Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Christ promises that the servant whom He has set over His household to provide nourishment at the right time, if found doing that work when He returns, will be blessed and advanced to authority over all that He owns. The promise belongs to the call to watch and stay ready because no one knows the hour of His coming, which will arrive unexpected like a thief in the night and as suddenly as the flood came upon the world in Noah's day. Faithfulness means caring for His household by opening the Scriptures and giving timely spiritual food and present truth, warning people that His coming is near and calling them to prepare, whether they listen or not. That stewardship is entrusted not to preachers only but to every believer, minister and lay member alike, each to identify with his Master, make his Master's interests his own, and act in his Master's place. In contrast the evil servant concludes in his heart that the return is delayed and turns to mistreating fellow servants and to worldly indulgence, and he will be overtaken in an hour he does not expect and cut off to share the fate of hypocrites.
Setting and Promise
Christ's words belong to the discourse in Matthew 24 and 25, spoken shortly before He entered Gethsemane. In that discourse the destruction of Jerusalem and His coming at the end of the world are described together, and it was intended both for the disciples and for people living in earth's final days.
The promise is for the faithful and wise servant whom the lord has put over the household to give food at the right time, who if found doing that work when his lord arrives will be blessed and promoted to be made ruler over all his goods. That promotion means greater responsibility, trust and authority given for faithfulness in present service, connecting faithful service while awaiting Christ's unexpected return with being entrusted with everything the master owns. It is the reward for watching and being ready for the Son of man coming in an unknown hour when not expected, like a goodman watching against a thief breaking up his house in the night. The faithful servant continues caring for the household and giving its members what they need until the lord returns, in contrast to the evil servant who assumes his lord is delayed and becomes careless, says in his heart his lord delays his coming and beats fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, abuses others and neglects duty, and is cut apart and given a portion with hypocrites where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The expectation of Christ's coming therefore calls for continued faithfulness rather than worldly preoccupation, since eagerness for gain and absorbing oneself in worldly pursuits can cloud spiritual vision.
The promise assumes an absent Lord who has entrusted His household and interests to His followers while He is in heaven, and they are to remain watchful, wait, prepare and serve faithfully in that trust. The physician is likewise such a servant entrusted with the care of others, and must carry out that trust with refinement and diligence.
The food given at the proper time includes the spiritual teaching that upheld the Advent movement and the testimonies that encouraged those who remained faithful after the expected time passed, while the other servant turns against him and says his master is delaying.
Watching for Return
The promise belongs to the command to watch and be ready because no one knows what hour the Lord comes. The Son of man comes in an hour not expected and not thought of, and readiness means being found doing the assigned work of giving the household food at the right time when the Lord arrives. That watching is like a householder guarding against a thief breaking into the house in the night, and the faithful and wise servant so found will be blessed by being put in charge of everything his lord owns. The words have direct application to this time, requiring watchfulness and readiness and right use of light from God's Word to feed the flock only with food appropriate for the time.
As in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until Noah entered the ark and the flood took them all away, so the coming of the Son of man will be. The very same state that existed in Noah's time exists now when the law of God is proclaimed done away, and those who know the truth must like Noah lift the warning that the end of all things is at hand rather than absorbing themselves in worldly pursuits and neglecting God's work. The warning is given to people living in the closing period of earth's history amid disasters and signs that the coming is near, while many are indifferent and do not know like those in the days of Noah.
The verse portrays the condition of the church at Christ's coming and calls every true believer to earnest zeal in faithful service in order to receive full reward. It belongs to the warning to watch and be ready because the hour of the Son of man's coming is unknown, and that portrayal should arouse earnest zeal in every true believer. Every person should apply it to himself by asking if the Scripture means him.
The warnings in Matthew 24:42-51 must not be passed by unheeded but call for taking heed to self, seeing the fulfilment of Christ's predictions, and studying His words. They call for laying hold of gospel hope while probation still lingers, and for making diligent work of repentance and conversion and forsaking sin that it may be blotted out while mercy's gracious voice is still heard.
