Matthew 24:32-51
Sensible Slaves
4/30/2017
Lynchburg, Virginia
EXHORDIUM
While some of these
passages have good application to our own times, they are not about our times
or our future. When Jesus was talking to His disciples, He was warning them
about things that were soon to come to pass.
Watching
and waiting is always wise. Doing what the Lord has called you to do is what we
should be doing. The Lord grants us favor when we do so.
But
when we wax cold about obeying the Lord, thinking that He will not notice or
that we have all the time in the world, then
we are in grave danger. The Lord’s
second coming may not be imminent, but your last chance to submit your life to
Him might be.
I
don’t think pastors should use this fact as an emotional means to manipulate
people into serving Jesus. But the fact is most certainly true. How many times
can you put off Jesus? How hard can your heart get before it turns to stone?
When will you be past repentance?
Honestly,
I do not know the answer to any of these questions. Furthermore, I suspect the
answers are very different depending on who you are, your family background,
what means the Lord is using to call you to Himself and a host of other factors
that even the angels long to look into.
The Bible
says today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts. Why? Well, today
is the day of salvation. Will you hear His voice tomorrow? Maybe, but maybe
not. And if you do not hear His voice, then they day of salvation never comes.
For
all of you gathered here who know and love the Lord Jesus. Wonderful. Keep on
doing so. Do not harden your hearts. Turn to Him today, tomorrow and the next
day. For you who struggle or who are in denial of Jesus, do not harden your
hearts. Turn to Him today, tomorrow and the next day. If the Lord finds you
doing that which He has called you to, He will bless you. Great is your reward
in Heaven.
EXEGESIS
Now learn
a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth
leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
We can read the seasons. We know when the leaves
start to bud out, summer is near. He is telling us that what He has said is as
certain as the changing of the seasons. Furthermore, those whom He is talking
to should be able to tell when it is happening, just like the change of the
seasons.
But before the summer comes, there is still the
instability of Spring. There are late storms, cold weather and even some winter
like days. But none of that phases us. We know that summer is near.
33 So likewise ye, when
ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Know that it is near, at the door. Can’t get
closer to your hosue without going in than the front door.
34 Verily I say unto
you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall
pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Jesus emphasizes that these things are soon to
come to pass. His word is sure so if he said that this generation will see
these things come to pass, then we should assume that is exactly what will
happen.
36 But of that day and
hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Jesus is talking to the disciples in 33 A.D. There
was a lead up to the war with the Romans. There were many rebels fighting in
Israel. Some were fighting the Romans. Others were fighting each other. During
this time, there were false Messiahs. Don’t listen to them. At the time Jesus
spoke these words, only the Father in Heaven knew when the day of destruction
would arrive.
Alas, even in the final days of the siege, the
false leaders were declaring that Messiah would show up and save them from the
Romans. It didn’t happen.
37 But as the days of
Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that
were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took
them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
The day of Noah entering the ark is analogous to
the day the Israelites were shut up in the siege of Jerusalem. Up to that time,
they were carrying on as if all would be well. They had no idea what a calamity
awaited them.
In fact, when the final siege began, it was
after many thousands had come to the celebration of Pentecost to worship in
Jerusalem. They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until
it was too late.
40 Then shall two be in
the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the
mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
This is commonly spoken about as if it were the
rapture of the church. That cannot be. This entire passage is about the doom of
unbelievers. At this point it is at the hands of the Romans. Many were taken as
prisoners and carted off. The ones taken away are not the ones raptured, unless
being taken prisoner by Rome is rapturous.
42 Watch therefore: for
ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the
house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and
would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an
hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
The Christians may not have known the hour but
as things got progressively worse, the Christians were very aware of what was
happening. The Jews were still under a judicial blindness but those who had
received Christ could see. They watched
and knew the Son of man was coming in judgment. This is why they fled the city.
45 Who then is a
faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to
give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord
when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him
ruler over all his goods.
Be faithful now and always. Householders,
provide for your families. Work hard. Teach your children in the Lord. To fail
to provide is to be worse than unbeliever. So, put a high value on work and
work hard.
Who is the ruler of the household of faith?
Pastors and elders. So, if the Lord has put you in these roles, then give the people meat in due
season. Give them the meat of the Word. Teach, admonish, pray. Such rulers will
rule the household of faith. The household of faith, the people of God, is all
the Lord’s goods. What an honor to feed them.
