Text: Luke 12:35-59
Date: November 17, 2024

Introduction

Opening Discussion: As we begin our time in the word today I want to begin with a very simple question: How urgent is your faith? In our busy, distracted, and connected world, where we are so often pulled in many directions, it is easy to forget that the gospel calls us to a life of urgency. Not some frantic, unfocused, waste of energy, but an urgency developed from a deep understanding of the eternal weight of what we believe. It’s an urgency that is built upon a deep awareness of our mission, our purpose, and our Savior’s call.

Let’s look to Christ’s words.

Luke 12:35–44 ““Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men 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. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” And 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…”

Meaning & Application

I THE RULE

First, let’s consider the rule. What is Christ teaching in this passage principally, and what is the sense of how we should apply it.

Three Images: In the opening verses of this passage Jesus gives three images that all conveny that we are to have a sense of urgency about our faith.

Stay Dressed: The passage begins with this phrase “Stay dressed for action.” That is a translation of a phrase that directly reads, “Let your loins stay girded.” In the days of Jesus, men often wore long flowing robes. If a person wanted to run fast, they would have to pick up their robes much like a woman might pick up a floor length dress in order to move quickly. And so Jesus instructs us to live in such a way that we are ready to run. Ready to move quickly for the sake of the Kingdom.

Keep Your Lamps Burning: The second image is that of “keeping our lamps burning.” This one is not too difficult to understand. In our house, if we have a guest arriving at our house late at night, we leave the front porch light on, as a way of lighting our front porch in preparation for them. In the same way, spiritually we are to keep our lamps burning. We are to live in such a way that we eagerly anticipate the arrival of Christ on our front door step.

Men Waiting: The third image has a bit more detail. He describes the servants of a master who are watching the house while the master is away at his own wedding. In those days, a wedding could have been a multiple day event, and if it was in another city, multiple weeks even. When the master of the house returns in joy with his bride, the servants of the house should be ready to greet him with joy, to welcome into his home, and to greet the bride.

Summary: Jesus is conveying a very simple message. He is instructing his Church to live out their faith with eager anticipation. With an urgency that understands that the time is short, that every moment counts. But what specifically are we to be urgent about. Verse 40 is very clear.

Luke 12:40 “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.””

Jesus was looking forward to the days ahead where he would have ascended and left his Church with the Holy Spirit, the days that we are living in right now. And knowing that it would be many years (at least about 2,000 of them), he instructed them to not forget that though he would go away (Christ would ascend into heaven), he would also return. And so he is speaking about the day that is still to happen in our future, in which Jesus Christ returns to rule physically on this Earth, to bring the final judgment, and to usher in an entirely new age, the age of Heaven on Earth.

He Will Return Suddenly: And verses 39-40 serve as a stark warning that his return can happen at any moment.

Luke 12:39–40 “But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.””

One day the Scriptures inform us that a angelic trumpet will sound, that will be heard around the world. At that moment a voice an archangel will prepare the way of the Lord. And then the Lord Himself will descend. And we are told that at that moment the dead in Christ will be raised first, and then we all who are still alive at that moment, will meet Christ face to face. That moment will come suddenly. Some will be at work, grinding away at their computer. Some will be at home, taking care of their children. Some will be college students when it happens. Some will senior citizens. But when he comes, he will come suddenly. And here, Jesus is pleading with us, to live each day in such a way as if that were the day he was returning.

Develop This Idea: In a general sense, that the rule of this passage, the general teaching that Jesus is communicating. But I want to move us beyond generalities. I want make this practical for us, and really ask us to consider what it means to live with a sense of urgency. There are implications for the believer and the unbeliever in this room today.

Urgency to be Found in Christ: First, to the unbeliever. Your soul is in grave danger. Right now, you are the servant who is sleeping on his watch. The Master is returning soon, and what will he find. Will he find you devoted to Christ? No! The hour is short. If Christ returns before you have placed your faith in him, there will be no second chance. Your punishment will be severe. Right now your soul is like one who’s raft is lost at sea, and taking on water. Christ beckons you to come to him, to hold onto him lest you perish. But you are sleeping. You refuse to cling to him for life. Your death will be on your own heads. May this not be you. Have an urgency, right now. Repent, turn to Jesus, believe before there is no time remaining.

Urgency of Spirit Filled Living: Second, there should be an urgency of Spirit filled living. This might sound strange, but it shouldn’t. The Christian who is eagerly waiting for Christ’s return, is eagerly living now by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not only in their private devotion life, but in every decision of life. They are eager to experience God throughout their day by the power of the Holy Spirit. They are hungry to see the pages of Scripture come alive in their life. They are hungry to live out the one another’s of Scripture, and use their Spiritual Gifts to pour out into others. These are the kind of people who are quick to pause and pray for another person, because they know that Christ answers prayers and they are truly dependent on him.