Faithful Service Described
Faithfulness is shown by caring for the household and giving its members what they need at the proper time, which means timely spiritual food by opening the Scriptures and teaching the truth. It means giving present truth suited to the time and continuing to serve and give that timely truth while watching for the Lord's return. It requires everyone given light from God's Word to make right use of that light by feeding God's flock only with food appropriate for the time. The promise of greater responsibility and rulership over all goods is tied to being found faithfully doing that duty of giving meat in due season at Christ's unexpected coming.
That service includes watching for Christ's return and teaching that it is near, in contrast to denying or neglecting the warning. It includes giving the warnings needed to prepare people, diligently searching the Word, speaking its truth and words of faithful warning, calling attention to the dangers besetting the world in each town and city, and manifesting diligent concern for souls. It means keeping on giving people the truths of God's Word without failing or losing heart whether people accept those truths or reject them. It is like Noah warning the people before the Flood, and it stands in contrast to absorbing oneself in worldly pursuits and neglecting God's work.
The servant is a steward who identifies himself with his master, accepts the responsibilities of a steward, makes his master's interests his own, and acts in his master's stead as his master would do with his own goods. The position is one of dignity because it rests on the master's trust, and faithfulness in giving meat in due season leads to rulership over all his goods. If he acts selfishly and turns advantage from trading with his lord's goods to his own advantage he perverts the trust reposed in him and can no longer be looked upon as trustworthy and dependable, as one to be trusted and depended upon. The work is not limited to preachers, for every Christian is such a steward entrusted with God's goods, ministers and laymen alike having individual work committed to them. Those who receive the message are accountable to share it with others, pastors are to minister faithfully by educating church members to work together with God and labor together with God to give meat in due season, waiting for Christ's return means active faithful service, and all must give an account of themselves to God.
Faithfulness requires loyalty and truth in the appointed work, being a light amid moral darkness, advancing in knowledge of God and the truth and loving the truth. Those without relish for the truth whose irreligion and unbelief leaven others are after sufficient trial to be separated from the work lest evil agencies work through them to mislead learners. A faithful minister as steward and shepherd does his Master's work in His way, giving to all their portion of meat in due season and not being faithless or improvident. That means not wasting golden moments on unessential matters and cheap talk that leaves souls ignorant and bewildered and bars their salvation, but teaching as Christ taught in simplicity of truth and holiness. It means presenting Christ first and last and best in everything, practical godliness, and a feast of the richest truth from the Living Oracles as Bread of life and waters of salvation to bring wandering lost souls to Jesus.
Contrast with Evil Servant
The promise to the faithful servant stands directly against the course of the evil servant, who says inwardly that his lord is delaying his coming and then begins to strike his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken, turning the supposed delay into an excuse for mistreating others, abusing them, neglecting duty, and absorbing himself in worldly pursuits. That contrast sets continued care for the household and giving its members what they need until the lord returns over against abuse of others and neglect of duty, with readiness required because the coming is at an unknown and unexpected hour. The faithful and wise servant put over the household to give food at the right time and found doing that work when his lord arrives is blessed by being put in charge of everything owned, while the evil servant follows the opposite path.
That evil servant's lord will come in a day he does not look for him and an hour he is not aware of, and will cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The visitation comes unexpectedly to the one who lives as if the return were delayed, smiting fellow servants and eating and drinking with the drunken. Unfaithfulness is therefore marked by more than mere profession of religion, for genuine service is more than profession. Counsel that works against God's purpose and betrays sacred interests is the conduct of an unfaithful servant, as is misuse of entrusted resources and influence while acting as though the master's return is delayed, and such a steward is unfaithful to his trust and must face the result of his unfaithfulness at the final accounting before God.
The warning is directed to brethren, ministers, and medical missionary workers to be careful, to deny appetite and passion and overcome. They are to labor to rescue the most depraved outcasts, since many poor outcasts, publicans and sinners will grasp gospel hope and enter the kingdom before those who had great light and opportunities but walked in darkness. In the last great day the door will be shut against the unready whose knock is in vain.
Prophecy for Last Days
The prophecies of Matthew 24 must be studied and brought to the attention of all, and ministers and teachers are to present them above matters of lesser consequence because they decide the eternal destiny of souls. Their prediction is being fulfilled today, and with the unmistakable fulfilment of the chapter it is evident that Christ's coming is at hand, calling the church to arouse.
