NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Part XIX

Verses 45-47: “Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the one the master trusts to do that work? When the master comes and finds that servant doing the work he gave him, it will be a day of blessing for that servant. I can tell you without a doubt, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns.”

Jesus knew what His disciples and followers would be facing after His ascension back to the Father. Just like the caterpillar must fight to exit its cocoon as a butterfly, so those disciples must go through trials and tribulations in order to become apostles so they could lead the church as it grew. He did not want untrustworthy servants as the Jewish leaders had become. Jesus was echoing what we find in Ezekiel, “Son of man, speak against the shepherds of Israel for me. Speak to them for me. Tell them that this is what the LORD God says: ‘You shepherds of Israel have only been feeding yourselves. It will be very bad for you! Why don’t you shepherds feed the flock?’”¹

We can see in Acts of the Apostles which disciples became those leading the flock.² They fulfilled the words in Daniel, “The wise people will shine as bright as the sky. Those who teach others to live right will shine like stars forever and ever.”³ One Rabbi believes this is illustrated by what we find in Nahum where it reads: “The chariots rush madly about in the streets, jostling each other in the open places; their appearance is like torches, they run here and there like lightning.”⁴ He says they will do this as they turn people to righteous living.⁵

But our Lord always presented a balanced concept. Often when He talked about good, He also spoke about evil; when He taught what was right, He also pointed out what was wrong. In reading this, it inspired Chrysostom to preach the following: “It is an honor to be entrusted with the responsibility of someone else’s resources. This happens to the faithful… What can be equal to this honor? What sort of speech would be fitting to this dignity? What sort of blessedness would accompany it? Here we are speaking of nothing less than the King of heaven who possesses all things. It is He who is setting a person ‘over all his possessions.’ This is why He calls him to be wise. He must not spend large sums for small benefits. It is only having been responsible here in this life that he will receive the riches of heaven.”⁶

Then bishop Hilary sees this as a message to the church. He writes: “Although He urged everyone to exercise a tireless vigilance, Christ commanded the princes of the people, the bishops, to demonstrate a special attentiveness in expectation of His advent. The bishop is represented in this parable by the faithful and wise servant who was set over the household. He is fully equipped and enabled to care for the people entrusted to him. He needs to be attentive to his instructions and obedient to the commandments. When he speaks the truth and prudently applies doctrine, he will confirm the weak, heal the broken, convert sinners, and feed his household with the Word of life—their eternal food. If he is found performing these tasks diligently, he will receive glory from the Lord as a faithful servant and effective steward. He will be set over all his possessions. In other words, he will be established in the midst of the glory of God. Nothing could possibly be better than this.”⁷

Then British scholar John N. Darby (1800-1882), one of the most prominent of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren, offers us his interpretation of what Jesus is illustrating here. He writes: “What is it that has happened to those who had the place of service in the house of God? The consequences on either hand are these: the faithful servant, who from love and devotion to his Master applied himself to the welfare of His household, should be made ruler on his Master’s return over all His goods; those who have been faithful in the service of the house will be set over all things by the Lord, when He takes His place of power and acts as King. All things are given into the hands of Jesus by the Father. Those who in humility have been faithful to His service during His absence shall be made rulers over all that is committed to Him, that is, over all things-they are but the ‘goods’ of Jesus. On the other hand, he who during the Lord’s absence had set himself up as master, and followed after the spirit of the flesh and of the world to which he had united himself, should not merely have the world’s portion: his Master should come quite unexpectedly, and he should receive the punishment of hypocrites.”⁸

Darby then goes on to say: “What a lesson for those who take to themselves a place of service in the assembly! Observe here, that it is not said he is drunken himself, but that he eats and drinks with those that are so. He allies himself with the world and follows its customs. This moreover is the general aspect which the kingdom will assume in that day, although the heart of the evil servant was wicked. The Bridegroom would indeed tarry; and the consequences that might be expected from the heart of man will not fail to be realized. But the effect, we then find, is to make manifest those who had really the grace of Christ and those who had not.”⁹

Darby also gives his personal thought on this revelation of those who were recipients of God’s grace and those who were not. He says: “How solemn the testimony given here to the effect of the assembly’s losing the present expectation of the Lord’s return! What causes the professing church to run into hierarchical oppression and worldliness, so as to be cut off in the end as hypocrites, is saying in the heart, My lord delays His coming-giving up the present expectation. That has been the source of the ruin. The true Christian position was lost as soon as they began to put off the Lord’s coming; and they are treated, note, though in this state, as the responsible servant.”¹⁰

So it is obvious, that by this time Darby was concerned about the church’s theology and how the return of Christ had been put on the back burner while they became more enamored with the luxuries available down here. As a result, he resigned as curate in the Church of Ireland and became an evangelist converting those in the Roman Catholic church to accept salvation by grace not by works. The whole basis for his ministry was encapsulated in a tract that he wrote entitled “How the Lost Sheep was Saved.”

Verse 48: “But what will happen if that servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon?”

Now our Lord addresses the virtues of patience and perseverance. As a child growing up in the 1940’s, and early 1950’s it seemed that every other sermon was on the imminent return of Christ. Many books were written, magazines published, and one of the most well-known radio programs with Herbert W. Armstrong was dedicated to this subject. But over time, the topic has waned, until today it is seldom heard on Christian radio and TV, except as a comment now and then. Perhaps that is because the Church found favor with the world and gained freedom and privileges that none of the Protestant Reformers ever dreamed of. So our Lord’s warning is more pertinent today than ever before.

I would never suggest or promote that today’s Bible-believing Christians go back to the dress, lifestyle, social, or financial status of those in days gone by. But we can emulate their conduct when their main goal was preparing for the coming of the Lord, and telling as many people as possible so they could be ready when He called for them to join Him in the sky. There is something to say about how we hear less and less about the return of Christ as believers get more and more comfortable in this world in their quest for prosperity and popularity.

Early church patriarch Cyril, has this to say about such errant church leaders: “This teaching is directed against the rulers who are leading a luxurious and leisurely lifestyle. He calls the negligent teacher a wicked and evil servant because he takes advantage of the judge’s absence and believes he will not be observed because of the judge’s forbearance. So he beats harshly those over whom he holds power and associates with those who are in love with the flesh. They sin both because the judge is not present and because they don’t think judgment will ever arrive. By wounding some of them, he points out those who are disabled in their soul because of the luxury of their exalted positions. Just as the apostle says, ‘When you sin against your brothers in this way [you] wound their weak conscience.’¹¹ Therefore He threatens to introduce the most severe punishments to those living self-indulgently.…”¹²

It is easy to get off track here by concentrating on the actors in the parable, rather than the spiritual lesson contained in their actions. Jesus was aiming at the degrading conduct of those who are convinced that any judgment for their life choices is still far off, and they will be given plenty of time to turn things around. But what keeps most drivers on the highway traveling at a reasonable speed? Is it not the fear of being caught and given a substantial ticket for speeding? In the same way, those who reverence the Lord and know that He keeps His promises are devoted to maintaining their dedication to the One who loved them so much He sent His only Son to die for their freedom from the bondage of sin, so that they could enjoy everlasting life with Him after He sends His risen Son back to gather all believers whether they are asleep or alive to their eternal home. Unlike the speeding driver, however, the believing saint does not remain right with God out of fear of being caught but based on their love, trust, and faith in being caught-up with others to meet Jesus in the air and complete their life’s journey.