understand what You have for us in Your Word today. I pray that we would not only be hearers of Your Word, but help us to be doers of Your Word. May we examine our own hearts and lives, and may You affect a change in us today, Lord, based upon what we will hear from Your Word. In Jesus' name we pray and ask all of these things. Amen. So here in Luke chapter 12, verse 35 through 48, as we've just read, here we find what is truly expected of the disciples of Jesus Christ, and mainly as it concerns the return of Christ. The return of Christ is a theme that covers these verses from beginning to end. Verse 35 through verse 48, this is the crux of the whole passage. The return of Christ and what Jesus will find when He returns for his people. We're going to notice a couple different things in this passage. The first thing we're going to look at is the expectation of the disciples of Jesus Christ, and that is found in verse number 35. Right down through the last part, we find the expectations of the disciples of Christ are readiness and faithfulness. Readiness and faithfulness. And then smack dab in the middle, we find a question proffered by Peter. Peter was the disciple most likely to put his foot in his mouth and just say things just as they come to mind. He had, as we would say today, he didn't have a filter. He just said things as they came in to his mind. So we'll see a question that is posed by him, a very interesting question and one that we may not actually solve today. And then towards the latter part of the passage, we're going to look at the the faithfulness that is required in servants, and also the judgment that accompanies, or the blessing that accompanies faithfulness, and also the judgment that accompanies unfaithfulness. So why don't we start out here in verse 35. We are brought to verse number 35. In verse 34 he says, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Again, picturing treasures not on this earth but in the heavens. And so that being said, he brings us to verse 35. He says, stay dressed for action. Here Luke in writing leads off with three illustrations Some of which we don't quite grasp because of our context and because of our modern way of thinking, but we'll walk through them here real quickly. He says, first of all, stay dressed for action. The literal translation of these words would be, let your loins be girded about or keep your loins girded about. We don't generally understand that naturally. Many of you may have heard the explanation of what it means to keep your loins girded or to gird up your loins. To mention many times in Scripture, beginning in the Old Testament, But in ancient times, men wore tunics or robes. Men did not wear slacks or shorts or pants like we would think of today. And so whether it be in the field or going to battle or taking out the trash or, you know, tending your fields or tending your flocks, whatever it may be, all of those physical activities were not really conducive to that type of attire. So if you were running, that robe would get caught up in your feet and you would eventually trip and fall possibly. A lot of different things could happen. So what would be done is the men would gather up their long robes and they would bring them through their legs and either tuck them into their belt or to their girdle, as it was called, or they would tie them, bring them back around and tie them so that it would be tight against their thighs and not inhibiting whatever activity they were about to do. And so, when we read this, he says, stay dressed for action. That's a very interpretive way of saying this. Keep your loins girded about. So, in other words, he's basically saying, be ready. Be ready for action. Stay ready in case something should happen or when something should happen, you're ready to act and you're not caught flat-footed, as it were. Exodus chapter 12, we see I think the very first mention of this phrase, keep your loins girded about or gird up your loins, as it relates to the Passover meal that the Israelites were to partake of. And he says when you partake of this meal, partake of it with your loins gird about. be ready because after this Passover meal when Jesus, or when the, I'm sorry, when the angel of death would pass through Egypt and kill each one of the firstborn of the Egyptians, they would need to be ready because they were soon going to be exiting Egypt. So he says, take part of this meal with your loins girt about. So here's one illustration, just one example that he gives to say, be ready. Always be ready, always be waiting. The second thing he says is in verse 35, in that second part, he says, stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning. Now again, this is not something that we deal with. We're accustomed to walking into a room and flipping on a light and light being there, you know, if you've paid your bill. I mean, that's just the way it works, right? I guess something akin to this would be make sure you have backup batteries. Make sure if you're caught in the dark, you've got those candles that you can flip on, right? Or you can light and so you can provide light in the dark so you can move about and do what it is that you need to do. A lot went into keeping your lamps burning. You had to make sure your wick was in proper order. You had to make sure you had enough oil. Oil was not something that you could just go buy at any time of the day. They didn't have the 7-Eleven down the street. It was open 24 hours a day. That's where you can buy oil. You had to be prepared. It