Served by the Master: Luke 12:35-40

Continuing into the gospel and the parables Jesus shared, we turn our attention to a parable that includes a statement that sounds like the opposite of how we would expect it to be written. As I read the parable for this episode, listen for a verse or idea that seems to be the opposite of what you’d expect it to be, because in this opposite sounding idea, I believe we can discover something amazing about God.

Let’s read this passage and parable together and discover what we can learn about God’s character from what Jesus illustrated for us. Our parable and passage are found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 12, and we will read from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 35, Jesus continued teaching 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.

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!”

In this passage, did you catch the idea that sounds backwards or opposite of what we’d think. While it might be easy to focus in on how this passage ended, and how we should always be ready because we don’t know when Jesus, the Son of Man, will return, what stood out to me is what Jesus will do when He does come back.

This passage, specifically verse 37, describes the master’s reaction when he returns and finds his servants ready for his return. In verse 37, Jesus tells us that these servants who were ready and watching, “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.”

Picture this scene with me for a moment. It is late at night. All the servants have been up all day and they are tired. They are eagerly waiting the master’s return, but they don’t know when it will be. The master is off at a wedding, and it is anyone’s guess how long that will take. When the master returns at 3am, he is likely just as tired as the servants, but according to Jesus’ description, the master will reward the servants who stayed up for Him by serving them.

This sounds completely backwards in my mind. When the master, owner, or boss of anything comes in, the last thing we would expect is that they would step down and serve the servants, the slaves, or if we modernize the context, the employees. Instead, the boss would thank and praise those who were doing what they were supposed to be doing, but probably not go much further.

Part of me wonders if this is just a nuance of this translation. When comparing versions of the Bible, some translations pull out unique and interesting angles on the text, which might not fit with the interpretation of other ones. If we read verse 37 from the New American Standard Bible, which is one of the more trusted, word-for-word translations, it tells us Jesus said “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself and have them recline and will come up and wait on them.”

In this word-for-word translation, we see the exact same response. In this parable, the master returns and he serves the servants or slaves who were waiting for him.

While this is completely backward thinking for our minds and our culture, we discover that this idea reflects God’s character. When we look at Jesus’ life, there were times when Jesus went away to be alone to rest, and there were times when Jesus attempted to go away to be alone where people found Him who wanted help, healing, and guidance. In every case that I can think of right now, Jesus always adjusted His own plans to help those who came desiring help. When Jesus was tired, He didn’t turn people away. Instead, He kept on serving.

This is Jesus’ model for us. While we shouldn’t neglect rest and down time, we should always remember that when God sends someone into our lives, it is for a reason, and sometimes that reason is because we are to help that person. Other times, the reason is because that person can teach us something about ourselves. Jesus modeled God’s method of serving, and when the Master, Jesus, returns to the earth for His people, while we would be more than happy to serve Him more fully with Him present, He will turn the tables on us and serve us as our reward.

God modeled service through Jesus. When we look at Jesus, we see how God continually stepped down to serve when and where there was a need. He has called us to serve like He served, and when we are serving Him through serving others, we will be doing exactly what He called us to do and we will be ready for His soon return.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, be sure to intentionally seek God first in your life and to serve Him by serving others. Choose to serve God and others not because we are scared of God’s bad side, but because of what Jesus has already done for us. Choose to serve because you love God, not because you fear some sort of punishment.

Also, always keep praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn more about God and to grow closer to Him each and every day. While other people can give you ideas to think about, filter everything you learn through the lens of the Bible to determine if it is truly worthwhile from the perspective of eternity. When history is finished, the only thing that will matter is where we have placed our hope, faith, trust and belief, and the only right answer is Jesus!

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 deviate from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!