Luke 12:35-48 - Awake When He Comes
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
Have you ever had to stay up all night? It is pretty difficult. Somewhere around 3-4 AM it starts to becomes very hard to stay awake. For my wife it might become very difficult somewhere around 9:30 or 10:00 PM though!
I actually work 24-hour shifts a few times a month in the ER. It took quite some time to train myself to be able to stay awake that long. There were times in residency that I felt like I was walking around but not really awake.
I think it was during my second year of medical residency that I had just fallen asleep and recieved a call from the intern because someone was crashing. I had been working a ton and was so excited for this short nap in the call room that I had been hoping for! After receiving the call I got up and walked down the hall and to the elevator. By God’s providential grace, I exited the elevator on the right floor and walked into the patient’s room who was struggling to breathe. I may or may not have ordered medications, intubated the patient, and set the ventilator settings while sleepwalking.
I was persevering through this difficult time but barely so! It took everything I had to keep moving.
As bad as I wanted to go to sleep, I had to remain alert. There were patients that needed treated, and I had a job to do.
Today’s message is about staying awake even when it is hard! No, this doesn’t literally mean you aren’t ever able to sleep. That is only required for residents. But what Jesus is saying is that we need to always be ready for His return. We do not know the day or the hour. We need to be sure that we are ready for our Master to return. And until He returns, there are no breaks from walking the Christian walk and living the Christian life. There are no off days.
Let’s read our Scripture for today:
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,
and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!
But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.
You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?”
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.
And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating.
But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Prayer
Today we will see two charges that Jesus gives us as we await His second coming. The first is…
I. We Must Remain Watchful As We Await His Return (35-40)
I. We Must Remain Watchful As We Await His Return (35-40)
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,
Stay dressed for action. The literal here is let your loins stay girded. This refers back to the fact that first century people wore robes. These robes were nice and cool in the desert climate but were not convenient when it came to needing to perform a quick action. Because of this, if they needed to run, they would need to gird up their loins. They would use a belt to hold up their robe and allow them to run and to be active.
Jesus is saying, be ready to move at any time. Be vigilant.
In the same way, He encourages them to keep their lamps burning. Keep the lights on. Be ready for the master to return. This parallels the Parable of the Ten Virgins found in Matthew 25:1-13. It is a parable about watchfulness as well. We see that five of them were foolish and did not bring oil while the other five were wise and did bring oil. When the bridegroom came, only five of them were prepared. In the same way, Jesus wants us to be ready for His return. We must persevere, be prepared, and be watchful.
Jesus likes to use the analogy of weddings. We just mentioned the ten virgins and the bridegroom and now we come to verse 36:
and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.
Jesus, explaining this parable further now, mentions a master coming home from a wedding feast.
The master in this first parable is Christ and the men who are servants are us (verses 35-38).
A wedding feast could last days to even greater than a week. It was not clear when the master would come back from this wedding feast. Yet, Jesus asserts that the servants needed to be ready to open the door when the master returned. They needed to be dressed for action, have their lamps burning, and be ready for the master to return.
This is obviously a picture of Christ’s return for His people. We must be awake when He comes as the sermon title states. Jesus is going to give some other examples of why this is important in a few moments. But before giving the negative warnings, Jesus gives a beautiful promise to those who are prepared for His second coming.
Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!
Whereas the first wedding banquet mentioned was without the servants - possibly alluding to Christ’s ascension into heaven after His resurrection - verse 37 seems to point to the Wedding Feast of Revelation.
These servants are called blessed twice in these two verses. Note the start of verse 37 and the end of verse 38 which are bookended with ‘blessed are those servants.’
Why are they blessed? They are blessed by the master who has found them awake - even possibly in the middle of the night. They have remained watchful and were prepared for His return.
Verse 37 is one of the most humbling and blessed verses in the Bible. Jesus Christ has given His life for us already. Obviously this parable speaks of Christ’s return and assumes the crucifixion has already occured. Jesus has given so much to us. We don’t deserve salvation. Certainly we don’t deserve any form of reward from Him?
But listen to what Jesus says here. He says that the master - namely Christ in this parable - will dress himself for service and have the servants recline at table, and He will come and serve them.
Listen to this promise. Jesus says that when He returns, He will serve a feast for His servants.
This likely speaks of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19:6-9 (verse 37).
Listen to Revelation 19:6-9:
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
How amazing is this promise from Christ? Jesus is reversing His role at this wonderful feast. He is serving the servants. It seems unbelievable in a way.
Our Savior came to earth as a Sacrificial and Suffering Servant. To those who have humbled themselves before Him on earth by repenting of their sins and placing their faith and trust in Him alone for salvation - for those who have remained watchful - His grace and gifts will continue for all eternity. We will continue to worship our amazing Savior who loves us and provides for us (John 14:2).
However, what about those who do not remain watchful?