took forethought. It took a readiness and preparedness of mind to have that lamp burning at the time where you would actually need it. In Matthew 25, we see a similar example in the parable of the virgins. We see the ten virgins. There are five wise virgins and five foolish virgins. And the wise and foolish virgins were distinguished by their preparedness or their lack of preparedness. The wise virgins went and they purchased oil. And they had spare oil so that when the bridegroom came and they awoke and someone said, the bridegroom is coming, they could just take their oil, refill their lamps and have a lamp that is still burning and bright when the bridegroom arrived. Unlike the wise ones, the foolish ones did not take that time to prepare. And so when the bridegroom, when it was announced that the bridegroom was coming, they went and they couldn't find any place to buy oil. They went to the wise virgins and said, please give us some of your oil. They were not ready. And when the bridegroom came, he immediately went in with those wise virgins and not with the foolish ones. So here's this picture that's given to us. Keep your lamps burning. In other words, always be ready. Always be ready. Unlike Matthew 25, that parable that Jesus gave was specifically addressing the kingdom of heaven. He said the kingdom of heaven is like unto virgins. Unlike that passage, this passage is just giving a general exhortation. Be ready. And we'll find out what we are to be ready for in just a minute. Notice the last thing that he says. He says, 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." First thing I thought of when I thought of this passage, you know, having kids, you think of, if you're going to go to a wedding, you don't want to take small kids that are going to be a disturbance, right? You're going to leave them at home. And you get a babysitter to come and to watch over them while you're away at this wedding. And of course, you have the wedding, and then afterward you have the reception, right? That big wedding feast. where people gather together and rejoice and they celebrate the bride and the groom. Well, unlike modern times, ancient times had a very interesting tradition as it regards wedding feasts. Wedding feasts today, we think of a reception as lasting at the most six, seven hours, right? And those would be the extravagant reception, some of them. In ancient times, a wedding feast is something that could actually take days. In fact, it was not uncommon for them to last in excess of one week, one week celebrating the bride and the groom and their wedding to one another. So this is, when it says, be ready, like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, we think, oh, I mean, you have a maybe seven or eight hour window where they're gone to a wedding, and then they return home. This was not true in Bible times. This could take days and days and even over a week in some instances. So with these men being ready for their master to come home, there was a great deal of uncertainty, a great deal of uncertainty. Not only did you not even know the hour when he was coming home, you didn't even know the day. It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be next Tuesday when they come home. You have no idea, but it was expected of servants that when the master comes home and is ready to resume his role as the master of the household, the head of the household, that the servants would be there ready to serve him no matter what hour he came home, day or night. Weekend or weekday, whether you were on or off or on call or whether you were supposed to be working or not supposed to be working, time of being awake or time of sleeping, you were to be ready for any moment when he would come home. So he says, be like these men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast so that they may open the door to him so that they can greet him and also be ready to serve him when he comes home and knocks. So we see the uncertainty. Notice in verse number 37, and we're gonna skip over this blessing, we're gonna get back to that in just a second. He says, blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes home. Truly I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table and he will come and serve them. In verse 38, notice, if he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them awake, blessed are those servants. Notice it doesn't say alert. or with it or, you know, fully prepared or refreshed. He says if he comes home at the second or third watch and they are awake, waiting for their master, they are truly blessed. Now, We don't refer to watches of the night or hours of the night as it was referred to in Scripture. Basically, there are two different ways that the hours of the night or the watches of the night were divided. The nighttime was considered 6 p.m. in the evening until 6 a.m. in the morning. what we would think of as 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. And the Romans had their way of dividing it, and the Jews also adhered to the more customary way of dividing the watches of the night. So the Romans had four watches in the night. And that was four equal periods of time, three hours apiece, right? You'd have 6 to 9, 9 to 12, 12 to 3, and 3 to 6. The Jews had a different way of calculating that, and those were in three equal periods of four hours each, okay? Now you say, what bearing does this have on the passage? Absolutely none, but just hear me out, okay? The Jews had three periods of four hours each. They would have six