I would ask at this time if you would turn to Luke and the 12th chapter. We will begin reading from verse 29. This is the holy, infallible, and inspired Word of God. Jesus says, your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him it will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes i tell you the truth that he will dress himself to serve and he will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or the third watch of the night. But understand this, if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. So also must you be ready, because the Son of Man will come in an hour when you do not expect Him? Peter asked, Lord, are you telling this parable to us or to everyone? The Lord answered, Who then is the faithful and wise manager who the Master puts in charge of His servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the Master finds doing so when He returns. I tell you the truth, He will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, My master is taking a long time in coming. And he then begins to beat the manservants and maidservants 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 that he is not aware of, He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does the things deserving of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Thus ends the reading of God's Word. Our text for this morning will only cover the words from verse 35 through verse 40. And this will constitute our text for the morning. In this short text, in this few verses, these five verses, we have a mini-parable which is unique to Luke's Gospel. But though this parable in itself is unique, the theme of watching and waiting is quite familiar. If we are familiar with the teaching of Jesus, especially in the later part of His ministry, and as we immediately think of the parables of the ten wise and foolish virgins. And we also think of the parable of the faithful and the unfaithful stewards and his various teachings on the end times, on his final coming. And though this theme is familiar though, This unique Lucan account includes a surprising twist, a twist which, at least in my experience, is often overlooked and more often underappreciated. We will consider first, then, the duty of watching, then the motivation for watching, and thirdly, the reward for watching for our Savior's coming. Now, the elements in this little parable are simple and obvious. The servants of the house are the disciples and all whom after them are followers of Christ and who take the name Christian. The Lord of the house is Jesus Christ. His absence at the wedding feast represents to us his departure, his current reign in heaven between His ascension and His second coming. And of course, His return from the wedding feast represents the second coming of our Lord and Savior to consummate all things and to bring down from heaven the new heavens and the new earth where righteousness dwells. First then, we confront the duty of watching. The duty to watch and to be prepared comes to us as a command. It is in this text as an imperative. It is therefore not something optional, something reserved for a special class of Christians. It says to be dressed in readiness and to keep your lamps burning. This is a command to you. It is not reserved for in-time specialists and gurus, for a certain class of Christians who have a sort of fascination with end times events, but it is for all of you. This brings up the question then, what is it to watch and to wait, to be ready for our Lord's return? Is it simply to cultivate an anxious apocalyptic awareness regarding the end times? Or is it to frequently look into the sky and to anticipate at any moment the coming of our Lord on the clouds? Does it perhaps involve being a connoisseur of end times books and materials, becoming an expert in the exact chronology of all the events, being able to read the times and the seasons? In other words, is it primarily contemplative? And are contemplative measures required in keeping this command? Doubtless, this is how many understand our Lord's coming. And church history, of course, is filled with such examples. We may think of William Miller, the founder of the Adventists, who asserted that the Bible taught that our Lord would come in 1843 or 1844. And, of course, in this prediction, gained thousands of adherents, of followers, and some who quit their jobs and sold their possessions in order to be ready, to be prepared for our Lord's coming. But, of course, these hopes and expectations vanished along with the year. Also, we may think of more recent times, perhaps in 1994, when Harold Camping predicted the return of our Lord And certain people, though perhaps he was not advocating it, who quit their jobs and sold their possessions in order to prepare for the Lord's coming so as to engage full time in watching and waiting. Even more recently, many followed certain teachings which predicted a cultural disaster on an apocalyptic level surrounding the events of Y2K. Now, perhaps it wasn't the coming that was predicted, but it was cultural disaster. And it called for a certain radical way of living, for a withdrawal, for an establishing of a new civilization away from the doomed civilization. And even certain Presbyterian churches, when zealous members followed these radical measures prescribed in lieu of these predictions and these, some churches at least, have been dissolved when members followed these prescriptions. But needless to say, as we consider this and the sort of irresponsible living that comes forth from this, that it is not what our Lord had in mind when He tells us to always be ready. The examples of irresponsible living that I gave are only possible for a short period of