Luke 12:35-48

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak.

“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

Peter said, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?”

The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.


Yes Tom Petty, the waiting is the hardest part. We hate to wait in America. Fast food, credit cards, microwaves, speed passes, and premarital sex abound. What does this passage teach us about waiting Jesus' way?

We must always be prepared to serve Christ daily - be dressed ready for service. Literally we are to "have our loins girded". In Jesus' day one would need to tuck in his long robe in order to serve. Today we might use the idiom "roll up your sleeves" to convey the same image of readiness to work and "get your hands dirty".

We must maintain ourselves - keep your lamps burning. In those days without electricity, servants would have small oil lamps to illuminate the way for the master. You couldn't just light them at a moment's notice. A good servant would keep the wick trimmed and oil in the lamp, listening for sounds of the masters return. Likewise we should be preparing for our Master's return through Bible Study, prayer, righteous living, and sharing the gospel.

We must expect the master to return - like servants waiting for their master. Even now, two thousand years later, we must anticipate the return of Jesus. The eager servant will be watching and waiting, ready to throw open the door and welcome the Master.

A surprising thing happens to the ready servants in the parable. The master tucks in his own garment, tells them to recline, and begins serving them! Likewise when Christ returns, his servants who have been found faithful will be rewarded. Jesus came to serve (Lk 22:27), thus serving is elevated to an honorable task rather than a demeaning one. Jesus led through servant leadership throughout his ministry, never bossing his disciples around but rather kindly forgiving and leading through example. We should mirror this in our own relationships, especially when put "over" other people in any capacity.

But there is a tension in this passage. The first section reveals the joy a faithful servant will experience at Christ's return. But those with opposite lives will have a different perspective. In fact, they will view him as a thief breaking into the house in the middle of the night and taking what the owner believed belonged to him. Not knowing when the thief would come, the homeowner finds himself caught unprepared. The return of Christ is seen as a disaster for this fellow. All he values is taken away.

We can be confident that Christ will return to reward some and judge others. We cannot know the day or the hour, and those who attempt to predict it end up looking like fools. The delay in his coming is a test of our faithfulness that refines us through the Spirit into a closer image of Jesus to bring glory to God.

Peter, probably feeling uncomfortable, queries Jesus as to whom the parable is about. I'm sure he wants to be considered a faithful servant and not a robbed homeowner. In true Jesus form he does not give a straight answer. The principles here apply to all people.

The reward of the faithful and wise manager is to be put in charge of managing many things in eternity. Scripture indicates that we will work in the afterlife, not sit on clouds strumming harps. (Not that strumming harps isn't work. Calm down harpists!) Won't it be amazing to accomplish tasks without becoming weary or being distracted by other things?

But suppose the servant becomes weary of waiting for the Master and begins to engage in drunkenness and abuse of others. This servant is cut to pieces and assigned a place with the unbelievers. Harsh words, but we must not overlook them in an attempt to cling to our idol of a constantly loving and kind Jesus. The one who sins knowingly receives a greater punishment than the one who sins unknowingly. In Matthew’s parallel account (24:45-51), he adds a reference to “weeping and gnashing of teeth”.  Ignorance doesn't bring you through the gates of heaven; it just diminishes hell. Many who claim to be servants of God will find themselves judged harshly when all is said and done. In light of Jesus' recent confrontation with the Pharisees and lawyers, he may have had false religious leaders in mind. Those placed in leadership have an even greater responsibility (Js 3:1).

Those of us who have accepted the truth of Jesus' first coming should look eagerly towards the second coming and the fulfillment of his promises. And keep in mind that much has been given to us, therfore much will be expected!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.   - Colossians 3:23-24

Luke 7:1-10

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.


After the sermon on the plain, Jesus returns to Capernaum. As a center of business and trade, Capernaum required a presence of Roman soldiers. They guarded the people  from illegal business and collected customs from traders crossing Palestine's borders. Despite the commonly assumed 100, Roman centurions usually commanded 60 to 80 men.

A household servant of a Roman centurion fell ill. Apparently he was cared for and valued and may have held a position of high authority. Nevertheless, he was a servant with no rights except those given by the centurion. Although servants could be easily replaced, the centurion cares for this servant. We can't say whether this is pure compassion or if the servant was just a valuable worker.

The Jewish elders who most often opposed Jesus come to him with the centurion's request. They argue for the man's character, even though he is an unclean Gentile. This centurion won favor through his kind deeds and understanding of their customs and religion rather than getting what he wanted through brute force. Early inscriptions show that several synagogues were funded by Gentile contributors who admired the Jews, and this centurion was among those. Although the elders could not refute the healing power of Jesus, they missed the point of his ministry. Jesus did not heal based on works, but on faith. As we shall see, the centurion had both.

The crowds needing healing had pressed tightly against Jesus, reaching out hands for a healing touch. Even the opposition could not dispute the healing power of Jesus.  In Jesus' home base of Capernaum it was well known that if you could get close enough to touch Jesus, possibly healing would flow from him to cure any ailment. I cannot imagine how the crowds would press against him.

The centurion responds in a surprising way. He sends a second delegation, made up of trusted friends. They come with a plea that Jesus not defile himself by entering a Gentile home. Simply issue the command, and the servant will live. The Jewish leaders had claimed the centurion deserved the help of Jesus; the centurion claimed he did not deserve to have Jesus even darken his door.

Jesus responded to the centurion the way the crowds responded to his miracles - with amazement. Such words revealed a faith far beyond any yet shown by his followers. The crowds sought signs and wonders. The opposition sought a slip-up. The centurion simply sought the unmerited favor of the Lord.

Oh to have the kind of faith that would amaze Jesus! Too often we are the crowds, seeking God in the miraculous and forgetting him in the mundane. Too often we are the opposition, coming for help when there is a need but lacking faith and humility. The centurion never met Jesus face to face but recognized his power and authority over all things. Although we can not physically see Jesus, may we have the same faith in our own lives.

"But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. - Hebrews 10:38-11:1