to 10, 10 to two, and two to six. So when Jesus says here, if he comes in the second watch of the night, That would be the time, if you're going by the Roman watches, that would be from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. If he comes from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. and they're awake, then they're truly blessed servants. Or if you go by the Jewish system, that would be like 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. That would be the second and third watch of the night. Now, I say it doesn't really have a huge bearing on this passage because I don't believe the specific time of the night is something that Jesus was trying to pinpoint, and it's not. I think if Jesus was trying to pinpoint a certain time of the night, He wouldn't have referred to the second or the third watch of the night. He would have been either the second or the third watch of the night if He were trying to narrow it down a little more. But people actually debate about this. They actually have differing opinions that some people believe that Jesus was going by the Roman system. And they would say this because in other Gospels and Mark, I believe Mark chapter Mark chapter 4, I believe it is, that Mark refers to the four divisions of the night, the evening, midnight. I think it was… I'm not even going to try to quote it because it's… I've forgotten it. But also they would point to Acts chapter 4. and say that Luke also, in Acts chapter 4, used a four-division night. He talked about the four watches of the night. Now, I had looked at a couple of references, and I honestly can't even find where there are time divisions in the passage that was cited. But some people would say it does make a difference, and Luke is actually referring to the Roman system versus the Jewish system. And again, does it matter? No, it doesn't. The only hour that Jesus was specifying in that night is the hour at which the master returned. That was the important hour. It didn't matter whether it was 1030 at night or 425 in the morning. It did not matter what time it was. It was simply that moment when the master returned to his house, the servants were to be ready and awake and alert there to serve him. ready to watch. And the point that Jesus was making is that this is the least likely time of the day where people are going to be awake and ready to do anything, much less serve their master. And only the most vigilant and watchful of servants that are intent on being awake and ready for when their master returns are going to be awake at that time. And so that's why he says in verse 37 and in verse 38 that there is a blessing that accompanies it, almost a beatitude that we see in verse 7 and 38. Here the disciples are encouraged to be alert and awake, ready for the return of their master. And our master, we are to be ready for his return, the return of Jesus Christ. So in verse number 37 and 38, we see this beatitude that is given. It says, blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake. Notice verse 38 as well. Blessed are those servants, basically those servants that are awake if he comes in those hours of the night. There's this blessing that accompanies it, and it's a very interesting blessing. It's a blessing that he refers to in verse 37. And the blessing is this, when the master returns, the master, it seems that there is this great amount of joy that he sees his servants awake and ready to serve him, that he actually turns the tables. Instead of having his servants serve him when he comes home, The Bible says he will dress himself for service and have them, have the servants recline at table. And he, the master will come and serve his servants. What a turn of events, something that is not expected. But as the master is so excited to see his servants awaiting his return and faithful and anticipating him, ready for him, he actually turns around and he serves them. Now, we can learn several things from this, the master being the servant. Turn with me to Luke chapter 22, just a few chapters over. As it was maybe not commonplace, but we see this happening more than once in the New Testament. The disciples of Christ start arguing about which one's the best, right? We see that pride just welling up in them. Which one of us is the greatest? Who does Jesus regard as the greatest? Jesus here replies, in verse 25, he says to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors, but not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater? Now this is where we can gather from the parallel passage or our text here in Luke chapter 12. Which one is greater, the one who reclines at table or the one who serves? Anyone have an answer? Which one is greater? Whoever sits at the table, yeah. If you go to a banquet, you know, now is the, not to really get into politics, I don't wanna do that. How many of you ever been to like a really high dollar banquet? No one? Someone purchased me and my dad tickets one time here in Texas. We went to the Hearst Convention Center and somebody had paid like $200 a plate. And I think it was from, but this was a really impressive dinner. It was awesome. But there was no question about who was the greatest there and who was the least there, right? The greatest were there were the ones paying $200 and $300 a plate. The greatest there were the people that were sitting at home because they gave us the tickets, right? It wasn't those that were there serving. It was the ones who were enjoying the meal and enjoying the feast. So Jesus asked them, which