"Increase Our Faith" - The Hidden Treasure of Luke 17:5-19

Part 2 of "Keys to Developing a Hearing Ear"

In the gospel of Luke there is a passage in the 17th chapter that complements the lessons of chapter 8. I previously introduced what I like to refer to as the Hear-Do cycle, the operative principle of the trending ways of the increasing or decreasing of our ability to hear. This can be equated to faith. There are some truths involved that are rather hidden and that are really quite profound. Most Christians believe that having "more faith" is the key to a more powerful life. The apostles did too, but Jesus challenged that, giving those who would have a hearing ear more insight into this essential of life!

If all that is required for a spectacular miracle is having faith as small as a mustard seed, which according to Mark 4:31 and Matthew 13:32 "is smaller than all other seeds," the concept of the size of faith is clearly not a factor. In verse 5, the Greek word translated, increase, is prostithemi, which has the sense of adding to what one already possesses. The Newberry Interlinear translates the request as "Give more faith to us." The request could not be granted because, to put it in modern vernacular, it doesn't work that way.

If scriptures are perhaps flooding your mind that appear to contradict this observation, let me encourage you to have patience. This is worth whatever time and effort may be required to correctly resolve this apparent conflict. There are some fairly technical issues that must be sorted out. Very simply, when someone in the Bible is identified as having "little faith" no miracle occurs. Having a "little" faith means they have as much or more than the smallest amount, obviously. This reasoning informs us that the solution must therefore involve the use of figures of speech, which is a matter for the hearing ear.

The Lord's corrective lesson about the request involves a hypothetical example.

The events that follow that rather cryptic handling of their request seem to be unrelated but yet they represent an extension of the lesson, repeated for emphasis!

We'll give both parts of Jesus' handling of the apostles' request our attention and see how they compare, with the practical example out in the field repeating the instruction of the classroom as a demonstration.

The Lesson of the Unworthy Servant * doctrine/theory

The relationship between a master and a servant is a simple one. The master says, do this, and the servant does that, at the expected time and in the expected way. It's their duty. The master's obligation is to make their expectations known and to provide adequately for the servant's care and for their ability to effectively discharge their obligations. This situation would have been very common and familiar to the apostles.

When digging for buried treasure, one of the tools I have learned to use provides special access to the levels of meaning that depend upon very specific contextual relationships in a passage of scripture. The biblical text is highly ordered in its linguistic construction. Analyzing this structure and viewing it in a dynamic and interactive way is often very helpful! I encourage you to explore the following presentation of the passage of interest, "Luke 17:5-19 'Increase our faith' - Interactive", which I prepared for this study. (If you need help getting your mind wrapped around what you're seeing here, I recommend the following study, Bible Code Revelations.)

You may note that, while the two parts of the lesson (being the classroom's doctrine-theory of vs 5-10 and the field's practical application-demonstration of vs 11-19) do not appear to be connected in the way of symmetrically matched themes, the thread of connection is plain enough when the meaning of the lesson is recognized.

The structure of verses 5-10, which is the obvious part of the narrative of this lesson about the increasing of faith, may be described in technical terms as a 2+2 chiasm, with the A and B components each expanding into a 2+2 parallelism.

You will notice that comment windows pop up when you click (or tap on) the colored bars. In the comment on verses 9 and 10, we read: "The Lord understood what they really wanted. Having already addressed what faith is not, he teaches that faith is better understood in the context of the relationship between a master and servant. It's about duty and merit. The strict performance of duty earns a servant their promised wage. Nothing more. "We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.' Unworthy - of what? Of "Thanks;" of some further benefit for their service. You see, they had ONLY done that which was their duty. The valuable lesson is in what is implied, that any increase in compensation or reward is only merited for service that goes beyond duty, for exceeding the master's expectation."

In the example of Luke 17:9, what the servant would not receive for the mere performance of duty was the master's thanks, a simple expression of gratitude in acknowledgment and recognition. That is a fundamental - and not insignificant - benefit! For those of us who have ears to hear, there is in this account the presentation of an opportunity and an invitation, which is the Lord's good pleasure to extend to us by grace. We can gain favor in our Master's sight! We have the opportunity to elevate our status in the Kingdom, and there is likewise a provision for advancement through the ranks, as it were.

Consider the message of the following passage.

We see in the way that the Lord addressed the twelve how that, instead of admonishing them for prideful ambition, He instructed them in the way of promotion within His Kingdom. Again, he used the example of a servant because the way of promotion involves our willingness to sacrifice for others in our service. He Himself set the bar in this matter.