Jesus then changes gears and gives a different parable. It is still about being watchful. However, we are introduced to a master of a house and a thief:
But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Now the master of the house is actually us and the thief is Christ returning (verses 39-40).
Jesus is continuing His charge to remain watchful but with a different illustration. This refers moreso to those who are not the faithful servants. It also speaks of the suddenness of the return of Christ.
Jesus uses His favorite title, Son of Man, when He speaks of the unpredictability of His coming. If you recall, this is a reference to Daniel 7:13:
Daniel 7:13 (ESV)
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
It speaks of His powerful return.
Note the difference in Christ’s description of Himself to those who are watchful servants and those who are not - those who are His children and those who are not.
To His children He promises to serve them a great feast! To those who refuse to follow Him, He comes as a thief in the night.
Friends, are you ready for His return? Are you a watchful servant who is ready and has your lamp burning? The thief doesn’t call ahead and let you know when he is coming. Neither will Jesus let you know when He comes.
The Scriptures are full of warnings to remain watchful. Consider 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4:
For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
Again, Jesus is referred to as a thief - coming at an hour that is unexpected. Paul even uses a different analogy in 1 Thessalonians here that seems to be very relevant to our church with numerous pregnancies! The day of the Lord - or the return of Christ and the judgment and blessings that come with it - will come like labor pains upon a pregnant woman.
You don’t plan when labor starts. The baby’s coming is decided without consulting the mother or father! The parents must be ready for the baby to come at any time.
This same theme of Christ’s sudden coming is also seen in 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3, and Revelation 6:15. The Lord wants us to know without a shadow of a doubt that He is coming.
Be ready brothers and sisters. Be awake when He comes.
Moving forward, we see that…
Scripture References: Matthew 25:1-13, Revelation 19:6-9, John 14:2, Daniel 7:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 (also consider 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 3:3, and Revelation 16:15)
II. We Must Remain Faithful As We Await His Return (41-48)
II. We Must Remain Faithful As We Await His Return (41-48)
Jesus is going to explain a little further a second need for those who wait upon the Lord’s return. Not only must we be watchful, but we must remain faithful as well.
Moving to verse 41, we see Peter ask a question.
Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?”
Peter, like usual, is the only one with the guts to speak up most of the time! And he asks Jesus if the parable He has just finished is about the disciples alone or about everyone there.
Today one might re-phrase this question as - is this about church leaders or about all believers?
I am going to go ahead and give the answer to this before we study this section because it will make the parable more clear and applicable. There is some debate on this, but many commentators believe that it is not an either/or but instead a both/and. Listen to theologian John Nolland give a great summary answer to this question based on the parable to follow:
“A correlation is quite rightly to be drawn between the serving role here and the call to various forms of service in the church, but any narrow focus on church leaders is to be resisted.”
- John Nolland
In essence, James 3:1 is in full view here:
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
The parable that we are about to go through applies to all of us. However, it is even more pressing for us who preach and teach the Word as we will be judged with greater strictness.
Well, with those comforting words and understanding the weight on my shoulders as I preach this text, let’s jump into the next parable.
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
In this final parable, we are introduced to a manager. The manager is us. The master obviously is God (verses 42-48).
Jesus asks a rhetorical question - who then is the faithful and wise manager? The master is giving the manager authority over the household. This certainly applies to but is not limited to pastors who are in authority over the house of God. They are to feed the church the Word of God. They are not to withhold the nourishment of the Word from the body. Many today are withholding the Word of God from God’s people and they will be judged harshly for this.
Before getting into the negative application of this parable, however, Jesus promises a great blessing for the faithful and wise steward. This steward will be given even more authority and responsibility in the life to come.
Yet this most certainly also includes those who are not pastors or church leaders as well. We all are given stewardship of our lives, of those who depend on us, and even moreso with the Word of God and the Gospel. As we mentioned recently, we will all give an account to Christ about how we have lived our lives.
With that in mind, take a moment and ask yourself the following question:
1. How am I managing my life right now?
Start to zoom into your heart and probe a little deeper.
How am I managing my time for Christ? How am I managing my finances for Christ? How am I managing my family, my marriage, my work, my other relationships for Christ?
Remember - He owns it all. Everything is His. We are only managers of this life. And we will be judged on how we manage our life.
Are we being a faithful and obedient manager? If so, the wonderful promise that Christ gives here is for us. We will be rewarded in heaven.
However if not… then there is something terrifying ahead:
But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
Now we are introduced to the unwise and unfaithful servant. Jesus leaves little room for debate with His description of this servant. This servant abuses the other servants and is a drunkard. He sees that his master is delayed in coming and so he lives his life the way he wants. He is going to do what he wants.
If you have read the parable before, you want to yell at the servant and tell him to stop and repent. The master is going to come back, right? He better get things in order!
Hopefully your life doesn’t look like this servant’s life. There are many today that do live their lives this way. I pray that no one here is living a life like this - a life of blatant sinful living.
