Luke 12:37, commentary and pictures

The lord returns from the wedding late in the night to find his servants awake with girded loins and burning lights, ready to open to him at once without delay, and then in astonishing reversal he himself girds and seats them and serves them food. To be found watching is to stay alert and faithful for his return at an unknown hour, guarding the heart against slumber and ease with continual prayer and burning lamps. It is not idle waiting but earnest working while he is away, doing appointed duties, obeying the truth, trading entrusted talents, and warning the world to save souls while opportunity lasts. Those servants are blessed and honored as loyal children, welcomed to the marriage supper of the Lamb in God's kingdom where Jesus himself serves them after tribulation and faithful suffering for him. Though his coming is sure and near, the waiting is a prolonged probation in mercy, so watching means living as pilgrims with treasure laid up in heaven, using means for the needy and the cause of God rather than hoarding wealth for self-pleasure.

Parable Context and Wording

The Lord is pictured as returning from the wedding, and His servants wait with loins girded and lights burning to open to Him immediately when He comes and knocks, without delay. That waiting is to be kept even through the late night watches, with readiness that does not fail when the hour is late. It is solemn, serious work of watching for souls as those who must give an account, and it includes the work of the faithful and wise steward made ruler over the household to give the portion of food in due season, so that the servant found doing so when his Lord comes is blessed. In these last days this blessing calls for constant watchfulness, with eyes turned heavenward away from earthly pleasure, worldly fame, and the deceitfulness of riches, strong against sloth and selfishness and love of ease, even when the waiting time seems long and faith falters.

His coming is at an unknown and unexpected hour, and the Son of man comes at an hour not expected. It belongs to the last events of earth's history, so believers must remain constantly prepared and not lapse into carelessness or idle contemplation. It draws nigh amid great and solemn events, with judgments and plagues in the land while opportunity to work still remains.

The wording describes an astonishing reversal of ordinary service: the lord himself girds himself, makes the servants sit down to meat, and comes forth to serve them, taking the servant's place. That act pictures the honor and special care He gives to faithful, ready followers when He comes. Servants are blessed when He returns and finds them watching, meaning faithfully alert and ready, even when He comes later than expected.

The verse belongs to the lesson of Luke 12, of great importance for all the sons and daughters of God. It calls them to live as watching servants and as pilgrims and strangers whose citizenship is above, moving out by faith in plain devotion without needless adornment. That life guards the heart with perpetual vigilance and jealousy lest it be estranged from God, and hungers and thirsts after righteousness while seeking God's kingdom, giving to the needy, and laying up lasting treasure in heaven.

Meaning of Watchfulness

Blessed watchfulness means remaining alert, ready and faithful for the Son of man's return at an unknown hour, with perpetual vigilance and jealousy guarding the heart against estrangement from God and hungering and thirsting after righteousness. It resists spiritual slumber, sloth, indolence, selfishness and love of ease, holding eyes turned heavenward away from earthly pleasure, worldly fame and the deceitfulness of riches, even when the waiting time seems long and faith falters. It prays continually and keeps the spiritual lamps supplied and burning, staying spiritually alert while anticipating Christ's return. This readiness belongs to the last events of earth's history, calling for constant preparedness without lapse into carelessness.

Those found watching do not wait in idle expectancy or idle contemplation but attend faithfully to life's duties, uniting vigilant watching with earnest working. Watching includes vigilant obedience, purifying the heart and soul by obedience to the truth, doing His commandments and bringing forth much fruit as branches of the true Vine, with His joy remaining in them. Because they know the Lord is at the door, their zeal is quickened to cooperate with divine intelligences in working for the salvation of souls. They give the warning message to the whole world and save perishing souls while great and solemn events, judgments and plagues are in the land and opportunity to work still remains.

This watching is the work of the faithful and wise steward made ruler over the household to give the portion of food, the portion of meat, in due season. It declares the truth specially applicable now and gives the special warning for their generation, as Enoch, Abraham and Moses each declared the truth for his time. It is solemn, serious work of watching for souls as those who must give an account, staying ready to open immediately when He comes and knocks on His return from the wedding.

Watching includes daily prayer and being aroused to act on light already given. Each does his best in his appointed place of duty, staying awake to responsibilities, waiting for the Master, and faithfully caring for what He has entrusted to them. Each trades the Lord's entrusted talents, influence and opportunity for increase while they last, because talent and opportunity are present today but may soon be lost, and night comes when no one can work.

Promise to Watchful Servants

Those servants whom the lord finds watching when he comes are blessed, and he honors them with special care by girding himself, seating them at his table, and coming forth to serve them. Their watchfulness belongs with faithful service while he is away, as they wait and work in preparation for his return, using every opportunity to do good willingly, faithfully, gladly and to his glory without measuring service with pride or fear over reward. They are welcomed as loyal, royal children gathered at his table, and as the Master of assemblies he himself serves them and gives them peace and joy in his service. This blessing calls in these last days for constant triple watchfulness, with eyes turned heavenward away from earthly pleasure, worldly fame and the deceitfulness of riches, standing strong against sloth and selfishness and love of ease and opening to him immediately without delay when he comes and knocks, even when the waiting time seems long and faith falters.

