disciples, and through them on us. The master in the story stands for God, and his servants for all who follow Christ.

Jesus puts the case at its strongest. He speaks of the day “when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you”, the whole of God’s will, the commands of the Law together with his own teaching on faith, forgiveness and discipleship. None of us keeps all of it perfectly, and Jesus takes this best case to show that even complete obedience would be only what was owed.

Then he gives the words to say: “We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” Disciples say this of themselves. It is a humble judgement on our own service, and it guards the heart against the pride that keeps a tally of its good works. Jesus warned against that pride often, as when he told guests at a wedding feast to take the lowest seat (Luke 14:7–11). Paul calls believers to the same humility and to put the good of others ahead of their own (Philippians 2:3–4).

What “unprofitable” means

The Greek word, achreîos, is formed from a negative and a word for use or need, and its plain meaning is “useless” or “unmeritorious”. The servants Jesus describes have done everything they were asked, so the word here speaks of their account with their master. They have rendered exactly what was due, and so the master owes them nothing. Their work is real and God values it, while the account between them stays even.

The last clause explains the first. “That which was our duty to do” is in Greek ho opheilomen poiēsai, “what we owed to do”, from opheílō, to owe. Obedience is a debt we owe God as his creatures and as servants he has redeemed, and paying a debt settles it.

Paul speaks the same way. To present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice is our “reasonable service” (Romans 12:1), and what is required of stewards is that they be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:1–2). The doûlos of “unprofitable servants” is the bondservant of verse 7, and for a disciple it means a willing and total submission to God, from whom our very life and abilities come.

Does God value our service?

God delights in the obedience of his servants and promises to reward it, and this parable shows on what footing those rewards are given. Jesus says that the Father who sees what is done in secret will reward it (Matthew 6:4). Hebrews says that God rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6). In another parable a faithful servant hears, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21), and Jesus promises to bring his reward with him when he returns (Revelation 22:12). Paul writes that each believer’s work will be tested, and the rewards for faithful work that he describes there are distinct from salvation itself (1 Corinthians 3:12–15).

All of those rewards come from God’s grace. The parable teaches that our service can never put God in our debt, however long and faithful it has been.

Salvation itself is his gift: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24). So our obedience answers a grace already given. Paul calls believers to work out their own salvation (Philippians 2:12–13), and even our ability to obey is God’s gift.

Christ, the Master who served

Jesus asks of his disciples the service he first gave himself. Though he was God, he took the form of a servant, and he “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5–8). He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), and he said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). When he washed his disciples’ feet, he gave them a living picture of the humble service he expects from those who follow him (John 13:1–17).

Christ did all that the Father commanded, perfectly, and his obedience, offered on our behalf, secured the salvation that our service can only receive. In his death God showed his love toward us and reconciled us to himself (Romans 5:8). We were bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), so we belong to him as his servants. Our imperfect service is accepted by God because we are in Christ, whose perfect obedience covers what we lack, and we serve in gratitude to the one who served us first.

What we owe God and what he gives us

Everything we can do for God was already his, so our standing with him rests on his grace alone, and our best days of obedience add only what we owed. There is freedom in that. A servant bought with a price and accepted in Christ has a settled place in his Master’s house, so he can work hard, wait at table and forgive seven times in a day and leave the counting to God. The words Jesus gives us, “We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do,” are the honest words of a servant who knows his place. They are spoken to a Master who has already served us at the cost of his own life, and who has promised his faithful servants a “Well done.” God has a rightful claim on all that we are, and in Christ he has given himself for us.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Luke 17:1–10. He set out his notes in a two-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 10 verses
Passage under commentLuke 17:1–10
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points

We are here taught,

I.That the giving of offences is a great sin, and that which we should every one of us avoid and carefully watch against, Luke 17:1, Luke 17:2.

We can expect no other than that offences will come, considering the perverseness and frowardness that are in the nature of man, and the wise purpose and counsel of God, who will carry on his work even by those offences, and bring good out of evil. It is almost impossible but that offences will come, and therefore we are concerned to provide accordingly; but woe to him through whom they come, his doom will be heavy (Luke 17:2), more terrible than that of the worst of the malefactors who are condemned to be thrown into the sea, for they perish under a load of guilt more ponderous than that of millstones. This includes a woe,

1.To persecutors, who offer any injury to the least of Christ's little ones, in word or deed, by which they are discouraged in serving Christ, and doing their duty, or in danger of being driven off from it.

2.To seducers, who corrupt the truths of Christ and his ordinances, and so trouble the minds of the disciples; for they are those by whom offences come.

