Matthew 24:46-51
Mat 24:46 (KJB)
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
The faithful servant does not have to look over his shoulder or even worry about
when his master is coming back because his work ethic remains the same, whether
the master is there or not. When the master returns, he will not be disappointed
because his servant will be about his duties faithfully. Now let us look at
these two verses in a spiritual manner. Between the time of the Lord’s first
coming and His second coming, Christians have been left with the task of getting
the gospel out to the ends of the world. By their faithfulness in ministering to
the needs of others, the wise and true servants of the Lord Jesus will become
well known. There are many Christians today who do nothing outside of going to
church and that is the extent of their commitment which is really
non-commitment. The faithful Christian who daily ministers and looks for avenues
to minister will be ready when the Lord comes and has no need to wonder when the
Lord is returning because his faithfulness to Christ has made him ready. There
are two groups which need to concern themselves with the Lord’s return, the
unbelievers and lazy uninvolved Christians.
Mat 24:47 (KJB)
Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
This is almost like the parable of the talents where the one who had ten talents
and gained ten more was rewarded beyond those talents by the master. There is
going to be some kind of reward for those who have remained faithful but as to
what that is, needs to be kept in the hands of the Lord and we need not
speculate on that. The fact that we are going to Heaven and not an eternity in
the lake of fire should be reward enough for all of us. Nevertheless, the Lord
is teaching a lesson that faithfulness to Him has its reward.
Mat 24:48 (KJB)
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his
coming;
Then the Lord contrasts the faithful servant with one whom He calls evil, which
we could say is someone who claims to be a Christian but they have never been
regenerated. The evil servant is always counting on the master to delay his
coming for a long time. The word “delayeth” is in the present tense so he is
continually counting on his master to remain away for a long time, in fact, he
is even hoping that his master does no return at all. The apostate church today
does not believe the teachings of Jesus because if they did, they would not be
in the condition they are in, in case the Lord returned. They are counting on
the Lord being away forever.
Mat 24:49 (KJB)
And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the
drunken;
This evil servant saw that his master had delayed his coming and instead of
taking care of his estate, he started to lord it over the other servants. He
made sure that he was well taken care of and did not see to the provision for
the rest of the household instead he became a glutton and drunk as he now
started to make friends with the drunks. Instead of him spending time with
faithful servants, he spent time with those who were of lower caliber and then
he became as one of them. He was enjoying himself in pleasure and the lusts of
this world. (1 Th 5:7 KJV) For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they
that be drunken are drunken in the night. This servant is a child of the
night and not of the light because he thinks there is no consequences for living
that type of life. This is akin to those in the churches who have made alliances
with other unbelievers and had not sought out the ways of the Lord. Their
unbelief has kept the church as an entity of the night.
Mat 24:50 (KJB)
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,
Since this evil servant had adopted a lifestyle which was completely all about
him, he had no concern for the fact that the master of the house could return at
any time. He acted like he was the master of the house but that would come to an
abrupt end. He was blinded to the fact that his day of reckoning was at hand.
(Luke 12:20 KJV) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall
be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
He is in the same situation as the one who wanted to build bigger barns. Their
day of reckoning was at hand. The rich man expected to see sunset and the evil
servant expected to live another day in sin but both of their expectations were
shattered in a moment of time. The master of the house has returned and it is
time to give an account.
Mat 24:51 (KJB)
And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus states that this servant would be cut asunder or in two. First, he would
lose all of the privileges and responsibilities of his office, secondly, he
would be assigned to the place of the hypocrites. He had started out a good
servant but because he thought his master would not come for a long time, he
began to think evilly and allowed his thoughts to degenerate his life and
thoughts. So now he went from being a servant to a hypocrite. The place of the
hypocrites will be eternal hell. (Mat 8:12 KJV) But the children of the
kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. Those in the churches who were leaders but were not
truly Christians will be considered hypocrites because they are trying to be
someone they are not. Then those false Christians who thought they were
Christians will be cast into outer darkness because they too thought they were
saved by belonging to a church or organization and doing their ceremonies. In
Matthew 23, Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites and their
destination was eternal hell. The evil servant probably did not expect that
sentence.