Hunger for Family & Church Health: Fourth, we should have an urgency for family and church health. For our families, a sense that Christ could return today should inspire husbands to take leadership over their home, to lead their family in family devotions. To send their wife and children out the door that day with hymns and spiritual songs on their lips. And they should have an urgency to raise children to know and love the Lord, knowing that Christ might return any moment, and we want our children to be found in the faith when Christ returns. And the same goes for our Church. An urgency to see this place flourish, to see this community grow in depth. To see new leaders raised up, and the various ministries really run faithfully and excellently. In short, an urgency that when Christ comes back and he sees what we have personally been busy with in our Church, to be able to look him in the eye and say, “I have poured myself out in service to your Church.”

Hunger for Missions: Lastly, and certainly not least, there should be a hunger and an urgency about evangelism and missions. The knowledge that Christ is returning soon, should give us a deep hunger in our souls to see our neighbors in this city and around the world come to saving faith in Jesus Christ before it is too late. A hunger to see the nations that our plummeted in the darkness of Islam and Hinduism and Buddhism to coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ, the one true and living God. Our prayers ought to be filled with prayers for the lost, pleadings with Christ to unlock their hearts to believe in Jesus Christ!

Summarize: This is what Christ is talking about when he tells us to “stay dressed and ready for action, and to keep our lamps burning.” And now I ask you to examine your lives. Are you dressed and ready for action? Are you living for the imminent return of Christ? Will you be counted among those blessed souls who will hear we are told will be served by the Master himself?

​

II THE RISKS

Thus far we have examined the rule, the general principle that Christ has instructed us. But now we turn and look at the risk. What are those threats and dangers that keep us from living with this kind of urgency. Jesus addresses this in the second half of this discourse. We read in verse 45.

Luke 12:45–46 “But 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.”

General Sense: First, let us consider the general sense of this section. Christ tells a parable of a servant whose Master went away on a trip. At first the servant eagerly waited for the Master’s return, but eventually many days passed, and the servant began to take things not so seriously. He began to eat a bit too much. He began to drink a bit too much. He began to abuse other members of the Master’s household. Jesus says that the Master will return suddenly, and when he finds how that servant behaved, he will punish him severely. He will cut him off from the kingdom and consider him among the unfaithful.

Three Risks: This passage describes what every person in this room has been thinking ever since I started this sermon, in one degree or another. It describes what it is like to live in the time of waiting, in the in between. There are indeed particular dangers that this servant draws our attention to that are relevant even for us. I believe we can draw out three from this passage directly.

Thinking There is More Time: First, and perhaps the most obvious, is the simple belief that there is always more time. See the beginning of verse 45.

Luke 12:45 “But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’

Do you hear his thoughts. He’s thinking to himself. My Master has been gone for a year now, two years. Every day is going on as it was yesterday. It starts little for this servant. He begins to notice that he’s not dusting the rooms quite like he used to. He then decides to cut the lawn and weed the flowers every other week instead of every week. Rather than putting on his full uniform every day he switches to more comfortable clothes. And why? Because there’s more time.

Experiential: O Christian, do not let this seed of sin work its way into your heart. It starts little, you allow yourself some small worldly pleasure that you know the Lord does not approve of, but you convince yourself you have time to root it out later. No there is no time. “Stay dressed and ready for action.”

Dulling the Masters Instructions: Second, the risk of dulling the master’s instructions.

Luke 12:45 “But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants…

In those days, the servant who was in charge of the house would have had any number of disciplinary measures he could have used to discipline the house staff. “Beating the servants” was not one of them. When the Master was present, that Master would have given precise instructions on how disobedient servants were to be handled, but because the Master is away, and more and more time is passing, the servant becomes his own authority and begins rewriting the instructions on how to manage the house.

Personal: How easy it is to adjust the master’s instructions in order to appease somebody! Before we know it, we have dressed the bride of Christ up like a prostitute in order to appease the calls of the masses around us who want more entertainment, want less doctrine, want certain passages not to be preached, want certain issues not to be discussed. No Church, we are not at liberty to dull the Master’s instructions!

Comforts & Cares of This Life: The third risk we see in this passage is the comforts and cares of this life.

Luke 12:45 “… and to eat and drink and get drunk,”

Food and drink, in this sense, tells us that this servant, began to fill his time with worldly pleasures. He didn’t have an urgency that the Master might return any moment, but rather he had a non chalant attitude and began making himself comfortable. After all, how else was he supposed to pass the time.

Experiential: Church, how relatable is this? I think we all can say in some degree that we have drank the waters of this well. This is a particular comfort in this life that our flesh very naturally cries out for. And while there is no sin in providing for our families proper comforts. There is a sense that a true urgency of faith is convinced that the comforts of this life are fleeting. There is a sense of engaging with this world, while markedly not being of this world, that should identify a Christian.

Close Section: Oh dear Christian. Not one of us will do this perfectly. Each of us will fail over and over. I have looked into my own soul this week and I am disheartened by the lack of urgency with which I so often live. I am disheartened by how clean and tidy my Christianity is. Oh how often I fall short of this standard. But there is grace! Before you feel overwhelmed at all of your shortcomings, fix your eyes on the one who died for you, and let your grief over your own carelessness and wantonness be matched by the joy of knowing Christ has forgiven you. O how precious it is to be forgiven in Christ! But if that is you today, if you are in Christ, do not let the grace you have become another reason to grow careless.