one's greater? He said, is it not the one who reclines that table? Of course, a rhetorical question, of course it is. It is the one who is enjoying the feast, not the one who is working feverishly to make sure every need is met and every cup is full and every plate is filled. But what does Jesus say in verse 27? He says, but I am among you as the one who serves. And this is rather a harsh rebuke. He says, here you are about arguing about which one's greater. I'm the greatest one. But yet I am humbling myself and I have become the one who is serving. I'm serving you. And may you never forget, you're arguing against who's the greatest of all the slaves. That's not really a prestigious position to have. He said, I'm the greatest, but I am serving. Here, this service of the master shows the humility of our Lord Jesus Christ, that how though he was rich, yet he became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. Philippians 2, we're reminded of that passage starting in verse number five, how that Jesus humbled himself and took upon himself the form of a servant, a bond servant, a slave, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Here also the significance of this feast that is mentioned has also an eschatological significance and an eschatological blessing. Luke 13, verse 29, there are several passages in Luke. You don't have to turn to all of them, but in Luke 13, verse 29, the dining at table is given in light of that final day in which we would all dine in the kingdom of God. Also, Luke 14, verse 15, and also this other passage that we've looked at, Luke chapter 22 and verse number 30, he says, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. So not only is there a… I think what this is pointing to is pointing to the final return of Christ, our Master, for His servants. So there is a blessedness to those who watch. And also, here's another emphasis that Jesus Christ will return at an hour that we do not expect. Verse 39 and 40, it seems very out of place, but there's a… in the two verses here, he says in verse 39, he says, but know this, that if the master had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. Kind of breaking context altogether. It's kind of a narrative that he's weaving here. And he kind of breaks that and says, oh, by the way, if the master knew what time the thief was coming, the thief wouldn't have robbed him because the master would have been awake. The master would have been ready to defend his house, to defend his household against a robber, a burglar. So here, just emphasizing the fact that Jesus will return at an hour that you do not expect, he says, you must also be ready. Just like this master whose home was burglarized, you must also be ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not know. It's very interesting that Jesus uses this illustration of a thief. This is common when it refers to the return of Christ, but in the book of Luke, especially Luke chapter 16 and Luke chapter 18, also use a negative illustration to reinforce these truths of surprise. In Luke chapter 16, we see the dishonest steward. And also in Luke chapter 18, we see the unrighteous judge, the judge who does not rule righteously, or he eventually rules righteously not because he's a righteous ruler or a righteous judge. He doesn't do it because of principle. Even though he's an unrighteous judge, yet because of this person's pestering, so to speak, he eventually gives what they are asking for. So Jesus is just emphasizing this fact, I will return at a time that you do not expect in the time that you do not know. And blessed are all those who are ready and expecting the return of their master. Like them, we too should be ready and watching for and patiently waiting for, expectantly waiting for the return of our Savior. Titus chapter 2 and verse 13, looking for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. That is to be the hope of each and every one of us. We are not looking for a hope brought by politicians or rulers or by anything, but only brought by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the only hope, the readiness that is expected of all disciples. Jesus expects his disciples to be ready for action, having their loins gird about them, having those lamps burning, ready to move about no matter what time of day or night. and be ready to serve him and to greet him when he comes. So here we come to verse number 40, verse number 40, pardon me, verse number 41, where Peter interjects this question, and he asks quite an interesting question, and it's one if we really wanted to, we could get our minds tangled around this for the rest of this time that we have together. Peter asks this question. He says, Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all? Before we even begin to answer the question, we have to actually determine what does Peter mean when he says, us and all? Okay? And this, I will say this, in studying for this lesson, probably more study was given to Peter's question than was given to the rest of it. Jesus' teaching about being ready as servants is very straightforward, very practical and applicable, but determining what Peter exactly means and who the audiences are that Jesus is talking to can be quite confusing. So there's several different points that we can, or several different viewpoints that we could espouse when it comes to this question. The first option, When Peter asks, are you telling this parable for us or for all? We have to determine who is us and who is all, right? So the first option is