The words have direct application to this time, requiring watchfulness and readiness because no one knows what hour the Lord comes. The Son of man comes in an hour not expected, so all must watch and be ready. The faithful and wise servant is the one made ruler over the household to give meat in due season and found doing that work when his Lord comes, and he will be made ruler over all His goods and placed in charge of everything his Lord owns. Everyone given light from God's Word must make right use of that light by feeding God's flock only with food appropriate for the time.
The chapter presents two classes of servants who look for His appearing, and its teaching about these servants is connected with the last-days church and its experience while awaiting Christ. It shows how Christ regards and rewards those who watch for His coming and teach that it is near, in contrast to those who deny or neglect the warning. The faithful servant found watching and doing his work when He comes will be rewarded by being entrusted with authority over all His goods, while the unfaithful one says his Lord is delaying.
That coming is the appearing of the sign of the Son of man in heaven and His coming in the clouds with power and great glory, sending angels with a great trumpet to gather His elect. The promise belongs to watching and readiness because the hour of that coming is unknown, like a thief in the night. The reward for faithful, overcoming, self-denying service stands in contrast to the evil servant who says his lord delays, mistreats his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, and who will be cut asunder and appointed his portion with the hypocrites.
Present Duty and Reward
Pastors of churches are stewards put over the household to give meat in due season, and they are required to minister faithfully by educating church members to labor together with God. The steward identifies himself with his master, accepts the responsibilities of a steward, makes his master's interests his own, and acts in his master's stead doing as his master would do were he presiding. The position is one of dignity because it rests on the master's trust, and faithfulness in giving meat in due season when the lord comes leads to being made ruler over all his goods. If he acts selfishly and turns advantage gained by trading with his lord's goods to his own advantage, he perverts the trust reposed in him and can no longer be looked upon as trustworthy and dependable. Every Christian is such a steward entrusted with God's goods, ministers and laymen alike having individual work committed to them, for all must give an account of themselves to God.
The one entrusted with the talent of means acts as God's helping hand by investing money to advance God's work and give the world the last message of mercy. This means sustaining gospel work in places like New York City and holding up faithful ministers by giving, rather than spending in self-gratification. Such self-denial and sacrifice of earthly riches and giving all to Christ secures the eternal riches, the inheritance that endures through all eternity, eternal life, while spending for self brings eternal loss. Matthew 24 outlines what is coming upon the world, including the perils of the last days and the need to warn those perishing in sin, calling those entrusted with money to use it to carry the final message of mercy to the world.
The expectation of Christ's coming calls for continued faithfulness rather than worldly preoccupation, in contrast with the evil servant who assumes his lord is delayed and becomes careless. Eagerness for gain can cloud spiritual vision, and absorbing oneself in worldly pursuits and neglecting God's work stands opposite faithful giving of timely spiritual instruction and present truth suited to the time. Faithful service includes warning the world as Noah warned the people before the Flood, and the servant found so doing when the Lord returns will be entrusted with all his master's goods.
Those whose ambitions reach to the ends of the earth and whose commercial enterprises follow a course God forbids are warned to repent, for without repentance they will never see the kingdom of heaven whatever their calling. Watchfulness is required because no one knows what hour the Lord will come, and the faithful and wise servant set over the household to give meat in due season and found doing so when his Lord comes will be blessed and made ruler over all His goods. This stands opposite the evil servant who says in his heart that his Lord delays His coming, smites his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, who will be visited in a day he looks not for Him and an hour he is not aware of.
The promise gives a sacred commission and a serious responsibility to those who serve faithfully and remain ready, with blessing, promotion, and entrusting of all goods and authority over all possessions at the Lord's second coming. The servant is one whom his Lord has put in charge of the household to give food at the right time, and who is found doing that appointed entrusted work when his Lord returns. The verse is a warning to watch, given to people living in the closing period of earth's history amid disasters and signs that the coming is near, while many are indifferent like those in the days of Noah who did not know. Every person should apply it to himself by asking if the Scripture means him.
