Faithful servant and evil servant

 

Faithful servant and evil servant

This parable of the faithful servant and evil servant is found in Matthew 24:45-51

Mat 24:45  “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 

Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 

Mat 24:47  Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 

Mat 24:48  But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 

Mat 24:49  and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 

Mat 24:50  the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 

Mat 24:51  and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

It should be noted that this parable is not a stand-alone parable, and to be interpreted indiscriminately according to the likes of the preacher, but this parable is part of the Context of Matthew 24, where Jesus was explaining about the events that must take place during their last days before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70.

If you were to just read the parable, it does seem slightly extreme, but if you take it as part of the answer to the disciples' questions in Matthew 24:3, then you will be able to comprehend it within its Context, its Audience Relevance, and Historical Relevance.


Preceding Context.

What was the preceding Context of this parable? You will read in verse 36-44, that Jesus speaks about no one knowing the hour, about the Day of the Lord, and it will be coming at an unexpected time or hour.

Considering this train of thought and Context, Jesus then launch into this parable of the faithful servant and the evil servant.


Contrast

In this parable, Jesus brings a huge distinct contrast between the faithful servant and the evil servant. 

It is a contrast between those who heeded his warnings and those that did not heed his warnings. 

It is a contrast between those who were ready, and those who were not ready.

The contrast showed that the faithful servant was expecting, and doing was instructed, when the master arrived back. The evil servant was not expecting, and not doing what was instructed, when the master arrived back.

The evil servant said the master was delayed, so he did not considered the consequence of his actions and turned on other servants and beat them.


This parable is a representation of 2 different groups of people, who have 2 different responses to the same circumstances, even though they were all servants of the same master.


Then the master arrived, but he did not do anything to the faithful servant. The master left him alone. But he cut into pieces the evil servant.

What was Jesus implying? What was Jesus interpreting? What did he meant?

Jesus is telling the story for his immediate audience at that time (audience relevance).

The Jews were the servant of God (in this parable, the servant of the master). 

The faithful servant represents Jesus disciples, those who believed in him and the church at that time. They were busy doing the master's business, busy taking God's message to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and outer regions. They were bringing the kingdom of God everywhere, and healing the people. There were busy spreading the good news of Jesus.

The evil servant represents the other Jews who mocked the Jewish believers of Jesus. They turn around and beat their Jewish brethren, stoning them (e.g. Stephen), crucifying them, and killing them. They turned on their own kind, their own people, the Jews.

When Jesus (the master) showed up, He is going to go against the evil servant.

Note: Jesus is not in the work of removing or taking out the faithful servant. Jesus did not "rapture" out the believers, but he came to deal with the evil servant only.

The evil servant was not watching for the arrival of the master, as compared to the faithful servant who had his eyes expectedly on the master.

The faithful servant on the other hand, was anticipating with hope for the  master's arrival, even though they did not know the hour as well.


Peter added clarity to the parable

Historically, the Judaistic Jews persecuted the Christian Jews prior to the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD70, when the Roman armies besieged Jerusalem. The  persecution began with mocking, stoning, imprisonment etc.

Peter, as part of the audience receiving this parable story from Jesus about the faithful servant and evil servant, began to write about this in 2 Peter 3:1-4.

2Pe 3:1  This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 

2Pe 3:2  that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 

2Pe 3:3  knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 

2Pe 3:4  They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 


See the connection here, Peter is telling the same meaning with more descriptive  words.

In verse 3, Peter was speaking to them of the coming of their last days of the Mosaic Age (their Old Covenant system). The Old Covenant was fading away.

The scoffers will be so ignorant of the warnings of Jesus. They said that everything was the same as before, so why bother.

Peter is reminding them so that they can remember (verse 1-2), because Peter remembers Jesus warning about the master's returning.


Paul gave a similar description in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9

1Th 5:1  Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 

1Th 5:2  For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 

1Th 5:3  While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 

1Th 5:4  But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 

1Th 5:5  For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 

1Th 5:6  So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 

1Th 5:7  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 

1Th 5:8  But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

 
1Th 5:9  For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Paul here is describing the difference in a different way about those in the light and those in darkness.

