Matthew 24:45-51 - March 16, 2010
Matthew 24:45-51 - March 16, 2010
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 24:45-51
In this little parable of Jesus, the man going away is the Savior himself. He came to this world to establish his kingdom on earth by means of his sufferings, death and resurrection. Then he left his "house on earth." He ascended to the position of all glory and power in heaven. But like a man who before he leaves his house or business gives instruction to those managing his affairs, so Jesus gave instruction to his managers, his servants before he left for heaven. They are to carefully conduct his spiritual household and faithfully manage the affairs of the Savior as they wait for his return. The servants of Jesus are to use the Word and Sacraments as Jesus directed, to live as children of the heavenly Father, and to spread the gospel at every opportunity.
Jesus is speaking to those who believe in him. Each one of us has the responsibility to be about the work of our Savior as we wait for his return. Believing in Jesus and treasuring the salvation that he won for us, we’ll dedicate our lives to serving him and faithfully fulfilling his will. God’s Word makes it clear, though, that it is not our activity that prepares us and makes us ready to stand before God on the Last Day. It is only by faith in Jesus that we can stand in the final judgment, that we are saved from the condemnation of eternal death.
A man who was on trial for a criminal offense stood trembling before the judge. “Don’t be afraid,” he was told, “you’ll get justice.” “I know,” replied the offender, “but that’s just what I don’t want!” Nor do we want justice when we stand before the Judge of heaven and earth. Justly we sinners deserve to be condemned forever. What we want and need is mercy. And that’s what God graciously gives to us in Jesus. How foolish it would be to turn away from Christ and count the things of this world, which will be destroyed, more important than Jesus. Our Lord warns us to watch out so that we aren’t drawn into thinking that we can live apart from God and ignore his Word. The Day of Judgment is coming!
Oh what great expectation we have in the promise of our Lord that he is coming back! His coming is nothing for us to fear, for by faith in Jesus we look forward to a new heaven and new earth, the home of righteousness. Confidently by faith and with joyful anticipation, we now keep careful watch on our lives and stay on the task that Jesus has given us, to spread his saving message.
Strengthen my faith, dear Jesus, that I may not carelessly turn away from you and lose eternal life. By the power of your Word, keep me faithful, and help me joyfully serve you until that day when you will come back to take me to heaven with you. Amen.
Today's Devotion is brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