48 But and if that evil
servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite
his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant
shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he
is not aware of, 51 And
shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Again, amidst the wonderful promises are scary
warnings. For those who will not submit to the Lord, who constantly go their
own way, who mistreat God’s people, their destruction will come upon them
before they know it.
If you have been a Christian for ten or twenty
years or more, you have seen this happen. A man or woman starts out well but
gets weighted down by various sins and desires. Sometimes, it is just merely
the inability to do the same things over the course of a lifetime. They are
killed by boredom.
After a while, they convince themselves not of
the foolishness of preaching but that the preachers are fools. They abhor the
things of God. They make excuses for turning away from Christ. They have good
company. The rich, the mighty, the well educated, the famous, also turn from
Christ. Such former saints side with them and think they have a cloud of
witnesses against our Lord and against His Anointed.
But they will end up in a place apportioned for
these hypocrites, a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
EXHORTATION
45 Who then is a
faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to
give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord
when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him
ruler over all his goods.
Wait- Be diligent in your
waiting by watching.
Watch
Ministers watch over your flock. Give them meat in due
season. Be in a church that has a commitment to the Word of God, all of it. If
the Word is the ultimate and infallible rule in your church, that is where you
want to be. If not, then you are not watching.
Ministers also watch by noting straying
sheep and going after them. By exhorting, praying, teaching, counseling.
Husbands,
watch over your families. Know the state of your flocks. Watch the spiritual condition
of your wife and children. Get to know them so you can know when something is
amiss. You are not your wife or your children. They do each have a
responsibility before the Lord. But while they are in your home, you have a
responsibility to answer to the Lord for them. So, take that seriously and do
all that is in your power to know them, to know how they are doing, to correct
their behavior, to encourage them in Christ.
Is your family insular? Are the only people they
know, their siblings and some Sunday morning friends? Protect them but also
expose them at the right time and in the right place to others who need Christ,
who need encouragement, who need a friend. The church life is a great place to
do that. Church is not just about what you get for yourselves or your family.
It is also about what you give of yourself and your family to others. If you
are here, you are getting. Are you giving?
Wives, watch over your children. This is a subset of the
husbands responsibility but the reality is that wives spend most of the time
with their children. So, watch over them for good. How do you do this most
effectively? By watching over yourself. Are you reading Scripture daily? Are
you praying for your children? Are you confronting sins big and small or
letting love cover them? Wives, be virtuous and godly. Do not complain and
grumble. Learn contentment. If you are this sort of virtuous woman, then your
watching over your children will be that much easier.
But also know your children. Ask them
about their thoughts, struggles, victories, life aims, friends. Be a parent but
also be a friend and confidant. Moms, you are probably the single biggest
influence on the spiritual lives of your children. Take that seriously but
don’t panic. Trust in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to be the sort of
mom that God calls you to be.
Children, watch over yourselves. Kids, you are also
responsible before the Lord directly. If you are 10 or 11 or older, then start
to take your own character and maturity seriously. Read your Bible, pray, grow
up in Jesus. Come to church ready to worship God and get to know Jesus. Come to
church not just to get but also to give. Look for those in need or lonely and
do not bully them or make fun of them but rather, minister to them as Jesus
would. Do not get sucked into the cool crowd who really are just pursuing
worldliness.
Be a Christian first and whatever else your
passion is, second. It could be an instrument, cello, violin or piano, or a
sport, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, or a hobby, hunting, fishing, or climbing,
or a vocational pursuit, computer science, engineering or medicine.
Do all of these things well. Seek to excel in
whatever you do. But be a Christian first. Be all of these things as a Christian
and you will honor the Lord.
All of you, watch over your souls. If you get bored or lazy
as a Christian, you are in grave danger. You kids are in danger. You have
grown up in a wonderful church with
great parents. You are part of a long tradition of reformed doctrine, teaching
and practice. It is a deep stream. Do you see it? Can you taste it? Is it well
with you? Do you long for more of these rivers of waters?
If not, why not? Is there something
wrong with the church, with the Bible or with Jesus? If not, then why do you
not hunger and thirst for righteousness? It might a be a sinful and wicked
heart. But it might also simply be a sense a lazy sense of presumption. You are
in a good stream and as long as you are floating you are good.
Don’t be like that. Cultivate a love
for God, a love for His people, a love for His Word, a love of worship, a love
of practical daily obedience. This is watching and it will do your soul well.
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