Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Blessed is the servant who is found faithfully doing his assigned household work when his master returns unexpectedly. That work is to act in the master's place and give the household timely nourishment, caring for the flock, educating families, warning of the nearness of the end, and bringing present truth from the Word to each one in need. Because no one knows the day or hour of the coming, readiness must be steady, faithful service every day, not idleness, worldly absorption, or putting off preparation. The one so found is approved and rewarded with greater trust over all the master's goods and with eternal life and an everlasting inheritance. In contrast the evil servant concludes in his heart that the return is delayed, neglects and abuses his fellows and lives for appetite and the world, and will be overtaken unawares and cut asunder with the hypocrites.
Discourse Setting and Scope
Blessed is that servant is part of Christ's discourse about the destruction of Jerusalem and His coming, a discourse that reaches forward to the final events of earth's history and is intended for those living then. The chapter concerns events preceding the coming of the Son of man, in which Jerusalem's destruction serves as a type of the world's final destruction by fire. It is the Lord's great prophecy sketching the history of the present dispensation to the complete restitution of all things, giving special place to the thrilling closing scenes, tracing the church through warfare and sufferings to promised redemption, the final triumph of God's people, the destruction of Satan and his followers, the total extirpation of evil, and the renovation of the earth as the everlasting inheritance of the saints. This memorable discourse recorded in Matthew 24 and 25 was given a short time before He entered Gethsemane.
Matthew 24 speaks of the second coming of Christ, not a coming fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem. Its predictions are being fulfilled in the present time, showing that Christ's coming is at hand. Therefore they are to be studied again and again and brought before believers and unbelievers, and to be explained by ministers and teachers while leaving matters of lesser consequence. They hold truths that decide eternal destiny and call the church to arouse as the unmistakable fulfilment is seen.
Faithful Servant's Assigned Work
While the Lord is absent He entrusts His household, His interests and His affairs to the servant, who is to watch and wait and prepare for His appearing and remain faithful in the trust rather than be found sleeping when He comes suddenly. The blessed one is the faithful and wise servant made ruler over the household to give them meat and food in due season at the proper time, found doing that work when his lord comes. Faithful carrying out of that assigned household care is readiness for the unexpected return, and it is rewarded with greater responsibility over the Lord's possessions. Mere religious profession and neglect of that duty stand in contrast to such faithful service.
A steward identifies himself with his master and accepts a steward's responsibilities, acting in his master's stead as his master would do were he presiding, and making his master's interests his own. The position is one of dignity because the master trusts him. If he acts selfishly in any way and turns advantages gained by trading and dealing with his lord's goods to his own advantage, he perverts the trust reposed in him and can no longer be looked upon as a trustworthy and dependable servant on whom the master can depend. So doing is faithful ministering to and educating of church members and families for spiritual advancement and the good of souls, shepherding and caring for the flock and giving timely spiritual nourishment. That includes feeding, rescuing and restoring even the most depraved outcasts, giving them opportunity in Christ's way by relieving suffering and teaching righteousness.
So doing is watching and working by giving truth, present truth appropriate for the times in which they are living, and giving the warning message suited to these last days to the world. It means diligently searching the Word with disciplined minds stored with its lessons, speaking words of truth, giving every man his portion from the treasure-house of things new and old while Christ abides as a living fountain, tracing the signs of Christ's coming, calling attention to dangers besetting the world, warning that the end of all things is at hand and that judgments will come upon cities because they have greatly dishonored God, and manifesting in each town and city a diligent concern for souls by speaking the truths of God's Word, as Noah gave warning to the antediluvians before the Flood, without failing or becoming discouraged whether men accept or reject it. Giving meat in due season means enlightening those in darkness with essential truth instead of passing golden moments in unessential matters and cheap talk. It means teaching as Christ taught in simplicity of truth and holiness and love irrespective of praise or censure, not covering truth with rubbish of human devising or vain philosophy or talk that does not make Christ first and last and best in everything, but seeking wisdom from God to prepare a feast of the richest, grandest truth from the Living Oracles, the Bread of life and waters of salvation, dwelling on practical godliness, presenting what Christ is to all that believe with words instinct with wisdom and love, and proclaiming repentance with startling distinctness so wandering lost souls are laid on Christ's infinite love, drawn to Him by His Holy Spirit through the revealed character of Christ, and brought as sheaves to the Lord.
