Luke 12:35

Luke 12:35–59

4/18/2012

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

Keep Your Lamps Burning
"We will be held accountable to the Lord at his return. This concept is frightening only if we have something to fear because we are unfaithful. With his return comes the hope of casting off our sinful humanity for a glorified and purified existence forever with God. These texts exhort us to live like what we shall become. If we live righteously, we will have nothing to fear when the Lord returns.
Not everything in this passage warns of judgment. Is there a more amazing promise in Scripture than that the Master will serve the faithful at the table?
...So we serve and wait expectantly, not knowing exactly when he may return. This uncertainty has a warning with it. Though Scripture tells us to keep watching and be ready, it compares Jesus’ return to a thief in the night. We cannot know exactly when he will return, and we should be suspicious of anyone who dates Jesus’ return. Instead, we should concentrate on being faithful the whole time he is gone and look forward to the day when the master appears." [1] (bolding mine)

We don't need to fear! Live in expectation of His return. Live like Jesus is watching...because He is. This isn't a burden, it's a comfort! Sometimes we think of Jesus' return and wish it would wait. Why? "Because I didn't get to do ______" or "What if heaven is boring?" There are a lot of possible reasons, but I think it comes down to one major reason: we are being unfaithful. For the one that seeks Jesus on earth with everything in them, how could something we miss here compare? How could we worry about a place where Jesus is present being boring? Some of this might also come from a misunderstanding/lack of understanding about heaven and the New Earth, but again, for those who seek Jesus, what is there to fear?

Live your life to honor God. Store up your treasures in heaven and you will have NOTHING to fear.

Finally, some thoughts from Randy Alcorn about perspective and what we'll remember in Heaven about our time on earth:

[1] Darrell L. Bock, The NIV Application Commentary: Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 360-61.

Ina

4/18/2012 04:45:12 pm

In the online sermon video the guy talked about how the innocent African man still goes to hell and everything because he doesn't know Jesus and that he still gets the same eternal punishment in hell as someone who has rejected Jesus. But what about in the bible where it says "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."? is that verse talking about the ''innocent African man?"

Greg

4/19/2012 02:21:47 am

To understand how serious this possibility is, we must look at verses 46–48 and compare the three punishments. (1) The servant who is outright disobedient, doing the opposite of what is commanded, will be dismembered, and the Lord will assign him a place with unbelievers. Some translations water down the phrase “cut him to pieces,” but the NIV preserves its true force. The picture here is of outright rejection. (2) Someone who knows what his master wants and who simply fails to obey that command will be severely disciplined; he will receive many blows. The picture here is of a disciplinary judgment. (3) But for the servant who fails to obey because he does not know what he must obey, he will be beaten with a few blows. Jesus pictures an accountability here that varies, depending on what one does and what one knows. The picture here is also of a disciplinary judgment, but less severe. The gradation of the judgments shows that accountability before the Lord does express itself with variation at the Lord’s judgment.
Jesus closes by saying that to whom much is given much is demanded, and those entrusted with much will be asked much. That is, those who receive grace have received much, so they are asked to be faithful to the responsibilities their new-found relationship gives to them. The gifts of God must be used responsibly in service. Jesus does not answer Peter’s question of verse 41 directly because his main principle is the kind of service we give, not sorting out who is responsible to give it. Answering in this way shows that all have a call to serve others in the body well during the time of Jesus’ absence. To be a member of his community is to have responsibility in it; this is especially true of the leadership. In the Western church, where resources of instruction and communication are readily available, most of us have access to much, making us responsible for much. But such an observation anticipates how we bridge into the present. (Darrell L. Bock, The NIV Application Commentary: Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 356-57.)

Good question Ina. I don't think that this passage is talking about those that have never heard: it is talking about those that have heard and have said that they accepted the message. The passage is clear on a principle that we've talked about before: that if someone truly knows Jesus, they WILL bear fruit. That is why the disobedient servant is "assigned a place with unbelievers" if he truly knew they master, he would obey. The other ones are a little more difficult, but I think fall under the category of "those the Lord loves, he disciplines". They will receive salvation, but in the matter of rewards will be lacking.

The main point of the passage though is Andrei's question below. This is an application for US. We are not Christians living in a persecuted country without a Bible, without resources, and without knowledge. We live in a free country with countless resources for learning the Bible at our fingertips, as well as countless opportunities to serve God and share the Good News with others. We are those "to whom much was given". God expects us to use these resources and not act as the disobedient servant did. It sounds harsh, but the truth is that if we are able to serve the Master but choose not to, we are being selfish and disobedient servants.

Andrei

4/18/2012 05:23:03 pm

'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.'

I don't think I completely understand this line. What should we take from this?

Greg

4/19/2012 02:22:20 am

See my reply to Ina above.

Comments are closed.

Luke 12:35–59

Archives