Christ promises that the servant whom He has set over His household to provide nourishment at the right time, if found doing that work when He returns, will be blessed and advanced to authority over all that He owns. The promise belongs to the call to watch and stay ready because no one knows the hour of His coming, which will arrive unexpected like a thief in the night and as suddenly as the flood came upon the world in Noah's day. Faithfulness means caring for His household by opening the Scriptures and giving timely spiritual food and present truth, warning people that His coming is near and calling them to prepare, whether they listen or not. That stewardship is entrusted not to preachers only but to every believer, minister and lay member alike, each to identify with his Master, make his Master's interests his own, and act in his Master's place. In contrast the evil servant concludes in his heart that the return is delayed and turns to mistreating fellow servants and to worldly indulgence, and he will be overtaken in an hour he does not expect and cut off to share the fate of hypocrites.
Setting and Promise
Christ's words belong to the discourse in Matthew 24 and 25, spoken shortly before He entered Gethsemane. In that discourse the destruction of Jerusalem and His coming at the end of the world are described together, and it was intended both for the disciples and for people living in earth's final days.
The promise is for the faithful and wise servant whom the lord has put over the household to give food at the right time, who if found doing that work when his lord arrives will be blessed and promoted to be made ruler over all his goods. That promotion means greater responsibility, trust and authority given for faithfulness in present service, connecting faithful service while awaiting Christ's unexpected return with being entrusted with everything the master owns. It is the reward for watching and being ready for the Son of man coming in an unknown hour when not expected, like a goodman watching against a thief breaking up his house in the night. The faithful servant continues caring for the household and giving its members what they need until the lord returns, in contrast to the evil servant who assumes his lord is delayed and becomes careless, says in his heart his lord delays his coming and beats fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, abuses others and neglects duty, and is cut apart and given a portion with hypocrites where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The expectation of Christ's coming therefore calls for continued faithfulness rather than worldly preoccupation, since eagerness for gain and absorbing oneself in worldly pursuits can cloud spiritual vision.
The promise assumes an absent Lord who has entrusted His household and interests to His followers while He is in heaven, and they are to remain watchful, wait, prepare and serve faithfully in that trust. The physician is likewise such a servant entrusted with the care of others, and must carry out that trust with refinement and diligence.
The food given at the proper time includes the spiritual teaching that upheld the Advent movement and the testimonies that encouraged those who remained faithful after the expected time passed, while the other servant turns against him and says his master is delaying.
Watching for Return
The promise belongs to the command to watch and be ready because no one knows what hour the Lord comes. The Son of man comes in an hour not expected and not thought of, and readiness means being found doing the assigned work of giving the household food at the right time when the Lord arrives. That watching is like a householder guarding against a thief breaking into the house in the night, and the faithful and wise servant so found will be blessed by being put in charge of everything his lord owns. The words have direct application to this time, requiring watchfulness and readiness and right use of light from God's Word to feed the flock only with food appropriate for the time.
As in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until Noah entered the ark and the flood took them all away, so the coming of the Son of man will be. The very same state that existed in Noah's time exists now when the law of God is proclaimed done away, and those who know the truth must like Noah lift the warning that the end of all things is at hand rather than absorbing themselves in worldly pursuits and neglecting God's work. The warning is given to people living in the closing period of earth's history amid disasters and signs that the coming is near, while many are indifferent and do not know like those in the days of Noah.
The verse portrays the condition of the church at Christ's coming and calls every true believer to earnest zeal in faithful service in order to receive full reward. It belongs to the warning to watch and be ready because the hour of the Son of man's coming is unknown, and that portrayal should arouse earnest zeal in every true believer. Every person should apply it to himself by asking if the Scripture means him.
The warnings in Matthew 24:42-51 must not be passed by unheeded but call for taking heed to self, seeing the fulfilment of Christ's predictions, and studying His words. They call for laying hold of gospel hope while probation still lingers, and for making diligent work of repentance and conversion and forsaking sin that it may be blotted out while mercy's gracious voice is still heard.