The blessed, good and faithful servant strengthens the household with the bread of heaven through expositions of God's word showing God's hand in the movement and cheering testimonies vindicating it, not teaching that lets people down from their position and sends them weeping back to Egypt. Faithful doing is active, loyal service in the work appointed, not inactivity or mere agreement with truth: it grows from obeying the truth and genuine religious experience, practicing Christ's words, using the light and truth received and sharing them with others to build up the faith of the church. It means using opportunities and privileges well each day as though it might be the last, being a light amid moral darkness by advancing in knowledge of God and the truth and loving the truth, cultivating fidelity, faith, love and purity of soul. It means giving the money and means lent by the Lord to advance the last message of mercy and sustain gospel workers and save perishing souls, letting light shine to those in darkness, giving counsel in harmony with God's will without betraying sacred interests, and avoiding presumptuous defiance by doing quiet work quietly, for neglecting this duty displeases God.
Blessing and Greater Reward
The servant who is found faithfully carrying out the assigned work when the lord returns is pronounced blessed, and the blessing is to be made ruler over all the lord's goods, entrusted with greater responsibility over his possessions. That blessed one is the faithful and wise servant whom the lord has made ruler over the household to give them meat and food in due season at the proper time, found still doing that work of caring for those in his charge when he comes. Readiness for the unexpected return of the Son of man is therefore steady, responsible service, watching and remaining awake as against a thief breaking in at an unknown watch in the night, because no one knows what hour the Lord will come and the Son of man comes in an hour not thought of. The doing that is so rewarded is faithful ministering and educating of church members, identifying with the master, accepting a steward's responsibilities, acting in the master's stead as he would were he presiding, and making the master's interests his own. Such a position is one of dignity because the master trusts him, yet if he acts selfishly and turns advantages from trading with his lord's goods to his own advantage he perverts the trust and can no longer be looked upon as trustworthy and dependable. The same faithful doing includes feeding, rescuing and restoring even the most depraved outcasts by relieving suffering and teaching righteousness in Christ's way, and imparting received light and lifting the voice in warning that the end of all things is at hand, as Noah warned before the Flood while pulpit and press declare God's law done away.
Those found so doing gain eternal life and eternal riches and an inheritance enduring through all eternity. This means giving meat in due season by doing all in power to proclaim the message of warning, letting light shine to those in darkness, and giving the money and means lent by the Lord to advance the last message of mercy and sustain gospel workers and save perishing souls. By contrast, those who spend entrusted money in self-gratification and seek earthly riches as the chief good suffer eternal loss.
Christ rewards the servant whom He finds watching for His coming, teaching His coming, and carrying on his duty, while He judges those who deny that His coming is near. The faithful servant does not use apparent delay as an excuse for neglect or abuse of fellow servants, but watches, teaches, and faithfully carries out the sacred commission entrusted to him, and receives the Lord's approval and reward. The delay tests whether faith rests on personal knowledge of Scripture or only on passing feeling and the faith of others. In this setting the verse belongs to Christ's account of two classes of servants looking for His appearing, presenting the watchful, teaching, working servant as blessed when the Lord comes and finds him so doing.
Christians are therefore urged to consecrate themselves and be ready so they can meet the Saviour with joy when He comes. Although God is long-suffering and unwilling for any to perish, the day of judgment will come at last, and blessing belongs to that servant whom his Lord when He comes finds watching. To be so found is to be awake and prepared to meet God before it is everlastingly too late.
Watchfulness for Unexpected Coming
No one knows what hour the Lord will come, for the Son of man will come in an hour not thought of and in a day not looked for, breaking in as a thief does at an unknown watch in the night, and therefore all must watch and be ready every hour. The faithful and wise servant made ruler over the household to give them meat and food in due season is blessed when found still watching and doing that work when his Lord comes with power and great glory, and his reward is to be made ruler over all his goods. The verse has direct application to this time and portrays the condition of the church at Christ's second coming, which should arouse earnest zeal in every true believer, and every person should ask whether the Scripture refers to himself. As in the days of Noah when people ate and drank and knew not until taken away while pulpit and press declare God's law done away, those who know the truth are now to impart the light received and lift the voice in warning that the end of all things is at hand.