time. And they only work when an approximate date of the end is set. But of course, our Lord gives us no such date. We know that it's imminent, but we don't know how imminent. It's imminent in a sort of paradoxical way where at the same time it may be thousands of years off and that it is no more imminent now than it was two thousand years ago so if we are to watch and wait for our lord's coming we must live our lives as if every day was our last but yet live our lives as if this world has many thousands of years left live our lives to expect to see our children our grandchildren and to have a legacy for our great-grandchildren and their children. And so we are caught in this tension. How then can one live as though the Lord may tarry for many years, indeed even thousands of years, but at the other time live as if He is coming back this very day? When Martin Luther was asked the question of what he would do if he knew the Lord was to return tomorrow. He replied rather tritely or perhaps flippantly that he would plant a tree today. Now actually, the reformer in this seemingly sardonic statement actually captures the heart and the kernel, the center of the Bible's teaching on this subject. What Luther was saying is what pleases God is when we engage in those duties that we are supposed to do, when we are busy about our business, and so we are busy about the Lord's business. Martin Luther, as a pastor, if he were to prepare for the Lord's coming, what he would do is to be a faithful teacher and preacher of the Word of God, to look after the flock which God had entrusted him. And as a husband, he would be a loving husband and a provider for his wife, to love her and to care for her. But also, as a house owner, he would tend to the duties of his house. He would perhaps care for the garden or even plant a tree. And that is what he was getting at with his reply. Now, our text commands the same thing, the same mind. It commands you first to be dressed in readiness. The older translations say, to gird up your loins. Now, of course, it's a statement of speech that is not familiar to us outside perhaps the biblical material. And we know that they didn't have modern clothes the way we have, but they had long flowing robes with a belt. And to gird your loins would be to take it up and to tuck your robe in your belt. And you did this, you'd let it out if you were just around the house or reclining. if you were eating a meal with your friends, but if you were about your business, if you were going to work, you gird up your loins so you are ready for action. We perhaps may think of the Israelites and the Exodus, the Passover, how they were commanded to eat the Passover meal with their loins girded. Why? Because they were dressed for readiness. They were dressed for immediate departure, for their long journey out of the land of captivity and into the land of promise. They were ready for a long journey. But the servants in our parable aren't commanded to go anywhere, are they? They're commanded to sit and to wait. But not just to wait around passively, but to gird up their loins, to be about their father's business, to be engaged in acts of service. Therefore, Jesus is telling his disciples that we are to be prepared for service. And therefore, to wait for Christ's return is not to sit around passively, contemplatively, looking at the clouds, to be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good, but rather it is a command for responsible living. And therefore, it cannot be inconsistent with the call to live responsibly. In chapter 12 alone, if we just examine the immediate context in which this passage confronts us, we have already been confronted with Christ's command to His disciples and also to you to flee, to shun the love of money and to repulse the goal to amass earthly wealth. but rather to use this wealth to store up treasure in heaven. As Jesus said, sell your possessions and give to charity and make for yourself purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven. This preparedness for service also involves our just treatment of our fellow brothers and sisters. It is a command that we not treat our male and female employees unfairly by paying them low wages, by oppressing them, by acting condescending to them. It's a command to parents to not oppress and exasperate their children. It's a command for the higher not to think less of the lower, but to treat all with the dignity that belongs to us as image bearers of God. All of us are created in the image of God and are likewise to be treated with that dignity and respect. As Jesus tells his disciples on one occasion, but the kings of the Gentiles lorded over them. And those with authority call themselves benefactors, But it is not to be so with you. But let him who is the greatest be considered as the youngest and the leader as the servant. Jesus likewise commands His disciples and therefore He commands you to keep your lamps burning. Now, what does this mean? The Lord of the house, it tells us, will return sometime in the night. either in the second or in the third watch. Now, of course, children, this does not mean that when Jesus comes, that He must return at night while you are sleeping, just as it is not a command for you to stay up all night in case He may return. He may equally return in noon day or in early morning. But what this is telling us is that the world that our Lord returns to is dark, spiritually speaking. It is a dark, evil, and sinful world. And in this sense, Jesus, when He returns, returns as the servant who returns, or rather returns as the Lord who comes back at night. And therefore we are to keep our lamps burning. And that is our lives are to be as lamps