Flashback Episode — Serve or Be Served: Luke 12:35-59

Every so often, as I am reading a portion of the gospels, a word or phrase stands out to me because I think Jesus should have said it differently. Whenever this happens to me, I must back up and reread what I was reading to make sure I didn’t simply misread what was said. Occasionally, I’ll even read a number of different translations to see if different translators happened to see the same angle, or different angles, on the text as they were translating it.

As I was preparing for this episode, I noticed an idea that seemed a little backward when compared to what I think it should be. As I was cross-checking this idea between several of the translations we often pick from for our podcast episodes, each one of them checks out this idea – giving confirmation to this slightly backward idea Jesus shares.

As I shared in the intro for this podcast, we will be reading from the gospel of Luke, chapter 12, and the translation I settled on after reviewing all the options is the New Century Version. Starting in verse 35, Jesus taught those present, saying:

³⁵ “Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. ³⁶ Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the truth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. ³⁸ Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.

The idea Jesus shares in this passage is one I find incredibly profound. The typical thought most people would have is if a master is coming home from a party, and he happens to be late or delayed – or even scheduled to arrive late at night – he would be tired after the long trip. The way we might think this passage should read is that the master will reward the servants for having stayed up waiting, but he would also ask them to serve him.

But this is not how any of the translations I found share this idea. They all say that as a reward for staying up and waiting for him, he will flip roles and serve them as a way to say thanks.

This is backward, but amazing; this is unexpected, but it also tells us something incredible about God’s character.

Immediately following sharing this backward idea, Jesus hits those present with the big truth He wants them to understand. Continuing in verse 39, we read:

³⁹ “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. ⁴⁰ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

The big idea in this passage hinges on Jesus’ return, but in these key verses, Jesus uses an odd metaphor to compare the situation with: Jesus compares His return to the coming of a thief.

By themselves, these two verses make for an interesting discussion.

Should we understand Jesus to be like the owner of the house or like the thief?

Is Jesus’ return one where He comes publicly or one where He comes secretly to steal His people away?

When Jesus returns, is He returning more like a homeowner who will be welcomed by His servants, or is He returning more like a thief who will steal some of this planet’s inhabitants and return home with them?

All these questions and more enter my mind when trying to unpack the meaning of verses 39 and 40:

³⁹ “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. ⁴⁰ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

Perhaps Peter also has this question in his mind because in verse 41, there is a long enough pause that Peter can jump in with a question. Peter asks, “Lord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?”

Jesus responds by saying, “Who is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? ⁴³ When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. ⁴⁴ I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. ⁴⁵ But suppose the servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶ The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the others who don’t obey.

⁴⁷ “The servant who knows what his master wants but is not ready, or who does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows! ⁴⁸ But the servant who does not know what his master wants and does things that should be punished will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.

In this second portion of our passage, Jesus answers, but doesn’t really answer Peter’s question. By not answering the question directly, it makes me believe that everyone who claims God as their Master would be included as a servant making this passage applicable to them.

As I read this, perhaps some of the cultural treatment of servants bothered you. In these verses, Jesus talks about the master cutting a servant into pieces for abusing other servants, and beating other servants for not doing what the master wanted – even if they didn’t know what the master wanted from them.

But while it is easy to get sidetracked on the cultural mistreatment of others, don’t miss Jesus’ key point in this illustration: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.” (v. 48b)

Jesus tells us that the more we are given, and the more we have been blessed, the higher the standard He will expect from us. This might sound daunting, but what if we looked at it like this: God gave Jesus to be a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus went to the cross to pay the debt that we owed God. Because of this sacrifice, God offers us grace – amazing grace – when we did not deserve it. Because of this incredible gift God has given to us, He expects us to pay this grace forward by extending grace and forgiving others.

No, it’s not easy, but “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.” (v. 48b)

As we close out another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

While a passage like this might prompt someone to be afraid of God, choose instead to focus on what God did for you and me and then pay that grace, love, and forgiveness forward!

Also, as I always challenge you to do, prayerfully study the Bible for yourself to learn what God and Jesus are really like, because the Bible presents the best and most accurate picture of God throughout history that we have. While the Bible doesn’t shy away from parts of the Bible that paint God acting in challenging or difficult to understand ways, hold off judging God for actions we might not understand until we can ask Him personally. I suspect that God could explain every difficult action in a satisfying way if we wait to ask Him personally.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!