Readiness is steady, responsible, continuing service while the time is unknown, faithfully carrying out assigned work and caring for the household by providing what it needs at the proper time. It is not merely expecting the coming, nor carelessness or absorption in worldly gain and enterprises while assuming the return is delayed, nor listless indifference, nor delaying preparation because the coming seems distant. It means active, faithful service, using opportunities and privileges well, giving timely spiritual nourishment, and serving each day as though it might be the last. Readiness means remaining faithful and self-controlled in one's calling and entrusted duty, with repentance, and continued wrongdoing and neglect are not excused by any position or activity. Those entrusted with truth and responsibility must so wait for Christ's return, for those with great light who refuse to overcome may lose the kingdom while people regarded as outcasts grasp the gospel hope and enter it before them.
The servant must live and work and wait in constant expectancy because the day and hour of His appearing are kept secret, living as though each day is not his own but the Lord's. Since not even Christ Himself could make known the day and hour, the servant cultivates fidelity, faith, and love and purifies the soul through the truth. Though the day and hour are unknown, the nearness of the advent is to be recognized by signs and by daily events such as disasters, earthquakes, sinking ships, floods, and fires that show His coming is drawing near. That work includes watching for His coming, tracing its signs, teaching His coming, giving the people the right message at the right time, and warning the world of approaching judgment, in contrast to denying that His coming is near. The warning of sudden, unexpected coming like a thief coming in the night to break into a house applies also to the time of trouble, which comes as a thief in the night, so servants must watch and be ready in every hour to be found doing their duty.
Evil Servant's Opposite Course
In contrast to the blessed servant stands the evil servant who says in his heart that his lord delays his coming and assumes the return is delayed. That inward saying marks unfaithfulness rather than watchfulness, for readiness means serving faithfully instead of presuming delay. After the passing of the time the difference between the two servants appears, when those once united as a band of brothers grow impatient and cast away confidence. The other servant then smites his fellows by confessing to a scoffing church and world that a human or satanic influence had controlled them, and by turning against those who will not confess the same.
He begins to beat and smite his fellow servants, even those who are watching and giving meat in due season, neglecting and abusing them. At the same time he eats and drinks with the drunken, indulging appetite and passion. By absorbing mind and time in this world's enterprises he turns away from the service of God and lives for the world. This course belongs to the last days, when corruption and appetite rule many people.
His lord will come in a day he does not look for him and in an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Neglect of this entrusted duty displeases God, and neglect of duty with resistance to God's calls makes a person unready for the return. To use the apparent delay of the coming as an excuse to live for the world and mistreat fellow servants is the opposite of remaining ready and doing what is entrusted.
That fate will fall on backsliders and on ministers and others with great light and knowledge who will not deny self and overcome. While they are cut off, many poor outcasts, even publicans and sinners, grasp the gospel hope and enter the kingdom before them, and those left outside will knock in vain saying Lord, Lord, open unto us when the door is shut. The unfaithful servant faces the result of his unfaithfulness in the great day of final accounts. The servant who says My Lord delayeth his coming and smites his fellow servant falls under denunciation as a scoffer, and sinners are called to turn from sin and seek preparation for the coming.
Present Call to Action
The promise has direct application to the present time and calls for watchfulness and readiness now. The hour of the coming is unknown, for the Son of man comes in an hour not thought of, so the faithful and wise servant is blessed when found giving the household meat in due season when his Lord comes, and his reward is to be made ruler over all his goods. The whole chapter belongs to those living in this period of earth's history and will be fulfilled, and therefore the message must now warn people not to live as in the days of Noah, eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage and knowing not until the flood took them away. Those who know the truth are to do this servant's work by imparting the light received and lifting the voice like Noah in warning that the end of all things is at hand, while pulpit and press declare God's law done away.
Everyone given light from God's Word must make right use of that light by feeding God's flock only food appropriate for the time. Every person should ask whether the Scripture refers to himself. In the closing period of earth's history, while disasters, earthquakes, sinking ships, floods, fires, and other daily events show the coming is drawing near, those who do not fall into listless indifference but are found watching and feeding the household will be made ruler over all His goods. The blessing is secured by taking heed to self, studying Christ's words, believing and obeying, repenting and being converted and forsaking sin that it may be blotted out, and watching and praying always to be counted worthy to escape what is coming and to stand before the Son of man. This diligent work for repentance must be done now while probation still lingers and mercy's voice is still heard, lest hearts become overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and that day come unawares as a snare upon all the earth.
