Will Kynes, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, Samford University
KEEP SERVING FAITHFULLY
Matthew 24:42–51
In Matthew 24, Jesus teaches His disciples about the end times and shapes their expectations for His return. However, His purpose is not to leave them gazing into the future. Here, He directs their attention to the present. How will we behave as we anticipate Christ’s return?
Stay alert and ready for the return of Christ. (42–44)
“Therefore” is an important word in Scripture. It frequently indicates a transition from instruction to application, from what you must know to what you must do. Here, the implicit call to be prepared for Christ’s return becomes explicit. Because no one knows the time (see v. 36), we must stay alert and ready at all times. Jesus uses the analogy of an owner protecting his house from a thief.
Paul also compares the day of the Lord’s coming to “a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). Like Jesus, Paul encourages believers to live in such a way they will not be surprised at that time. They should be “awake and sober … putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet” (1 Thess. 5:6, 8).
Remain faithful to what God has called you to do. (45–47)
To convey what this readiness should look like, Jesus employs the metaphor of a master entrusting his household to a faithful and wise servant while he is away.
This image recalls the calling God gave to all of humanity at creation: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Gen. 1:28).
God has made humans his vice-regents on earth to express His wise and loving care for His creation. Reinforcing this idea is the way the servant’s task “to give them their food at the proper time” echoes the language the Psalms repeatedly use about God Himself. He cares for all creatures, who look to Him to “give them their food at the proper time” (Pss. 104:27, 145:15). We will be blessed if the Lord finds us doing the work for which He created us, bearing His image by caring for His creation, the earth and its inhabitants, when He returns.
Don’t live for yourself while you wait for Jesus’ return. (48–51)
If instead we live selfishly, abusing our neighbors rather than lovingly providing for them and tarnishing the reputation of our Master by living with self-indulgence rather than self-control, then at His return, we will face His wrath. That wrath is so intense it is expressed with a series of idioms that transcend their literal meaning.
The master likely “will cut [his servant] in pieces” with sharp rebukes and put him not merely with the hypocrites, but with all who have rejected the master’s rule — the hypocrites being the worst example. The weeping and gnashing of teeth reflects the pain and frustration this punishment will cause.
As we await our Master’s return, we have work to do. To be ready when He comes, we must live out the charge He has given His servants. We are called to bear His glorious image by lovingly and wisely caring for His household, the earthly domicile He has provided for us and our fellow image-bearing residents.
We should follow the Master’s instructions, loving God and our neighbors (Matt. 22:36–40), so we can hear these beautiful words from Him when He returns: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21, 23).
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