this. Peter is asking as a leader of the disciples, as an apostle, as one who would one day speak on the day of Pentecost, Peter is asking as a leader of the disciples, is this for us, for the leaders of the disciples, for those who are prominent among us or is this for all? Is this for all of the disciples of Christ? Is this true just for the leadership or is this true for every disciple? Peter was obviously unquestionably one of the leaders of the disciples. He was instrumental in the early church. He was one of the apostles of Christ. Many great things were done through the apostle Peter. So, he could be saying, these stewards, he could be saying, as leaders, is this for me, just me as a leader, or is this for every disciple of Christ? Is this for all the followers of Christ? The word steward that is used here in this passage, or servant, many times interchangeable, they could refer to leaders and not simply followers. It could be, and I don't necessarily agree with this view because surely all disciples of Christ are called to be ready. When we look at what we are to do in following Christ and participating in the spiritual disciplines that Scripture gives us, prayer and fasting and reading the Word of God, all of these things, that is not just for hyper-Christians or for those that are quote-unquote super-spiritual. It is for each and every believer. We are to be engaged in these things. So which of us as believers are to be engaged in waiting for the return of Christ and watching eagerly for His return? I think all of us. Wouldn't you agree? All of us are to be watching. All of us are to be expecting the return of Christ. So I don't necessarily agree with this first explanation. So I don't think Peter is saying us as leaders and the rest of everyone all as disciples. There's two others, and to be honest with you, it's very difficult to determine between these next two which one would be accurate, although I think both of them have their merits. The second option is he's asking, Lord, is this parable for us, us being us as disciples, or is it for all? Is it for everyone else that's here too? Is it for the crowd that's hearing you? Is this just for us? Is this for everyone? Like the argument for view number one, Peter could be speaking generally as a disciple, just as people would say, well, by disciples he definitely means leader. Well, that's not necessarily true. He could just as easily, you could just as easily say he was speaking as a disciple generally. There's really not a specific way to determine from the two. He could be saying, Lord, generally is this for us as your disciples, or is this for all of the crowd that's gathered around? I think I tend to agree with this one probably the most, at least as it relates to this passage specifically. And the reason I say that is because Jesus' interaction with His disciples is not distinctly separate from His interactions with the crowd itself. In fact, if you recall the past several chapters that we've looked at in the book of Luke, very often when Jesus says, Jesus was addressing his disciples, Jesus said to his disciples, and he says this to them, and then all of a sudden somebody from the crowd butts in and says, hey, I got a question for you. And then they start, they don't necessarily distract him, but they had this question that they wanted to answer. Even though Christ was addressing his disciples specifically, that did not mean that there were not other people nearby. In fact, I believe it's verse one of chapter 12, It says, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling on one another, He began to say to His disciples first. So you see, Jesus was first addressing His disciples, but also He was, in a way, addressing those around His disciples, the thousands of people who had pressed in to hear Jesus speak. So I think Peter would be justified in this second view, saying, Lord, is this for us as your disciples? Are you speaking to us? Because you've just directly addressed us, or is this for everyone else in the crowd here that you're referring to? In verse 1, verse 13, verse 45, also in chapter 11, verse 27, distinction noted between the disciples of Christ and the crowd, where he goes back and forth. And in fact, verse number 53 and 54, in verse 53, he's addressing his disciples, and in verse 54, he said to the crowds also. And not even directly addressing the multitudes, saying, hey, you guys out here, not my disciples, but you crowds, but he did address them nonetheless. So I think this would have a little more substance to it. So I would tend to agree mostly with the second option. The third option is this, and it is a basic expansion of the second option that we have. In the third option, people would say, Peter's asking the Lord, Lord, is this parable for us as Your disciples or is this for everyone, and that being everyone who has a relationship to Your kingdom? which, when you really contemplate it, could include the whole of humankind. Even those who are excluded from the kingdom of God do have a relationship to the kingdom of God. They're excluded from it. Not a beneficial relationship, but one of exclusion. They are not included in the kingdom of God. So, it's a more universal application of view number two. Now, this interpretation could also hold true because of what is spoken in the following, how that Jesus, God as judge, has sovereignty and He has the right to judge. He will judge all people, both believers and unbelievers, both participants in the kingdom of God and those who are not