This is certainly an extreme example of such living. However, it can be more subtle for some people.
Again, I ask that you probe a little deeper into your heart and ask another series of questions.
Am I being a faithful steward? Or am I living my life for myself?
Am I being intentional with my life?
Am I using the time, gifts, talents, and finances I have been given for the glory of God - or for my own glory?
In sharing the Gospel with people, I have heard the following response many times:
“I will get my life in order when I get older.”
They see that the Master is delayed in coming. Jesus hasn’t returned and so they feel that they have plenty of time to change. They will have their fun and live their lives for themselves. They think they can just plan for a deathbed confession and be good to go.
There are so many reasons that this is foolish. But today, we have already seen the sudden and unpredictable timing of the Lord’s return. He comes like a thief. Just like you cannot plan when your house might get broken into, you cannot plan when Christ returns.
May this wicked servant be a warning to all who think they can just get right with God later. This wicked servant finds himself out of time as we move into verse 46…
the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.
Not only has Jesus reminded us that we need to remain faithful, but He presses in again on the need to remain watchful again. This master comes at an unexpected time and finds the unfaithful servant doing his wicked deeds.
Note that there is not a second chance here. There is no do-over once your life is over. There is no purgatory.
So many today have a false view of Christ’s return. They picture a timid and weak Jesus coming back and giving everyone a trophy or a medal. This era of non-judgment has led many to ignore the warnings of Christ and the truth of the Word of God. We see elsewhere that there are no second chances after you die (Hebrews 9:27). And here we see that there are no second chances once He returns.
Instead, this unfaithful servant is cut into pieces and placed with the unfaithful. This literally says cut in two. This refers to eternal punishment in hell. We see Jesus teach similarly in a parallel passage in Matthew 24:45-51. He ends that section with this:
and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Such will be the state of the unfaithful.
Listen to the words Jesus uses to describe hell in that parallel verse - weeping and gnashing of teeth. That is terrifying. It is a picture of torment and unending pain.
Interestingly, although our culture has developed a weak view of Jesus, Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone else in the Bible! Listen to just a few of His comments on hell in the Gospels.
He refers to hell as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth as we just saw in Matthew 24:51. He calls it a fiery furnace in Matthew 13:42 and in Matthew 5:22 He calls it the hell of fire. In Mark 9:43 He calls it an unquenchable fire. And in Matthew 25:46 he calls it eternal punishment.
Jesus isn’t done with His warning however. He ends with verses 47-48…
And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
We have mentioned the degrees or intensity of hell a few times. Jesus teaches on this concept throughout the Gospels. This is one of the most clear descriptions of this concept as we see the term beating referring to the severity of hell that one might experience. (Selected verses on degrees of hell - Matthew 10:15, Matthew 11:22-24, Matthew 12:36,37, Luke 12:47-48, Romans 2:5-6, Hebrews 10:29, James 3:1)
This is not something that one should take solace in, however. Hell will not be enjoyable to anyone. It is a place of eternal torment and will be unbelievably terrible for anyone who ends up there. However, it will be unimaginably worse for those who know God's Word and God's will and refuse to obey. This is terrifying for those that may hear this message and are not true believers.
Jesus ends with a scary verse for us who have heard the Gospel and the Word of God. He says that everyone to whom much was given, much will be required. Those who have been given much, more will be demanded. What have these been given? They have been given the truth of the Gospel and God’s Word. The more that you know about the Gospel and the Word of God and yet still reject it - the worse your hell will be.
Scripture References: James 3:1, Hebrews 9:27, Matthew 24:51, (Selected descriptions of hell from Jesus in the Gospels - Matthew 24:51, Matthew 13:42, Matthew 5:22, Mark 9:43, Matthew 25:46), (Selected verses on degrees of hell - Matthew 10:15, Matthew 11:22-24, Matthew 12:36,37, Luke 12:47-48, Romans 2:5-6, Hebrews 10:29, James 3:1), Romans 2:4, Revelation 22:20
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, I want to take a moment to plead with everyone here today and everyone who might listen to this sermon recording in the future. Be sure that you are in Christ. Be sure that you have truly repented of your sins and trusted in Him as your Lord and Savior. Because if you are not a watchful and faithful servant, there awaits a terrible punishment.
But see the kindness of Christ as well my friends. See His free gift of eternal life. See His reward that He promises in verse 37 - the Wedding Supper of the Lamb! See the forgiveness He freely offers. And may you come to Him not just out of fear - but instead may His kindness lead you to repentance (Romans 2:4). May His overwhelming grace and mercy for a sinner such as yourself lead you to Him.
As we have a time of reflection today after the sermon, spend some time searching your heart and asking yourself a couple of the questions I have mentioned throughout the sermon today. Be sure that you are truly in Christ. Be sure that you are awake when He comes.
The next to last verse in the Bible gives us a great promise from Jesus Himself:
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!