Readiness and Responsibility - Luke 12:41-48 - November 5, 2023

 Luke 12:41-48 Readiness and Responsibility

Good morning! We are returning to the Gospel of Luke this morning and continuing through Jesus’ teaching on readiness and responsibility for His disciples. We are going to look at verses 41-48 of chapter 12 and that’s on page 872 in the pew Bibles.

Our text for this morning begins with a question from the Apostle Peter in response to the text that we looked at last week so we’re going to read that portion again so it makes sense in context.

The fact that Peter asks this question of Jesus is completely consistent with what we know of his character: kind of impulsive, quick to speak, and generally selfish. He had a tendency to think of himself first and seemed to have an inflated view of the importance of the disciples as a group.

Now, keep in mind, this was before the Disciples received the Holy Spirit. Though they had been walking with Jesus and listening to His teaching, without the Holy Spirit their capacity for understanding and rightly applying that teaching was severely limited.

So let’s look at our text together.

35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 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. 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. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 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. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” 

41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 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? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 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, 46 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. 47 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. 48 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’s pray.

So what part of the first parable do you think Peter was asking about? It appears that Peter was asking about the reward for the servants who were found faithful in verses 37-38 in hopes that Jesus meant that it was the Twelve Disciples that had a reward in store not just everybody.

And as it typical, Jesus answered Peter’s question with another question.

And in this question Jesus expands the parable to focus specifically on those who bear the responsibilities of shepherding the flock from the Disciples to all who would follow after them.

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?  43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

The word, “manager,” can also be translated, “steward.” It is a person who is entrusted with the care of running the household. It’s clear from Jesus’ parable that the household manager was responsible for making sure that everybody in the household was fed the proper amount and at the proper time. These were amounts and times that would have been set by the master of the house.

These types of household stewards needed to be faithful and trustworthy so that the master of the household could entrust them with the watch care of the household while he was away or attending to other business.

This is precisely the task that Jesus would entrust to the Apostles, not just the original Twelve but all those who would come after them, Barnabas, Paul, Timothy, Titus, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Steadman,  Begg, VanOosterzee, Brown, Aron, Keniston…

Those whom the Lord has placed in the role of shepherding are responsible for the watch care and feeding of the Lord’s household until He comes back.

That’s what the word, “pastor,” means. It doesn’t appear in the New Testament in the ESV, though some translations use it in Ephesians 4:11, those that do only half translate it. 

“Pastor,” comes from a Latin word that means, “Shepherd.” The Greek word is actually, “poimen.”

Either way, it’s not the word that matters, it’s the role.

And as John Calvin wrote, “If each of the common people ought to watch, much less ought it to be endured that the apostles should be asleep.”

As evidenced by Peter’s question, I think the disciples at this point weren’t that concerned with the crowds of people and the potential of their responsibility to watch over them. I don’t think they understood the depth of the role that Jesus had called them to.

After Jesus’ ascension as recorded in the book of Acts and the coming of the Holy Spirit the Disciples had a much better understanding of what their role was and what they were to do with what Jesus had just told them here in Luke 12.

The truth of the matter is that the role of stewarding and shepherding the flock comes with great temptation and a higher standard for behavior. James 3:1 says, Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Those who teach, and shepherd, and manage the household will be held accountable for what they teach, how they shepherd, and whether or not they were faithful to the Master’s will for His household.

Jesus describes how the manager put in place by the master of the house was tempted, when the master’s return was delayed and just what that manager should expect for his unfaithfulness.

45 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, 46 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.

Our favorite theologian, JJ van Oosterzee wrote, “Excessive severity towards others and excessive laxness towards one’s self are not seldom united in hirelings without the shepherd’s heart.”

Van Oosterzee is referencing John 10:12-13 where Jesus said:

12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

Unfortunately, far too many of us have had bad experiences with people who have been put into the role of shepherd that do not have a shepherd’s heart. Like I said before, the role comes with great temptation. The desire for power and control have overcome many would be shepherds, they end up severe towards others through their expectations for performance, through attendance, and giving, and legalism, but are lax towards themselves in their lives of relative ease and influence.