shedding the light of truth in a dark world. Jesus testifies. He says, You are the light of the world. And we know, of course, that a light is to be prominently displayed and not hidden away under an implement or something. But it is to be set, rather, on a lampstand. And in that way, it gives light to the whole house. And therefore, Jesus concludes saying, Let your light so shine before men in such a way that they may see Your good works and may glorify Your Father who is in heaven. Why does He say glorify Your Father? The implication is that those whom He is speaking about do not have God as their Father. We are to do our good deeds before the unbelieving world. Many Christians understand this command to be a light in the world of darkness, primarily in terms of creating Christian institutions and this sort of activity. And not so much on an individual level, but more on an institutional level. One Reformed author characterizes this impulse this way. He writes, called out of the world into the church, evangelicals were again encouraged to build or to help build a Christian empire within America. And eventually we came to the place where we had our own networks, our own movies, talk shows, cruises, rock stars, entertainers, award ceremonies, and other trappings of modern hedonism without having to bother leaving the comfort of the evangelical ghetto. We called it evangelism, and perhaps some of it was. But it has ended up only creating a church that is of the world, but not in it, instead of being in the world, but not of it. What this author is getting at is that the church at times has become so insular, so isolated from the unbelieving world and it creates its own evangelical subculture walled off from this age in which we live. But you will remember, of course, Paul's rather difficult and searching commission to Christians to remain in close contact with those in this dark age. He writes to the Corinthians saying, I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people. I did not at all mean the immoral people of this world for the covetous, the swindlers, the idolaters. For then you would have to go out of the world. And so we see that we are commanded to live our Christian lives before the enemies of Christ and His Gospel in order to win them by our loving deeds and that our Father may then indeed become their Father. Secondly, therefore, we must consider the motivation for watching. And in this text, as we review this text, a cursory glance at it will reveal undoubtedly that it is the Lord's imminent coming, His soon return, that is the fuel for the Christian life. And this is something that we must vigorously maintain. We know that Christ may return soon or it may be a very long time. We don't know which. We must keep both possibilities equally before our eyes. And knowing full well the consequences, the ramifications of both, of both scenarios taking place. But there are many today, and especially, unfortunately, in Reformed and Presbyterian circles, who allege that the imminent return of Christ, this doctrine, has a deadening effect on the Christian life. that it calls for a Christian retreat from culture, from politics, and from moral reform. And it instead peddles what they refer to as an optimistic eschatology. And that is, before the Lord comes, that the church will take over the world and all of its institutions and will rule it, that we will finally be in charge. And only on this basis, they allege, may we then confidently engage in pro-life activities and in politics and reform and these sorts of things. The idea is that Jesus is a long time in coming yet, so let's get busy. They have no room for Christ's teaching, for the words of Scripture that a servant is not greater than his master. This is a promise. This is a guaranteed promise from the lips of our Lord that we will have tribulation and suffering in this life because as he says, if they hated me, they will hate you also because a servant is not greater than his master. But instead they want to be greater than Jesus Christ was on earth. They expect something much more glorious than the welcome that our Lord received here. One pugnacious propagandist even had the audacity to claim that the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount was only temporary, that it was for a captive people, that it will not be for the church when it takes over the world, and that instead of turning the other cheek, the Christian may then bust the aggressor in the chops, He writes. Now, while it may be true that the mentality that this is the terminal generation may lead to a withdrawal from the culture. After all, why should we polish the brass on a sinking ship? But the biblical balance, which maintains both views before our eyes, which maintains that the date of the end is unsusceptible to our speculation, that it is beyond reach, This has a vivifying effect on the Christian life. It is enlivening. It is invigorating. At least it ought to be. Our goal, our purpose, is not to take over the world. And nor is it to bust unbelievers in the chops, but rather it is to humbly serve our Lord as He served us. and so shine as lights in this dark world. When I was much younger, a friend of mine was commissioned to house-sit a neighbor, or rather his neighbor's house while that family was on vacation. And as they did this, and as he was straddled with these responsibilities, he proved himself far too young and irresponsible for such a responsibility. For while they were gone, he used their house and their possessions as if they were his. As if he owned them. And he had no scruples about consuming their food, using their possessions, their stereos, their TVs, personal items, and