This doing must be done now, while the Lord is near at the door, moving carefully in the Lord's way and aroused from sleepy indifference rather than sleeping. It means diligently searching the Word, speaking the words of truth, giving meat in due season in faithful warnings, calling attention to the dangers that beset the world, warning that the end of all things is at hand and that judgments will come upon cities because they have greatly dishonored God, and manifesting in each town and city a diligent concern for souls by speaking the truths of the Word of God. Pastors of churches and every Christian are stewards made ruler over God's household to give them meat in due season by faithfully ministering to and educating the members of the church and families for spiritual advancement and the good of souls. To be found so doing when his lord comes means to be actively doing that committed individual ministry as laborers together with God, and ministers and laymen alike have a work committed to them, for all connected by faith with Christ have ministry to perform and must give an account of themselves to God, while pastors remiss in this educating work need a teacher to instruct them.
The faithful steward identifies himself with his master, his master's interests become his own, he acts in his master's stead doing as the master would do if presiding over his own goods, and his position is one of dignity because his master trusts him; but a steward who acts selfishly in any wise and turns advantages gained in dealing with his lord's goods to his own advantage has perverted the trust reposed in him and can no longer be looked upon as a servant to be trusted and depended upon. Physicians are servants entrusted by the absent Lord with the care of their fellow beings, and they must carry out that work carefully, competently, and with refinement rather than carelessly or haphazardly. The call to watchful faithfulness in assigned duty until the Lord comes at an unknown hour applies to every calling, including those whose ambitions reach to many commercial enterprises in a course God forbids, who must repent before God and watch, for unless they repent they will never see the kingdom of heaven.
In this setting the entrusted work includes warning those perishing in sin that judgment and the end are near and urging them to turn to God. So doing means giving meat in due season by doing all in power to proclaim the message of warning, letting light shine to those in darkness, and giving the money and means lent by the Lord to advance the last message of mercy and sustain gospel workers and save perishing souls. The faithful and wise worker gives people the truths of God's Word at the right time and does not fail or become discouraged, whether people accept or reject the message. Those found so doing gain eternal life and eternal riches and an inheritance that endures through all eternity and are made ruler over all His goods, while those who spend entrusted money in self-gratification and seek earthly riches as the chief good suffer eternal loss.
Blessed is the servant who is found faithfully doing his assigned household work when his master returns unexpectedly. That work is to act in the master's place and give the household timely nourishment, caring for the flock, educating families, warning of the nearness of the end, and bringing present truth from the Word to each one in need. Because no one knows the day or hour of the coming, readiness must be steady, faithful service every day, not idleness, worldly absorption, or putting off preparation. The one so found is approved and rewarded with greater trust over all the master's goods and with eternal life and an everlasting inheritance. In contrast the evil servant concludes in his heart that the return is delayed, neglects and abuses his fellows and lives for appetite and the world, and will be overtaken unawares and cut asunder with the hypocrites.
Discourse Setting and Scope
Blessed is that servant is part of Christ's discourse about the destruction of Jerusalem and His coming, a discourse that reaches forward to the final events of earth's history and is intended for those living then. The chapter concerns events preceding the coming of the Son of man, in which Jerusalem's destruction serves as a type of the world's final destruction by fire. It is the Lord's great prophecy sketching the history of the present dispensation to the complete restitution of all things, giving special place to the thrilling closing scenes, tracing the church through warfare and sufferings to promised redemption, the final triumph of God's people, the destruction of Satan and his followers, the total extirpation of evil, and the renovation of the earth as the everlasting inheritance of the saints. This memorable discourse recorded in Matthew 24 and 25 was given a short time before He entered Gethsemane.
Matthew 24 speaks of the second coming of Christ, not a coming fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem. Its predictions are being fulfilled in the present time, showing that Christ's coming is at hand. Therefore they are to be studied again and again and brought before believers and unbelievers, and to be explained by ministers and teachers while leaving matters of lesser consequence. They hold truths that decide eternal destiny and call the church to arouse as the unmistakable fulfilment is seen.
Faithful Servant's Assigned Work
While the Lord is absent He entrusts His household, His interests and His affairs to the servant, who is to watch and wait and prepare for His appearing and remain faithful in the trust rather than be found sleeping when He comes suddenly. The blessed one is the faithful and wise servant made ruler over the household to give them meat and food in due season at the proper time, found doing that work when his lord comes. Faithful carrying out of that assigned household care is readiness for the unexpected return, and it is rewarded with greater responsibility over the Lord's possessions. Mere religious profession and neglect of that duty stand in contrast to such faithful service.