Jesus reminds the disciples that those who are unfaithful in the role of steward will pay a great price.

Leaders who fail do not fall from grace but they certainly can end up cut down and often ostracized and disillusioned. 

Jesus said, 47 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. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. 

You’ve heard the expression that Ignorance is not an excuse? Well, ignorance is certainly not an adequate shield to ward off the judgment of God.

The steward who knew the master’s will but didn’t act accordingly will be punished but the worst part about it is that they will cause those who did not know the master’s will to be punished as well. Their punishment will not be as severe but they will be punished nonetheless.

Jesus sums up this teaching with a familiar phrase in verse 48:

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.

You’ve heard it said that with great power comes great responsibility, where do you think that came from?

The Apostles were entrusted with much, they were entrusted with the spread of the gospel and the watch care of the church, they were entrusted with the Holy Spirit and they will be held to account for it at Judgment as will all those who followed them.

We will all one day have to account for what we did with what we were given and what we were given to do while we waited for the Lord’s return.

Unfortunately, we think we have time so we delay doing what we know we ought to do and busy ourselves indulging in what we ought not do.

Listen to the words of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:10-14.

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

One day we will all be held to account for how we lived, how we taught, how we lead, and how we served. May the Master find His servants faithfully serving on that Day. Amen.

Watching and Waiting - Luke 12:35-40 - October 29, 2023

 Luke 12:35-40 Watching and Waiting

Good morning! We are continuing our study in Luke chapter 12, this morning we are going to look at verses 35-40, that’s on page 871 in the pew Bibles.

I would be remiss if I launched into this sermon without acknowledging some of the events that we have been seeing in the news lately including the war in Israel and the shooting in Lewiston, Maine. For those of you who don’t know, I was born in Lewiston and have spent many happy hours bowling at the facility where the shooting took place.

We will certainly pray for peace and comfort for all of those involved and for the families that lost loved ones as well as the first responders that were helping people on scene and those involved in pursuing the suspect.

And we will also continue to pray for peace in Israel and the safe return of those taken hostage and for comfort for all those who have lost loved ones in both Israel and Gaza.

These things have prompted many people to start to wonder if we are indeed in the end times and if the return of Christ is imminent. These are legitimate questions and are worth considering, and that fact is confirmed by our text for this morning, Luke 12:35-40.

Let’s read that together.

35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 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. 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. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 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. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Let’s pray.

So far in Luke chapter twelve Luke has grouped several different sayings of Jesus that fit a similar theme that really boils down to what the focus of Christ’s disciples should be, that our trust should be in the Lord and not our material possessions, and here in these verses He gives us the reason: and that reason is that He is coming back again.

Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning! That is the instructions that He gives His disciples.

You may see a note there in verse 35. The phrase, “stay dressed for action,” literally means to keep your loins girded. This may be a familiar phrase, to gird your loins, but what does it really mean?

Don’t forget that Jesus was speaking to people in First Century Israel and nobody knew what blue jeans were yet. People wore long tunics and cloaks then which we often see characterized in our Christmas plays or in the movies, and to gird your loins meant to gather the long garments from between your legs and tuck them up into your belt so you were ready for action.

Long garments had to be girded up so as not to hinder walking, working, and fighting. Pants really were a wonderful invention!

Loins were to be girded and lamps were to stay lit so that servants were ready to serve, they could move freely and they could see in the dark.

Jesus doesn’t just give them this instruction but He shows them the application and importance of this kind of readiness. Look at verse 36.

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.

Skip ahead to verse 38.

 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!

The Romans split up the hours of the night into four watches, 6pm to 9pm, 9pm to 12am, 12am to 3am, and 3am to 6am. So Jesus says, if the master comes back from the wedding feast late at night, even as late as three am and finds his servants awake and ready for him, ready to open up the gate when he knocks and let him in, blessed are those servants! They aren’t asleep, they have nothing to hide, and they open the door at once!

