The Faithful or Wicked Servant
Matthew 24:45-51
Last time we began the application section of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse. The first part of Jesus’ teaching to His disciples on the Mount of Olives was explanatory (Mat. 24:4-35). Jesus was answering the disciples’ questions about the destruction of Jerusalem and about the sign of His coming and the end of the age (Matt. 24:2-3). First, He gave them some general signs that will characterize the age before His return (Matt. 24:4-14). Second, He gave some specific signs that would immediately precede His Coming (Matt. 24:15-28). Next, He described His glorious coming (Matt. 24:29-31) and its certainty (Matt. 24:32-35).
Jesus then began to apply these truths to His disciples (and to us). Matthew 24:36 sets the thesis for the exhortations that follow—no one knows the day or the hour of the coming of the Son of Man. Because no one knows when Christ will return, He exhorts us first to “watch,” to be on the alert (Matt. 24:42) and second to “be ready” or prepared for His coming at all times.
Next, Jesus relates three parables that illustrate and exhort us to watch and be ready for His coming. How can we make sure that we are alert and ready for Christ’s return? How are we to live in light of Christ’s imminent return? Jesus teaches that readiness demands faithfulness. Faithful waiting calls for devotion and service. Another way to say that is: If you want to be ready for the Lord’s coming, be faithful to your Master. Faithful service must occupy us until Jesus comes again.
Jesus illustrates this truth with a servant who is either faithful and wise or wicked and unprepared. Jesus begins the parable by asking a question, “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” (Matt. 24:45). The premise is simple to understand. There is a master and there is a servant. This master is planning on traveling away from his household for a time. In his absence, he leaves this servant in charge of his household. This servant is to oversee the affairs of the house while his master is gone. He is to make sure that those in the house are fed at the proper time (Matt. 24:45). He is to coordinate the other servants in their duties (Matt. 24:49). He is responsible for his master’s house.
The servant can respond in one of two ways. Either he can be a faithful and a wise servant, who does exactly as his master has instructed him to do. Or, he can be an evil servant, who doubts the return of his master, neglects the duties that were given to him, abuses his fellow slaves, and lives a life of drunken pleasure. When the master returns, his response to his servant will depend upon which course of action the servant has chosen. If he was faithful and wise, he will be rewarded with more responsibility. If he was evil and self-seeking, he will be punished severely.
Let’s look at these two possibilities and what they teach us today.
1. The Wise Servant (24:45-47)
First, Jesus tells us about the faithfulness of the wise servant. The word for “servant” here means bondslave (δοῦλος doulos), one who is bound to his master in servitude. The will of the bondslave is consumed with the will of the master. By the way, this was the term that the apostles of Jesus Christ preferred when they referred to themselves and other ministers of Christ in the New Testament letters:
Romans 1:1 – “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, …”
Philippians 1:1 – “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, …”
Colossians 4:12 – “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, …”
James 1:1 – “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, …”
2 Peter 1:1 – “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, …”
Jude 1 – “Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, …”
We are bondslaves of Jesus Christ. If that language offends you, then consider the greatness and majesty of Jesus Christ the Lord. He is the eternal God, infinite in holiness, righteousness, and justice, purer than the driven snow, omnipotent in His rule, omniscient in His decrees, with no beginning and no end of days, the Creator and Ruler of the universe.[1] And Yet, Paul also uses the word “bondslave” to describe Christ Jesus Himself in Philippians 2:7, writing that He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” As a bondservant of His Father, Jesus “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8).
Those who realize the majesty and mercy of our Lord gladly own the title “bondslave of the Lord Jesus Christ”. We do not deserve the glorious honor of being a slave to such a worthy Master. But by God’s mercy and grace, that is what we are.
What characterizes a good bondslave? In Matthew 24:45 Jesus indicates …
A. His Attitude (45)
This servant is faithful. A faithful servant is trustworthy, dependable, reliable, and consistent. “Faithful” describes one who remains firmly and devotedly bound to another. This servant understood his place—that he was the bondslave responsible to his Master.
Spurgeon once said “I know of nothing which I would choose to have as the subject of my ambition for life than to be kept faithful to my God till death.”[2] The ancient preacher John Chrysostom said “Faithfulness in little things is a big thing.”[3]
Not only was this servant faithful, he was also “wise” (Matt. 24:45), one who is thoughtful and sensible (φρόνιμος phronimos). Jesus uses this word four times in the next parable (Matthew 25:1-13) to describe the “wise” or prudent virgins who prepared for the bridegroom’s coming by having their lamps filled with oil. Because they were wise, prudent, and sensible, they were alert and prepared.
Because he was faithful and wise, “his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season” (Matt. 24:45). He put this faithful servant in charge of the household including the care and supervision of the other servants. He was to manage the household and ensure everyone does their part and gets fed at the right time.
So the attitude of the servant is that he is faithful and wise. Notice also …
B. His Actions (46)
Jesus says, “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.” (Matt. 24:46). This faithful and wise servant is found doing the will of his master at all times. He did not know when the master would return any more than the evil servant did. He just stayed ready at all times by doing his duty. He didn’t need to be constantly watching over his shoulder to see if his master was coming so that he could hurry and get ready.
Jesus says this servant is “blessed”. This is the same promise that Jesus gives in the beatitudes in Matthew 5. It means happy or content. This servant understood that we are most content when we are most obedient to the Master. The greatest blessing is not doing our own will, but the will of the Lord.
Faithful and wise are the attributes of this servant. His actions are to do the will of his master at all times. And then we see …
C. His Award (47)
Jesus indicated this servant’s reward, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.” (Matt. 24:47). This servant understood that faithfulness will be rewarded by the master. Jesus teaches us that the reward of faithfulness to one’s responsibility is to be entrusted with greater responsibility. We will see this again in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 where the Lord says, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things” (Matt. 25:21,23).
