In this video, Clint Loveall and Michael Gewecke discuss passages from the Gospel of Luke, specifically focusing on the theme of vigilance and readiness for the return of Jesus. They explore the use of servant language and the importance of living a faithful life. They also delve into the concept of being prepared for the unexpected and the responsibility that comes with knowing and following Jesus as Lord. Join them as they provide insights and reflections on these challenging passages and offer encouragement for believers to remain steadfast in their faith.
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Transcript
00:00:01:04 – 00:00:35:03
Clint Loveall
Hey, friends. Happy Monday. Thanks for joining us. As we start another week together in the Gospel of Luke. We are continuing through the 12th chapter. I don’t know what exactly to say about the next couple of sections. It’s servant language or actually slave language in in Greek language. The word slave, the word servant is essentially interchangeable, at least the versions that the New Testament typically uses.
00:00:35:07 – 00:01:09:25
Clint Loveall
Lots of conversation to be had about that. What that does and doesn’t mean does it mean for slavery? Does it mean indentured servitude? It probably covers all of that. I, I think probably for purposes of not making social commentary, the best way for us to to move forward in these passages is to simply say that Jesus here uses language of one person having authority over another person, and he does that in an earthly framework so that he can.
00:01:09:30 – 00:01:39:21
Clint Loveall
These aren’t parables necessarily, but they’re parable like in the sense that this earthly story he uses to paint a heavenly reality. So if if the language is troubling, I, we understand that. We get that. Luke uses particularly, I think in the second passage, we’ll look at either today or tomorrow. Luke uses some troubling language, some hard language, but there is a point to it.
00:01:39:21 – 00:01:59:37
Clint Loveall
And so that’s what we’ll try to get to. So let me read the first few versus here and then we’ll kind of we’ll jump back in. Be dressed for action and you and have your lamps lit. Be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet. So they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.
00:01:59:42 – 00:02:28:21
Clint Loveall
Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them. So blessed are those slaves. But know this if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let the house be broken into.
00:02:28:26 – 00:03:04:33
Clint Loveall
You must be ready for the son of man’s coming at an unexpected hour. So these are passages that fit in the in the broad sense under a kind of scripture called apocalyptic. In other words, Jesus is talking about the second coming, his return. And one of the consistent things that we read in Scripture about those from those passages is that it will be surprising that people won’t have it figured out that nobody is going to determine when it happens.
00:03:04:33 – 00:03:30:34
Clint Loveall
And so along those lines, Jesus paints these pictures. A master is on the way back from a banquet. And and the question is, are the slaves ready to receive him? Did they stay up? Did they persevere? Did they make it long into the night, denying themselves to do their job and be ready for their task and if so, then they will be the ones who are rewarded and blessed.
00:03:30:34 – 00:04:02:29
Clint Loveall
The master himself will serve them. And I think, Michael, as troubling as some of this can be, the intent at least part of the intent. Certainly there’s a warning in these passages, but part of the intent is just an encouragement to believers to hang in there when life is difficult, when it feels like it’s been a long time, when it feels like we’re in the dark to wait on the master and expect him to return.
00:04:02:30 – 00:04:26:29
Clint Loveall
In other words, to do his work until. Until he’s back. Until it’s time. Until there’s fulfillment. I you know, I was about to say these are nobody’s favorite passages. The truth is, there are some people these are their favorite. They make the rest of us a little nervous. But these are challenging passages. But behind them, I think there are some good things.
00:04:26:38 – 00:04:55:30
Michael Gewecke
So I think the context here is shared by Jesus throughout lots of different passages you have in the Gospel of John the Wedding Feast, you have many references to Jesus talking about things related to weddings. It’s not a single moment in Scripture where you’re going to find a reference to a celebration like this that I just think is a reflection of, you know, Jesus lived a real human life, and he did so in a culture that celebrated weddings.
00:04:55:30 – 00:05:16:49
Michael Gewecke
This was a part of the people’s vernacular. It was a practice that they were used to. There was a kind of order to it. So it made it a fertile place for Jesus to offer teachings and examples and illustrations like what we have here today. Thank you. I also want to point out that where we might find the master slave language difficult and we have lots of good reasons to find that difficult.
00:05:16:49 – 00:05:51:36
Michael Gewecke
And we should allow some of those questions to seep in and we should try to engage back and forth with the text. I think it’s it’s important here that we recognize that there is a massive inversion of expectation when, as you said, the master will actually serve those that the master has power over. This is unheard of culturally, of course, even today, the celebrity who has a house staff, no one expects that celebrity to get home from a party and to serve the House staff something to eat that that would make no sense to us.
