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THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – IS THIS STORY JUST FOR US?

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IS THIS STORY JUST FOR US?

“Peter said, ‘Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?’

The Master said, ‘Let me ask you; who is the dependable manager, full of common sense that the master puts in charge of his staff, to feed them well and on time? He is a blessed man if, when the master shows up, he’s doing his job.'” Luke 12:41-44

Jesus did not give Peter a direct answer. The disciples were left to figure out for themselves whether they either were or wanted to fit the description. The word we love to use, Christian, is never a title. It is a function, just as the subtitles in this category of Christian are functions; words like elder, deacon, bishop, apostle, prophet, reverend, etc. Christian leaders love these titles because they tend to raise them above the crowd.

Jesus had issues with this attitude because it took away from the humility of the function and placed the focus on the elevated status of the person. On one occasion, He taught His disciples that they should never allow themselves to be called ‘Father’. Titles may give a person prestige in the eyes of people but they add nothing to the person in the eyes of God.

What is God looking for in His people? He looking for people who will fulfil the function of the title we love to wear. ‘Why do you call me ‘Lord’ and do not do what I say?’ He asked them. Even calling Jesus ‘Lord’ is useless if our behaviour does not measure up to our confession.

So what is the point of Jesus’ reply? In the context of this entire chapter of Luke’s Gospel, He is talking about what we as His followers do to imitate Him in the way we treat the people entrusted to us. It may be within our family circle or much farther afield, depending on our sphere of responsibility. It does not matter what our circumstances are, He is looking for faithfulness to our task during His absence. And what is our task? To take care of those entrusted to us until He returns.

In the context of this discussion, the question is: How are we carrying out our function as managers of the property and the people He has entrusted to us to care for during His absence? In whatever capacity we function in the body of Christ, leaders have been put into managerial positions, not to lord it over the people, but to take responsibility for their well-being in every way until the Master comes to claim His possessions.

“Be shepherds of God’s flock that are under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” 1 Peter 5:2, 3 (NIV).

It is sad that today many so-called ‘Christian’ leaders are manipulating God’s people into ‘sowing’ their livelihood through guilt, fear or false promises, even to the point where they promise that, for every unit of money the people give, a soul will be saved! Have we gone back to the same outrageous preaching that triggered the Reformation six centuries ago? Do we have resurrected ‘John Tetzels’ peddling of indulgences to swell the coffers of our churches?

This is not God’s way. Leaders are “men who must give account,” Hebrews 13:17b (NIV). Our leadership is both a privilege and a responsibility – and we are to carry it out faithfully and patiently until the Master returns.

Watch!

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WATCH!

‘But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert. You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away. He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

‘Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’ (Mark 13: 32-37).

How could Jesus claim to be God and yet not know when He would return? Was He contradicting Himself? Was He or was He not God?

We must understand His statement in the context of His humanity, and also as wedding talk! After a Hebrew bride and groom had drawn up and signed their marriage contract – ketubah – the bridegroom would tell his bride, “I am going to prepare a place for you and, when my father approves of the bridal chamber, I will come again to take you to where I am.” She would respond, “When will you come for me?” and he would reply, “No one knows the day or the hour except my father.”

Does that sound familiar? Of course, Jesus was talking to them, in the language of a wedding that He intended to return for them when the Father sent Him back to claim His bride. One of the great themes of the Bible is a wedding. God chose Israel to be His bride, but she broke her betrothal promise time and again by committing adultery with the gods of the surrounding nations. God eventually “divorced” her by sending her away into captivity in Babylon.

Once again, on the day of Pentecost, Jesus proposed to His followers; they accepted, and the church became the bride of Christ – betrothed to her Bridegroom and awaiting the wedding when He returns. The Book of Revelation describes that great event – the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad, and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people – Rev. 17: 6-8).  

Did you get that? When Jesus repeated, over and over again, that His disciples must be ready, what did He mean? How can we be sure that we are ready for His return? It does not mean, as some have done, that we must quit our jobs, stockpile supplies and hide in a cave in the mountains to watch for His return. That is a foolish way to interpret what He wants of us.

To be ready means to be doing what He called us to do, faithfully, until He comes. What did He call us to do? He called us to be replicas of Him where we are, in our homes, at work, in society – showing mercy to all people because God has shown mercy to us. He called us to follow Him – to be His sons and daughters in the midst of His enemies, walking in the light of His Word and showing the path to others so that they, too, will return from their wicked ways and walk in obedience to God’s instructions.

The “bridal gown” which the bride was given to wear, in John’s vision of the future, is a picture of the lives of God’s faithful people. Fine linen symbolises the lives of those who follow Jesus – filled with deeds of mercy and compassion as a witness to the transformation of their hearts by God’s grace – from greed and wickedness to generosity – because the Holy Spirit had taken up residence in their hearts.

Like the five foolish virgins in Jesus’ parable, those who have neglected to take care of the needs of others will be shut out of the wedding celebration when the Bridegroom returns. He will reject their plea to open the door because He did not know them. They were strangers to Him because they were not like Him.

Jesus’ warning that they must be ready was to alert His disciples to their role in the kingdom of God as they await His return – not to become lazy or neglectful, or to return to their old ways but always to remain on the alert because the Master’s return will be unexpected. Like a homeowner who went away and left his servants in charge to see that the household continued to run smoothly in spite of his absence, they were to keep doing what they were assigned to do up to the very last moment.

In the interim, we are not to sleep but to be alert and to keep watch.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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