Faithful and Evil Servants

Introduction

Matthew 24:42–51 KJV 1900

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I’d like to begin a new series tonight on “Principles from the Parables” - Lord willing, on Sunday evenings, we will look into the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ and learn the principles set forth in them.

Tonight, we will begin with the subject of “Faithful and Evil Servants”...

In these verses our Lord gives us a parable in which he describes two servants, one faithful, the other evil. This parable is a word of instruction, inspiration, and warning to those men who stand in the house of God as his servants.

This passage has to do with the second coming of Jesus Christ.

He will come as promised...

John 14:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

There are over 300 references in the New Testament about His return to earth. There are only 70 references about repentance, 19 about water baptism, 6 about communion. One verse out of every 25 in the New Testament has something to say about the coming of Christ. The prophecies of Matthew 24 have been or are in the process of being fulfilled.

Our Lord could come at any time.

Let’s get into this text:

I-The Preparation of His Return

There are three words from verses 42-44 that we need to look at concerning the preparation of His return:

A. Watching

Matthew 24:42 KJV 1900

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Believers are encouraged to be watchful and prepare for His return. The Bible calls on Christians to be ready for His coming at any moment and to not be caught off guard when it happens.

As Christians, we are not like those in spiritual darkness...

1 Thessalonians 5:5 KJV 1900

5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

We should watch, in other words, we should keep our eyes on Jesus!

B. Working

Matthew 24:43 KJV 1900

43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

The goodman of the house is the owner, the master of the household…This verse tells us that if he knew when the thief was coming, he would have watched, and the house wouldn’t have been broken into.

The thing is, you never know when the thief is coming, so you have to be prepared, or ready at all times.

Perhaps you can imagine how eagerly the homeowner watches when he expects thieves. Every little sound alarms him. He thinks he hears someone at the door, then he thinks it is someone at the window. But he is on the alert, with eyes and ears and his whole being wide awake.

It ought to be the same with regard to the coming of the Lord, as watchful as if we knew that Christ would come tonight.

C. Waiting

Matthew 24:44 KJV 1900

44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Be ready and waiting! We don’t know when He’ll return. How do you get ready for the coming of the Christ? You first get saved. Then you live a godly life, so when Christ comes back you are not found in delinquent circumstances.

Remarkably, Jesus says in verse 36 that even He doesn’t know the day and hour when this will happen; no one knows this, except the Father in heaven.

Here we see the genuine humanity of Christ, for He humbly chose to take on the limitations of knowledge that other men have, though He Himself (simultaneously) remained omniscient and fully divine.

Jesus’ statement is a reminder that no man, regardless of what he claims, knows the timing of the second coming.

The second thing we notice:

II-The Promise of His Return

We know Jesus is coming back…We have His promise on that and we know God cannot lie…So, in light of this, we see some...

A. Responsibility

Matthew 24:45–46 KJV 1900

45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

The followers of Jesus are not only to watch for his coming, but they have work to do. The faithful and wise servant will be found doing what he was told to do.

The master of the servant was gone for awhile (like Christ is gone from earth for awhile); but when the master returned, he found the good servant faithfully doing his task. So when Christ returns, one should be found faithful in doing his God-commanded duties, one of which is to watch.

This faithfulness leads to...

C. Reward

Matthew 24:47 KJV 1900

47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

I want you to notice something interesting here...

The reward of obedience is not retirement to rest but promotion to a greater task.

The good servant did his duty faithfully as though the master would return at any moment. Because he was faithful, he was promoted when the master returned. So those who are faithful to Christ (which will involve being ready for His return) will also be duly rewarded. Being ready brings great rewards.

So, we’ve had the Preparation of His Return, the Promise of His Return, and thirdly, we see:

III-The Punishment at His Return

The second servant was evil and portrays those who do not watch or prepare for Christ’s return.

Notice with me some thing concerning the punishment at Christ’s return:

A. Slothful

Matthew 24:48 KJV 1900

48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

Jesus warns us of the attitude which says, “my lord delayeth his coming.”

This is another way of saying, the return of the Lord is mocked, disrespected. He belongs in the category of the mockers spoken of by Peter in

2 Peter 3:4 KJV 1900

4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

We must live in constant anticipation of Jesus’ return, and that means being about our business for Him now.

The most dangerous lie is not “There is no God,” not “there is no hell”; but the most dangerous lie of Satan is “there is no hurry.”

We need to be ready for the imminent return of Jesus Christ.

Just like many today, this slothful servant claimed him as his owner and ruler, but never thought about or yearned for His return!

B. Sinning

Matthew 24:49 KJV 1900

49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

Those who mock the return of Christ don’t usually behave well either...

The evil servant, who was not ready for the master’s return, sinned in at least three ways.

· He was not about the business that the master left for him.

· He fought with and mistreated his fellowservants.

· He gave himself to the pleasures of the world instead of serving his master.

You know what caused this servants downfall? Something went wrong in his heart…Whenever God’s servants can’t work together, it’s usually because somebody has forgotten the fact that the Lord will return!

1 Thessalonians 2:19–20 KJV 1900

19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? 20 For ye are our glory and joy.

1 John 2:28 KJV 1900

28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

Looking for His appearing, and loving His appearing, should motivate us to be faithful and loving!

The faithful and wise servant was rewarded, but this evil servant is also rewarded…He’s rewarded for his wickedness…What is the reward?.It’s:

C. Separation

Matthew 24:50–51 KJV 1900

50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Lord’s coming will take him completely by surprise. He will end up at the great white throne and he will be sent with the hypocrites to the place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” In spite of all his pretensions of being a Christian, he has never been saved at all.

We all know people like this outside the church. But this man seems to be inside the church. (That’s the convicting twist of this parable.) Notice that he is called a “servant,” he has “fellow servants,” and he calls Jesus “my master.” He is a professing believer—that is how we would say it. He’s probably a churchgoer.

Conclusion

We don’t know when Jesus will return, but we know for certain that he will. And that should keep us busy building up and longing for the kingdom.

It was Martin Luther, I believe, who said that “Christians should live as if Jesus had died this morning, risen this afternoon, and was coming this evening.”

And it was Jonathan Edwards who wrote in his famous resolutions:

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.…

19. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.

How would you live differently today if you knew Jesus was coming back by morning?

Will you be found walking in obedience to Him when He returns, or will you be found wandering in disobedience?

Will you be found hating sin or holding on to sin?

Are you involved in actions, thoughts, and attitudes that would not make sense if it were the last hour of your life?