Adam Clarke (1762-1832), a reputable bible theologian, wrote a commentary on the bible which took him 40 years to complete. This commentary became the primary Methodist theological resource for two centuries.

Regarding 1 Thes 5:9, he wrote:

[.. For God hath not appointed us to wrath - So then it appears that some were appointed to wrath, to punishment; on this subject there can be no dispute. But who are they? When did this appointment take place? And for what cause? These are supposed to be “very difficult questions, and such as cannot receive a satisfactory answer; and the whole must be referred to the sovereignty of God.” If we look carefully at the apostle’s words, we shall find all these difficulties vanish. It is very obvious that, in the preceding verses, the apostle refers simply to the destruction of the Jewish polity, and to the terrible judgments which were about to fall on the Jews as a nation; therefore, they are the people who were appointed to wrath; and they were thus appointed, not from eternity, nor from any indefinite or remote time, but from that time in which they utterly rejected the offers of salvation made to them by Jesus Christ and his apostles; ]


In John Bray's book "Matthew 24 fulfilled", John quoted a famous theologian Dr. Milton Terry in his 1898 book "Biblical Apocalyptics - A study of the Most Notable revelations of God and of Christ in the canonical scriptures". 

He quote:

[..Finally it is important to observe that the preterist and historical method of interpretation followed in this  volume conserves the substance of every fundamental doctrine of the gospel of Christ. It may helpfully modify some current conceptions of "the Great and Notable day of the Lord", for it treats the imagery of collapsing skies, and falling stars, and sounding trumpets, and dissolving mountains, and great white throne, and scores of similar figures of thought as expressing great realities, but not spectacular physical phenomena.

Our interpretation no more denies or sets aside the doctrines of eternal judgement, of heaven and hell, of resurrection of the dead, and the coming and kingdom of Christ than does the refusal to affirm the literal "fire and brimstone" the future retribution deny or invalidate the doctrine of eternal reward and punishment beyond this  mortal life.

Nearly 19 centuries of the manifested power and glory of Christianity in the world ought to have thrown some light on the nature of the coming and the kingdom of Christ. It can scarcely be a question among intelligent believers in Christ that the beginning of the era of our Lord and Savior was the most signal and significant epoch in the history of mankind. It marked a "fullness of times", a crisis of Ages.

The exact point of transition from the old to the new maybe with many an open question. But whether we placed it at the birth of Jesus or at the time of his crucifixion when he cried "it is finished", or at his  resurrection, or at his ascension, or at Pentecost, or at the fall of Jerusalem, the great commanding fact is still before us, that the manifestation of the Christ with which all those events must ever appear in vital relation, opened a new era in human civilization.

We now submit the thought that these 19 centuries of Christian light and progress are relatively but the misty morning twilight of the great day of Christ. It may be that he must reign a thousand times a thousand years before he shall have put all his enemies under his feet. 1 Corinthians 15:25.

The Coming of Christ in his kingdom and power and glory is not one instantaneous act or event. It is a long continuing process comprehensive of his entire work both of redemption and of judgement.

He comes in the power of his spirit to convict the world respecting sin and righteousness and judgement. John 16:8

He comes in light manner to forgive the sins of the penitent and to lead the disciple into all the truth. He comes and is present wherever 2 or 3 gathered together in his name.

He has been coming through all the Christian centuries to receive unto himself the faithful souls who have looked for his heavenly appearing in glory. John 14:3; 7:22-24.

As truly as Jehovah come of old in clouds of heaven to execute judgement on the Egyptians, so did the Son of Man come in the clouds with the angels of his power to execute judgement on the great city that was guilty of his blood and drunk with the blood of his saints and martyrs.

He sits at the right hand of power and sends forth continually his innumerable company of angels to minister for them that shall inherit salvation. Such triumphal administration of judgement, mercy and truth has been, is now and shall for ages, be the work of his Messianic reign.
And in full accord with these revelations of his power and glory, we cry out with the Hebrew psalmist,

"The Lord cometh, He cometh to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness and peoples with his truth"

And we also respond with the Christian apocalyptist, Amen. Come Lord Jesus.  ]