Jesus would go on to tell another parable similar to this in the verses that follow our passage about servants who weren’t ready for their master’s return and what will happen to them and we’ll look at that next time. 

But the temptation for the servants is to, quite frankly, be lazy and not be diligent about their duties because the master wasn’t there. While the cat’s away, the mice will play. They could have their own little feast while the master was gone and get drunk, or fall asleep while he was away instead of being diligent in their duties and keeping an eye out for the master’s return.

Jesus describes a wonderful reward for those servants who were found faithful and were awake and alert to the master’s coming and opened the door for him when he came back in verse 37.

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.

Jesus says that the reward for these diligent servants is that the master himself will gird his own loins, it’s the same Greek word, and serve the servants. This again is a great picture of the upside down nature of Jesus’ kingdom, the King serving His servants.

In Mark 10:45 Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

RC Sproul wrote, “When He comes those who are found ready, who are busily engaged in their work, having set their hearts on the kingdom of God, and not the acquisition of material possessions, will be rewarded. When the King comes, the King will serve His faithful people.”

Jesus goes on to share a second picture. In the first picture he illustrates the readiness that He expects from His disciples but in the second He shares the unexpected nature of His return.

39 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. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Just imagine if you got an email saying, “I’ll be at your house next Thursday night at 8:15pm so I can burgle your house.” You might reply, “I will also be at my house next Thursday night at 8:15 pm so I can clean your clock.”

But that’s not how it works. The alarm system industry exists because that’s not how it works.

Jesus is telling His disciples to be ready because His return will be just like a thief in the night, He will come at an hour we do not expect.

This idea is repeated several times in the New Testament.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

2 Peter 3:10, 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief…

Revelation 16:15, 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)

Verse 37 says, Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.

Verse 40 says, You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The plain emphasis of Jesus’ teaching here is: Disciples be ready! So we are left to consider the question, what does readiness look like? 

To that question I must respond with two more: Do you believe that Jesus is coming back today? How would your life change if you did?

The ground floor of readiness is saving faith in Jesus Christ. We are certainly not ready for His return if we are still in our sin, we must have personal faith in Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death on the cross in order to be ready for his return.

But should Jesus tarry another two thousand years what should we do in the meantime? Be watchful, be faithful, be diligent. To be ready is to live my duty and die at my post. Not lazy, not worldly, not sensual, not inconsiderate. We must be watchful and call others to watchfulness as well.

In the words of Peter from 2 Peter 3,

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 

14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Amen.

True Treasure - Luke 12:32-34 - October 22, 2023

 Luke 12:32-34 True Treasure

Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 12:32-34, page 871 in the pew Bibles.

Over the last few weeks we have been dealing with Jesus’ teaching on greed and worry, both ideas wrapped up in material things and materialism. This morning we’re going to be looking at Jesus’ summary statement on this teaching and what might look at first like a warm hug just might turn into a kick in the pants.

Let’s look at our text together.

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Let’s pray.

I like verse 32, verse 32 is great. It’s like a warm hug from Jesus.  “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Sometimes you need a warm word like that… Fear not, little flock… I just love the idea of sitting there with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and hearing these words from His lips… Fear not little flock…

But we can’t get lost in that warm feeling and miss out on the true comfort that Jesus is offering His disciples: It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

First of all, who’s Father? Jesus doesn’t say, His Father, or the Father, he says, “Your Father.”

Ephesians 4:5-6 says, 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace…

Through faith in Jesus Christ, Yahweh, the Almighty God, I Am that I Am, the Creator of the universe, has adopted us as His children and we get to call Him, Our Father. This is no small thing!

Romans 8:31-32 says, If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

It is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom, it makes Him happy to give the kingdom to His beloved children. What a wonderful thought… But why does Jesus give it? What lesson is there for us in this wonderful truth, what is it that His disciples weren’t seeing in order for Him to point this out?

