Luke
12:35~48
Be
ready ~
for His return.
The
Second Coming of Christ is called “The Blessed Hope” for many Believers. One scholar has estimated that there
are 1,845 references to Christ' second coming in the Old Testament, where 17
books speaks of it. In the 260 chapters
of the New Testament, there are 318 references to the second advent of
Christ--an amazing one out of every 30 verses.
Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. For every prophecy in the Bible concerning
Christ's first advent, there are EIGHT that look forward to His Second Coming!
It
really matters how we look at things. IF
THE ONLY TOOL YOU HAVE IS A HAMMER, YOU TEND TO SEE EVERY PROBLEM AS A NAIL. In one light, we see thus and so but with a
different light, we can see a whole more of the item. A number of years ago, after a football game
was finished and the score was 51-ZERO, the coach spoke to his defeated players
and gave them this perspective: “Men, let's
keep this in perspective. There are 800 million Chinese who don't even know
this game was played." Perspective is crucial. When we are going through some of life’s
experiences, we might see things as hopeless or pointless. But with hindsight, we can appreciate our
history. Things come into focus and sometimes we even learn a great
lesson. Sometimes!
When
Goliath came against the Israelites, they thought, “He is so big we can never kill him!” David said “He is to big I can’t miss!”
When
we have a perspective in our life, things could work out in two
directions. When we look back,
reflectively, we might consider what has happened in relation to the events
that happened. But perspective thinking
might also cause us to see the potential; of what might be. We can act now in light of what we hope to
happen in the years ahead.
If a young couple starts saving for their daughter or son’s college
years when they were born, the potential is high that there will be needed cash
for them when they need it. That is hard
to do because it provides us with discipline and involves faith and that counts
on things to happen that have not yet occurred…salary decrease, etc.
Believers
are to live prospectively. We know that
our Savior will return—in the future and that we will need to give an account
for our lives—our stewardship. In our
passage today, we can see three images or metaphors to aid us in living
prospectively.
1)
The parable of
being prepared 35-36
2)
The parable of
waiting for the Son of Man 39-40
3)
The parable of
the kinds of stewards 41-48.
Read Lk 12:35-48. “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”41 Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”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 I tell you the truth, 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 menservants and maidservants 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 “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his 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.
ルカ12:35 腰に帯を締め、あかりをともしていなさい。
36 主人が婚礼から帰って来て戸をたたいたら、すぐに戸をあけようと、その帰りを待ち受けている人たちのようでありなさい。
37 帰って来た主人に、目をさましているところを見られるしもべたちは幸いです。まことに、あなたがたに告げます。主人のほうが帯を締め、そのしもべたちを食卓に着かせ、そばにいて給仕をしてくれます。
38 主人が真夜中に帰っても、夜明けに帰っても、いつでもそのようであることを見られるなら、そのしもべたちは幸いです。
39 このことを知っておきなさい。もしも家の主人が、どろぼうの来る時間を知っていたなら、おめおめと自分の家に押し入られはしなかったでしょう。
40 あなたがたも用心していなさい。人の子は、思いがけない時に来るのですから。」
41 そこで、ペテロが言った。「主よ。このたとえは私たちのために話してくださるのですか。それともみなのためなのですか。」
42 主は言われた。「では、主人から、その家のしもべたちを任されて、食事時には彼らに食べ物を与える忠実な賢い管理人とは、いったいだれでしょう。43 主人が帰って来たときに、そのようにしているのを見られるしもべは幸いです。44 わたしは真実をあなたがたに告げます。主人は彼に自分の全財産を任せるようになります。45 ところが、もし、そのしもべが、『主人の帰りはまだだ』と心の中で重い、下男や下女を打ちたたき、食べたり飲んだり、酒に酔ったりし始めると、46 しもべの主人は、思いがけない日の思わぬ時間に帰ってきます。そして、彼をきびしく罰して、不忠実な者どもと同じめに会わせるに違いありません。47 主人の心を知りながら、その思いどおりに用意もせず、働きもしなかったしもべは、ひどくむち打たれます。48 しかし、知らずにいたために、むち打たれるようなことをしたしもべは、打たれても、少しで済みます。すべて、多く与えられた者は多く求められ、多く任された者は多く要求されます。
All
three parables cause us to look to the future.