The apostle's asking of the Lord to increase their faith does not seem to have been motivated by self-interest as a matter of competitive self-promotion or posturing. I believe the Lord's response reveals that their zealous ambition was to elevate their level of usefulness and to endear themselves to the Lord, enhancing their relationship. I believe that their request was prompted by the Lord Himself so that He could bring forth this necessary lesson for their benefit and ours. This is a Win-Win - for the servant and Master alike!

Our Master sees and knows each one of us intimately, our motives, thoughts, feelings and actions because we are completely transparent before Him. If our zeal in seeking the Lord's favor is expressed in the performance of our duty and then a going beyond that basic requirement to exceed His expectations, this is meritorious service. Some kind of acknowledgment, perhaps thanks, some recognition or honor or a bonus of some kind or even a promotion in rank may be warranted and awarded according to the Lord's good pleasure. He is just, and generous!

The practical reality is that some servants are better than others. If a servant is untrustworthy, lazy, or apathetic, they deserve less than what others do, who faithfully perform their duties. A servant who exceeds the master's expectations deserves more, and a wise master will treat them with honor and promote them through the ranks.

In this matter of meritorious service we should consider how there is a governing kind of law of proportions.

These matters aren't complicated but the profound lesson about meritorious service and promotion in the Kingdom may take a while to register and sink in. If you pause to reflect upon your own life and the seasons you may have been blessed to experience in the Lord's service, this underlying principle should become apparent. If you consider the lives of other saints you have been blessed to serve alongside, you may discover that this insight explains plenty!

The Lesson of the Ten Lepers * practical application-demonstration

Now, let's turn our attention to the encounter with the ten lepers. The structure here may be described as a 4+4 parallelism, with the A and A' components expanding into a 2+2 parallelism and a 3+3 parallelism, respectively.

In another comment window of the interactive version we read: "In verses 17 and 18, the Lord repeats the lesson about the increasing of faith with dramatic emphasis. The bonus is for those who go beyond the strict performance of duty! (Additionally, we see that the receipt of a blessing is not a matter of having a pedigree or a privileged status.) In the most practical demonstration, the way the bonus was merited was by the leper's returning to give thanks and praise. This compares to how it was the giving of thanks that was identified in the hypothetical example (in verse 9), where it's the master's potential thanking of the servant. While the giving or receiving of thanks might seem trivial to some, it's not!"

The nine lepers were the unworthy servants, according to the language of the "classroom instruction." The matter of a "worthy servant," which had to be inferred from the earlier lesson, is on exhibit as the one leper returned back. Like the other nine, he had obeyed the Master but he alone went beyond the minimum requirement. He alone went beyond duty and subsequently received a bonus! It seems likely that the apostles were still contemplating the Lord's response to their request as this scene unfolded in their midst. When Jesus remarked about the Samaritan leper's faith, I can imagine that the apostles might have looked at each other and said, "Ahhhhhhhh! Now we get it!"

What great feat had this leper performed to be acknowledged and recognized for his faith?

Jesus honored this man before those who were present, and he is further honored before all who read this account. And, if this honor extends further in the ages to come it should be no surprise! If you think acknowledgment and recognition isn't much of a reward, take a look around you and see what people are doing for no other reason!

You might ask why the Bible doesn't just explain things more fully instead of leaving it up to us to infer what is so obviously of such exceptional value? This matter of concealing and revealing serves the Lord's purposes, as you may recall from earlier in this study.

Does the Lord choose some but not others for receiving such a treasure? Certainly, and He is entirely justified in doing so. See scriptures like Romans 9 and 2 Timothy 2:20-21. So, while it is true that we have no degree of influence in some matters, in others, we do, and we will quite fairly be required to give an account for our stewardship. This is why we're given instruction and examples to follow for direction and inspiration and why we're encouraged to persevere!

When we read in Luke 17:16 that the one leper was a Samaritan, we should recognize that a point is made about the value of cultural status and privilege. The Samaritans were generally considered by the Jews to be like dogs, a far lesser class of merely "wannabe" chosen people. The one leper was given honor even though he lacked the pedigree or privileged status that might have qualified him in the minds of many. The Lord was and is no "respecter of persons" in that regard. He sees us not as others do. His judgment is righteous.

When it comes to the topic of the performance of one's duty, we're dealing squarely with the subject of obedience and therefore with love!

There is that as a foundation! And, there is the matter of passion and zeal!

Note well the conditions that the blessings are subject to.

In summary of the teaching of Luke 17:5-19, we found that the apostles had asked the Lord to increase or add more faith to what they already had. But faith doesn't work that way. That which may be given must be earned through meritorious service. The strict performance of duty merits no thanks, honor or reward but service that exceeds duty does, and sincere expressions of praise and thanksgiving count!

In closing, I pray that this study will help you become more able and more willing to please the Lord and that you will become a more fruitful laborer in the Lord's harvest field in these last days - bringing glory and praise and honor to Him!

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