Click here for the Matthew 24:45-51 PODCAST
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, "My master is delaying his coming," 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ~ Matthew 24:45-51
Today, we conclude our study of Matthew 24 which is entirely about the End Times. When we began our relationship with God by believing that His Son is our Savior and invited Him into our lives, we entered the antithetical world of servanthood. Faithfulness is one of the most essential characteristics of a servant. In today's passage the posture of the servant is accentuated. Since, being a servant doesn't come natural to any of us, we must be trained by God through His abiding Word and His abiding Holy Spirit.
In v.45 of today's passage we read, "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?"
The Lord Jesus draws our attention to a household whose master is away and the household is waiting for him to return. The master has appointed certain servants and given them responsibility during the time of his absence. In like manner, the Lord made us, having believed on Him as our Savior, masters over the spiritual activities in this world. He expects us to feed others the truths of the Gospel.
In v.46-47 of today's passage we read, "46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods."
The only activity mentioned here is that of feeding the household. As servants of the God of the Bible, we have the responsibility and important task of feeding the household at the proper time. Feeding the people of this world is the first essential for the believer who is watching for his master's return. Watching means to feed and be fed by the Word of God. We must eat and be nourished before we can feed others the truth of God. This is basic and fundamental for the believer in Christ. If we do not eat, we do not survive, and we perish.
In his first letter Peter exhorts us in 1 Peter 2:2 "crave the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby." It is through the Word of God that we feed and are established in the faith. In Hebrews 4:12 we discover there is power in the Word of God, a power to change our hearts to the point of being burdened about the spiritual destiny of others. Before we can be used of the Lord to help others, we must first go through the surgical ministry of God's Word for ourselves.
In v.48-51 of today's passage we read, "48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
In this parable there are two kinds of servants: The faithful and the faithless. The faithful are those who are fed by the Lord. It is by His Word that we determine what the Lord is for us. This is what will determine our blessedness when the Lord Jesus returns to take us to be with Him for eternity. The servant of the Lord, after having been fed by the Lord, naturally shares the truth with others. When we are being nourished by the Lord, we will become masters of the secrets of life. Then, when the Lord returns to set up His millennial kingdom, He will grant us authority to rule with Him in the kingdom He will set up.
The faithless servant is the one who fails to be fed by the Lord. As a result, he will not be engaged in a way to be able to feed the household of God. Since there is antagonism in the faithless servant, he will not act as a proper servant who longs to bring honor to his master. As a result, the faithless servant misappropriates his anger and he will beat those whom he should be blessing. Since he does not see himself blessed of the Lord, he will not be in the position to bless others. Blessed people bless others. Those who fail to be blessed, curse others.
When we feed on the Word, our souls become more stable and alive. Whenever we take the Word of God seriously we will always experience the life the Lord Jesus died to give us. A life wherein we are in pursuit of Him. When we reject God's truth, we will began to drift from our moorings, and soon it will be quite apparent that we have lost our grasp on life. When we lose hope of the Lord's coming there will no longer incentive to feed others. This is why our pursuit of God through prayer and the reading of His Word is so important.
When we watch for His coming, we will feed on the Word of God. The fuel behind this feeding will alway be our personal relationship with Him. We will know Him experientially on a daily basis. We will be found interacting with Him continually. This is what qualifies us for teaching others. We never give the truth away to others until we have received it from the Lord for ourselves first. We live in a world where there is widespread delusion because few really pursue the Lord and thus feed on His Word regularly. They fail to see the power in the Word of God. God tells us to hide His Word in our hearts and to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within us. All of this is contingent on our craving the Word of God.