Faithful Service Described
Faithfulness is shown by caring for the household and giving its members what they need at the proper time, which means timely spiritual food by opening the Scriptures and teaching the truth. It means giving present truth suited to the time and continuing to serve and give that timely truth while watching for the Lord's return. It requires everyone given light from God's Word to make right use of that light by feeding God's flock only with food appropriate for the time. The promise of greater responsibility and rulership over all goods is tied to being found faithfully doing that duty of giving meat in due season at Christ's unexpected coming.
That service includes watching for Christ's return and teaching that it is near, in contrast to denying or neglecting the warning. It includes giving the warnings needed to prepare people, diligently searching the Word, speaking its truth and words of faithful warning, calling attention to the dangers besetting the world in each town and city, and manifesting diligent concern for souls. It means keeping on giving people the truths of God's Word without failing or losing heart whether people accept those truths or reject them. It is like Noah warning the people before the Flood, and it stands in contrast to absorbing oneself in worldly pursuits and neglecting God's work.
The servant is a steward who identifies himself with his master, accepts the responsibilities of a steward, makes his master's interests his own, and acts in his master's stead as his master would do with his own goods. The position is one of dignity because it rests on the master's trust, and faithfulness in giving meat in due season leads to rulership over all his goods. If he acts selfishly and turns advantage from trading with his lord's goods to his own advantage he perverts the trust reposed in him and can no longer be looked upon as trustworthy and dependable, as one to be trusted and depended upon. The work is not limited to preachers, for every Christian is such a steward entrusted with God's goods, ministers and laymen alike having individual work committed to them. Those who receive the message are accountable to share it with others, pastors are to minister faithfully by educating church members to work together with God and labor together with God to give meat in due season, waiting for Christ's return means active faithful service, and all must give an account of themselves to God.
Faithfulness requires loyalty and truth in the appointed work, being a light amid moral darkness, advancing in knowledge of God and the truth and loving the truth. Those without relish for the truth whose irreligion and unbelief leaven others are after sufficient trial to be separated from the work lest evil agencies work through them to mislead learners. A faithful minister as steward and shepherd does his Master's work in His way, giving to all their portion of meat in due season and not being faithless or improvident. That means not wasting golden moments on unessential matters and cheap talk that leaves souls ignorant and bewildered and bars their salvation, but teaching as Christ taught in simplicity of truth and holiness. It means presenting Christ first and last and best in everything, practical godliness, and a feast of the richest truth from the Living Oracles as Bread of life and waters of salvation to bring wandering lost souls to Jesus.
Contrast with Evil Servant
The promise to the faithful servant stands directly against the course of the evil servant, who says inwardly that his lord is delaying his coming and then begins to strike his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken, turning the supposed delay into an excuse for mistreating others, abusing them, neglecting duty, and absorbing himself in worldly pursuits. That contrast sets continued care for the household and giving its members what they need until the lord returns over against abuse of others and neglect of duty, with readiness required because the coming is at an unknown and unexpected hour. The faithful and wise servant put over the household to give food at the right time and found doing that work when his lord arrives is blessed by being put in charge of everything owned, while the evil servant follows the opposite path.
That evil servant's lord will come in a day he does not look for him and an hour he is not aware of, and will cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The visitation comes unexpectedly to the one who lives as if the return were delayed, smiting fellow servants and eating and drinking with the drunken. Unfaithfulness is therefore marked by more than mere profession of religion, for genuine service is more than profession. Counsel that works against God's purpose and betrays sacred interests is the conduct of an unfaithful servant, as is misuse of entrusted resources and influence while acting as though the master's return is delayed, and such a steward is unfaithful to his trust and must face the result of his unfaithfulness at the final accounting before God.
The warning is directed to brethren, ministers, and medical missionary workers to be careful, to deny appetite and passion and overcome. They are to labor to rescue the most depraved outcasts, since many poor outcasts, publicans and sinners will grasp gospel hope and enter the kingdom before those who had great light and opportunities but walked in darkness. In the last great day the door will be shut against the unready whose knock is in vain.
Prophecy for Last Days
The prophecies of Matthew 24 must be studied and brought to the attention of all, and ministers and teachers are to present them above matters of lesser consequence because they decide the eternal destiny of souls. Their prediction is being fulfilled today, and with the unmistakable fulfilment of the chapter it is evident that Christ's coming is at hand, calling the church to arouse.
