The Strand Study Bible

LUKE

LUKE

1661

1. The Word ( loins be girded about - Eph 6:14) 2. Watching ( and your lights burning ) We are admonished by our Lord to detach our affections from this present world and to seek both the Written Word and the return of the Living WORD . Parable #19 is aimed at believers who watch for the return of CHRIST . Sadly, not everybody watches. However, those who do watch are called to constant vigilance. The character flaw – assuming watching requires no real investment of one’s tithe, talent and time . It does. According to Jesus, in order to properly watch, we are to be: 1. Eager to invest in the eternal (vs 31-34 & 14:12-14 and Mt 6:19-20), giving our tithes and offerings 2. Equipped to handle the temporal (vs 35 and Eph 6:13-14), using our talents for God 3. Expectant of the Lord’s return (vs 36-40 and I Thess 5:4-6), redeeming the time God’s given us 12:37 Tis better to serve than be served, for in serving you will one day be served. To those who accept CHRIST’S admonition to seek His Word (not wealth) and to serve Jesus said He would come and make them sit down, while He “served” them. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: To serve the interests of others is to (one day) “serve” your own interests 12:39 CHRIST is likened to a “ thief ,” who will come when least expected (Mt 24:43-44, I Thess 5:2, II Pet 3:10-14 and Rev 3:3a & 16:15). The DAY OF THE LORD is going to overtake unbelievers like a thief, not believers. 12:42 a This word ( steward ) is the Greek word οLNοQοPο9 ( oikonomos ), from which we derive our English word “economics” ( I Cor 4:1 ). Christians are called to be wise enough to know what God’s affairs are, and to invest their time, talent, and tithes in those affairs until He returns. Failure to use that wisdom to manage the Master’s household affairs (Lk 12:45-48) will result in Heaven becoming a place of regret ( II Cor 5:10-11 , Mt 5:19 a , I Cor 3:14 and Mt 24:51 ) instead of reward at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST (Rom 14:9-12, Jms 3:1, I Pet 4:17, I Jn 4:17, Heb 10:26-31, II Jn 8 and Rev 3:11 & 4:10). 12:42 b One of the great functions of those who serve Christ is to supply men with the spiritual food necessary for the higher life ( to give them their portion of meat in due season ). Called spiritual dietetics, the wise servant will seek to discover the right kind of food to dispense by “ studying to show himself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth ” (II Tim 2:15). Parable #20 was given in response to Peter’s question in verse 41. It is aimed, therefore, at believers who are called to be stewards and thus accountable for God’s work . The character flaw – assuming stewardship requires no accountability . It does. 12:43 This word ( servant ) comes from the Greek word GοXOο9 ( doulos ) and signifies, “ one who is in bondage .” The man who sees himself as a doulos (bondservant) to Christ (I Cor 9:19) will be blessed and rewarded (vs 43-44), but the man who does not see himself as a doulos (bondservant) of Christ will suffer at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST (vs 45-46 and II Cor 5:10-11 ). 12:46 Notice Jesus didn’t say that the Christian who fails in his service to God “will go where the unbelievers go.” No, Jesus said he “ will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers .” The form of punishment here is figurative. The believer had been a double-minded hypocrite (Jms 1:5-8), trying to serve two masters (Mt 6:19-24), and his Lord, with the sharp sword of judgment (Rev 2:12), smites through the false, apparent unity of his life and reveals its duplicity. Thus, Christians who serve their own interests, while failing to serve others, will be made to feel as if they had been through hell at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST ( Mt 24:51 ). NOTE – In order to properly prepare for Christ’s return, Christians must be willing to take in the truth (Eph 6:14) and give it out (Mt 5:14). The warning here is against spiritual laziness (Mt 24:44 and I Pet 1:13). 12:47 Jesus is not teaching here that a Christian can lose his salvation. Rather He is warning them that the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST is not merely a place of reward (Rom 14:9-12, Jms 3:1, I Pet 4:17, I Jn 4:17, Heb 10:26-31, II Jn 8 and Rev 3:11 & 4:10), but a place of regret ( shall be beaten with many stripes ) as well ( II Cor 5:10-11 , Mt 5:19 a and I Cor 3:14 ). Erwin W. Lutzer in Your Eternal Reward notes:

I am convinced that those who have been unfaithful will suffer loss. I agree with A. J. Gordon, who wrote, “I cannot think of a final divine reckoning which shall assign the same rank in glory, the same degree of joy to a lazy, indolent and unfruitful Christian as to an ardent, devoted, self-denying Christian. If this life is a training ground for greater responsibilities, believers will be thoroughly judged; then once eternity begins they will differ in glory as lightbulbs differ in brightness. 1

1 Lutzer, Erwin W. Your Eternal Reward, Chicago , ILL, Moody Press, 1998. Print.