Watch, Be Reconciled, and Be Ready

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 12:35) "Let your loins be girded about and lights burning,"

At the end of the last post, Jesus had been talking to His disciples about what was most important in life.  He continued here telling them to always be ready:

(36) "And you yourselves like men who wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately."

Jesus told them to always be ready like men who were waiting for their lord, or master as meant in this case, whom they were expecting to return from his wedding.  Jesus was telling them to be just as prepared, waiting on their Lord whom they knew would be returning.  When He came to them and called them, they were to be ready, immediately responding to Him.

(37) "Blessed those servants whom the lord when he comes shall find watching; verily I say to you that he shall gird himself and make them sit down to eat and will come forth and serve them."

Just as the master of the house might reward his faithful servants who were constantly watching for him and waiting to do whatever he asked, Jesus revealed that their Lord would serve them by inviting them into His kingdom and feeding them His living water and making them as His very own with every blessing, inheritance, and reward of a son.

(38) "And if he shall come in the second watch or come in the third watch and find them so, blessed are those servants."

The Jews divided the hours of the night into watches.  The second watch was between 9:00 and midnight, and the third was between midnight and 3:00 in the morning.  Jesus's point was that even though they might have to wait a long time for their Lord to return, they would be blessed those who waited and were ready when He came.

(39) "And know this, that if the head of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be broken into."

Jesus warned them of a truth that if a man knew what time a thief was going to break into his house, he would have planned to keep watch at that time and not allow the thief to break in.  Anyone would do this, even those who were not always vigilant and ready.

(40) "Therefore, you be ready also, for the Son of man comes at an hour when you do not think."

Jesus's point was, of course, that they would not know when their Lord would return, but they should be as ready as if they did know the exact hour He was coming.  He would return at an hour least expected and they should be found ready for Him.

(41) Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable to us or even to all?"

Peter asked Jesus if He was directing His message to His disciples to always be ready, or was it a message meant for all people?

(42) And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household to give their portion of food in due season?"

In the 13th chapter of Mark, when Jesus spoke of always being ready, He said in verse 37 that His message was to all people.  At first glance, here Jesus seems to imply that His message was to His disciples who were the stewards of His gospel and gave to the rest of the people their portions when appropriate.  However, I believe this message was meant to anyone who was a faithful follower of Christ.  As His own follower and steward of His gospel message, He would give it to that faithful follower to give to the rest of the people as needed.

(43) "Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he comes shall find him so doing."

Still using the example of a faithful servant to the master of the house, Jesus said that the servant who was faithfully doing his work for his master when that master returned would be blessed.  The implication, of course, was that Jesus's servants who were faithfully doing His work would be very blessed when He returned and found them doing that work.

(44) "Of a truth I say to you, that he will make him ruler over all that he has."

Just as that master would be so pleased as to give that faithful servant charge over all his household, so would Jesus be pleased to give His faithful servants all that He had to offer in eternity in His kingdom.

(45) "But and if that servant says in his heart, 'My lord delays his coming,' and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink and to be drunken, (46) The lord of that servant will come in a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and will appoint him his portion with the unfaithful."

However, Jesus went on to say, if that servant saw that his lord delayed in coming and began to act wickedly, he would find that his lord came when he least expected him and would find him unfaithful in his duties and would cut him in two as was a cruel punishment in Biblical times.  This represented the Lord Jesus's patience that is often thought of as His delay in coming.  If the servant of Christ began to weary of waiting and decided he would rather indulge sinful and wicked pleasures, he would find his Lord coming when he least expected it and he would be cast into the eternal fire of hell.  

Most of the Bible translations translated the word that was here translated as "unfaithful" as "unbelievers."  The original word "apistos" can mean either.  Thayer's number one definition is "unfaithful," and that seems to be the more appropriate definition here.  I agree with Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, who wrote that this servant was not merely an unbeliever or infidel who had never known Christ.  He was someone who did know his Lord and had been given many blessings and privileges.  He knew the will of his Lord but chose to reject it and was unfaithful and therefore severely punished.

(47) "And that servant who knew his lord's will and did not prepare himself nor do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes."