A steward identifies himself with his master and accepts a steward's responsibilities, acting in his master's stead as his master would do were he presiding, and making his master's interests his own. The position is one of dignity because the master trusts him. If he acts selfishly in any way and turns advantages gained by trading and dealing with his lord's goods to his own advantage, he perverts the trust reposed in him and can no longer be looked upon as a trustworthy and dependable servant on whom the master can depend. So doing is faithful ministering to and educating of church members and families for spiritual advancement and the good of souls, shepherding and caring for the flock and giving timely spiritual nourishment. That includes feeding, rescuing and restoring even the most depraved outcasts, giving them opportunity in Christ's way by relieving suffering and teaching righteousness.
So doing is watching and working by giving truth, present truth appropriate for the times in which they are living, and giving the warning message suited to these last days to the world. It means diligently searching the Word with disciplined minds stored with its lessons, speaking words of truth, giving every man his portion from the treasure-house of things new and old while Christ abides as a living fountain, tracing the signs of Christ's coming, calling attention to dangers besetting the world, warning that the end of all things is at hand and that judgments will come upon cities because they have greatly dishonored God, and manifesting in each town and city a diligent concern for souls by speaking the truths of God's Word, as Noah gave warning to the antediluvians before the Flood, without failing or becoming discouraged whether men accept or reject it. Giving meat in due season means enlightening those in darkness with essential truth instead of passing golden moments in unessential matters and cheap talk. It means teaching as Christ taught in simplicity of truth and holiness and love irrespective of praise or censure, not covering truth with rubbish of human devising or vain philosophy or talk that does not make Christ first and last and best in everything, but seeking wisdom from God to prepare a feast of the richest, grandest truth from the Living Oracles, the Bread of life and waters of salvation, dwelling on practical godliness, presenting what Christ is to all that believe with words instinct with wisdom and love, and proclaiming repentance with startling distinctness so wandering lost souls are laid on Christ's infinite love, drawn to Him by His Holy Spirit through the revealed character of Christ, and brought as sheaves to the Lord.
The blessed, good and faithful servant strengthens the household with the bread of heaven through expositions of God's word showing God's hand in the movement and cheering testimonies vindicating it, not teaching that lets people down from their position and sends them weeping back to Egypt. Faithful doing is active, loyal service in the work appointed, not inactivity or mere agreement with truth: it grows from obeying the truth and genuine religious experience, practicing Christ's words, using the light and truth received and sharing them with others to build up the faith of the church. It means using opportunities and privileges well each day as though it might be the last, being a light amid moral darkness by advancing in knowledge of God and the truth and loving the truth, cultivating fidelity, faith, love and purity of soul. It means giving the money and means lent by the Lord to advance the last message of mercy and sustain gospel workers and save perishing souls, letting light shine to those in darkness, giving counsel in harmony with God's will without betraying sacred interests, and avoiding presumptuous defiance by doing quiet work quietly, for neglecting this duty displeases God.
Blessing and Greater Reward
The servant who is found faithfully carrying out the assigned work when the lord returns is pronounced blessed, and the blessing is to be made ruler over all the lord's goods, entrusted with greater responsibility over his possessions. That blessed one is the faithful and wise servant whom the lord has made ruler over the household to give them meat and food in due season at the proper time, found still doing that work of caring for those in his charge when he comes. Readiness for the unexpected return of the Son of man is therefore steady, responsible service, watching and remaining awake as against a thief breaking in at an unknown watch in the night, because no one knows what hour the Lord will come and the Son of man comes in an hour not thought of. The doing that is so rewarded is faithful ministering and educating of church members, identifying with the master, accepting a steward's responsibilities, acting in the master's stead as he would were he presiding, and making the master's interests his own. Such a position is one of dignity because the master trusts him, yet if he acts selfishly and turns advantages from trading with his lord's goods to his own advantage he perverts the trust and can no longer be looked upon as trustworthy and dependable. The same faithful doing includes feeding, rescuing and restoring even the most depraved outcasts by relieving suffering and teaching righteousness in Christ's way, and imparting received light and lifting the voice in warning that the end of all things is at hand, as Noah warned before the Flood while pulpit and press declare God's law done away.
