Bible Text: Luke 12:35-48 | Preacher: G.F.

“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant 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 put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” (Luke 12:35-48)
In this passage, “Be ready,” “Keep watch,” “Be awake,” is not an exhortation to Christians to try and predict the signs of the time and to try and determine whether the coming of Christ is sooner rather than later or to specifically know what hour or day He is returning. The exhortations here in this passage clearly are designed to move us to live in a particular way. Jesus had been teaching his disciples not to live for earthly treasure, but to seek first the kingdom of God. He had warned them of the danger of greed and called them to avoid anxiety by trusting that God cares for them.

Here is how Philip Ryken presses Jesus’ application home: Are you ready, or not? Jesus says we always need to be ready, because we never know when he will come again. Being ready means getting right with God by trusting in Jesus Christ. Unless we have prayed to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are not ready. How can we possibly be prepared to meet Jesus if we have not asked him to forgive our sins? Being ready also means having a sense of urgency about sharing the gospel. Other people need to be ready to meet Jesus, too. He is coming very soon. But how will people be ready to meet him unless someone loves them enough to give them the gospel? Being ready means praying for the kingdom to come, asking God to expand his rule in our own lives, in the church, in our community, and around the world. It also means devoting our lives to Christian service. Given what the parable says about servants and masters, probably this should be our primary application. If we are God’s servants, then we need to be busy teaching God’s Word, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, visiting prisoners, caring for children, helping the elderly, or doing whatever humble service we have the ability and the opportunity to do. Time is short, and we need to make the most of it. The Son of Man may come today, tonight, or tomorrow. But whenever he comes, Jesus says we must be ready. Are you ready, or not?

The question that Jesus is asking is — “Are you ready for Me to come? Are you living so that when I come I find you encouraging one another, loving one another, serving one another, helping one another, making sure that we’re not just living for the moment but that we’re living for the Lord, encouraging one another that there is more to this life than food and clothing and houses and wealth and prominence and position and fame and all this other material stuff that clutters up our life?”