America in the Kingdom Parables
C.O. Stadslkev - 1959
The Parables on
The LORD'S Return
Luke 12:35-41,42-48
There are two parables in Luke 12 which are
very timely and appropriate for closing our study of the Lord's parables.
We shall commence reading at verse 35 of
Luke 12: "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye
yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from
the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him
immediately.
"Blessed are those servants, whom the lord
when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall
gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and
serve them .... Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an
hour when ye think not" (Luke 12:35-37,40).
After Jesus had spoken these words verse 41
states: "Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us,
or even to all?"
Jesus answered Peter's question by giving
another parable: "And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise
steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them
their portion of meat in due season?
"Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when
he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird
himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will cane forth and serve
them."
The Lord repeatedly warned and exhorted
those who would be living at the close of the present age to watch, that is,
to be alert and vigilant.
In Luke 21:34-36 we find the following
spoken by the Lord: "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this
life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come
on ail them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that
ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of man."
And in Matthew 25:13 we read: "Watch
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man
cometh."
Why all this emphasis on watching or being
alert and awake in the end time? And why this special honor and reward for
those who are found watching and praying at the return of Christ?
Any warning or urgent appeal to watch and
pray would generally be taken to indicate danger, and so it is in the Lord's
warning to Christians today to watch and pray.
It is evident from the Lord's teaching that
the great end time danger for Christians would be "deception."
In Matthew 24:4,5,23-25 Jesus said, "Take
heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am
Christ; and shall deceive many....
If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is
Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and
false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you
before."
It is apparent from these and other similar
passages that the great end time deception would be religion without Christ
- or religion which would bypass and ignore the Christ.
According to the doctrines of the Christian
faith any religion that is not Christ centered is an antichrist religion and
a counterfeit and a deception.
In I John 2:18,22,23 we read: "Little
children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall
come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the
last time ....
"Who is a liar but he that denieth that
Jesus is the Christ: He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that
acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." Beware of every and any
religion which is not based on the virgin birth and the blood of Christ. It
is an antichrist religion.
In the second parable we are considering in
Luke 12, we find that the servant who is found giving out the meat of the
Word at the time of Christ's return is rewarded with great honor and
authority: "The Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom
his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of
meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh
shall find so doing."
"Meat in due season." What does that mean?
The apostle Paul wrote concerning the milk and the meat of the Word. He
indicates that the truth relative to personal salvation is the milk of the
Word, and that the truths in the Bible which require more study and thought
are the meat of the Word.
Today it is possible for an unsaved person
to receive the milk of the Word - or be saved - the first time he hears the
Gospel of Personal Salvation. But there is also the meat of the Word which
requires much Bible study and thought before it is comprehended; such is the
case with the Gospel of the Kingdom and God's overall great plan and purpose
for this age and the ages to come.
The reward for giving out the meat of the
Word is to be "He (the Lord) will make him ruler over all that He hath."
The expression "meat in due season"
indicates that God would have special added light and truth from His Word as
time progressed toward the Kingdom Age.
"The just shall live by faith," was meat in
due season in Luther's time; now it is the milk of the Word.
The sanctified Christian life was meat in
due season in Wesley's time; now it is generally accepted by all Christians.
The special truth and light that is meat in
due season for our time is the Second Coming of Christ and the Gospel of the
Kingdom of God on earth.
In verse 45 Jesus implied that those who
give forth the meat of the Word would be beaten by fellow servants who say
"My lord delayeth his coming," for these servants are they who do not see
the Gospel of the Kingdom and the soon return of Christ. Consequently, the
negligent servant will be punished and appointed his portion with tile
unbelievers.
Perhaps the most serious words spoken by our
Lord in these two parables are those found in verse 47: "That servant, which
knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his
will, shall be beaten with many stripes." With this verse we shall close our
study of the Lord's Kingdom parables.