Those found so doing gain eternal life and eternal riches and an inheritance enduring through all eternity. This means giving meat in due season by doing all in power to proclaim the message of warning, letting light shine to those in darkness, and giving the money and means lent by the Lord to advance the last message of mercy and sustain gospel workers and save perishing souls. By contrast, those who spend entrusted money in self-gratification and seek earthly riches as the chief good suffer eternal loss.
Christ rewards the servant whom He finds watching for His coming, teaching His coming, and carrying on his duty, while He judges those who deny that His coming is near. The faithful servant does not use apparent delay as an excuse for neglect or abuse of fellow servants, but watches, teaches, and faithfully carries out the sacred commission entrusted to him, and receives the Lord's approval and reward. The delay tests whether faith rests on personal knowledge of Scripture or only on passing feeling and the faith of others. In this setting the verse belongs to Christ's account of two classes of servants looking for His appearing, presenting the watchful, teaching, working servant as blessed when the Lord comes and finds him so doing.
Christians are therefore urged to consecrate themselves and be ready so they can meet the Saviour with joy when He comes. Although God is long-suffering and unwilling for any to perish, the day of judgment will come at last, and blessing belongs to that servant whom his Lord when He comes finds watching. To be so found is to be awake and prepared to meet God before it is everlastingly too late.
Watchfulness for Unexpected Coming
No one knows what hour the Lord will come, for the Son of man will come in an hour not thought of and in a day not looked for, breaking in as a thief does at an unknown watch in the night, and therefore all must watch and be ready every hour. The faithful and wise servant made ruler over the household to give them meat and food in due season is blessed when found still watching and doing that work when his Lord comes with power and great glory, and his reward is to be made ruler over all his goods. The verse has direct application to this time and portrays the condition of the church at Christ's second coming, which should arouse earnest zeal in every true believer, and every person should ask whether the Scripture refers to himself. As in the days of Noah when people ate and drank and knew not until taken away while pulpit and press declare God's law done away, those who know the truth are now to impart the light received and lift the voice in warning that the end of all things is at hand.
Readiness is steady, responsible, continuing service while the time is unknown, faithfully carrying out assigned work and caring for the household by providing what it needs at the proper time. It is not merely expecting the coming, nor carelessness or absorption in worldly gain and enterprises while assuming the return is delayed, nor listless indifference, nor delaying preparation because the coming seems distant. It means active, faithful service, using opportunities and privileges well, giving timely spiritual nourishment, and serving each day as though it might be the last. Readiness means remaining faithful and self-controlled in one's calling and entrusted duty, with repentance, and continued wrongdoing and neglect are not excused by any position or activity. Those entrusted with truth and responsibility must so wait for Christ's return, for those with great light who refuse to overcome may lose the kingdom while people regarded as outcasts grasp the gospel hope and enter it before them.
The servant must live and work and wait in constant expectancy because the day and hour of His appearing are kept secret, living as though each day is not his own but the Lord's. Since not even Christ Himself could make known the day and hour, the servant cultivates fidelity, faith, and love and purifies the soul through the truth. Though the day and hour are unknown, the nearness of the advent is to be recognized by signs and by daily events such as disasters, earthquakes, sinking ships, floods, and fires that show His coming is drawing near. That work includes watching for His coming, tracing its signs, teaching His coming, giving the people the right message at the right time, and warning the world of approaching judgment, in contrast to denying that His coming is near. The warning of sudden, unexpected coming like a thief coming in the night to break into a house applies also to the time of trouble, which comes as a thief in the night, so servants must watch and be ready in every hour to be found doing their duty.
Evil Servant's Opposite Course
In contrast to the blessed servant stands the evil servant who says in his heart that his lord delays his coming and assumes the return is delayed. That inward saying marks unfaithfulness rather than watchfulness, for readiness means serving faithfully instead of presuming delay. After the passing of the time the difference between the two servants appears, when those once united as a band of brothers grow impatient and cast away confidence. The other servant then smites his fellows by confessing to a scoffing church and world that a human or satanic influence had controlled them, and by turning against those who will not confess the same.
He begins to beat and smite his fellow servants, even those who are watching and giving meat in due season, neglecting and abusing them. At the same time he eats and drinks with the drunken, indulging appetite and passion. By absorbing mind and time in this world's enterprises he turns away from the service of God and lives for the world. This course belongs to the last days, when corruption and appetite rule many people.