even drinking their liquor. Not even thinking that they wouldn't notice. Of course, this is just nearsightedness, we say. I remember when the owners of the house were due back that he called me at six in the morning. And apparently, he had thrown a wild party the night before with a bunch of young friends over and they really made a mess of the place. They really trashed this place. And so I came over and we helped tidy up. And so we tidied up and he hoped for the best. And the neighbors returned when planned. It wasn't a surprise. But yet they were able to deduce everything that had gone on. They knew what had been damaged and what had been consumed. And he had to pay for all that he damaged and consumed. And of course, what is more, is he utterly lost all the respect of this family and as well was grounded for the rest of the summer. But what if he did not know when they were coming back? What if he didn't know if they would be a day or a month? Even if they'd be a few hours. What if he didn't know if they were returning morning, noon, afternoon, in the evening or late at night? What if he had no idea? Well, it is likely that he wouldn't have had the sort of hubris that he did to use their possessions as if they were his own. But he would have remained a faithful steward over this house. But likewise, we are house-sitters over God's estate. And many of us, thinking that we have a long time to live and not taking into account our Lord's return, are struck with a short-sightedness. We have a short-sightedness and some live their lives in an unseemly manner like reprobates. And the truth is that this such person does not even believe that the Lord will ever return. That there is not a final judgment in which the Lord will recompense everyone according to His deeds. That there will not be a final judgment of works. And that the Lord does not see. That He does not know. Perhaps we think, or these persons think that when they do such things that nobody cares or that nobody will know. The unbelieving servant does not really believe that there will be a final day of judgment. But of course, when this day comes, whether it's sped by the Lord's coming or whether it happens through natural death, When the Lord comes on the last day, this person will be hewn in pieces and will be assigned a lot with the unbelievers. But as we consider this, we see that all of us, all of us who are believers and really do await our Lord's coming, do this to a greater or lesser extent. We all see that our watching and waiting is not what it ought to be, that it is more like the disciples who were told to watch and wait in the garden of Gethsemane and how they could hardly stay awake for an hour. And so sometimes we think that it is hard even to wait for our Lord's coming for an hour to be girded for service and to keep our lamps alight. And so when we sin, we fool ourselves to think that nobody is watching or that nobody cares. And we are like the little infant that you parents and you older brothers and sisters that you play peekaboo with. That when you cover their eyes, they think that you disappear because they can't see you that you don't exist. You see, we've grown out of that physically, but we are still so infantile spiritually. We are like the little infant. We think that we can just close our eyes and presto, God is gone. That He doesn't see us when we don't see Him. Just because we can put Him out of our mind, that we are out of His mind. But of course, we can see this is utter foolishness. This is nonsense. God always sees even when we don't see Him. Just because we shut our eyes does not mean that He is not there. That He does not see what we do. And therefore, we need to call ourselves away from this infantile way of thinking spiritually and grow up as Christians. We need to properly consider our Lord's return. And not only this, even if He tarries, we need to consider our Lord's knowledge. We need to consider the day of judgment. But of course, lest we be undone by this, since none of us do this perfectly, And none of us wait and watch as we ought, since we do not love God and our neighbor as we ought. And unless we think that on this final judgment, we will be judged strictly according to our works, we have this marvelous clause in verse 37. And therefore we consider the reward for watching. It is here that we are confronted with the most stunning, graphic, and comforting imagery in all of Scripture. It says, He will gird Himself to serve. He will gird Himself. This is the same verb that is used in 35 where it commands us to be dressed in readiness. To be prepared for service. But when the Son of God comes in power, what does He do? He dresses Himself to serve. He dresses Himself in readiness. It's amazing. Continuing to read, and we'll have them recline at the table. And He will come and wait on them. What? Can this really be? Is this not Jesus who later says in this same Gospel account, Which one of you, having a servant, tending sheep or plowing the field, when he comes in from the field, will then say to him, Come immediately, come down and sit and eat. But do you not rather say to him, Come and prepare something for me to eat. Properly gird yourself and serve me. And so Jesus says, So you too, when you do all the things that I command you, You say we are unworthy slaves and we have done only what we ought to have done. Why it was the ordinary duty of the servants to be thus watching and waiting, no matter how long their Lord delayed His return. And so we see that we are right. There is no merit or worthiness on the part of the slaves. And the Lord's verdict, blessed, is entirely what our returned Lord does for us. What the Lord of the house does