Ready for What? The Present Demands of a Future Coming Text: Matthew 24:42-51
Introduction: Eschatology for the Kitchen
We live in an age that is obsessed with the future, but in all the wrong ways. When it comes to the end times, many Christians have their heads stuck in the clouds of speculation, trying to decode newspaper headlines with a chart in one hand and a copy of Revelation in the other. They are looking for a helicopter escape from history, a rapture that will pull them out before the final exam. But Jesus, in this great Olivet Discourse, is not giving us a bus schedule for the apocalypse. He is giving us marching orders. He is telling us how to live right now, in the thick of it.
The Lord has just finished describing the cataclysmic end of an entire world, the end of the Judaic age, which would culminate in the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. He told that first-century generation that all these things, the tribulation, the abomination of desolation, would happen before they passed away. And it did. But Jesus, being the Lord of all history, telescopes His meaning. The judgment on Jerusalem is a pattern, a type, of the final judgment. The "coming" of the Son of Man in judgment against that rebellious city is a foreshadowing of His final coming in glory. And the disciples' response to both should be the same. The principles of readiness are trans-historical.
So this passage is not about building a bunker and stocking it with canned goods. It is about building a life. It is eschatology for the kitchen, for the workshop, for the nursery. The question Jesus poses is not, "Can you predict the day of my return?" but rather, "Will I find you faithful when I show up?" His coming is certain, but the timing is not our business. Our business is our business. It is the work He has assigned us. And so the command to "stay awake" is not a command to be anxious, but a command to be diligent. It is a call to robust, wide-awake faithfulness in the here and now.
The Text
Therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(Matthew 24:42-51 LSB)
The Thief You Should Have Expected (vv. 42-44)
Jesus begins with a direct command, followed by a common-sense illustration.
"Therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." (Matthew 24:42-44)
The command is "stay awake." This is a call to spiritual alertness, to vigilance. It is the opposite of spiritual stupor, of being lulled to sleep by the world's music. The reason for this alertness is simple: you do not know the day. God has deliberately concealed the timing of Christ's return from us. This is not a flaw in the plan; it is a central feature of it. It is a mercy. If we knew the date, our fallen hearts would procrastinate. We would live like fools until the day before, and then try to cram for the final. But God wants faithfulness for the whole semester, not just a frantic, last-minute study session.
The illustration of the thief is potent. A thief comes unexpectedly. His whole strategy depends on surprise. Now, for the unbelieving world, Christ's return will be a terrifying violation. He will come as a thief to plunder the house of the strong man, which He has been doing since the resurrection. But for the believer, the image has a different edge. We are the watchmen of the house. We know a thief is prowling. We have been warned. The master of the house in the parable is negligent precisely because he is not watching. If he knew the time, he would watch. But our situation is different. We do not know the time, and therefore we must watch always.
Notice the logic: "For this reason you also must be ready." What reason? The reason of uncertainty. The fact that you do not know when means you must be ready now. Readiness is not a state of frantic, skyward gazing. It is a state of settled, obedient diligence. It is the soldier whose rifle is clean, whose boots are polished, and who is at his post. He is not staring at the general's tent, waiting for the trumpet. He is doing what he was assigned to do. The surprise of the Lord's coming is a terror to the unprepared, but it is the vindication of the faithful.
Two Slaves, Two Hearts, Two Destinies (vv. 45-47)
Jesus now fleshes out what this readiness looks like with a short parable. He contrasts two kinds of servants, who are distinguished not by their profession of loyalty, but by their practice.
"Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions." (Matthew 24:45-47 LSB)
Here is the portrait of the ready Christian. He is described as "faithful and prudent." Faithful means he is trustworthy; he does what he said he would do. Prudent means he is wise, sensible; he understands the master's will and how to carry it out effectively. He is not just well-intentioned; he is competent.
And what is his task? It is utterly mundane. He is to "give them their food at the proper time." He is a steward over the master's household. His job is to care for the other servants. This is a direct charge to the apostles and, by extension, to all pastors and elders who are to feed the flock of God. But the principle applies to every believer. We have all been given a household to manage, a sphere of responsibility. For a father, it is his family. For a mother, her home. For an employee, his job. For a citizen, his community. Our assigned task is to faithfully dispense the "food," the resources, the gifts, the responsibilities God has given us, for the good of others.
The blessing comes not from doing something spectacular, but from being found "so doing." The blessing is attached to the plodding, the daily grind of faithfulness. The master returns and finds the pantry stocked, the servants fed, the house in order. And the reward is not retirement. The reward for faithfulness in a small thing is responsibility over a greater thing. "He will put him in charge of all his possessions." This is the logic of the kingdom. God is not looking for flashes in the pan. He is looking for stewards who can be trusted with more. Faithfulness is the entrance exam for eternal glory and responsibility.
The Rot of Unbelief (vv. 48-51)
The contrast could not be more stark. The second slave is not defined by outward rebellion at first, but by a secret calculation of the heart.
"But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 24:48-51 LSB)
The root of this slave's wickedness is a theological error that he whispers "in his heart." He says, 'My master is not coming for a long time.' This is practical deism. He still calls him "master," but he has pushed him over the horizon of his daily life. The delay of the Parousia becomes an excuse for present disobedience. Because judgment is not swift, he concludes it is not certain. This is the seed of all apostasy.
And what is the fruit of this rotten root? First, tyranny. He "begins to beat his fellow slaves." When accountability to God is removed, men become monsters to one another. He uses his delegated authority not to serve, but to dominate. Second, debauchery. He begins to "eat and drink with drunkards." He gives himself over to worldly indulgence. His life is no longer characterized by sober-minded service, but by reckless self-gratification.
The judgment is sudden, severe, and final. The master comes at a time the slave does not expect, proving the slave's core assumption to be dead wrong. The punishment is terrifying. To be "cut in pieces" is a description of the severest possible judgment. He is assigned a place with the "hypocrites." This is crucial. This slave was in the household. He looked like a servant. He talked like a servant. But his heart was elsewhere. He was a pretender, an actor, and he is sent to the place prepared for all such, the outer darkness. And there, we find the awful refrain of final judgment: "weeping and gnashing of teeth." This is the sound of eternal, unmitigated remorse and impotent rage against God.
Conclusion: Your Master is Coming
So the application comes to us with the force of a thunderclap. This is not a story about someone else. This is a parable about you. You are one of these two slaves. There is no third option. You are either living in light of the Master's certain return, or you are living as though He has forgotten His password and cannot get back in.
To be watchful is not to be idle. It is to be about your assigned business with all your might. It is to change the diapers, preach the sermon, balance the budget, love your wife, and disciple your children as though the Lord might return before you are finished. The work itself is your watchfulness. Your faithfulness in your station is your readiness.
The evil slave's great sin was that he lived for the moment. The faithful slave's great wisdom was that he lived for the moment, the moment of his master's return. He ordered his entire life around that future certainty. And so must we.
Do you find yourself growing lazy? Do you find yourself being harsh with those under your care? Do you find yourself becoming a little too comfortable with the world and its pleasures? Then you must hear the warning. You are saying in your heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time.' You must repent of that lie. Your Master is coming. He is coming on a day you do not expect. For those who are found faithful, that day will be the great promotion. For those who are found wanting, it will be the great and terrible surprise. Therefore, stay awake.