This week’s parable, number 9, is a continuation of the parable last week, which was about watchfulness. In the verse following last week’s parable Peter recognized the general meaning of Jesus’ teaching, but now needs clarification so then he asks this question, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?” Jesus answered Peter’s question with a parable. This parable centers on an administrator who is both wise and faithful, one who can make good decisions and who also carries out the task to completion in a trustworthy manner.
42 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? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 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. 46 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.
47 “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. 48 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.
Jesus is giving the illustration of mankind in general, all of whom have responsibility to the Creator and are accountable to Him for having a right relationship with Him through faith in the Messiah. The servant or steward who is faithful is one who has trusted in Jesus Christ as his Messiah and Savior.
In verses 43 and 44, you may be thinking, “Hey, this is not really a good reward, I do a good job and my reward is more work? I thought I would enter God’s rest!” Sorry, but that seems to be God’s plan and it’s repeated in several later parables: the more responsibilities you handle well, the more you’re going to get. On the other hand, the “responsibilities” Jesus speaks of can also be seen as blessings. And that’s a good thing to get more of.
The language in the parable is symbolic of what happens when Jesus returns. It refers to the blessing of being with Christ, and should not be taken as some kind of literal assignment of responsibility. When Jesus returns, all who have trusted in Him will be gathered out of the earth, taken to heaven, and enter into eternal fellowship with other believers and into everlasting peace.
Verse 45 is now referring to a person, who in human arrogance, ignores the Lord’s call upon his life and chooses not to trust in Christ as the Savior. Instead, he lives in the self-centeredness of his sin nature, indulging his pleasure lusts and oppressing others. The “long time in coming” phrase reminds us of what Peter writes at 2 Peter 3:3-4, Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? Forever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
In this parable we can see that there are four kinds of servants discussed, verse 44 and then the last three in verses 46-48:
- a) One who knows what he should do, and does the right thing. (44 and 48b)
- b) One who knows what he should do, but does the wrong thing. (46)
- c) One who knows what he should do, but doesn’t do anything. (47)
- d) One who does not know what he should do, and does the wrong thing (48a)
Let’s consider each of these. We’ve already looked at the one who knows what he should do and does the right thing. He gets rewarded with more responsibilities and blessings. Jesus reiterates this again in the second part of the last verse when he says, “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.” When Jesus says something twice in a few minutes, what does that mean? Pay attention! This is important. He’s saying, “learn the right thing to do—and DO it!”
Okay, so now what if you know what you should do but deliberately decide to do the wrong thing? In this parable that meant beating the other servants, feasting on the master’s food and getting drunk. What happened then?
Luke 12:46 – the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect {him,} and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and will banish him with the unbelievers.
When Jesus comes back to this earth at the Day of the Lord, He will come as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev. 3:3; 16:15), unexpectedly, suddenly and without warning to the unbelieving world (1 Thessalonians 5:3; Luke 21:34). For that matter, it is even possible for believers to be unprepared through carnal pleasures and be caught off guard (1 Thessalonians 5:4-11; Luke 21:34-36). However, all believers will be taken out, and only the unbelievers will remain to undergo the Day of the Lord judgments, and ultimately end up in the lake of fire unless they change their mind and believe in Christ during the period between Jesus’ second coming (the rapture) and the Last Judgement (Armageddon).
Okay, but what about this disobedient servant that Jesus says will by “cut into pieces?” This statement is bit difficult to understand. Although the Greek word means to cut something into two parts, based on context here, a better translation may be scourging (whipping, lashing, or cause great suffering). Cut into two pieces would imply physical death, and if that were the case, then there is no way he could be assigned to the place of the unbeliever. What does being assigned to the unbeliever mean?
When Jesus returns a second time, unbelievers are assigned to the same place as the unfaithful hypocrite, (Matthew). He does not go immediately to that place, but is simply assigned to it. The final placement in hell, the lake of fire, will not occur until the last judgment. Although he will be rejected at the second return of Jesus, he will still have another opportunity to trust in Christ up until the final judgement (battle of Armageddon). After that, all unbelievers will be removed from the earth and sent to Hades.
We see that if you know what you should do but deliberately decide to do the wrong thing, you are punished and then assigned to the same place as the unfaithful hypocrite. You’re punished, but you get a second chance.
Now let’s look at the third kind of servant Luke 12:47 – “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes,
Luke 12:47 – “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes,
This clearly indicates the administration of a more severe punishment upon the one who is blatantly rebellious against God.
The puzzle is, that the one who did the wrong thing cannot advance much upon being left behind at the Jesus’ second coming (the rapture). What then would be the significance of more lashes for the one who did nothing vs. fewer lashes for the one who did the wrong thing? I think Jesus is saying that when you hear the message God wants you to do something, even if it’s the wrong thing, rather than sitting back and doing nothing. God wants you to be a doer, not a watcher. Do the wrong thing—you get punished. Do nothing—you get punished even more.
Luke 12:48a – But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.
Again, we can clearly see that a less severe punishment is administered upon the one who is rebellious against God, but who does so ignorantly, that is, without a full understanding of his obligation to the Creator. This is perhaps a person who has become aware of God via God Consciousness type revelation, but has not read t he Bible or expressed interest in becoming a Christ follower and has not been born again.
Some people might ask, “what about people who haven’t been exposed to Christ or the Bible—will God send them to hell?” Here’s the answer. Later generations who have seen Jesus’ miracles and read the Bible will be held to a higher standard. A greater revelation was given to Christ’s generation than to the former generations and neither will bypass the first judgement when Christ returns. The unbelievers of both generations will be held accountable for their unbelief and both will be assigned but not sent to the lake of fire, but the ones who don’t know about Christ will receive a less severe indictment at the last judgment. It seems that the soul of the unbeliever is going to be more sad and miserable in view of having known what was expected of him.
The final word: Luke 12:48b – And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.