3.To those who, under the profession of the Christian name, live scandalously, and thereby weaken the bands and sadden the hearts of God's people; for by them the offence comes, and it is no abatement of their guilt, nor will be any of their punishment, that it is impossible but offences will come.

II.That the forgiving of offences is a great duty, and that which we should every one of us make conscience of (Luke 17:3):

Take heed to yourselves. This may refer either to what goes before, or to what follows: Take heed that you offend not one of these little ones. Ministers must be very careful not to say or do any thing that may be a discouragement to weak Christians; there is need of great caution, and they ought to speak and act very considerately, for fear of this: or, "When your brother trespasses against you, does you any injury, puts any slight or affront upon you, if he be accessary to any damage done you in your property or reputation, take heed to yourselves at such a time, lest you be put into a passion; lest, when your spirits are provoked, you speak unadvisedly, and rashly vow to revenge (Proverbs 24:29): I will do so to him as he hath done to me. Take heed what you say at such a time, lest you say amiss."

1.If you are permitted to rebuke him, you are advised to do so. Smother not the resentment, but give it vent. Tell him his faults; show him wherein he has not done well nor fairly by you, and, it may be, you will perceive (and you must be very willing to perceive it) that you mistook him, that it was not a trespass against you, or not designed, but an oversight, and then you will beg his pardon for misunderstanding him; as Joshua 22:30, Joshua 22:31.

2.You are commanded, upon his repentance, to forgive him, and to be perfectly reconciled to him: If he repent, forgive him; forget the injury, never think of it again, much less upbraid him with it. Though he do not repent, you must not therefore bear malice to him, nor meditate revenge; but, it he do not at least say that he repents, you are not bound to be so free and familiar with him as you have been. If he be guilty of gross sin, to the offence of the Christian community he is a member of, let him be gravely and mildly reproved for his sin, and, upon his repentance, received into friendship and communion again. This the apostle calls forgiveness, 2 Corinthians 2:7.

3.You are to repeat this every time he repeats his trespass, Luke 17:4. "If he could be supposed to be either so negligent, or so impudent, as to trespass against thee seven times in a day, and as often profess himself sorry for his fault, and promise not again to offend in like manner, continue to forgive him." Humanum est errare - To ere is human. Note, Christians should be of a forgiving spirit, willing to make the best of every body, and to make all about them easy; forward to extenuate faults, and not to aggravate them; and they should contrive as much to show that they have forgiven an injury as others to show that they resent it.

III.That we have all need to get our faith strengthened, because, as that grace grows, all other graces grow.

The more firmly we believe the doctrine of Christ, and the more confidently we rely upon the grace of Christ, the better it will be with us every way. Now observe here,

1.The address which the disciples made to Christ, for the strengthening of their faith, Luke 17:5. The apostles themselves, so they are here called, though they were prime ministers of state in Christ's kingdom, yet acknowledged the weakness and deficiency of their faith, and saw their need of Christ's grace for the improvement of it; they said unto the Lord, "Increase our faith, and perfect what is lacking in it." Let the discoveries of faith be more clear, the desires of faith more strong, the dependences of faith more firm and fixed, the dedications of faith more entire and resolute, and the delights of faith more pleasing. Note, the increase of our faith is what we should earnestly desire, and we should offer up that desire to God in prayer. Some think that they put up this prayer to Christ upon occasion of his pressing upon them the duty of forgiving injuries: "Lord, increase our faith, or we shall never be able to practise such a difficult duty as this." Faith in God's pardoning mercy will enable us to get over the greatest difficulties that lie in the way of our forgiving our brother. Others think that it was upon some other occasion, when the apostles were run aground in working some miracle, and were reproved by Christ for the weakness of their faith, as Matthew 17:16, etc. To him that blamed them they must apply themselves for grace to mend them; to him they cry, Lord, increase our faith.

2.The assurance Christ gave them of the wonderful efficacy of true faith (Luke 17:6): "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard-seed, so small as mustard-seed, but yours is yet less than the least; or so sharp as mustard-seed, so pungent, so exciting to all other graces, as mustard to the animal spirits," and therefore used in palsies, "you might do wonders much beyond what you now do; nothing would be too hard for you, that was fit to be done for the glory of God, and the confirmation of the doctrine you preach, yea, though it were the transplanting of a tree from the earth to the sea." See Matthew 17:20. As with God nothing is impossible, so are all things possible to him that can believe.

IV.That, whatever we do in the service of Christ, we must be very humble, and not imagine that we can merit any favour at his hand, or claim it as a debt; even the apostles themselves, who did so much more for Christ than others, must not think that they had thereby made him their debtor.

