Troublesome Topic: Example #5 The Return of the Owner of the Estate

Matthew 24:45

Translation

Who then is the faithful servant, whom the master has appointed over his household, to give them food at the right time?

Paraphrase

Which one of the following proves himself to be a faithful servant whom the master has appointed to oversee his household affairs and particularly to be in charge of distributing food to everyone in the household in the right manner, proportions and time?

Matthew 24:46

Translation

Blessed [is] that servant whom, when his master comes,

will find him acting in that manner.

Paraphrase

When the owner of the estate returns, the servant-turned-supervisor whom he finds acting in the desired way will be blessed.

Matthew 24:47

Translation

I tell you a sure thing – he will appoint him to be over all his possessions.

Paraphrase

Let me tell you with absolute certainty that the landowner will appoint this former servant to oversee all his business affairs (because he knows he can trust him fully).

Matthew 24:48

Translation

However, if that evil servant should say in his heart, “My master delays,”

Paraphrase

However, if that servant is evil and says to himself, “I’m sure my boss will be gone a long time and I can get away with doing anything I want to do,”

Matthew 24:49

Translation

and he should begin to beat his fellow servants, moreover to eat and drink with drunkards,

Paraphrase

and if he begins beating those who are servants just like himself rather than caring for them, and beyond that if he begins

to throw big parties with the homeowner’s food and get drunk with drunkards,

Matthew 24:50

Translation

the master of that servant will come on a day in which he does not expect it and at an hour he does not know,

Paraphrase

that servant’s boss will come back on a day that the servant is sure will not be the day, and at an hour he has no clue will be the right hour,

Matthew 24:51

Translation

and he will flog him severely with a sharp scourge,

and will assign him a place with the hypocrites;

in that place there will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

Paraphrase

and the owner will have that servant punished with a sharp whip until his blood runs freely, and he will make sure that the servant gets the same punishment as other fakes, which will bring constant lamenting for past decisions and

the most woeful expressions of frustration and agony.

A good servant is one who fulfills his responsibilities faithfully and does not change his actions even if he somehow finds out the exact day his master will return. In contrast, the wicked servant is one who assumes there is more time and begins to live only for himself, even to the point of mistreating those around him to get what he wants.

The point of this illustration is that, since we don’t know when Jesus will return to give us what we deserve, we should be constantly guided by the foundational spiritual principles of God’s word.

The next lesson is: Parable #1 The Ten Virgins Mt 25:1-13.)

Footnotes

1

The first verse of this section does not say the owner of the estate is on a trip, but it is implied there and confirmed here in verse 46. This newly-named supervisor is not over the family members that were left behind, but he is responsible for seeing that they have food along with all the servants. However, he has authority over the business affairs of the owner in his absence, at least the ones located on the homestead.

2

In verse 45 we got the impression that this servant-turned-supervisor has already been placed over all the business affairs of the owner. However, it only says he was appointed “over his household.” I take this to mean that he was placed in a position of authority to run things located at the family homestead, but this owner may have business ventures located elsewhere and if the servant proves he is a trustworthy supervisor, the owner may give him control of those other business ventures as well.

3

The text only says, “to eat and drink,” it does not say anything about throwing parties. However, it is implied that this would take place over and over again, and it involved food not just alcohol. Therefore, as shown in the paraphrase, I believe parties were implied and that this fictitious character would use his boss’s supplies for his lavish parties because that is the only way he would have access to the types and quantities of food implied in the statement. The supervisor of an estate was not paid enough in those days to throw big parties using his own money.

Usually such trips were taken only by the father, not the entire family. Thus the family would have been present and seen what was going on, but they had no way to contact the father while he was away and no authority to stop the supervisor from doing what he was doing. They simply had to wait for the return of the father.

4: "sharp scourge"

The Greek word used here means “to cut or to cut in two.” When we read about something being “cut in two” we get an image in our minds of something being divided into two totally different sections. The word can mean that, but it also can mean something else. It came to be used of being whipped with a scourge because it would cut open the skin, not just cause bruises and not just make scratches that might bleed a little. The cuts it caused were deep enough to lay open the flesh on two sides of a gaping would, thus it merited the use of this word “to cut in two.” We could say it was the skin that was cut in two, not the entire person. As it is used here it is a picture of intense pain and suffering, not a picture of instant death.

5

Their word for hypocrite was the same word used of an actor, someone who is pretending to be someone he is not. This word was chosen here because this servant acted one way in from of his boss in order to gain the supervisor’s position, but he showed his true colors when the boss was away for a long time.