for His servants. This is why they are blessed. Because when He comes, He changes His slaves into lords. And wonder of wonders, He does not send off other servants to come and wait on them, but He Himself humbles Himself and becomes their slave and so ministers to them. So striking is this imagery that some scholars argue that the tension between these two images, on the one hand, the Master being served, and on the other, the Master serving, absolutely forbid both sayings being of the same source. In other words, what they're saying is, there's no way Luke wrote this. But of course, we know better, don't we? We know better than to question the Word of God. More than that, we know very well how our Lord served us in redemption, don't we? We are reminded when Jesus tells His disciples, He asks them this question. He says, who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I, He says, am among you as the one who serves. We remember also when He poured into that basin the water and then proceeded to wash the feet of His disciples. And He did this as an example to us that we would know that the greatest among us will be the servant of all. And of course, we are familiar with the words of Jesus that He came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. And who can forget the words of Paul in Philippians that he did not consider equality with God as something advantageous to Him, but instead He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and being found in the appearance of men and in the likeness of man, of a man, that He humbled Himself and He was obedient even till death on a cross. But of course, as we think of this, We wonder, what about when redemption is complete? Yes, of course, Jesus humbled Himself for a little while for our sakes. He took on our nature and He served us and He died on our behalf. And He rose again for our justification. And even now, He sits in heaven and makes intercession for us. But what about when redemption is complete? Does not Scripture say that at His resurrection, He was given the name above every other name? That every knee should bow and tongue should confess, whether angel or devil, faithful or apostate, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Did He not pray to the Father before His Passion that He would be restored with the glory that He had with the Father before the world began? And is He not the one now whose eyes are as a blaze of fire, whose feet are as burnished bronze, who has the voice of rushing waters, who has the double-edged sword coming out of His mouth, and whose face shines as the sun? And is He not the one now whom angel hosts worship without ceasing, casting down their crowns before Him? Yes, He is. But on that day, he will don his tuxedo and he will slip on those white gloves and then he will stroll out to the feast table and stand before you and say, Sir, Ma'am, may I take your order? And thus, Scripture is fulfilled in a new way and he doth prepare a table before me. But, you stammer, what are you doing? You served us so well on earth. You humbled yourself and you have purchased us, elected us from every nation and tribe and tongue and you have redeemed us with your precious blood. And you have forgiven us of our many and grave sins. And you have safely brought us home to glory and caused us to dwell and live forever with God. It is now our turn to serve you. Yes, he says. all very true but did I not retain my human nature do I not yet stand before you as a man look at my hands and my feet and my side I have chosen to keep the scars of my passion of my humiliation and I am still among you as the one who serves and thus we see that servanthood is something that does not merely belong to redemption but it lies at the very essence and the nature of God's being and as such it exists even in eternity and we see that likewise we being created in the image of God were created for service not for ourselves but for each other This is a lesson that we constantly have to learn again and again. We learn it when we do serve others. But as soon as we stop, we forget. And we give in to me time. Indeed, the kings of the Gentiles lord it over them. And those with authority call themselves benefactors. But it is not to be so with you. But let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest. And let him who is the leader become as the servant. And insofar as we do this, we faithfully await the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And the Spirit and Bride say, Come. Let the one who hears say, Come. And the one who is thirsty, Come. The one who wills drink of the water of life without cost. And let the one who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You so much how You have sent Your Son. not to serve, not in a display of pomp and power, not with angels. Well, angels did accompany him, Lord, but in the humbleness of the stable, that he came and assumed a position so unassuming that there was nothing in him that we should desire him. And that how he was given his life is a ransom for many. And He died in our place. And that He rose again for our justification. And that He presently serves us in heaven, making intercession for us. And we thank You that not only this, but then when redemption is complete, that He will gird Himself to serve and come and wait on us. We pray that You would teach us and form in us the mind of Christ, that we would likewise be humble servants as our Lord was a servant, that we would follow after His footsteps and learn more and more to serve one another. And then so thus, be ready and waiting to open the door when you come again. We thank you for this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Thank you.