His lord will come in a day he does not look for him and in an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Neglect of this entrusted duty displeases God, and neglect of duty with resistance to God's calls makes a person unready for the return. To use the apparent delay of the coming as an excuse to live for the world and mistreat fellow servants is the opposite of remaining ready and doing what is entrusted.
That fate will fall on backsliders and on ministers and others with great light and knowledge who will not deny self and overcome. While they are cut off, many poor outcasts, even publicans and sinners, grasp the gospel hope and enter the kingdom before them, and those left outside will knock in vain saying Lord, Lord, open unto us when the door is shut. The unfaithful servant faces the result of his unfaithfulness in the great day of final accounts. The servant who says My Lord delayeth his coming and smites his fellow servant falls under denunciation as a scoffer, and sinners are called to turn from sin and seek preparation for the coming.
Present Call to Action
The promise has direct application to the present time and calls for watchfulness and readiness now. The hour of the coming is unknown, for the Son of man comes in an hour not thought of, so the faithful and wise servant is blessed when found giving the household meat in due season when his Lord comes, and his reward is to be made ruler over all his goods. The whole chapter belongs to those living in this period of earth's history and will be fulfilled, and therefore the message must now warn people not to live as in the days of Noah, eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage and knowing not until the flood took them away. Those who know the truth are to do this servant's work by imparting the light received and lifting the voice like Noah in warning that the end of all things is at hand, while pulpit and press declare God's law done away.
Everyone given light from God's Word must make right use of that light by feeding God's flock only food appropriate for the time. Every person should ask whether the Scripture refers to himself. In the closing period of earth's history, while disasters, earthquakes, sinking ships, floods, fires, and other daily events show the coming is drawing near, those who do not fall into listless indifference but are found watching and feeding the household will be made ruler over all His goods. The blessing is secured by taking heed to self, studying Christ's words, believing and obeying, repenting and being converted and forsaking sin that it may be blotted out, and watching and praying always to be counted worthy to escape what is coming and to stand before the Son of man. This diligent work for repentance must be done now while probation still lingers and mercy's voice is still heard, lest hearts become overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and that day come unawares as a snare upon all the earth.
This doing must be done now, while the Lord is near at the door, moving carefully in the Lord's way and aroused from sleepy indifference rather than sleeping. It means diligently searching the Word, speaking the words of truth, giving meat in due season in faithful warnings, calling attention to the dangers that beset the world, warning that the end of all things is at hand and that judgments will come upon cities because they have greatly dishonored God, and manifesting in each town and city a diligent concern for souls by speaking the truths of the Word of God. Pastors of churches and every Christian are stewards made ruler over God's household to give them meat in due season by faithfully ministering to and educating the members of the church and families for spiritual advancement and the good of souls. To be found so doing when his lord comes means to be actively doing that committed individual ministry as laborers together with God, and ministers and laymen alike have a work committed to them, for all connected by faith with Christ have ministry to perform and must give an account of themselves to God, while pastors remiss in this educating work need a teacher to instruct them.
The faithful steward identifies himself with his master, his master's interests become his own, he acts in his master's stead doing as the master would do if presiding over his own goods, and his position is one of dignity because his master trusts him; but a steward who acts selfishly in any wise and turns advantages gained in dealing with his lord's goods to his own advantage has perverted the trust reposed in him and can no longer be looked upon as a servant to be trusted and depended upon. Physicians are servants entrusted by the absent Lord with the care of their fellow beings, and they must carry out that work carefully, competently, and with refinement rather than carelessly or haphazardly. The call to watchful faithfulness in assigned duty until the Lord comes at an unknown hour applies to every calling, including those whose ambitions reach to many commercial enterprises in a course God forbids, who must repent before God and watch, for unless they repent they will never see the kingdom of heaven.
In this setting the entrusted work includes warning those perishing in sin that judgment and the end are near and urging them to turn to God. So doing means giving meat in due season by doing all in power to proclaim the message of warning, letting light shine to those in darkness, and giving the money and means lent by the Lord to advance the last message of mercy and sustain gospel workers and save perishing souls. The faithful and wise worker gives people the truths of God's Word at the right time and does not fail or become discouraged, whether people accept or reject the message. Those found so doing gain eternal life and eternal riches and an inheritance that endures through all eternity and are made ruler over all His goods, while those who spend entrusted money in self-gratification and seek earthly riches as the chief good suffer eternal loss.