Two Servants at the End of the Age

Matthew 24:45-51 – “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?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.  But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

People have always been interested about the end of the world.  Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic movie stories are probably one of the most recycled topics used by Hollywood, whether it occurs by natural disaster, zombie invasion, or giant meteor.  But people don’t need to watch movies and speculate about what will happen during the end of days; all they need to do to know the details of those days is to pick up their Bible and read – read passages in Revelation, Daniel, and even specific chapters of the Gospels.  The Bible is a rich source of information about the last days.

Many Christians have an obsession with the last days, spending a lot of time trying to predict the date of Christ’s return; but the Bible is clear that no one knows the day except for God the Father.  So why do we keep wasting our time speculating on the date?  Don’t we have something better to do as disciples of Jesus Christ?  Our passage today in Matthew 24 was actually the end of a conversation Jesus had with His disciples on the end of days.  It actually began with the disciples asking the same question that many of us ask, “When will that day come?”  To which Jesus replied, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son but the Father only” (vs.36).  By stating this and telling the story that we have as our passage today, He was getting His disciples to switch their focus from a date to a prepared attitude and heart – that is the better thing we can do than speculating the date.  This same story should inspire us as His disciples today to prepare our hearts for His return.

In the story, there is a master who leaves his household in the caretaking of his servant for an unknown period of time.  The servant had the simple task of making sure that the household would be provided for and taken care of while his master was away.  Seeing that his master was not present, the servant then had two choices – 1) He could obey his master’s command and serve even without a watchful eye on him or 2) He could ignore it until there was a sign of his master’s return.  In one case, where the servant is “faithful and wise,” he simply did his master’s work at the appointed times, continually serving his master even in his absence.  It mattered not what time his master would return, for he was ready at any moment to show that he had been faithful.  He cared not for recognition or credit, for to him, being faithful to his master through obedience was its own reward.  In the end, his obedience was rewarded with a higher position, in which he became caretaker of all his master’s possessions.   In the other case, the servant was described as “wicked,” for although the task was the same, the attitude it was approached with was completely different.  Instead of being prepared at any moment for his master’s return, the servant assumed that his master would be delayed and that he could put off the work given to him.  He was so concerned about times and dates, that instead of being prepared, he actually fell into a worse state than if his master was present.  He not only ignored his task of watching the household but went contrary to it by destroying it (beating his fellow servants and squandering his time and money with drunkards).    Instead of being prepared, he was found unfit for the work given to him and in the end was rewarded with shame and punishment.

By examining the consequences of both choices, we as disciples of Jesus Christ can certainly learn a few lessons on how we need to prepare for Christ’s return.  First, like the servant, we have been given a task by our Master and Lord to caretake His church, building it up as the servant was to provide food for the household.  Matthew 28:19-20 reminds us that we are not only to share the Gospel with all nations building the kingdom of God in numbers but also to make disciples building the kingdom in heart and maturity.  Paul stated it best, “Encourage one another and build up each other.” (1 Thess 5:11 NRSV)  This is our task and should be what every Christian continues to do as He awaits Christ’s return.  Second, the faithful servant was faithful continually.  So much of the time, we as Christians get tired of serving God, of being faithful, of continually carrying the faith.  We start out with a bright fire, wanting to be all that God has called us to be but eventually die out into lives of mediocrity.  But in this passage, the faithful servant served not only once but continuously until his master’s return.  We should also continue to serve and not allow our hearts to grow weary, for in due season we shall reap (Galatians 6:9).  Third, unlike the wicked servant, we should expect Christ to return at any moment.  The wicked servant assumed that his master’s return would be delayed, giving him ample reason every time to push off his work and to revel in sin.  We as Christians tend to live our lives on earth as if Christ would never return.  We state with our mouths that He can come at any moment but we live our lives as if He won’t show up in our lifetime.  As His disciples privileged to carry the Gospel to the world, we must understand that there is an urgency to share these words of life with all around us.  We must live each day as if it were the last time any person will ever hear about God’s love.  If Christians lived with that type of heart, the world would be a much different place.  Also, if we lived in that way, a Christian’s heart would also be completely different, for he would certainly remove the sins in his life that he would be ashamed of if Christ was present at that moment.  Because we don’t really believe that He will show up in the blink of an eye, we let our sins continue to fester in our lives.  We must get rid of it ASAP, for He can show up at any moment.  Simply, as Christians we need to live in a manner where we can be proud to have Christ present at any moment.  Fourth, as the wicked servant who failed to do his master’s work ended up bringing down the household, a Christian who is not performing the tasks God has assigned Him also brings down the church.  Very often, we find that a Christian who is idle in God’s work tends to fall into sin, for idle hands are simply the tools of the devil.  When one is not filled up with God’s Spirit doing His work, there can only be one alternative which is a heart that is filled with sin and wickedness – that type of heart destroys the body of Christ.  Are you sinning with sinners instead of being a light?  Are you discouraging fellow Christians through your words or actions?  Let us be careful that we are not doing anything to hurt or destroy the church instead of building it up.  Remove any stumbling block you know of in your life that will be an obstacle for growth to your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our passage today reveals two responses of a servant to a master’s calling.  We as Christians have been called by Christ to build up His church – to prepare it for the day of His return.  What type of servant will He find you to be at the end of the age?  Will you be considered a wicked servant who will be tossed out to a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth?  Or will you be considered a “good and faithful” servant?