Mustard Seed Faith and Humble Service

Luke 17:5-10 (October 5, 2025)

Good morning, everyone. Our focus this morning is on Luke 17:5-10. This scripture lays out two essential, tightly linked lessons for those who seek to follow Jesus. Those twin truths are the miraculous power available to us through genuine faith, and the true humility required in our obedient service.

Basically, these two ideas get to the very heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It’s about having the strength we need for the journey (which comes from faith) and the right attitude we should have along the way (which is humility).

The Really Hard Job of Forgiving (Luke 17:5-6)

Imagine Jesus gives you a new, super tough rule to live by. He says you have to forgive people right away, every single time they mess up. Even if someone hurts you seven times in one day, and they say "sorry" each time, your job is to forgive them. That's a huge thing to ask! I don’t know about you, but that sounds impossible for me to do it.

Jesus' followers, the disciples, felt the same way. They knew that being able to forgive like that wasn't about just gritting their teeth and trying harder. They needed something more. So, they said to Jesus, "Lord, increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5).

They thought the problem was that their faith was too small for such a big task. It was like they were saying, "Jesus, we don't have enough belief in us to do what you're asking. Can you give us more?"

We can all relate to this feeling. Sometimes we face really big challenges—like forgiving someone who deeply hurt us, avoiding a bad habit, or just trusting that things will be okay. In those moments, we might also pray, "God, I need more faith!"

But here's an interesting question to think about: What if the problem isn't the size of our faith? What if it's that we haven't quite figured out how to use the amazing power of the faith we already have?

Quality Over Quantity

Jesus' disciples asked him for more faith. But Jesus told them something surprising. He said it's not about having a lot of faith. Instead, he showed them that even a tiny bit of faith can do amazing things if it's the right kind.

He used a mustard seed as an example. A mustard seed is super tiny, but Jesus said, "If you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you could tell a tree to pull itself out of the ground and plant itself in the ocean, and it would!" (Luke 7:6).

What he meant was that the problem isn't that our faith is too small. The real issue is that we often don't use the faith we already have. Faith is like a connection to God's incredible power. When we trust in that power more than our own, we can do things that seem impossible.

This idea was really important for the disciples because they were struggling with forgiving people. Jesus was telling them they didn't need more faith to forgive; they just needed to use the little bit of faith they already had to trust in God's strength to help them do it.

But here’s a warning: when we start doing amazing things through faith, it's easy to get proud and think, "Wow, look at me!" Jesus teaches us that true greatness comes from being humble, not from thinking we're all-powerful.

We can find this very touching story from The Hiding Place, written by Corrie ten Boom.

Corrie survived a horrible concentration camp during World War II where her sister died. Afterward, she traveled and talked to people about forgiveness.

One day, a man came up to her, and she recognized him immediately—he was one of the cruelest guards from the camp. He held out his hand and asked her to forgive him.

Corrie just froze. All she felt was coldness and hate. She knew she couldn't forgive him on her own. So, in her head, she prayed a quick, desperate prayer: "Jesus, I can't do this. Please give me Your forgiveness."

As she forced herself to take his hand, something amazing happened. A warm, loving feeling washed over her, and she found herself saying, "I forgive you, brother! With all my heart." She knew that this power to forgive didn't come from her; it came from God working through her.

Corrie's story is the perfect example of "mustard-seed faith." She knew she wasn't strong enough. Her simple prayer was her way of stopping to rely on herself and instead turning completely to God for the power she needed.

Think of it like this: If you try to lift a car with just your own muscles, you'll be crushed. But if you use a car jack (that's your tiny faith), you can connect to a power that makes lifting the impossible weight easy. When we place our small effort on God's limitless power, we can move mountains.

So, if even a tiny bit of faith can do such incredible things, what keeps us from becoming arrogant? That leads us right into the next lesson: the importance of being humble.

Serving with a Humble Heart (Luke 17:7-10)

After talking about the power of faith, Jesus shifts the focus to the attitude of service that's required for a disciple. He uses a simple parable about a master and his slave to show us what it means to live as a follower of Jesus.

In verse 7, Jesus asks if we would expect our servant (who has just come in from hard work) to be treated like royalty, simply because they've finished their duties? No, we wouldn't! We'd want them to keep serving and taking care of us. The servant's job is not done when they're finished with their daily tasks - there are still many more responsibilities to attend to.

And that's exactly what discipleship is all about: being willing to serve others without expecting anything in return. As Jesus says, "We are sitting down to the banquet table now." But, as he also says, "the feast comes later" - at the end of the day or in the future. For now, our focus is on serving others, not on getting our own reward.

The next question Jesus asks is really important: “Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded?” (Luke 17:9). The answer is probably no! We wouldn't expect to be thanked just because they're fulfilling their duties. And that's exactly the kind of attitude we need to have as disciples - a willingness to serve without expecting anything in return.

In verse 10, Jesus applies this principle directly to his followers: "So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'". The word "worthless" here is important - it means "not yielding gain" or "unprofitable". Jesus isn't saying our service itself is useless, but rather that we don't earn any merit by doing what we're supposed to do.

So, what does this mean for us? It means we need to be careful not to get caught up in the temptation of spiritual accounting. We can't think, "Wow, I prayed so much today, or I forgive so many people, or I serve others with such dedication." No, our worth and value come from God alone - not from what we do. By recognizing this, we can live with a humble heart and true servant's attitude, even in the midst of hard work and difficult tasks.

Let me tell you a story directly related to this. In 2010, after a devastating earthquake in Haiti, celebrity chef José Andrés did something radical. Instead of just writing a check, he flew to the island and started cooking. Out of that simple, direct action, the non-profit World Central Kitchen was born. Now, whenever disaster strikes—a hurricane in Puerto Rico, wildfires in California, a war in Ukraine—Andrés and his team are among the first on the ground. They set up kitchens in disaster zones to serve hot, dignified meals to survivors and first responders. Andrés uses his world-class skill not in fancy restaurants for the wealthy, but in the dust and rubble for the displaced and hungry. He is not there for acclaim; he is there to meet a fundamental need.

He wasn't looking for a reward or even a thank you. He was just doing what he knew he ought to do. It is humble, hands-on service where the work itself is the only necessary motivation.

Tying It All Together (Luke 17:11-18)

Think of it like this: having just a tiny bit of real faith is incredibly powerful. It can help us do huge things, like forgive someone again and again. But at the same time, we have to stay humble.

So, when we help others, we shouldn't do it to get a reward or a pat on the back. It’s more like we’re just doing what’s expected of us, our simple duty. This helps remind us that everything good we have is a gift from God, and we aren't owed anything in return for serving.

Ultimately, this is all part of the process of becoming a better, more loving person. Being a Christian isn't about earning points to get into heaven. Instead, it’s about receiving a wonderful free gift—God's grace—that allows us to follow Jesus' example. Our job isn't to earn our place with God, but simply to be grateful for it.

So, the main point is this: It’s not about having some giant, impressive faith. It’s about having a little bit of genuine faith and putting it to good use. Let's try to live humbly, feeling grateful that we get to serve a loving God who can use us to do amazing things. Amen?

Message Prayer:

Lord, we ask for mustard seed faith to face life's impossible demands. Grant us the humility to serve faithfully without expectation of merit or reward. May our lives be a quiet testimony of your magnificent power and unending grace. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.