The words have direct application to this time, requiring watchfulness and readiness because no one knows what hour the Lord comes. The Son of man comes in an hour not expected, so all must watch and be ready. The faithful and wise servant is the one made ruler over the household to give meat in due season and found doing that work when his Lord comes, and he will be made ruler over all His goods and placed in charge of everything his Lord owns. Everyone given light from God's Word must make right use of that light by feeding God's flock only with food appropriate for the time.
The chapter presents two classes of servants who look for His appearing, and its teaching about these servants is connected with the last-days church and its experience while awaiting Christ. It shows how Christ regards and rewards those who watch for His coming and teach that it is near, in contrast to those who deny or neglect the warning. The faithful servant found watching and doing his work when He comes will be rewarded by being entrusted with authority over all His goods, while the unfaithful one says his Lord is delaying.
That coming is the appearing of the sign of the Son of man in heaven and His coming in the clouds with power and great glory, sending angels with a great trumpet to gather His elect. The promise belongs to watching and readiness because the hour of that coming is unknown, like a thief in the night. The reward for faithful, overcoming, self-denying service stands in contrast to the evil servant who says his lord delays, mistreats his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, and who will be cut asunder and appointed his portion with the hypocrites.
Present Duty and Reward
Pastors of churches are stewards put over the household to give meat in due season, and they are required to minister faithfully by educating church members to labor together with God. The steward identifies himself with his master, accepts the responsibilities of a steward, makes his master's interests his own, and acts in his master's stead doing as his master would do were he presiding. The position is one of dignity because it rests on the master's trust, and faithfulness in giving meat in due season when the lord comes leads to being made ruler over all his goods. If he acts selfishly and turns advantage gained by trading with his lord's goods to his own advantage, he perverts the trust reposed in him and can no longer be looked upon as trustworthy and dependable. Every Christian is such a steward entrusted with God's goods, ministers and laymen alike having individual work committed to them, for all must give an account of themselves to God.
The one entrusted with the talent of means acts as God's helping hand by investing money to advance God's work and give the world the last message of mercy. This means sustaining gospel work in places like New York City and holding up faithful ministers by giving, rather than spending in self-gratification. Such self-denial and sacrifice of earthly riches and giving all to Christ secures the eternal riches, the inheritance that endures through all eternity, eternal life, while spending for self brings eternal loss. Matthew 24 outlines what is coming upon the world, including the perils of the last days and the need to warn those perishing in sin, calling those entrusted with money to use it to carry the final message of mercy to the world.
The expectation of Christ's coming calls for continued faithfulness rather than worldly preoccupation, in contrast with the evil servant who assumes his lord is delayed and becomes careless. Eagerness for gain can cloud spiritual vision, and absorbing oneself in worldly pursuits and neglecting God's work stands opposite faithful giving of timely spiritual instruction and present truth suited to the time. Faithful service includes warning the world as Noah warned the people before the Flood, and the servant found so doing when the Lord returns will be entrusted with all his master's goods.
Those whose ambitions reach to the ends of the earth and whose commercial enterprises follow a course God forbids are warned to repent, for without repentance they will never see the kingdom of heaven whatever their calling. Watchfulness is required because no one knows what hour the Lord will come, and the faithful and wise servant set over the household to give meat in due season and found doing so when his Lord comes will be blessed and made ruler over all His goods. This stands opposite the evil servant who says in his heart that his Lord delays His coming, smites his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, who will be visited in a day he looks not for Him and an hour he is not aware of.
The promise gives a sacred commission and a serious responsibility to those who serve faithfully and remain ready, with blessing, promotion, and entrusting of all goods and authority over all possessions at the Lord's second coming. The servant is one whom his Lord has put in charge of the household to give food at the right time, and who is found doing that appointed entrusted work when his Lord returns. The verse is a warning to watch, given to people living in the closing period of earth's history amid disasters and signs that the coming is near, while many are indifferent like those in the days of Noah who did not know. Every person should apply it to himself by asking if the Scripture means him.