The MAIN point is that Jesus
wants to make sure His disciples are prepared for what is to come.
On May 19th, 1780, while the
Congress was in session, the sky over the city darkened threateningly, and some
of the legislators, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Repressing a clamor for immediate
adjournment, the Speaker rose and said, "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for
adjournment. If it is, I choose to be
found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish
that candles be brought."
Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ
returns. Instead of fearing the dark,
we're to be lights as we watch and wait.
Faith
means trusting God. Not only for our eternity but also for our today. And by walking faithfully with Him until He
comes—that becomes our goal.
What
God DOES affects what we DO—sometimes—when
we live life prospectively. 将来する。(予期される, 見込みの)
Two
images are clearly put in front of us. 1. Be dressed ready for service and 2. keep the lamps burning. You can see the picture in your mind of a man
tying up a garment around the waist as a picture of readiness. To be able to move quickly. Not burdened with lots of things and
weights. Not being hampered with extra luggage.
1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action;
be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the Grace to be given you when Jesus
Christ is revealed. ペテロの手紙 第一 １:13 ですから、あなたがたは、心を引き締め、身を慎み、イエス・キリストの現れのときあなたがたにもたらされる恵みを、ひたすら待ち望みなさい。
KEEP
yourself ready—at all times. Don’t let
your guard down. A battle is still to be
fought. Keep a watchful eye on what goes
on around you. Seeing these lamps
burning—ready even at night—adds a deep sense of watchfulness…even in the dark
hours of the night-you MUST be ready.
Watching the times: as in the five wise virgins in Matt 25:1-13. They were ready but the other five were
not—they were foolish! (Check that out yourself…which are you?)
Jesus,
in the middle of this parable, makes a comparison. Some servants are ready for the return of
their master while others are not. Since
wedding feast might last one week long, the servant is not certain when his
master will leave the party and come home.
He must be ready at all times!
Not always predictable. Disciples of
Jesus need that kind of readiness. To live with the same expectation! Is He coming in five min? Five hours?
Is He at the gate?!?
He
then gives a blessing (a beatitude) “It
will be good…blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when He comes.” But there is a twist with this story: When
THIS master returns, HE WILL BE DOING
THE SERVING! The
Chief Steward leads the stewards in service.
Jesus shows us how. We are to do
what He did. He served the down cast,
the broken, the sick, the aged, the poor, the slave, the one who is hated, the
one who is abused. That is who Jesus
servers.
And
when He comes back and serves us, He will show us how important service to
others really is. He places a very high
premium on service. Here we see God’s
Grace at work as He serves us. This
suggests very boldly the blessing of being totally accepted by the Lord
Jesus. HIS LOVE IS BOTH COMPLETE and TRUE.
Jesus
keeps us in the dark as to WHEN He will return.
The second or third watch?—both in the Roman and Hebrew time
references—are within a general time frame.
Either way, it is “deep night”, somewhere between midnight and 2:00
AM. Also, the disciple MUST be ready at
all times. Constant
vigilance is expected.
It
is here during these waiting times we are to watch and pray. Keeping an active watch over our souls. Keeping our hearts from any shade of evil. Running away from the temptations that had
easily caused us to fall before. We are
to be pure; Holy Servants of the Lord.
Seeking His best. Doing His Will. Calling others to follow our lead in our Walk
of Faith. Teaching others the Way of
Jesus. Active waiting. Not slipping into a dull unawareness of Life
around us. By being Proactive. Praying.
Witnessing. Testifying of God’s
Grace in our lives. These are the words
that are in the Parable!
Waiting with
knowledge and understanding and wisdom/ ask for it all!
Immediately open to His voice, His direction, His
way
Watching with
open eyes.
Finds they ready Not asleep, alert, with the right stuff
Must be ready again
Finds doing so action
not passive
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.