participants in His kingdom. And I think that's really the troubling fact when it comes to determining who us and all is, is that there seems to be some type of disjunction between the crowds and the disciples and then Jesus stating that when the Master returns to give a final judgment that, and I'm stealing my own thunder here in one respect, that He will judge both believers and non-believers. So, I think that's really the issue. So, I tend to agree with the second view. I also tend to be wrong, so do with that what you will, okay? So, we see this Peter's question he's asking, and really it's very interesting. Much of the time the Lord, when people ask, I was going to say a stupid question. I was told one time in school, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people. That did not give me much comfort. But anyway, when Jesus encountered this question, He doesn't really answer questions like this a lot. In fact, many times when you see the Pharisees and the religious leaders come to Him, He doesn't even make any attempt to answer their questions. He knows what's in their heart. He knows the intention of their heart and their mind when they're asking this, that he knows they're trying to trip him up in many cases. And so he just completely avoids it altogether and turns it back on them. We can see that when they accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, right? They said, oh, you cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub. And he says, well, if I do it by Beelzebub, then who are your sons doing it by? Gotcha, you know? So he completely avoids many times those comments and questions. So he doesn't, like I said, he doesn't really address Peter's answer. He doesn't say, okay, Peter, this is who us is and this is who all is. This is who specifically I'm addressing. Instead, he embarks on this peril and the judgment that accompanies unfaithfulness and the blessing that accompanies faithfulness. And so if we have time, I'm going to try to, I'll try to cram this in here to the next 10 minutes. We should be able to do it. So, first of all, he says to them, starting in verse number 42, 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. So here in verse number 44, we have the faithful servant. We have the faithful servant. All right. But if that servant, that same servant who has issued those same commands, 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. So here we see the unfaithful servant and there's actually... that we'll see in verse 46 through verse number 48. Three different types, okay? So we see in verse 45 through 46 the unfaithful servant, the first type. The second type we see in verse number 47, I'm going to call him the unprepared servant. He's who knows what the master's will is, but did not get ready or act according to his will, he will receive a severe beating. And the third type, but the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. So you have three different servants, three different actions, and three different punishments. Now at first, face value, we say, well, what's really the difference between the first one and the second one? The first one knew what his master wanted him to do, right? Did he do it? Absolutely not. And what happened to him when he got home, when the master returned? The Bible says that the master returned and he cut him into pieces. He dismembered him and he discarded him. Okay? It's rather harsh. And some would say, well, what's the difference between him and the second one? The second one knew what his master's will was, right? That was true with the first one. And he didn't do it. That was also true with the first one. But the second one was not dismembered. The second one was severely beaten. Now, I don't know about you, I don't want to be severely beaten. I don't think any of us would be up for that. But when it comes to the option of being severely beaten or dismembered, I will be severely beaten any day of the week, right? So what's the difference? Well, we're going to notice the difference as we go through these. What is it really talking about here when it says the servant? In Bible times, Old and New Testament times, when a master of a household left the house, he didn't really leave it to the members of his family to take care of everything that was done. Many times he would leave it to his head servant or the head steward. That servant who had proven himself faithful in menial tasks, in being on time and doing exactly what was asked of him, many times when the master left, he would leave his household and the maintenance of his household in the hands of that servant. So, and that included not only taking charge of his house, but also taking care of the other members of his house, which would include both his family and also, to a lesser extent, obviously, those other bond servants, so those other slaves of his house. It would include taking care of them. It would include rationing to them their food at the appointed time. He was not to be late in doing that. He was to faithfully give to all his servants what the master had intended for them to receive. Okay? So this is the type of servant that we see in view here. So the first one that we'll notice was given the task, and it's really only specified that he was given the task of caring for the other servants. In verse number 42. to give them their portion of food at the proper time, whom his master will set over his household to give them their portion of food at the proper time." That seemed to be this person's only specified, prescribed task. He was to give the ration of food to the other servants. And notice verse 43, we find the end result that man is blessed in what he did, but notice his action. He faithfully did it. He was faithful and he was wise. And when that master returned, he was found doing exactly what the master wanted him to do. To a T, not diverging from it, one point doing exactly what he was prescribed to accomplish. Well, what does it say about this servant? It says, this servant will be blessed. Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing. And notice he's not blessed by, hey, good job, pat on the back. He's also given a greater degree of responsibility. He said the master will put him in charge of his whole household. He will put him above everything. We think of Joseph, how he was the head of Potiphar's household, much in the same way. He was a slave, yes. but he was also given a great deal of responsibility because of his faithfulness. So here we have the first example, this faithful servant. The word faithful here, and we're, well, we'll get to it here in this next one. The second type, we find the first type of unfaithful servant. He says, but if that servant, the one who is given the same responsibilities, if that servant says to himself, You know, my master is delayed in coming. This guy's taken forever. He's been gone away at this wedding feast for a week and a half now. He ain't never coming home. He's put me in charge of all this. So obviously he thinks that I'm capable to do whatever I think with it. So instead of feeding the male servants and female servants and giving them their food at the appointed time like I was kind of instructed to, I'm just gonna pig out and have a feast. I'm gonna eat, I'm gonna drink. The Bible says that he got drunk. He took not only his portion—I'm probably reading in a little bit to this in the passage because it's not expressly stated—I'm going to take their portion and have it for myself. Obviously, he was only thinking of himself. And he ends up beating the female servants and the male servants. Wow! He didn't even come close. What's going to happen to him? Well, we see what he does. not only does not perform what he is instructed to do, but he expressly and actively goes against what he was instructed to do by doing the exact opposite. Instead of nurturing the slaves and servants, instead of feeding them and protecting them and caring for him in his master's absence, he abuses them, he beats them, he neglects them, and he takes what should be theirs, their food, and he gives it to himself and he enjoys it all himself. So we see his actions and then we see his punishment. When we saw his punishment, he is dismembered. He's cut into pieces and discarded. Notice what it says though, and before we get there, this whole dismemberment thing is a very graphic way to illustrate and the strongest way to metaphorically denote rejection. In the book of Judges, we see the story of the Levite and his concubine, how that the concubine left and was unfaithful to him. So the Levite went and retrieved the concubine, and then when they had gotten home, what did he do? Well, he killed the concubine. He dismembered the concubine and dispersed her body to the 12 tribes of Israel. rather graphic, right? But it was the strongest way to denote rejection. And just as that concubine was rejected by the Levite, in that context we see that it was illustrative of how the nation of Israel had gone against God, they had gone after false gods, and how God was rejecting them. But also here it's strongly denoting the rejection that this servant faces because of his not only failure to do what was right, but his gross negligence and disobedience in doing what was evil and wicked. But notice how he's described. He says, he was cut in pieces and placed with… put him with the what? Unfaithful. Now, we think of the word unfaithful as someone who doesn't do what's expected of them, right? If I tell my kids, hey, when I get home, you better have this house clean. When I get home, I expect them to have it clean, right? And if they don't clean it or if they fail to do with their things what I've told them to do, then they're unfaithful, right? They haven't really done what I've asked. This word unfaithful here has a whole other meaning. It can mean that unfaithfulness that we think of if somebody does what they're expected or does not. But the word unfaithful, the Greek word is apistos. Pistos is the word believe, or it can be the word faith. It's the root of that word. And, of course, the prefix a would be without. So when he's talking about how this servant was unfaithful. It doesn't mean he wasn't faithful with what he was given. He was literally without faith, without faith. He was actively, actively disbelieving. Just as the one who does what is expected of him, the faithful servant, that word faithful means with faith, believing. This person here in verse number 46 is without faith. They are not a believer. They are not a follower of God. They say they are, They claim to be following the Lord, and just like in Matthew chapter seven, when Jesus rebuked them, he says, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out many devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? He says, then will I profess to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you that work lawlessness or iniquity. This is that person. This is the imposter. who is not a believer and does exactly the opposite of what a believer would do. They are without faith. They