WAITING FOR THE MASTER’S RETURN

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 20, 2021 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: January 20, 2021 from Luke 12:35-48

Theme: Our Lord gives His servants instructions on how to be found ‘ready’ for His return.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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We come to a passage in the Gospel of Luke that—if we respond to as we should—we will one day be very grateful we read. It has to do with the return of the Lord Jesus to this earth. But more specifically, it has to do with our preparedness for that day; and with being found pleasing to Him when He comes.

The Lord Jesus had just gotten through telling the disciples not to worry about the temporal concerns of this life—what we should eat, or what we should drink, or what we should wear. Our main concern instead should be to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. As Jesus reminds us in verse 34, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

It’s a dangerous thing to let the concern for the temporal things of this earth so control us that we lose our focus on our Lord’s eternal kingdom—and on His call to watch for Him and to be doing faithfully the work He gave us to do until He comes. If we put His kingdom first, all these other temporal things will be added to us by our Father. And so, our Lord goes on to urge us to keep watchful and keep ready for His return.

In Luke 12:34-48, He said;

“Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?” And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:35-48).

This is a very important exhortation from our Lord concerning the day of His return. And it’s an act of grace that we’re allowed to hear it now—before that day arrives. In it, our Lord gives us—His servants—instructions on how to be found ‘ready’ for Him at His coming.

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Let’s look through our Lord’s words. First, we see that we should …

1. MAINTAIN A STATE OF CONTINUAL READINESS (vv. 35-36).

Our Lord tells us, “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.”

Jesus is taking an illustration from a common, everyday event of the times. When a man would become engaged to a woman, he would work hard to prepare the home for her. And on the wedding day, he would go to the home of her parents, and receive her to himself, and escort her to their new home. All their friends would be waiting with lamps to light the way. The call would be given, “The bridegroom comes!” And when he knocked on the door of their home, his servants would open to him—and thus their wedded life together would begin.

Now; our Lord, in using this analogy, is illustrating to us the necessity of being ready. We’re to have our waist girded up (that is, be dressed in readiness), and keep our lamps lit and burning. He taught a similar parable in Matthew 25:

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matthew 25:1-13).

There will be many who knew that they should have kept ready—but were caught by surprise. What a horrible loss it will be when that happens. Now is our time to make sure we’re always ready—and kept alert for the call, “Behold, the bridegroom is coming …!”

And to encourage us in that readiness—to encourage us to always be alert to the time of His return—Jesus next shows us that we should …

2. EXPECT TO BE BLESSED IF FOUND WATCHING (vv. 37-38).

He said, “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching” (v. 37a). And notice the remarkable thing that He says about the nature of this blessedness: “Assuredly, I say to you that he [that is, the master] will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them” (v. 37b).

You see; on that wedding day, the bridegroom brought his bride into the house in order to begin the wedding celebration. And here, our Lord is telling us that it will be He Himself who seats His servants to serve them! He served us by dying on the cross for us; and there is much more that He yet delights to do for us. In Revelation 19:6-9, we’re given a picture of this. On our Lord’s wedding day to His bride the church, the apostle John writes about hearing the voice of a great multitude declaring loudly;

“Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” (Revelation 19:6-9).

I don’t think we could even begin to imagine the glory of what this might mean. But it will be worth whatever our faithfulness might cost us in order to be among the blessed guests at that banquet. What could compare with our Lord—the glorious Bridegroom—graciously serving us at His banquet table?

Jesus says, “And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.” The second watch was from 9 pm to midnight. The third watch was from midnight to three in the morning. It’s hard to stay up until 3 am. But it’s worth it if that’s when our Lord returns—and when He thus finds us watching for Him and ready.

This reminds us that we should …

3. BEWARE OF LETTING THE GUARD DOWN (vv. 39-40).

Jesus now changed His metaphor. He spoke of someone who was serving as a household manager—someone who was responsible for keeping and protecting what belongs to his master. Jesus said, “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into” (v. 39).

Thieves don’t send you a courtesy notice in advance … not the successful ones, anyway. They come when you’re not expecting them. So; since a wise household manager doesn’t know when a thief might show up, he simply keeps on the alert all the time. If he lets his guard down, he will not see it when the thief comes by—and then the house will be broken into. And what’s interesting is that, in this parable, our Lord is presented to us as the thief—but only in the sense that He comes at an unexpected time. He went on to say, in verse 40, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

On another occasion, Jesus told His disciples something truly amazing:

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is” (Mark 13:32-33).

Absolutely no one—not even our Lord Himself—knows when that day will be. But one day, the Father will turn to His Son and tell Him to go and get His bride. And that day’s date is known to no one but the Father. (By the way; whenever someone sets a ‘date’ for the day of the Lord’s return, we can automatically know that they’re wrong. They can’t know. Not even our Lord knows. So how could they know?) And so, we must be ready—and beware of ever letting our guard down.

Now; the apostle Peter was unique among the apostles. He often asked the questions that everyone else wanted to ask—but didn’t have the courage to ask. And so, we’re told in verse 41, “Then Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?’” It’s a great question; isn’t it? He wanted to know if our Lord’s words were meant just for the Twelve apostles; or if they were meant for everyone who followed Jesus.

Our Lord’s answer showed us that we should …

4. UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS FOR ALL BELIEVERS (vv. 42-44).

In verses 42-44, we read; “And the Lord said, ‘Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.’”

Our Lord’s answer, then, is that ‘whoever is a faithful and wise steward’—whoever the Master finds doing his or her job when the Master comes—that’s who our Lord was speaking about. And notice that it’s that wise and faithful steward who—on the Master’s return—is given more. As Jesus taught us in Luke 16:10;

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters; if our Master has given us something to do in His service—big or small—then His words in this passage apply to us! The specifics of what those duties are might be different for you than they are for me. But we must be faithfully serving at His call; working in His name and for His cause; watching for His return.

Jesus went on to warn …

5. DON’T LET THE SEEMING-DELAY LEAD TO UNFAITHFULNESS (vv. 45-46).

He spoke of the faithful and wise steward; and then went on to say in verses 45-46, “But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.”

The fact that the day of His coming is unknown—and that it could literally be at any time; when it is least expected—should keep us from living as if it were far away … or as if it will never occur. The seeming delay of the Lord is an act of grace—as the apostle Peter wrote. He said that the Lord is not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance. But he also affirmed that the day of the Lord will come; and that we should therefore …

be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation— (2 Peter 3:14-15).

And one more thing we should do is …

6. KNOW THAT OUR LORD’S EVALUATION WILL BE PERSONAL,

He will not treat every servant the same way, or evaluate their performance as a group. He went on to say in verses 47-48, “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” He will be just in His evaluation to each one of His servants.

You and I—by the way—are not now able to say that we are among those servants who “did not know” what our Master expected. We now know His will; because He has just told it to us.

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Perhaps the apostle Paul was thinking of these words from our Lord when he wrote to the Thessalonian believers and said;

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).

So may it be that we use the knowledge our Lord has given us wisely—and be found serving faithfully when He comes.

EA