Greetings everyone.
I'm continuing my exegises of Luke 12 today, by looking at verses 35 through 48. Here is my translation:
35 Be dressed and ready, with your lamps burning. 36 Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding feast, so that when he arrives and knocks on the door, they can immediately open it for him. 37 Blessed are those servants, those that the master finds alert when he comes home. I tell you truly, the master will change clothes, and have them sit at the table, while he serves them. 38 So, if he arrives in the middle of the night, and still finds them watching for him, those servants will certainly be blessed.39 But understand this: If a homeowner had known the exact time that a thief was coming, he would not have allowed him to break into his house. 40 So, be ready! You cannot predict the time in which the Son of Man is coming.41Then Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us or to everyone?”42 The Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master can give authority over his household to give out their daily food at the right time? 43 Blessed is the servant that the master finds doing this when he gets home. 44 I am telling you, truly, the master will put that servant in charge of all of his possessions. 45 But if the servant says in his heart, “My master is delayed in coming home”, and he begins to mistreat the servants, both male and female. Plus,he eats and drinks to the point of drunkenness. 46 When the master arrives at an unknown hour, on a day when he is not expected, he will cut him in two and he will be put in his place among the unfaithful.47 A servant who knows his master's will, but is not prepared, or simply doesn’t do it is beaten severely. 48 But a servant who doesn't know the master’s will, yet does things deserving punishment, is beaten less severely. To everyone who has been given much, much is required. To those who have been entrusted with much, even more is asked of them.
In verse 35, Jesus tells them that ὀσφύες περιεζωσμέναι, (osphues periezosmenai) which means to gird your loins. According to Darrell Bock this is an expression that means to draw your long garments up around your waist in order to be able to move quickly. (Bock, 1174.) He also tells them to keep their lamps burning, so that even in the darkness, they will be ready.
Starting in verse 36, he tells a parable in which the master has gone off to a wedding feast. According to Bock, in the ancient world, such a wedding feast could last for several days, so the time of the master’s arrival at home would be unknown. (Bock, 1174.) A good servant will remain dressed with a lamp lit. When the master returns, no matter the hour, the good servant is ready and waiting to attend him.
Jesus stresses that such a servant is truly blessed for it. According to Jesus, for such a servant, the master will change clothes, have the servant sit at the table and the master will attend to him. Later, the wicked or lazy servant who is not ready when the master returns is punished.
The point: We do not know when Jesus will return, so we should always be attentive. We are to keep that heavenward focus at all times.
There isn’t going to be any kind of announcement beforehand when the Lord returns. If there were, everyone would wait until shortly before that time and then suddenly get spiritual. Jesus tells us that it isn't going to be like that. He makes another parallel about this. If the homeowner knew in advance when the thief was coming, he would be there, ready and waiting, and the thief would not be able to break in and steal anything.
In verse 40, Jesus tells them again to ‘Be ready,” understanding that those who are ready when he returns will receive great blessing, and those who are not will receive judgment. (There is no way to predict when Jesus will return. Those who think that they have it figured out are mistaken.)
In verse 42, Jesus returns to his parable about the servants and their readiness for the master’s return, but now is focused on the manager’s, those without the household with leadership positions. They are to be careful how they treat those under them. The manager is the servant left in charge of the house while the master is away. This manager has certain responsibilities, among them is to make sure that all of the other servants receive their allotment of food. In other words, his leadership position carries with it, serving the other servants. The leader that is acting this way when Jesus returns will be blessed. Jesus says that he will be placed over all of the master’s possessions.
However, the manager that takes advantage of his position to be self-indulgent and abusive toward the other servants, will be judged. Jesus says that such a manager will be διχοτομήσει (dichotomesei) This word means ‘to be cut in two.” Now, is Jesus suggesting that such a servant will be literally cut into two parts, or is he speaking in hyperbole, to mean that such a servant will be severely punished. I am inclined to think the latter, because Jesus also says that such a servant will be assigned a place among the unbelievers. Such an action would seem meaningless to the two halves of a dead body. The idea here is the abusive and faithless manager will be severely punished.
Jesus goes on to discuss levels of punishment. Those who know God’s will and choose not to do it, will be punished severely. Those who are ignorant of God’s will, and therefore do not obey, will still be punished, but not as severely. What does this mean? Are there levels of punishments that await the ungodly? I can't say that I know the answer to that question, but this passage implies that there is. However, I would conclude that for those who are always ready, it doesn't matter.
Tom
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