{"id":1267,"date":"2025-03-28T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=1267&2025"},"modified":"2025-03-25T18:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T00:00:10","slug":"preparing-for-his-return-luke-12-35-59","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/preparing-for-his-return-luke-12-35-59\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing For His Return: Luke 12:35-59"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: Luke 12:35-59 (NCV)<\/div>
\r\n

\u00a035<\/sup> \u201cBe dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. 36<\/sup> 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.\u00a037<\/sup> 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<\/sup> Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 39<\/sup> \u201cRemember 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<\/sup> So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don\u2019t expect him!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u00a041<\/sup> Peter said, \u201cLord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u00a042<\/sup> The Lord said, \u201cWho is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? 43<\/sup> When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed.\u00a044<\/sup> I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns.\u00a045<\/sup> But suppose the servant thinks to himself, \u2018My master will not come back soon,\u2019 and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46<\/sup> 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\u2019t obey.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 47<\/sup> \u201cThe 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<\/sup> 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.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 49<\/sup> \u201cI came to set fire to the world, and I wish it were already burning! 50<\/sup> I have a baptism to suffer through, and I feel very troubled until it is over.\u00a051<\/sup> Do you think I came to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I came to divide it.\u00a052<\/sup> From now on, a family with five people will be divided, three against two, and two against three. 53<\/sup> They will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u00a054<\/sup> Then Jesus said to the people, \u201cWhen you see clouds coming up in the west, you say, \u2018It\u2019s going to rain,\u2019 and it happens. 55<\/sup> When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, \u2018It will be a hot day,\u2019 and it happens. 56<\/sup> Hypocrites! You know how to understand the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don\u2019t you understand what is happening now?<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 57<\/sup> \u201cWhy can\u2019t you decide for yourselves what is right? 58<\/sup> If your enemy is taking you to court, try hard to settle it on the way. If you don\u2019t, your enemy might take you to the judge, and the judge might turn you over to the officer, and the officer might throw you into jail. 59<\/sup> I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid everything you owe.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Read Luke 12:35-59<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

Part way through Jesus\u2019 ministry, while teaching the disciples, Jesus shares a powerful illustration about always being ready for His return. This illustration opens with Jesus telling His disciples, \u201cBe dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. 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. They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him.<\/strong>\u201d (v. 35-37a)<\/p>\r\n

The servants in this parable are blessed because they are ready when the master arrives because they were watching for him. While the servants don\u2019t know exactly when that night the master would return, they determine that it is better to prepare for his arrival as if it were happening within the next five minutes, while also being conscious that it might be another few hours.<\/p>\r\n

In our own lives, when we look forward to Jesus\u2019 \u201csoon\u201d return, we have the same challenge that the servants in this illustration have. While it would be amazing for Jesus to return tomorrow and end this age in history, it would be foolish to base 100% of our decisions as if this hope were fact.<\/p>\r\n

Equally foolish would be always believing that Jesus\u2019 return will always be months, years, or even decades in the future. Believing that we have plenty of time to prepare \u2013 in the future \u2013 will guarantee that we will be caught unprepared.<\/p>\r\n

With these two ideas pulling us in opposite directions, we should learn to manage this tension and filter our decisions through both filters.<\/strong> Wisdom in the servant\u2019s case is watching and being ready, but not assuming or guessing the time of the master\u2019s arrival. Wisdom in our case is always being ready for Jesus to come within this hour, but also understanding that we must not do things that would harm us long-term if His return is later than we expected it to be.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Part way through Jesus\u2019 ministry, while teaching the disciples, Jesus shares a powerful illustration about always being ready for His return. This illustration opens with Jesus telling His disciples, \u201cBe dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. 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