Christ rewards those who watch for his coming and teach it, in contrast to those who deny it. Watching means being aroused to act on light already given, each doing his best in his appointed place of duty and trading the Lord's entrusted talents, influence and opportunity for increase while they last, because talent and opportunity are present today but may soon be lost and night comes when no one can work. Those who so watch as faithful stewards will be rewarded as if the merit were their own, though without the grace of Christ every soul would be bankrupt for eternity and all gain comes only from God's deposit.

The promise is fulfilled in welcoming his faithful, tried people to the heavenly supper, the marriage supper of the Lamb in God's kingdom, where Jesus himself girds himself, invites them to supper, has them sit down and recline at the table, and serves them. It is spoken to those who have come through great tribulation and have done his will and suffered for him, whom he calls to enter the city and share the promised feast and the blessings of the better land. After enduring great tribulation and doing his will they are welcomed to the heavenly supper in the City.

He calls them from the City to come in to supper after the New Jerusalem comes down from God out of heaven and settles on the plain on earth, bidding those who have come out of great tribulation and have done his will and suffered for him to come in where he will serve them, and they answer with shouts of Alleluia and glory. They enter the City to a table of pure silver many miles long spread with the fruit of the tree of life, manna, almonds, figs, pomegranates, grapes and many other fruits. He receives those who have come through great tribulation, done his will and suffered for him, and promises that the faithful will soon eat from the tree of life and drink from the fountain of life, though the full eating of the fruit of the tree of life and drinking of the water of the fountain waits a little while longer for those who must first go back to earth again and remain faithful.

Here the table is also the banquet of truth that the compassionate Redeemer who gave his precious life has prepared, and Christ himself seats those who come to truth at his table and serves them. The invitation is set before rich and poor, including worldly moneyed men and men of wealth, as the banquet Christ has prepared for them to which ministers of the gospel are urged to bring them in.

Coming Near Yet Delayed

The coming of the Lord is a sure and near hope, drawing nigh to the time when He will soon say it is done. The blessing rests on those servants whom He finds watching when He comes, and the verse encourages believers to keep looking for Him and looking forward to Him through earthly troubles. That watching is not idle, but doing His commandments and bringing forth much fruit as branches of the true vine, with His joy remaining in them. It gives the warning message to the whole world and saves perishing souls while great and solemn events, judgments and plagues are in the land and opportunity to work still remains.

The waiting period is a time of probation, prolonged by His patience and delay so that people may repent and receive eternal life. Servants are blessed when Christ finds them watching and ready at His coming, even when He comes later than expected. Watching means living ready for His return, with attention fixed on lasting heavenly treasure rather than wealth hoarded on earth. Though the Lord delays out of patience, the period of probation remains the time to remain ready and faithful during the wait for His coming.

Though the waiting time may seem long and faith may falter, the call is to constant watchfulness without delay, opening to Him immediately when He comes and knocks and welcoming Him in. This blessing in these last days calls for eyes turned heavenward away from earthly pleasure, worldly fame and the deceitfulness of riches, strong against sloth and selfishness and love of ease. The prolonged period will appear short when the redeemed stand with Him in eternity and look back from eternity. What felt long in waiting will then be seen as brief beside standing before God in eternity.

Because the time of His coming is unknown, expectation of it should awaken reverence for God's judgments and gratitude for His mercy. That same expectation quickens faithful service by giving the truth specially needed for one's generation. Watching therefore includes vigilant obedience, purifying the soul by truth, and earnest work for the salvation of others rather than waiting idly. The blessed ones are those whom the Lord finds so watching and faithfully waiting for Him when He returns.

Treasure Stewardship and Daily Life

Watching for the Lord's return means living ready with attention fixed on lasting heavenly treasure rather than wealth hoarded on earth, seeking God's kingdom and laying up unfailing treasure in heaven where the heart follows. It is tied to selling what is owned and giving to the needy, and to faithful service as the reason for readiness rather than spending the Lord's goods on unnecessary things. Those found watching when he comes, even when he comes later than expected, are blessed, and the reward is an astonishing reversal in which he girds himself, seats the faithful at a meal, and serves them.

Watching means not settling down on riches for ease and self-pleasure or hoarding wealth in mansions and bank holdings. It means moving as pilgrims and strangers whose citizenship is above, in plain devotion without needless adornment, guarding the heart with perpetual vigilance and jealousy lest it be estranged from God, and hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Wealth is the Lord's to be received and returned with thankfulness, to be gained by industrious work and honest earning and invested in the Lord's cause to help perishing souls. Doing less than one can do incurs guilt by indolence, and hoarded wealth is worthless beside the salvation of souls for whom Christ died.

Faithful service belongs with waiting while he is away, as servants wait and work in preparation for his return and will be honored by being made to sit at his table and served by the master himself. Watching means staying spiritually alert and continuing to do the work entrusted, staying awake to responsibilities, praying, waiting for the Master, faithfully caring for what he has entrusted, with spiritual lamps kept supplied and burning. That service for God may be done in any line of duty and should be willing, faithful, glad, and directed to his glory, using every opportunity to do good. Those who work earnestly need not measure their service with pride or fear over reward, but may find peace and joy in serving Christ, and he will honor his watchful, faithful servants as his loyal, royal children when they gather at his table and he himself serves them.

In this same readiness, parents faithfully work with God to build their children's characters after the divine model and live out that model before them. Remembering the future meal where Jesus himself will serve those who love and obey him at the marriage supper of the Lamb in the kingdom of God, the whole family should eat now with gladness and gratitude. Food should be prepared in an enjoyable way and rebellion should not be cultivated at the table.