1.We are all God's servants (his apostles and ministers are in a special manner so), and, as servants, are bound to do all we can for his honour. Our whole strength and our whole time are to be employed for him; for we are not our own, nor at our own disposal, but at our Master's.

2.As God's servants, it becomes us to fill up our time with duty, and we have a variety of work appointed us to do; we ought to make the end of one service the beginning of another. The servant that has been ploughing, or feeding cattle, in the field, when he comes home at night has work to do still; he must wait at table, Luke 17:7, Luke 17:8. When we have been employed in the duties of a religious conversation, that will not excuse us from the exercises of devotion; when we have been working for God, still we must be waiting on God, waiting on him continually.

3.Our principal care here must be to do the duty of our relation, and leave it to our Master to give us the comfort of it, when and how he thinks fit. No servant expects that his master should say to him, Go and sit down to meat; it is time enough to do that when we have done our day's work. Let us be in care to finish our work, and to do that well, and then the reward will come in due time.

4.It is fit that Christ should be served before us: Make ready wherewith I may sup, and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink. Doubting Christians say that they cannot give to Christ the glory of his love as they should, because they have not yet obtained the comfort of it; but this is wrong. First let Christ have the glory of it, let us attend him with our praises, and then we shall eat and drink in the comfort of that love, and in this there is a feast.

5.Christ's servants, when they are to wait upon him, must gird themselves, must free themselves from every thing that is entangling and encumbering, and fit themselves with a close application of mind to go on, and go through, with their work; they must gird up the loins of their mind. When we have prepared for Christ's entertainment, have made ready wherewith he may sup, we must then gird ourselves, to attend him. This is expected from servants, and Christ might require it from us, but he does not insist upon it. He was among his disciples as one that served, and came not, as other masters, to take state, and to be ministered unto, but to minister; witness his washing his disciples' feet.

6.Christ's servants do not so much as merit his thanks for any service they do him: "Does he thank that servant? Does he reckon himself indebted to him for it? No, by no means." No good works of ours can merit any thing at the hand of God. We expect God's favour, not because we have by our services made him a debtor to us, but because he has by his promises made himself a debtor to his own honour, and this we may plead with him, but cannot sue for a quantum meruit - according to merit.

7.Whatever we do for Christ, though it should be more perhaps than some others do, yet it is no more than is our duty to do. Though we should do all things that are commanded us, and alas! in many things we come short of this, yet there is no work of supererogation; it is but what we are bound to by that first and great commandment of loving God with all our heart and soul, which includes the utmost.

8.The best servants of Christ, even when they do the best services, must humbly acknowledge that they are unprofitable servants; though they are not those unprofitable servants that bury their talents, and shall be cast into utter darkness, yet as to Christ, and any advantage that can accrue to him by their services, they are unprofitable; our goodness extendeth not unto God, nor if we are righteous is he the better, Psalm 16:2; Job 22:2; Job 35:7. God cannot be a gainer by our services, and therefore cannot be made a debtor by them. He has no need of us, nor can our services make any addition to his perfections. It becomes us therefore to call ourselves unprofitable servants, but to call his service a profitable service, for God is happy without us, but we are undone without him.

Historical interpretation

Ten Centuries of Reception

9 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

9 quotes · AD 108–1107
Ante-NicenePost-NiceneEarly MedievalMedieval
10020030040050060070080090010001100