This is the reward of the faithful and wise servant. Now Jesus shifts gears in His parable from the faithful servant to …
2. The Wicked Servant (24:48-51)
Jesus says,
48 “But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,” (Matt. 24:48-49).
Let’s examine the same three aspects of this servant.
A. His Attitude (48, 50)
Jesus says this is an “evil servant”. The word “evil” (κακός kakos) speaks of a lack of goodness and thus, worthless. This servant disregarded his master. He lost sight of the one he was supposed to be serving. Jesus says, “that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming” (Matt. 24:48). Due to the master’s delay, this servant was “not looking for” his master to return (Matt. 24:50). This evil and worthless attitude showed up in …
B. His Actions (49)
Jesus says that this wicked servant “… begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards” (Matt. 24:49). The evil servants’ attitude that the master would not return soon affected his treatment of others. This servant is unbelieving. The delay of his lord leads him to conclude that he is not going to return at all. His unbelief leads him to abuse his position—he becomes tyrannical and cruel in his treatment of his fellow servants. The way he treats others exposes a heart that is corrupted with self-centeredness. Then his own habits become unworthy; we find him eating and drinking with drunken men. He traded his place with the Master for the pleasures of the world.
His evil attitude of unbelief led to his wicked actions and earned him …
C. His Award (51)
Jesus says, “50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,” (Matt. 24:50). Because he was not expecting the return of his master, he was unprepared. He was caught in the act by neglecting his duty, abusing others, and indulging himself. What was his reward from the master?
Maybe you have heard it said, “No man is entirely worthless, he can always serve as a bad example”. This servant is the bad example not to follow. He shows us that phoniness, laziness, and worldliness are not readiness. He didn’t fool the master. And you won’t be able to fool the Lord when He comes to judge.
Jesus says that the master “… will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 24:51). This is a severe judgment. All of this proves that the evil servant didn’t really belong to the master at all. He suffered the consequences of his evil, unbelieving heart. When the master returned, he severely punished him and assigned him his portion, his assignment or due part (μέρος meros), with the hypocrites.
What is the portion of the hypocrites? Jesus made that clear in speaking to the hypocrites of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 calling them and their disciples “sons of hell” (Matt. 23:15) and saying, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Matt. 23:33). Their portion is one of extreme anguish and misery that never ends.
That’s the parable. Its message is clear: If you want to be ready for the Lord’s coming, be faithful in service to your Master. We have a Master and Lord. His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and Son of God. Like the master in this parable, the Lord Jesus has gone away to heaven. Like the master in this parable, the Lord Jesus is coming back. Just because His return seems like it is delayed, doesn’t mean that it is not certain.
The Apostle Peter warns us about this when he writes,
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Pet. 3:3-4).
Then Peter assures us that “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9). Jesus Himself just told us in Matthew 24:30, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Like the master in this parable, Jesus has clearly assigned us responsibilities while He is away. And as servants, we are called to be faithful while our master is away; we want to be about pleasing our master according to His revealed will. And like the faithful servant, we will be rewarded for serving the Lord.
Lest you should misunderstand, let me make this clear: Good works do not get you saved. There’s only one good thing that gets you saved, and that’s the good work that Jesus did by dying on the cross for our sins. He purchased our redemption by His own blood. We do not deserve it, nor can we earn it. We simply receive salvation as a gift of God by faith in Christ and what He has already done for us. The servant did the will of his master because he trusted him and believed he was coming back to judge. He served by faith. We don’t do good works to get saved, we do good works because we have been saved. Our works are evidence that we believe Jesus is Lord and that we belong to Him. They are an overflow of our relationship with the Savior. We want to please Him because of what He has graciously done for us in forgiving our sins and making us His servants as born-again children of God.
If you have not yet been saved by believing in Jesus Christ, you need to trust in Him today. Now is the time of grace and opportunity when the gospel call goes forth and all who put their faith in Jesus will be saved. When Jesus returns, that window will close. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Repent and believe in Jesus. That’s the first thing you need to do to make yourself ready.
Then for those of us who are in Christ, what does it look like to be ready for His return? Three clear things:
- Watch expectantly. You do not know when the Lord will return. But you know for certain that He will. To watch expectantly does not mean we constantly stand around gazing into the sky. It means we Keep ourselves always prepared, always ready. Watch expectantly; Christ is coming.
- Serve faithfully. We are bondslaves of Christ. He will reward all who serve Him faithfully. One of the great joys of being a pastor is observing the ways that the Lord calls people to serve Him. What has Jesus Christ given you to do in His name? It may be to teach and care for children; or to organize acts of mercy; or to care for the poor; or to evangelize; or to go to a foreign mission field; or to plant churches; or to show hospitality to others; or to help with worship by using musical gifts; or to take care of little details that allow the church to function smoothly; or to pray for the salvation and needs of people; or countless other ways you can serve Christ and His church. Serve faithfully because you serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Live holy. Don’t be like the evil servant who mistreated others and lived for his own pleasure. The fact that Christ is coming again at an hour we do not expect should compel us to holiness. Peter writes,
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (2 Pe 3:10-12).
Learn the lesson Jesus teaches us here. Watch expectantly. Serve faithfully. Love holy.
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[1] Phil Newton, Alert, Ready, & Faithful, https://web.archive.org/web/20180811091051/http://archive.southwoodsbc.org/sermons/matthew_24.45-51.php.
[2] Charles Spurgeon, “Spurgeon at His Best: Over 2200 Striking Quotations from the World’s Most Exhaustive and Widely-read Sermon Series”, Baker Publishing Group 1988
[3] John Chysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople (349- 407), quoted on https://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew-24-commentary#24:45.