If we look back over the preceding verses, it becomes pretty clear that the overwhelming concern was not in the reception of the Father’s kingdom, it was the preservation of the earthly kingdom.

Back in verse 13 of this chapter, someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” And Jesus went on to tell the parable about the farmer whose barns were too small to hold his bumper crop and instead of putting his great gain to good use in helping others, he decided to build bigger barns to store it up for himself.

Jesus went on to tell His disciples in verse 22, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.”

What was Jesus pointing out? Was He not showing His followers that their concerns were really wrapped up in the temporary kingdom of this world?

In the parable, God said to the farmer, “Fool! This night your life is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

To His disciples He said, “Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows you need them. Instead seek His kingdom and these things will be added to you.”

Isn’t Jesus’ point to get His disciples to trust the Father and use their resources to help others?

What makes this idea easier to deal with is the thought that the kingdom that the Father is pleased to give us is not here and it is not made of the same kind of stuff.

Daniel loves the old joke where a rich man insisted on being buried with all his gold. So when He died they filled his casket with gold bricks and when he got to heaven they asked him at the gate, “What are you going to do with all that pavement?”

Not very biblically accurate but you get the point…

Martin Luther wrote, “What a man loves, that is his god. For he carries it in his heart, he goes about with it day and night, he sleeps and wakes with it; be it what it may- wealth, or self, pleasure, or renown.”

Ray Steadman said, “These treasures grip us whether they are of earth or in heaven. They seize our feelings, our affections and they hold them in an iron grip. Therein lies the terrible danger of treasures on earth. We find that if our affections are centered on things, we begin to love things and use people instead of using things and loving people as we are called to do.” 

Jesus said, 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Jesus’ point was that if His followers overvalued treasure on earth, whatever it happened to be, they would be anxiously concerned about it and their hearts would be divided. But if instead they had treasure in heaven, as a result of proper use of their earthly resources, a treasure that won’t rot or wear out, and were rich towards God and His kingdom, they would be concerned with matters pertaining to His kingdom instead of in a state of anxiety over material things.

Matthew Henry wrote, “Set your hearts upon the other world, and your expectations from that world. Provide yourselves bags that wax not old, that wax not empty, not of gold, but of grace in the heart and good works in the life; These are the bags that will last. Grace will go with us into another world, for it is woven in the soul; and our good works will follow us, for God is not unrighteous as to forget them. These are the treasures in heaven that will enrich us to eternity.”

The beauty of the biblical record is that we have examples of exactly how the Apostles interpreted this teaching from Jesus. We can see exactly how this was borne out in the life of the early church.

Acts 2:42-47

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 4:32-37

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

This is what it looks like to ready our hearts for the coming kingdom.

Just to be clear, this is not a fundraising campaign. That is not at all what we’re after here. In fact, money is only a small piece of the pie. What we need, as a family and as individual disciples, is to be kingdom minded when it comes to our resources, whether those resources are money, or influence, or skill, or things.

When I was first hired as a carpenter’s apprentice years ago they told me that I needed my own hand tools to start work: a tool belt, a hammer, a flat bar, tape measure, and a circular saw. 

I didn’t have any of those things, and I didn’t have money to buy any of them either. My dad lent me an old tool belt and some tools, and a thirty year old Skil Saw with a cord about three inches long and I went to work. It’s not always about money.

Remember the words of John the Baptist from Luke chapter three. 

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

God sent His Son as an act of grace, an unmerited, undeserved gift, an act of charity. 

Jesus gave His life on the cross as an act of grace, of charity. 

Through faith in Jesus we are forgiven and adopted as children of the Father by grace, by His charity. 

As His children our lives from this point on should be entirely marked by acts of grace, acts of charity, and seeking opportunities to use our resources for the good of others in order to expand God’s eternal kingdom. 

That should be our treasure. For where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also.

Amen.