00:05:51:36 – 00:06:29:49
Michael Gewecke
And so in the same kind of corollary, the point here is that the people who are vigilant, the people who as the text says, explicitly keeps their lamps lit, those people will be blessed. There will be a blessing waiting for them. And so if you are willing to frame the text in that way, then the life of spiritual nurture, the life that’s lived with intentional spiritual practice, the life that’s lived pointed towards Jesus Christ in what one writer calls a long journey of discipleship or obedience.
00:06:29:54 – 00:06:51:01
Michael Gewecke
It’s that kind of lived experience that is at hand here. This is what Jesus is pointing us towards. And anybody who’s been a Christian for some time knows that the mountaintop experiences are great. They’re wonderful that there are things to treasure. But the majority of the Christian life is not lived either. In the mountaintop or in the valley.
00:06:51:01 – 00:07:16:34
Michael Gewecke
The majority of the Christian life is lived somewhere in the daily process of living. And there is something deeply wise about this idea of preparing each and every day to be vigilant, being mindful, being connected. These are all deeply important spiritual themes. Even if Clint, you know, the language and example that put forth here, may have some roadblocks for us if we can see that point.
00:07:16:39 – 00:07:18:59
Michael Gewecke
There’s a lot of wisdom for us to glean here.
00:07:19:08 – 00:07:46:41
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I think so. And, you know, toward the end of this passage, it sounds like Jesus is changing directions. He says, you know, if the owner of the house knew when the thief was coming, he would not have let the house be broken into. And again, that that’s simply a way for Jesus to say if Christians knew when they needed to be sure to please God, when they needed to be ready to meet Jesus, it would be easy.
00:07:46:46 – 00:08:16:41
Clint Loveall
But our calling instead is to live each day as if it’s that day and to be ready in each moment, as if the return of Christ is imminent. And this is really woven into the Gospel. It’s woven into the early church. The church has always, at least to some extent, lived under the reality that it could be. Now, sometimes we’ve taken that too far and we’ve made predictions and we’ve said we know when it is.
00:08:16:46 – 00:08:42:56
Clint Loveall
Clearly we’ve always been wrong. 2000 years. No one has yet been right. But that sense of expectancy, that’s that sense of urgency, that sense of any moment the master could reunite with us and we must be ready to welcome him. We must be ready to receive him. That is to be a characteristic of not only the Christian life, but the Christian church.
00:08:43:01 – 00:09:07:45
Clint Loveall
And this is a this is maybe a forceful telling of it, but this is said in dozens of different ways throughout the different Gospels and really throughout the rest of the New Testament, some harsher than this, some less harsh than this. But it is an important theme and one that I think we shouldn’t read over, even in those passages that are uncomfortable.
00:09:07:49 – 00:09:29:04
Michael Gewecke
And I do think there is a word here for maybe people who would find some triumphalism in this. If you are one of those who you may be tuning in today for the study because you do want to sort of explore what is the end going to look like and how can I be prepared for it, and what are the signs?
00:09:29:09 – 00:10:02:17
Michael Gewecke
You know, I would really caution you, I think a text like this actually pushes against that. I think the the point that Jesus is making here is not that you should be smart enough, not that you should figure out the clues. This isn’t a national treasure kind of faith. This is a vigil tonight in your daily life, a being open and prepared and practiced in submitting to the master the idea of waiting for the master, being prepared for the return, being ready in every sort of moment.
00:10:02:22 – 00:10:23:56
Michael Gewecke
It’s not about figuring out when the master is going to show up. It’s not. What are the signs when the master is going to be leaving the party? It’s not that it’s it’s working on self. It’s that sort of present awareness. And I don’t know if we’re going to go far into. I just want to point out your Clint, this was not altogether clear in its interpretation for the disciples.
00:10:23:56 – 00:10:46:44
Michael Gewecke
Luke makes that clear. Verse 21, Peter says, Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone that that question matters? It’s worth noting that there’s a moment in Peter’s mind where he’s like, Wait a minute, is this for me? Are you talking about these other people, the hoi polloi in the crowd out here? Are they the ones you should be watching because they don’t know what’s going on?
00:10:46:44 – 00:11:08:48
Michael Gewecke
They don’t have the knowledge, they don’t have the insight. Now, Jesus is just making this this challenging statement that anyone who hears and rightly is going to be challenged by. And the question is, will we be driven by that challenge, to be awake, to be present, to be looking ahead, or will we fall asleep at the wheel? And will life go without our agency?
00:11:08:52 – 00:11:30:42
Clint Loveall
And I think we can we can maybe get through this because it is related. So yeah, Peter says, Lord, you’re telling the parable for us, for everyone. The Lord said, Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of the slaves to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is the slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.
