Life of Christ 120
Jesus and His Apostles
are traveling and preaching through Judea in the Autumn before His death. Our
story today (Luke 12.35-48) is a continuation of a conversation He began
earlier in the chapter with the same crowd.
One of the hallmarks of
Christ's ministry was His tendency to introduce important subjects to His
Apostles gradually, and then to ramp up His explanation of and emphasis of them
as time passed. He did this in reference to His divinity, to His crucifixion,
and to His resurrection. He also does this in reference to His Second Coming.
If I am correct, this is His first actual mention of it, and that is worth
noting certainly.
I had a professor in
college, Marlene Evans, who taught the concept of time released teaching. Just
as with certain medications, you take it in now but it doesn't help you until
later. Jesus was here giving them truths that they would look back on much
later, and then understand and apply. Clearly they eventually did that, for
these same Apostles devote much space in their writings emphasizing the fact of
and importance of the Second Coming.
In this story Jesus
first gives them two illustrations about His Second Coming. The first is of
servants with an absentee master. They must constantly be prepared because he
could come back at any time. The second was of the necessity of a house owner
to be always prepared for thieves. They do not, of course, call ahead for an
appointment so the owner needs to be perpetually vigilant.
In both of these cases
the main point of His illustrations is the imminency, the doctrine which
teaches that Jesus Christ could return at any moment. Thus, we are to live
holy, constantly prepared spiritually to meet Him at any moment. 'Be ye
therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not'
(Luke 12.40).
In the next section
Jesus shifts from primarily addressing what I think of as the entire Church to
addressing the leadership of the Church. The illustration is of a steward,
entrusted with the management of an absent lord's household. If the steward
thinks his lord is never really returning he will be tempted to use what is
there for himself, mistreating the lord's servants for his own ends. The
result, when the lord suddenly returns, is harsh punishment for the steward.
If it is bad news for
the church corporately to be caught doing wrong when our Lord unexpectedly
returns then imagine how bad it will be for the church's leadership if they are
found errant in their responsibilities. What if they are not feeding the church
properly? What if they are abusing the membership, lording it over them for
their own uses, and hurting them? What if they are using their position to
enrich themselves?
If the people of the
church are deemed to be guilty for living wrongly when He comes how much more
will the leadership be held responsible? This passage (Luke 12.41-48) is a
tremendously sobering one for those who would desire leadership in the church.
You can see just how applicable it was to the Apostles and how applicable it
remains for pastors, evangelists, and deacons today. Speaking personally as the
pastor of a New Testament church, I must lead my people to live holy in an
expectation of His imminent return, and I must lead them in the right manner,
with the right spirit, and toward the right emphases. I must live right myself.
I must treat them with kindness, compassion, mercy, grace, and firmness. I must
feed them diligently with nutritious spiritual meals.
In this case, addressed
to the church's leadership, the same main point applies as applied in Christ's
first two illustrations, namely imminency. 'Blessed is that servant, whom his
lord when he cometh shall find so doing' (Luke 12.43).
I am a pretribulational
premillenniallist, and one of the primary reasons behind my doctrinal position
is that I believe strongly in the importance of holding forth the idea of the
imminent return of Christ. God specifically intended the Rapture to be
suddenly, without warning, so as to motivate us to live holy. We are to be
patient in our dealings with others (Philippians 4.5), we are to forgive one
another (James 5.9), and we are to serve Him energetically (Romans 13.11)
because we don't know when He is coming for us.
Jesus' approach to
eschatology isn't simply academic. It is eminently practical, designed to keep
us in a state of constant readiness. The church I pastor has a statement of
faith which includes this line in relation to the Second Coming: 'We believe in
that blessed hope – the personal, imminent return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.'
It's only 'that blessed
hope' if you're ready.
Are you ready?
I used to spend so much time focusing on myself in my Christian life that I became my own idol. Was I doing enough? Were all of my actions pure? My self-examinations were guided by my own heart and not by the Holy Spirit. Then I grew tired; I gave up. Then Jesus came and showed me that HE is the author and finisher of my faith. If I put as much effort focusing on HIM as I was putting on myself, I would find that He would increase and I would decrease. Then I found peace and joy; I found a yoke that was easy and burden that was light. I gave up on the "am I doing enough to make Jesus happy" and turned to Christ with my full faith. I found that I am accepted in the beloved.
ReplyDeleteAnd the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Forgive me, but I'm a little confused here. Are you saying that we don't need to constantly strive to be ready for His return? In other words, are you saying that what I have interpreted as a main reason for imminency, to motivate us to live holy and to serve Him, is invalid?
ReplyDeleteBro. Brennan, I am talking about the difference between "what if" and "what is." What if puts the entire burden on my puny shoulders. What is puts the burden on Christ who is sufficient for all things. When I look at Christ, it doesn't matter whether the return comes to today or a thousand years from today because my heart becomes fixed on a Glorious What Is. My reason for living becomes His glory and how can I live in sin when I have Him in view. Not an event; a person.
DeleteIn other words, if "what is" is not enough motivation to live a godly life, you need to stop and ponder "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name" for a good long while.
DeleteI completely agree with you that the event is not the point, but rather the One Who returns at the event is the point. But having said that, your position seems to me to ignore the whole tenor of the passage under discussion in this post. In the first mention (which is significant) of His Second Coming Jesus explicitly taught the doctrine of imminence and the corresponding principle of watchfulness. If He didn't, then pray tell me what is the point of this passage?
ReplyDeleteIOW, if He wasn't calling us to a vigorous watchfulness here (which He expands upon in many other passages) then what was He saying? If you don't like my interpretation and application surely you can offer me a better one, right?
I Thessalonians 3.12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.