Romans 6:1–2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

Let grace motivate you to urgency, to zeal in the Lord!

​

III THE RESPONSE

We have looked at the rule, and then the risks. I want to close briefly by looking at the response. Woven throughout this entire passage is how Christ will respond to our urgent living. Throughout this passage we see both the blessing of those who are in Christ, and the terror of those who are outside of Christ.

The Terror of Those Who Reject Christ: First, let’s begin at the end of this passage and consider the terror of those who reject Christ. We read in the final few verses their torment.

Luke 12:46–48 “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. And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

Let us draw two thoughts from this passage

To Reject the Master to Incur Wrath: First, to reject the Master, is to incur the wrath of the Master. What we do with Jesus, the Master, in this life, has eternal consequences. This Master ended up in Hell, not because he broke a few of the Master’s commands here and there, but because He rejected the Master himself. The deeds followed the heart. And that man’s heart rejected the Master. The Master of the House is Jesus Christ. This is his world. This is his Church. We must born again. We must have a heart that is set on doing the Master’s will, and that can only come about by grace through faith in Jesus Christ…

Eternal Consequences Come in Degrees: Secondly, we see from this passage that punishment in Hell comes in degrees. Now there are a few ways to interpret this idea of a lighter beating and a heavier beating. My understanding is something like this. The Hindu man in India that dies without ever having much access to the gospel at all, will be apart from Christ in hell for eternity. The little light he had of the gospel, he rejected, and he will be held responsible for that. But that man’s degree of suffering in hell will be less than the Pastor who studied Christianity, knew the details of the Bible, and walked away from his faith.

“Everyone to whome much was given, of him much will be required.”

The Blessing of Those in Christ: But let us turn to the blessings of those who are in Christ. There are three promises made about those who serve Christ faithfully in this life within this passage.

Recline at Table & Serve Them (37): First, in verse 37 where we read,

Luke 12:37 “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.”

O faithful saint. This is perhaps one of the most compelling and humbling passages in all of Scripture. Jesus Christ, our crucified Messiah, has set a day when those who are in Christ will gather before Him. And though he is the King of Kings, and though we in our hearts would truly cry out that we would rejoice to simply be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord. The Lord, himself will take the servant’s position, he will have you recline and rest. And then he will serve you. He will do this for you because this is what he has always been doing for you. Christ showed his love by washing his disciple’s feet. And he showed his love by sacricing his life to serve you, to love you. He is the chief servant!

Give us our Portion (41): Second is in verse 41 where we read

Luke 12:42 “And 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?”

Christ will give you your portion. Each of us in this Earth are assigned responsibilities in the Kingdom, varying from person to person and from calling to calling. In heaven, each will receive a reward based on how they managed the gifts and the time they were allotted. Your portion of your reward will be granted to you. And in heaven, there will be no jealousy over whose portion is greater or smaller. Those with more will delight to share with those with less. And those with less will delight to see their beloved saints in the Lord in full communion with Christ.

Set us over Possessions (44): And third,

Luke 12:44 “Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.”

This type of language is used throughout the NT when Christ speaks of our responsibilities in heaven. It seems that heaven will be a place, in some ways like this Earth. We will be assigned duties and responsibilities by the Lord. Only in heaven, there will be no thorns and thistles to make our work difficult. There will be no sin to corrupt our mind and heart as we serve. Rather, we will serve the Lord in our stations with joy. And in some way, he will place us over various responsibilities in heaven.

Wrap Up: Truly, heaven is a world of love. And in this life, we are either preparing ourselves for an eternity in that world of love, or we are preparing ourselves for a world of the absence of love. There are blessings to be had in Christ, and there is punishment to be had outside of Christ. O may we be those wise servants who eagerly wait for Christ!

Closing

Final Question: I would like to close by asking you a question. What do you want to be found doing when Christ returns? That moment is coming as certain as the sun will rise tomorrow morning. It is on the horizon. It is getting closer each and every hour. What do you want to be found doing when Christ returns? I have thought about that question much this week. I know for certain, I hope he doesn’t come back while I am scrolling Twitter or browsing Netflix. And the thought of that makes me want to keep rooting bad habits out of my life.

Nevertheless, what do I hope he finds me doing. Oh, I hope he finds me preaching a sermon with every last ounce of wisdom and passion I have in my body. Or ministering to a hurting soul with my Bible open. Or with my team praying fervently for His Church. Or maybe it is simpler still and yet still no less glory filled and beautiful. I hope he finds me leading my children in early morning family devotions, or sitting with my wife at the end of a long day and processing all that is happening.

Whatever he finds me doing, whether something great or something small. I hope he finds a heart of a servant who is dressed and ready for action, who has kept his light burning.