Indeed, Jesus referred to this servant as one who knew the will of his lord, but did not do so accordingly and did not prepare himself for the return of his lord.  That servant would be beaten severely.  This represented the man who knew his Lord God's will and knew that He would be returning, but did not do what he knew he was supposed to do and instead chose sin and depravity.  He would therefore be punished severely in hell.

(48) "But he who did not know and committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For to whom much is given, of him shall be much required, and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

What Jesus said here confirms that Jesus spoke of the unfaithful rather than unbelievers in verse 46.  He distinguished the one who did not know his Lord and was therefore an unbeliever from the one who did know Him and was therefore granted more privileges.  The one who did not know Him and sinned out of ignorance, even though his sins were worthy of great punishment, would be given light punishment.  However, the man who had been given much and knew his Lord's will, and one to whom men had committed much as with a minister or teacher, would be held to a much higher standard and more would be required of him.

(49) "I am come to send fire on the earth, and what I will that it already be kindled!"

Jesus said He had come to send a fire on earth.  He came to bring the fire of the Gospel which was a light to those who received it and heat and torture to the wicked who rejected it.  In Matthew 10:34, Jesus spoke of Himself as bringing a sword, not peace.  His Gospel would divide people, those who received Him from those who rejected Him.  The word of God is said to refine men as gold and silver is refined by fire (Zechariah 13:9, 1 Peter 1:7).  Jesus would bring the Holy Spirit of fire after His death and resurrection.  His desire was that the fire of division would already be kindled, not that He desired evil and division, but He knew it must take place to bring about the greater good of salvation to men who accepted Him.

(50) "But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am constrained till it is accomplished!"

Jesus told them that He first had a baptism to be baptized with, this baptism being His great sufferings before He could set up His kingdom.  At this time He was constrained until His baptism of suffering was accomplished, but He seemed to long for it to come to pass.

(51) "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division."

Jesus asked if they supposed He had come to bring peace on earth.  He told them that on the contrary, He brought division, not peace.  That is because the sword of truth would divide people, those who accepted His gospel of truth from those who rejected it and Him.  The sword would also divide the soul of man from its former self.  Jesus did not come to bring peace to all and to accept all as they were.  He came to have people die to their former selves that they might live.

(52) "For from henceforth there will be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three."

Jesus said that from that point forward there would be division within households.  There might be three who accepted Jesus's gospel against two who rejected it, or two who accepted against three who did not.

(53) "The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Jesus elaborated on how households would be divided, father against son, mother against daughter, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law.  This was fulfillment of a prophecy in Micah 7:6 which added that a man's enemies would be the members of his own house.

(54) And He also said to the people, "When you see a cloud rise out of the west, immediately you say, 'There comes a shower,' and so it is."

Jesus also told the people that when they saw a cloud in the sky rising out of the west, they understood right away that it meant a shower was coming.  And indeed, they were right.

(55) "And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be heat,' and it comes to pass."

Likewise, when they saw a wind coming in from the south, they understood it to mean that heat was coming, and indeed, it did.

(56) "You hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it that you do not discern this time?"

Jesus called them hypocrites, those who professed to be wise about the things of God and scripture.  They could discern the signs in the sky and on earth, but could not discern the time that they professed to know about when their much-anticipated Messiah would come.

(57) "Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?"

How was it that they from their own observations of what they had seen and heard, could not judge what was the truth?

(58) "When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, on the way be diligent that you may be delivered from him, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer cast you into prison."

I believe Jesus's point was that they should discern the time and reconcile with God before it was too late.  They should do all they could to be delivered from an eternal consequence of their actions, before they were before the judgment seat of Christ and then cast into the prison of hell.

(59) "I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."

Jesus's point was that the condemned would not be able to leave that prison until he had paid the very last penny.  But of course, no one can ever repay their sinner's debt to the divine Judge.  The only solution is to work out their salvation with Jesus Christ while they are on the way to the judge, that is, still alive and on their path to eternity, just passing through this time on earth.  Let us now, before it is too late, take hold of the arm of the Lord in order to make peace with Him (Isaiah 27:5).