are faithless. So, this one, the first one is the unbeliever. They're the unbeliever. That's really what distinguishes the first one and the second one. The second one, as we'll get into, is the unprepared. Basically, and we've already said it before, those who know the will of the Master, but they don't really do it. They could be maybe likened to that person in the parable of the talents who took the talents that they were given by their master, and instead of putting them to the market and turning them into more talents, they said, well, I know you're a hard taskmaster, and so I buried my talents. They just didn't do anything with their talents, and they didn't get anything back for their master. They were unprepared, weren't willing to make the sacrifice to do what was required of them. He says they will receive a severe beating, or maybe a beating of many blows. The third thing that we see is in verse number 48, not only we see the unbeliever, the unprepared, and now we see the ignorant, the ignorant. I'm not a very good alliterator, if you haven't been able to tell. There's a part of me that eschews, that hates alliteration, but another part of me that likes it, so anyway. The ignorant, verse number 48. Basically, this person had no idea what was going on. They didn't know what was required of them. They didn't know what their master wanted them to do. And even though they did something worthy of a beating, When he came back, the master did beat them, but it was a lesser beating, a light beating, maybe a beating with few stripes. Just a note here, and we can't get into this right now, there is no such thing as a moral, true moral ignorance, right? We know that the law of God is written on our hearts. The Gentiles, even if they don't have the law, when they do the things that are written in the law, they are a law unto themselves, the Bible says. So, there is no such thing as true moral ignorance. Many suppress the knowledge of God. Many fight against the knowledge of God, as we see in Romans chapter 1, but all of us are responsible. All of us are responsible. Even the one who does not know specifically, they are still held responsible to their Master when He returns. And notice the principle that underlies all of this, to whom much is given, much is required. With the greater knowledge that you have, the greater life that God has given, the greater position that God has entrusted, the greater God will require of us when He returns. James chapter 3 and verse number 1 states this very plainly. My brethren, be not many masters or leaders, teachers among you, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. Those who are entrusted with a specific calling or position bestowed upon them by the Lord, they are responsible to God for that calling. And there will be a greater condemnation that is given with that greater authority that is exercised. So what do we say because of all this? Many people would say, man, I want to be that ignorant one because when I mess up, and truly I will mess up, right? It's just inevitable. I'm going to mess up. Then I'll get light beating and not a heavy beating, right? Well, I don't think that's an option for true believers. We ought not seek to be ignorant of what God requires of us. We are to know what God requires of us. We are to be delving into the word of God, seeking how we are to live and how we are to conduct ourselves. and to seek to live according to what He has said. May I remind us, too, that none of us can, not a single one of us. Even the best, most faithful servant that you can think of, even in doing what is right sometimes, can have sinful motives. have sinful desires, can have pride at the forefront instead of having the glory of God at the forefront. And in that way, even though we may be saying the right words or doing the right things or maybe going through the motions the right way, we are still failing and sinning in the process. But here is the gospel promise, that even in the midst of our sin, Jesus has washed it away. He has taken all of our sin upon Himself. And we stand justified, we stand pure before the Lord Jesus Christ, not because of our good, thank the Lord for that, but because of His righteousness, His perfect righteousness that He imputes to us filthy, wretched sinners. Amen? What other things can we learn from this? A real big point, I'll just close with this. We ought always to be living. as though the final judgment, the return of Christ, that final day could happen any second, any moment Jesus could return. And we need to be looking for that day. We need to be prepared for that day, anxiously awaiting His appearance. And may God help us in doing that. Amen. Let's pray. Dear Father, we thank you for your word this afternoon. And I pray, Lord, Lord, each of us at heart is unfaithful. Lord, even in our actions, we sin. Even in saying the right things, Lord, many times we have the wrong motives. And in doing the right things, we have the wrong intentions. I pray that you would help us. Lord, forgive us, I pray, for our sin. May we keep short sin accounts with You. May we be continually examining our hearts and coming before Your throne, confessing our sin and seeking forgiveness by Your blood. May we all, each and every one of us, be looking and living each and every moment in Your presence, knowing that one day You will return and that we are anxiously looking for that day, eagerly awaiting Your appearing. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we ask and pray all these things. Amen.