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 258CyprianAnte-NiceneSourceEpistle XXVI
But some who are of the lapsed have lately written to me, and are humble and meek and trembling and fearing God, and who have always laboured in the Church gloriously and liberally, and who have never made a boast of their labour to the Lord, knowing that He has said, "When ye shall have done all these things, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." Thinking of which things, and although they had received certificates from the martyrs, nevertheless, that their satisfaction might be admitted by the Lord, these persons beseeching have written to me that they acknowledge their sin, and are truly repentant, and do not hurry rashly or importunately to secure peace; but that they are waiting for my presence, saying that even peace itself, if they should receive it when I was present, would be sweeter to them. How greatly I congratulate these, the Lord is my witness, who hath condescended to tell what such, and such sort of servants deserve of His kindness. Which letters, as I lately received, and now read that yon have written very differently, I beg that you will discriminate between your wishes; and whoever you are who have sent this letter, add your names to the certificate, and transmit the certificate to me with your several names. For I must first know to whom I have to reply; then I will respond to each of the matters that you have written, having regard to the mediocrity of my place and conduct. I bid you, beloved brethren, ever heartily farewell, and live quietly and tranquilly according to the Lord's discipline.
d. AD 397Ambrose of Milanas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274Post-NiceneSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
Boast not thyself then that thou hast been a good servant. Thou hast done what thou oughtest to have done. The sun obeys, the moon submits herself, the angels are subject; let us not then seek praise from ourselves. Therefore He adds in conclusion, So likewise ye, when ye have done all good things, say, We are unprofitable servants, we have done that which it was our duty to do.
d. AD 407John ChrysostomPost-NiceneSourceHOMILY ON GENESIS 31.4
He said, "When you have done everything, say, 'We are unprofitable servants,' " to warn them in his wish that they keep themselves at great distance from that destructive passion. Dearly beloved, see how the person with his mouth open for human glory and performing the works of virtue on that account has no benefit from it. Despite practicing every example of virtue, if he seems to give himself credit for it, he ends up empty-handed and bereaved of everything.
d. AD 430Augustine of Hippoas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274Post-NiceneSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
(de Quæst. Ev. l. 2. qu. 39.) 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 possesseth perfect peace, which is given unto us in the everlasting kingdom of God. And that perfect peace is the reward of those righteous labours, which are performed in the administration of the Church. Be then the servant in the field ploughing, or feeding, that is, in this life either following his worldly business, or serving foolish men, as it were cattle, he must after his labours return home, that is, be united to the Church.

(de Quæst. Ev. ubi sup.) While His servants also are ministering, that is, preaching the Gospel, our Lord is eating and drinking the faith and confession of the Gentiles. It follows, And afterward thou shall eat and drink. As if He says, After that I have been delighted with the work of thy preaching, and refreshed myself with the choice food of thy compunction, then at length shalt thou go, and feast thyself everlastingly with the eternal banquet of wisdom.
d. AD 444Cyril of Alexandriaas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274Post-NiceneSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
Our Lord teaches us that it is no more than the just and proper right of a master to require, as their bounden duty, subjection from servants, adding, Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. Here then is the disease of pride cut away. Why boastest thou thyself? Dost thou know that if thou payest not thy debt, danger is at hand, but if thou payest, thou doest nothing thankworthy? As St. Paul says, For though I preach the Gospel I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel. (1 Cor. 9:16.)
Observe then that they who have rule among us, do not thank their subjects, when they perform their appointed service, but by kindness gaining the affections of their people, breed in them a greater eagerness to serve them. So likewise God requires from us that we should wait upon Him as His servants, but because He is merciful, and of great goodness, He promises reward to them that work, and the greatness of His loving-kindness far exceeds the labours of His servants.
d. AD 735Bedeas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274Early MedievalSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
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 thyself in the everlasting resting-place of a blessed life.

He bids make ready wherewith he may sup, that is, after the labours of public discourse, He bids him humble himself in self-examination. With such a supper our Lord desires to be fed. But to gird one's self is to collect the mind which has been enfolded in the base coil of fluctuating thoughts, whereby its steps in the cause of good works are wont to be entangled. For he who girds up his garments does so, that in walking he may not be tripped up. But to minister unto God, is to acknowledge that we have no strength without the help of His grace.

Servants, I say, because bought with a price; (1 Cor. 6:20) unprofitable, for the Lord needeth not our good things, (Ps. 16:2) or because the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18.) Herein then is the perfect faith of men, when having done all things which were commanded them, they acknowledge themselves to be imperfect.
d. AD 735BedeEarly MedievalSourceOn the Gospel of Luke
What we ought to have done, we have done. Indeed we ought to have, because he who did not come to be served, but to serve (Matt. 20), made us debtors to himself, so that, evidently not trusting in our own works, but always fearing his judgment, we may say with the prophet: What shall we render to the Lord for all that he has rendered to us? (Psalm 115). In order to show that he had faith like a mustard seed, humble and fervent, he prefaced, saying: I believed, therefore I have spoken, but I was greatly humbled (Psalm 116). To show that he did not trust in his own strength, he added, speaking in ecstasy: Every man is a liar (Psalm 116), to signify himself as an unworthy servant even after receiving the precious chalice of death, he exclaimed: O Lord, I am your servant, I am your servant, and the son of your handmaid, you have loosed my bonds (Psalm 116). He did not say, I have loosed them myself, I am sufficient to save myself, but You have loosed my bonds, I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Psalm 116). This then is the only perfection of faith in men, if, having fulfilled everything that has been commanded, they know themselves to be imperfect, and as long as they wander away from the Lord, always acknowledge the evils in themselves to lament, always remember the good that is missing that, with his grace aiding, they may progress.
d. AD 1107Theophylact of Ohridas quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274MedievalSourceCatena Aurea by Aquinas
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.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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