01 - Parable Of The Householder By Pastor Jeff Wickwire Notes

Last Days Parables

Part 1

In the last several weeks we've looked at Jesus's incredible prophecies in response to three questions asked by His disciples following His prediction that the glorious Temple would be destroyed, along with the utter destruction of Jerusalem.

Their questions were, "When will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming? And of the end of the age? Jesus responded by predicting many signs for them to look for preceding Jerusalem's demise, and He also looked down through the centuries to our day and predicted signs relating to His return to earth. (If you have missed the last few weeks you may want to grab those tapes.)

Following His general predictions, Jesus gave five illustrations and three parables relating to the last days. In fact, Jesus's response to the three questions occupy two entire chapters in Matthew 24-25. They are rich in truth and relevance for us today.

Let's begin by tackling the five illustrations, which include lightning, a carcass with eagles gathered around it, a fig tree, a master of a household invaded by a thief, and finally The Lord returning to His household.

In the first illustration Jesus said, "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt. 24:27).

This first illustration is clear, and it answers the question, "What will be the sign of your coming? Lightning is visible to all. It forms an arc across the entire sky. Likewise, Jesus' return to earth will be as clear as the flash of the lightning across the sky from the east to the west.

John the Revelator writes in Revelation 1:7, "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen." This is how the coming of Jesus will be. As visible as lightning!

Jesus said essentially the exact same thing in vs. 30, "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

Then the second illustration says, "For wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will be gathered together" (vs. 28). This illustration follows the last one, and it also has a judgment application. The coming of the Son of Man will be as visible as lightning flashing across the sky, and His return will be followed by judgment, illustrated by the dead carcass.

As we all know in Texas, vultures feed on dead things. They swoop in to utterly annihilate what is already dead. Jesus was clearly looking down to the end of time prior to His return. Spiritually speaking, when Jesus returns, humanity will be in a terrible condition.

Even Jesus once asked, "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?" If we study the Book of Revelation it is abundantly clear that end time mankind will be blasphemous, godless, devil-worshippers and lawless. Essentially---dead in trespasses in sins. So the world in its final days is looked upon by Jesus as dead. And the vultures represent the last process of judgment.

So Jesus's return will be as visible as a flash of lightning, and His return will usher in judgment at a time of great apostasy and sinfulness, just as the conditions were in the days of Noah and Lot. Then the third illustration builds on the first two.

“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door" (24:32-33).

Luke adds four words that Matthew does not. "Behold the fig tree...and all the trees." So He's not singling out the fig tree per se, but is simply drawing an analogy from nature. In our backyard we have a huge oak tree. And every spring it first sprouts these fuzzy, caterpillar looking things that fall all over our yard and have to be raked up. Then the leaves sprout.

When we first see those caterpillar looking things appearing, we know spring has arrived. Follow closely what Jesus is saying. First lightning, vultures, and a carcass. But these negative things are leading to a positive, to something better, to summer!

Wrapped in a beautiful picture, Jesus is likening His return to the approach of summertime. There will be signs leading up to His return that are harsh and hard illustrated as stormy lightning, judgment, vultures, world wide spiritual death. But all of this is a process leading to a much better day! Summertime!

In the fourth illustration, Jesus turns to the responsibility of His people--the church--as they await His return. The illustration goes like this: "Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected" (24:43-44).

Jesus here is illustrating the need for vigilance, alertness and watchfulness. We have a man who owns a house. Unbeknownst to him, a burglar has set his sights on his home to rob it. But the real message of the illustration is that Jesus is comparing Himself to the burglar. Just as a burglar strikes without warning, so Jesus will return without warning.

The Bible is filled with similar illustrations. Paul wrote, "For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (1 Thes. 5:2). Peter likewise writes, "But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment" (2 Pet. 3:10).

We the church are to ever watch and be sober. As I like to say, plan your life like Jesus won't come back in your lifetime, but live your life like He could return today!

And then the fifth illustration links closely to the fourth one. “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them."

Here we immediately see that Jesus is talking about the responsibility of those who are watching. The watchers are also to be careful to watch themselves as well. With this final illustration the end of the age is drawing near. The signs of approaching judgment are clearly seen. We don't know when exactly the Master of the household will return.

Jesus continues with the illustration saying, "46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward." 47 "I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns." So here we have the promise of reward for the faithful watcher.

But then Jesus says, "48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?"

50 "The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

These last two verses show us how we are to be ready for His return. The servants (us) are left in charge of the house (the church) while the Master leaves on a long journey. And the responsibility of the watchers is to treat the other members of the household as the Master would have treated them!

Jesus describes it as "giving them food in due season." This would encompass walking in love, encouraging one another, caring for one another, praying for one another. I believe it points to leadership also (but not only) to be sure to "feed the flock of God that is among you" (1 Pet 5:2).

There can be no watching for the coming Lord on the part of people who are first of all behaving as they ought not toward each other. So the true test of vigilance in the mind of the absent Lord is right behavior within our own household!

He ends His last illustration by talking about abuse run wild in God's house. And all of the abuse begins with unbelief. The evil servant says, "My Master delays His coming." He loses the fear of The Lord, and this opens the floodgates. He begins drinking to drunkenness, beating the other household members, and hanging around with the lost.

The Master finally returns "on a day when he is nbot looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of." He is "cut in two and judged with other hypocrites, resulting in weeping and gnashing of teeth."

There you have it! The five illustrations Jesus gave to His disciples in answer to their three questions. As He warned, "Do not be led astray...Many false christs and prophets will arise. Don't believe them. Watch and wait, abiding in Him, the true Vine, and experiencing the strength that comes from true relationship with each other in the household of God, treating one another as Christ would.

Next time: The Ten Virgins