The Parable Of Jesus. Wise and Foolish Servants Luke 12:42-48

Transcription

1 The Parable Of Jesus Wise and Foolish Servants Luke 12:42-48

2 The Text Luke 12:42 48 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

3 The Parable s Intent The parable is the promise of punishment for those who are not faithfully watching for Christ to return.

4 Parameter Of The Parable Peter was concerned about to whom Jesus was speaking regarding who was to always be ready and watching for his return. Jesus will move beyond who should be watching and also reveal what will happen if they are not found doing so.

5 Problem Prompting The Parable This parable focus upon outcome of living a life focused upon things Christ warned not to worry about. Disobedience begins with an attitude of mistrust and doubt.

6 The Parable Progression The parable focus is on consequences and rewards for all who are being an adherent to God s command or levels of punishment against all people who are disobedient by refusing to watch faithfully and not worry about material things.

7 The Star Of The Parable Luke 12:42 "The Lord answered, 'Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?' A. The chief protagonist in the parable is "the faithful and wise manager." The noun oikonomos "manager of a household or estate, '(house) steward, manager.' B. Manager is modified by two adjectives The first adjective is pistos = "pertaining to being worthy of belief or trust, 'trustworthy, faithful, dependable, inspiring trust/faith.' The second adjective is phronimos = "pertaining to understanding associated with insight and wisdom, 'sensible, thoughtful, prudent, wise.'

8 The steward isn't just anyone, but one whom the master (kurios) appoints to this leadership function. The verb is kathistemi, "to assign someone a position of authority, 'appoint, put in charge.' The primary responsibility of this steward is to give his fellow servants food allowance on a routine laid out schedule. The noun is sitometrion, "a measured allowance of grain/food, 'food allowance, ration' The steward that Jesus is praising is doing nothing flashy and sensational necessarily The steward is simply faithfully serving out his duty, day after day, without fail, without forgetting, without unexplained lapses His virtue is faithfulness. You can count on him.

9 The Payoff For Wisdom "It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions." (Luke 12:43-44) When the master returns from a journey and finds his steward has been doing what he was told to do without slacking off, the servant will be rewarded. The reward is a promotion. Put in charge = verb in vs. 44 is kathisetmi, appoint," that was used in vs. 42. The steward's responsibility moves from just the therepeia, "servants" (vs. 42). Now the steward is appointed over all the master's possessions, huparcho = "what belongs to someone, someone's property, possessions, means."

10 Good Servant Gets Frustrated Luke 12:45 - "But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. Jesus has told a parable about a faithful head servant to show the rewards of faithfulness. Now he makes the protagonist abusive in order to indicate the punishment for unfaithfulness. chronizo = "to extend a state or an activity beyond an expected time, 'delay, take a long time (in doing something).'

11 The Rewarded Servant Thinks He Is The Master Luke 12:45 continued In the text the abusive rewarded servant begins to beat his fellow servants. The verb = tupto, "to inflict a blow, 'strike, beat, wound.' Taking upon himself a master's prerogatives to discipline. indulging his personal desires has abandoned the self-discipline that got him appointed head servant in the first place. gorges himself with food and wine, and goes about drunk rather than sober. The faithful now unfaithful servant now lives for himself and not his master.

12 Luke 12:46 - "The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. The master's coming in the parable is swift, but the unfaithful servant is clueless. He doesn't "expect" the master. The verb is prosdokao, "to give thought to something that is viewed as lying in the future, wait for, look for, expect.' Nor does the abusive servant "know" or anticipate this hour of returning. The punishment will be horrible and will exceed what would seem appropriate. dikotomeo = 'cut in two,' of dismemberment of a condemned person.

13 In addition to dismemberment -the unfaithful steward is assigned (tithemi) the portion (meros) or reward of the unbeliever, the faithless. seems to go beyond the punishment of the servant in the parable, to the eschatological (end-time) where the unfaithful and unbelieving are cast out into outer darkness, far from the joys of table fellowship in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:29-30; 8:12; 13:50;18:8-9; 22:13). Though the unfaithful steward had been a servant, since he refused to believe that his master would return to correct him, he is allotted a place with the gross unbelievers. He is stripped entirely of his relation to the master's household.

14 Luke 12:47 48 "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. Jesus concludes with some pretty sobering words. A servant will be beaten in accordance with his knowledge of what his master wanted. The verb dero = "originally, 'skin, flay, -Using rods to punish was extremely common. -Fathers would discipline their children with a rod; -masters would discipline their servants with a rod. -Punishment of criminals would sometimes be with a rod or whip --Discipline was not designed for cruelty, but for instruction.

15 How Parable Relates To Kingdom Everyone is expected to watch and be ready when Christ returns for his bride. A bride is suppose to spend her time preparing and yearning for the arrival of the groom.

16 Specific Research In The Parable Under the Old Testament Law a person could be beat with a maximum of 40 strips according to Deuteronomy 25:1-3. The Old Testament also allowed for lesser punishment of those who commit sins of ignorance as stated in Leviticus 5:15 and Numbers 15:29.

17 Three Points In The Parable 1. There is a difference between high handed willful sin and ignorantly disobeying God regarding being watchful 2. Regardless of the reason there are consequences for not making Jesus and his return a priority. 3. It s a huge gamble to watch but not with excitement and great expectations.