Luke 17:8

Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 

Luke 17:8 (ESV)

Today's blog post is a sequel to yesterday's post on Luke 17:7, "Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field 'Come at once and recline at table'?" As Jesus continues with the lesson, he answers his own question by explaining that we would be more likely to tell the servant to continue with their daily duties than anything else. He is describing what the rightful place is for the servant within the parameter of the servant/master relationship.
The purpose of doing this is to outline a relationship the listeners would be familiar with in this time period. If we were to compare this situation with something more modern, we could say, "if your employee came into your office finished with their morning assignment, would you ask them to take a seat at your desk and decide what the next move of the company should be? Or would you rather give him the next assignment that aligns with the vision you have for the company? More than likely it would be the latter. Jesus has a very important reason for laying out this servant/master relationship as he prepares to conclude his lesson in the next two verses.