00:11:30:46 – 00:12:02:30
Clint Loveall
I tell you the truth, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if the slave says to himself, My master’s delayed in coming and he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and eat and drink and get drunk, the master of the slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know and he will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful that slave who knew what his master wanted but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a beating, severe beating.
00:12:02:34 – 00:12:29:53
Clint Loveall
But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a lighter beating from everyone to whom much has been given. Much will be required, and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. Just quickly, Michael, there’s I think, an important piece here. You can read this when we get to the bottom here, the slave, who knows what is expected, the slave who doesn’t.
00:12:29:58 – 00:12:51:34
Clint Loveall
That can leave you with the impression there’s only two categories here. And you missed the third one, which happened earlier. The slave, who did well and was put in charge of all the possessions so clearly the idea is be that first type of servant and be neither of the second. If you’re only left with the second two choices.
00:12:51:39 – 00:13:15:36
Clint Loveall
I mean, that’s bad and worse, right? But don’t miss the idea that the goal here is to be the one who is blessed. Blessed is the slave that is Master will find at work when he arrives. And I tell you the truth, he puts that one in charge of his possessions. So that’s the calling for Peter and everyone to be that type of servant.
00:13:15:41 – 00:13:42:47
Clint Loveall
Then you have this other thing where one servant becomes lazy, he becomes mean spirited, he becomes abusive and wasteful of the managers of the master’s property. And it is especially bad if he knows he’s doing it’s bad if he doesn’t know what the master wants. But it is even worse if he does it. Knowing of the wrong in which he’s doing that.
00:13:42:48 – 00:13:50:08
Clint Loveall
He it is worse when he knows what the master expects and he chooses to do these other things instead.
00:13:50:13 – 00:14:12:55
Michael Gewecke
Yeah, I think that the graphic nature of the fate of the one who knows and then becomes abusive towards others is is obviously troubling the language here that our Bible includes the in the next translation says I cut him to pieces though a note in the margins says cut him off could be an appropriate translation.
00:14:12:56 – 00:14:15:47
Clint Loveall
Well and put him with the unfaithful and.
00:14:15:52 – 00:14:58:12
Michael Gewecke
Yeah but sort of be separated out from the group of those but regardless of the translation, however you want to gloss that and if that helps, certainly be mindful of that. But we should definitely see the pattern here. And Clint Luke actually helps us with this throughout the entire book. I think it’s a theme that you can see clearly and so therefore we can hold on to as we go through a text like this, the people who Jesus is most hard on are, without a doubt universally the ones who should know better, the one who has been given privilege, the one who has been given information, the one who’s been treated well.
00:14:58:17 – 00:15:24:36
Michael Gewecke
That one always has a higher expectation. And let’s note the one who does receive a beating. This is in verse 48, but it’s a light beating is the one who did not know that that person gets a pass. And what’s fascinating about this claim, I think, is we live in a world in which there are branches of the Christian faith that are very loud in condemnation of the world.
00:15:24:36 – 00:15:43:49
Michael Gewecke
This idea that the world should be this way, the world should be this way. And what’s interesting is even in Jesus is telling this story, there’s allowance When people don’t know, when the world doesn’t know a thing, there’s that’s a different thing than the people who should know and claim to know and whose actions do not line up with that.
00:15:43:49 – 00:16:09:21
Michael Gewecke
That is where Jesus assigns the greatest price or the greatest payment or the greatest punish moment. And we see that in his interactions with the Pharisees, people who took Scripture incredibly seriously, who cares a lot about spiritual faith and discipleship. They were the ones who were in church every time the church was open. And those are the people that Jesus reserved some of the harshest language for.
00:16:09:21 – 00:16:34:58
Michael Gewecke
So I think Peter’s response that we saw here at the very beginning of this, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone? I think one way that we can see the rest of this play out is to realize anybody who’s listening to this podcast is by definition cares at least something about faith. You and I. And we have to be very mindful of a text like this.
00:16:34:58 – 00:16:54:28
Michael Gewecke
This is Jesus calling us to be vigilant, to not fall asleep, to be aware that those who are have been told the good news. We have an expectation of how we behave and we should be quick to confess when we don’t meet that bar. These are challenging words, especially if we take faith seriously.
00:16:54:28 – 00:17:21:16
Clint Loveall
Yeah, and I think the three categories help us. The idea of the first servant is the one who knows Jesus is Lord and lives accordingly serves him faithfully. The second category will will make it the second. It’s actually the third one listed, but the one who doesn’t know but receives a lighter punishment because they don’t know. And finally, the the one who is punished.
