Matthew 24: 45-51 45
Who, then , is the faithful and decent feudatory , whom his lord put in charge of his house to sustain them in due time ? 46 Blessed is the servant whom his master finds doing so when he comes . 47 Truly, I tell you, he will make him lord over all his resources . 48 But if the blasphemous subject says in his heart: My lord has lingered ; 49 and will begin to beat his companions from work and even eat and drink with the alcoholics . 50 The master of the servant comes on a journey that he does not expect, and in an hour that he does not know, 51 and he punishes him severely, with the hypocrites; there will be sobbing and gnashing of teeth.
REFLECTION:
This parable was given to the apostles at the end of the message in Matthew 24 about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, the signs of Christ’s return, and the end of the world. It has its parallel in Luke 12: 41-48, but there it was at another time related to his apostles and a crowd, which was given in response to a question that Peter asked in Luke 12:41 “Then Peter said to him: Lord, Are you telling this parable to us or to everyone? “With reference to the parable of the watchful servant in Luke 12: 35-40. This question does not exist in Matthew, but if we see that the issue is about the preparation and vigilance of his servant before the return of Jesus Christ, just as in Luke 12: 39-40 he says: “But keep this in mind, that if I knew to the father of the family what time the thief would come, he would really watch and not let his house be mined. You must also be prepared, because when you do not think that the Son of Man will come “and in Matthew 24: 42-44” Be careful, then, because you do not know the hour that your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the father of the family knew what When the thief arrived, he looked, and did not allow him to enter his house. Therefore, you are also prepared, because the Son of Man comes when you do not think ”. These parallel verses, of similar theme, are given before Jesus tells the parables of the faithful servant as opposed to the unfaithful. that if the father of the family knew what When the thief came, he looked, and did not allow him to enter his house. Therefore, you too are prepared, because the Son of Man comes when you do not think ”. These parallel verses, of similar theme, are given before Jesus tells the parables of the faithful servant as opposed to the unfaithful. that if the father of the family knew what When the thief came, he looked, and did not allow him to enter his house. Therefore, you too are prepared, because the Son of Man comes when you do not think ”. These parallel verses, of similar theme, are given before Jesus tells the parables of the faithful servant as opposed to the unfaithful.
Its central theme is the preparation and vigilance as disciples of the return from heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the consequences that all unfaithful servants will have due to the commandment of the Lord.
In vs. 45-46 The Lord Jesus begins the parable with a question: Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master placed in charge of his house to feed them in time? And saying blessed is he who finds what I command him to do, this faithful and careful servant is in line with the same teaching that Jesus gave in the parable of the two foundations (Matthew 7: 24-28 / Luke 6: 46-49) at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, and what a wonderful conclusion to this sermon, because it is not enough to say Lord, Lord, because our Savior tells us Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not Do what I say? (Luke 6:46). To be a servant of Jesus Christ is to obey him, and to obey him comes from the love of Christ.
In v. 47 says that the Lord will put the servant over all his possessions. We can see the same reward in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25: 14-30) where he tells the two servants who decided to produce what was given to them by their master: Well done, good and faithful servant; In a little you have been faithful, much I will put you; enter into the joy of your lord.
In vs. 48-49 now the panorama changes we have the unfaithful servant who does not take into account the command of his master, but says in his heart that he will delay and beat the other fellow servants, he will eat and get drunk.
In vs. 50-51, the distracted and entertaining servant who abuses the goods that his master gave him to feed the other servants, then his master appears unannounced at the moment he least expected and will punish him severely with hypocrisy for not doing what entrusted to him will cry and gnash his teeth. That servant did not appreciate what his master had entrusted to him, and the text says that he will place it with the hypocrites in parallel with what Luke says to the infidels.
In the parallel text of this parable in Luke 12: 41-48, in verses. 47 and 48 there is a part that does not appear in this section of Matthew, and it is “The servant who, knowing the will of his master, did not prepare or do according to his will, will receive many lashes. But he who, without knowing her, did things worth taking hostage, will be beaten a little; because of all that has been given, much will be required; and the more it has been entrusted, the more it will ask ”; It helps us to complete the picture, because every servant of the King of King who knows the will of God must be faithful to him, but it is one thing to say the commandments of God with the mouth of others and another thing is to obey them. , therefore we observe that more gifts that God has put in our hands to serve others through His grace and mercy, we must put it to produce for the praise and glory of God, if we neglect this command, we will receive more punishment. Even those servants who do not know their master’s will and who are disobedient will also receive tabs. This means that just as there are different degrees of glory in heaven, there will also be different degrees of punishment in the lake of fire. God has shown his glory to all men in various ways, there is no absolute ignorance of God, expressed in Romans 1: 20-21 “Because the invisible things in him, his eternal power and God, have been manifested since the creation of the world ., understood through the things done, so that they have no excuse. Knowing God, they did not glorify him as God or thank him, but they became puffed up in their reasoning and their foolish hearts were darkened. ” Even those servants who do not know their master’s will and who are disobedient will also receive tabs. This means that just as there are different degrees of glory in heaven, there will also be different degrees of punishment in the lake of fire. God has shown his glory to all men in various ways, there is no absolute ignorance of God, expressed in Romans 1: 20-21 “Because the invisible things in him, his eternal power and God, have been manifested since the creation of the world ., understood through the things done, so that they have no excuse. Knowing God, they did not glorify him as God or thank him, but they became puffed up in their reasoning and their foolish hearts were darkened. ” Even those servants who do not know their master’s will and who are disobedient will also receive tabs. This means that just as there are different degrees of glory in heaven, there will also be different degrees of punishment in the lake of fire. God has shown his glory to all men in various ways, there is no absolute ignorance of God, expressed in Romans 1: 20-21 “Because the invisible things in him, his eternal power and God, have been manifested since the creation of the world ., understood through the things done, so that they have no excuse. Knowing God, they did not glorify him as God or thank him, but they became puffed up in their reasoning and their foolish hearts were darkened. ” This means that just as there are different degrees of glory in heaven, there will also be different degrees of punishment in the lake of fire. God has shown his glory to all men in various ways, there is no absolute ignorance of God, expressed in Romans 1: 20-21 “Because the invisible things in him, his eternal power and God, have been manifested since the creation of the world ., understood through the things done, so that they have no excuse. Knowing God, they did not glorify him as God or thank him, but they became puffed up in their reasoning and their foolish hearts were darkened. ” This means that just as there are different degrees of glory in heaven, there will also be different degrees of punishment in the lake of fire. God has shown his glory to all men in various ways, there is no absolute ignorance of God, expressed in Romans 1: 20-21 “Because the invisible things in him, his eternal power and God, have been manifested since the creation of the world ., understood through the things done, so that they have no excuse. Knowing God, they did not glorify him as God or thank him, but they became puffed up in their reasoning and their foolish hearts were darkened. ” 20-21 “Because the invisible things in him, his eternal power and God, are manifested from the creation of the world, understood through the things made, so that they have no excuse. Knowing God, they did not glorify him as God or thank him, but they became puffed up in their reasoning and their foolish hearts were darkened. ” 20-21 “Because the invisible things in him, his eternal power and God, are manifested from the creation of the world, understood through the things made, so that they have no excuse. Knowing God, they did not glorify him as God or thank him, but they became puffed up in their reasoning and their foolish hearts were darkened. “