Therefore,
in all matters of life, be ready, with an answer for the Faith I have… with
short list of issues… with an open heart.
Have
you been robbed? Has anyone you know had
their home broken into? There is a sense
of being personally abused. Your things
touched by this thief. Your personal items handled—some taken. You have been violated.
Jesus
draws our attention to this home invasion.
A thief robs a house at night. I
am told if they want something of yours and you have it made safe, they can
still take it. A motorcycle CHAINED to
an oak tree—man came back and the tree was cut down with a note: “I wanted it so I took it!” 私はそれを取ったので、私はそれを望んでいた！ "
IF
you knew when the thief was going to enter your home, you would feel
safe, but the truth is, thieves don’t tell you: “At 3:15 AM I am coming into your living room by the hall entrance. I will steal all that you have.” 私はあなたが持っているすべてを盗むようになるので3時15分に私はホールの入り口であなたのリビングルームに入ってくる召しあがり頂けます。
It
is true that a person will not leave his home exposed if he knew a thief was
going to rob him, so it is with a Disciple of Jesus. He should be ready for the Lord to return…at
any time. We don’t know the hour so we need to be ready. In this passage, we see a spiritual
disclosure in the lack of being prepared.
The
risks of being totally unprepared are great!
A
question comes up as we look at these parables: what makes a steward good? In the old days, a steward would have been left
in charge of all the domestic affairs when his master is gone. His full job is to care for all the other
people in the master’s household. Care
for their welfare, he would provide food and shelter and protection. The role of being THE caregiver would take
his whole day and might last for one week—ten years. However, with all that responsibility, his
job as steward was to serve, never to exercise power over others. (In the
church, we are to serve not have power over the other—same as in a marriage…in
any relationship…service)
Very
often we might be thinking of waiting as an attitude of the mind while Jesus sees it as something that is active.
A life lived is marked by constant service to God is a life lived
prospectively. A life that is filled
with a Godly future is a life worth living.
The
Master returns and finds his steward ready for him. He is pleased. He rewards the steward with honor and with
promotion. I really don’t understand how
that is done or what it is that is done but the Bible speaks about a
promotion. Our faithfulness will be
honored. I believe that is a very good
thing.
Now
on the other hand, the steward might not be ready. Three different stewards show up.
The
steward who is evil. The steward who is lacking. The steward who is not all what he should be. All 3
loose out on life!
The
first one is called “unfaithful” and
receives not only a beating but this beating is mortal and he is totally
separated from any joy. This is a total
rejection of any mercy AND leads to deep and painful death—not a mere
punishment. He is dismembered or
mutilated. “He will cut him into pieces.” While this is harsh it is more than just
unsatisfactory service: he is set out into utter darkness where he is, as found
in Matthew
24:51, マタイ 24:51 そして、彼を厳しく罰して、その報いを偽善者たちと同じにするに違いありません。しもべはそこで泣いて歯ぎしりするのです。placed among the hypocrites where there is weeping and
gnashing of teeth. He is Evil!
Along
with them are the ones who are false teachers. Those who take the things of God and twist
them to satisfy their own lust. Acts
20:28-32 gives us a warning
about them. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of
which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own Blood. 29 I know that after I leave,
savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number
men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after
them. 31 So be on your guard!
Remember that for three years I
never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
The
second unfaithful steward is something less than the blatantly disobedient
steward. This one suffers a beating “with many blows”.
He or she is the unfaithful steward that lacks full knowledge.
The
third is one who does not know the Master is telling the truth. He knows what
is required of him but he just does not care.
He is given much—a whole lot, in fact, yet it does not move him to
action. Much is expected of this steward
and much will be demanded of him. The one who has been
entrusted with much, much more will be asked. What will the answer be?
“I did not know!” “I did not expect Him to come at all!” “I thought it was just a story!” OR “Here,
my lamp is burning and I am dress ready for service.”
Where
is your heart? Some have said: Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure;
where your treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is your
happiness. Augustine
Please keep wearing our work clothes and keep the
lamps burning, looking for the Lord's return by serving Him faithfully.