00:17:21:16 – 00:17:58:49
Clint Loveall
The harshest is the one who knows but lives as if they don’t. The one who knows Jesus is master, but doesn’t do what Jesus calls them to do, doesn’t live as though Jesus will return lives as though He doesn’t. She doesn’t know at all. And so that’s the highest condemnation. Here is the person who who truly understand who Jesus is and and is not motivated by it, is not changed by it is not diligent in their faithful service as we wait for Christ’s return.
00:17:58:49 – 00:18:31:45
Clint Loveall
And so, you know, we don’t have time to to dig fully into it. Michael. But I will say as an uncomfortable as passages like this can be to us, they serve a helpful role in reminding us that this is serious business and that God has expectations of us. The idea that God is just big and friendly and hopes we come to Jesus and then doesn’t really care what else happens.
00:18:31:49 – 00:18:58:50
Clint Loveall
It does not square with the gospel. There are expectations that come with what it means to know Jesus as Lord. And when we act or live as if those don’t exist, we run the risk of God’s displeasure, and there’ll be a lot of discussion about what that does and doesn’t mean. And and you could go lots of tangents with that.
00:18:58:55 – 00:19:10:42
Clint Loveall
But at at heart is a call to faithful service because, you know, Jesus is Lord and a warning against unfaithful lives in in that same knowledge.
00:19:10:42 – 00:19:36:45
Michael Gewecke
And I think only to intensify that comment Clint I think you could also make the case that one of Jesus’s teachings here is that there’s enough things to be involved in a life of faith to occupy you for the rest of your life, that being vigilant and attentive is a big enough task that you are called to bring the best of your abilities to it.
00:19:36:50 – 00:20:00:50
Michael Gewecke
You’re not going to get to the point where you get to be the supreme ruler of the universe. That’s Jesus. Jesus is Lord. He’s always the master who’s going to return. You are always the servant in the parable, and that the question is not will you be servant, it’s how will you be a servant? Will you do so with vigilance and to the best of your ability in a way that, by the way, blesses other people instead of cursing them?
00:20:00:50 – 00:20:21:36
Michael Gewecke
Make no mistake, the person in the worse position is the one who abuse his others by actions. That that is a supreme violation and Jesus is understanding of the kingdom. So if we are going to be vigilant, if we’re going to live out our faith and really meaningful ways, then I think that means that we have to tend to the task.
00:20:21:36 – 00:20:44:58
Michael Gewecke
We have to be gardeners in our own souls. We have to we have to invite the spirit to be at work in us, to root out the weeds, to allow that good seed to grow. To reference another parable that Jesus offers and and to spare ourselves from that temptation of becoming judges of the other person and the way that they are or are not succeeding in their own journey.
00:20:44:58 – 00:21:09:04
Michael Gewecke
There’s just there’s not time in the economy of faithfulness to allocate energy in that direction. It should be spent working on the places that we all know are deep within us, are places that need work. They need tended, they need vigilance. And when we do that, we’re living into the promise of the gospel, which is fundamentally that the master is gracious to the one who doesn’t know.
00:21:09:09 – 00:21:26:04
Michael Gewecke
It’s a it’s an act of mercy for the discipline to be light. And so we can even see in that the possibility, the hope, the promise that for those who do know and who have tried their best and yet fail, we too will receive a response of graciousness from the master.
00:21:26:11 – 00:21:55:52
Clint Loveall
Yeah. Whether it means hell, fire and damnation and dragons and dramatic scenes or whether it’s simply means that Jesus will be present to you in spirit and in heart. Jesus is going to show up. And the question of the text is when Jesus shows up in whatever way Jesus shows up, will Jesus find us being faithful and waiting to recognize and glorify him?
00:21:55:57 – 00:22:01:55
Clint Loveall
And that that’s a wonderful challenge for all Christians and for the church.
00:22:02:00 – 00:22:19:17
Michael Gewecke
Certainly a difficult text has elements that are going to be hard to navigate. We hope that this conversation has helped you along that way in your own personal life. Faith and discipleship. If you found this helpful, the best thing you could do is give the like or to go down below and comment and let us know you were here.
00:22:19:26 – 00:22:36:27
Michael Gewecke
That helps other people find it in the future. And if you’d like to be with us as part of the ongoing studies like this that we do hit the subscribe button on YouTube that will help you stay in the loop as we continue on this journey. Certainly traveling very different ground as we go throughout the Book of Luke together.
00:22:36:27 – 00:22:40:06
Michael Gewecke
Hope you’ve been blessed. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Till then, be blessed.
00:22:40:06 – 00:22:40:53
Clint Loveall
Thanks everybody.