This week in our series in Luke, we are reflecting on Luke 12:35-57. Today we see how we are to be faithful whilst waiting for Jesus to come.
‘Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?” The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.”’ (Luke 12:41-46)
Lesson: Each of us is to be a ‘faithful and wise manager’ in the ways that Jesus has called us to serve Him.
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I’m sure that we’ve all experienced people who do a good job and those who cannot be trusted. Some people are always late; they take days off pretending to be sick; they do the bear minimum; they spend their time distracted by their phone rather than working hard… Likewise, Christians can be more or less attentive and active in serving Jesus. In today’s reading, we see that Jesus uses the analogy of a manager to teach us about how we are to wait for His return.
The faithful and wise manager
Firstly, Jesus uses the example of a ‘faithful and wise manager’ to teach us about how we are to wait for His coming:
i. We are to be ‘faithful’(Pistos), which means to be trustworthy, reliable, believing and true hearted. A faithful Christian is one who believes in Christ and lives what they believe - the walk their talk!
ii. We are to be ‘wise’ (Phronimos), which means to be thoughtful, have character and employ right knowledge. A Christian is to seek to do the right things in the right way, which is the essence of wisdom.
ii. We are liked to a ‘manager’ (Oikonomos). This is about being stewards in a household. Those serving the will of the head of the house.
The unfaithful manager
Alternative to this noble picture of the faithful and wise manager, we are given the description of the unfaithful manager. This person get’s tired of waiting for Christ. This person abuses their position and uses people. This person, like the description of the rich fool earlier in the chapter, uses His master's resources for his own selfish ambitions.
Jesus’ judgement
Again, Jesus teaches us that the faithful will be rewarded whilst the unfaithful will be judged. As we see, the unfaithful manager is not ready for his masters return and, likewise, the unfaithful Christian is not ready for Jesus’ coming. They are not, as we saw yesterday, dressed and with lamps burning. Their terrible end is described as: ‘“He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.”’ This is teaching us that, in many cases, those who call themselves Christians reveal themselves to be false believers by their lack of devotion to The Lord. True faith in Christ will always spill over into how we live!
Response
Each of us is to be a ‘faithful and wise manager’ in the ways that Jesus has called us to serve Him. Regardless of the past, today is the day to recommit yourself to faithfulness, to wisdom and to service. Let’s ‘Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…’ (Hebrews 12:1-2)
COMMUNITY GROUP NOTES AND STUDY
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Our message on Sunday was entitled, Living in light of Jesus love and His return. In this section, we see how Jesus’ love for us caused Him to suffer ‘be baptised’ to save us; We are also challenged to respond and ask if our love for Christ leads to costly loyalty whilst we with for His coming?
Please read Luke 12:35-57, and discuss:
Note - We only covered verses 49-53 on Sunday, so do use the devotionals which will help us to reflect on the rest of the section.
What would you say is the main message and application of Luke 12:35-57?
Did God speak to you about anything specifically from Sunday’s message?
Read 12:35-48: How does Jesus want us to live in the light of His coming?
Read 12:49-53:
What can be the cost of living for Christ and are we prepared for this?
What does it mean for Jesus to be ‘baptised’ for us?
SIV - How does our preparedness to suffer make us more effective in helping to bring people to Jesus?
SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and inVited’ recently?
SIV - Spend some time together talking and praying about who and how you are seeking to bring your community to Jesus.
Let’s pray together that, this week, we will have opportunities to SIV; and pray for anything else that's come out of our time in God’s Word.
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