Ready for What? The Coming of the Kingdom Text: Luke 12:35-48
Introduction: Eschatology Matters
We live in an age that is allergic to eschatology. By that I mean the doctrine of last things. For many modern Christians, the Lord's return is treated like a distant, abstract concept, something to be affirmed in the creed but which has very little bearing on how we live our lives Monday through Saturday. It's a doctrine for hymn writers and chart-makers, but not for husbands, plumbers, or politicians. This is a grave error. What you believe about the end of the story determines how you live in the middle of it. Your eschatology is your engine, not your caboose.
The modern church is largely paralyzed by a pessimistic eschatology. Whether it's the dispensationalists waiting for the rapture bus to airlift them out of a world spiraling down the drain, or the amillennialists who believe the kingdom is a purely spiritual reality with no claim on the public square, the result is the same: a retreat from cultural engagement and a posture of sanctified helplessness. This is not the faith of our fathers. This is not the robust, world-conquering faith of the New Testament.
Jesus, in this passage, is not giving us fuel for speculative timelines. He is not handing out decoder rings for newspaper headlines. He is giving us our marching orders. He is describing the posture of a faithful church in the long centuries between His ascension and His final return. And that posture is not one of fearful retreat, but of active, watchful, and productive labor. It is a posture of readiness. But readiness for what? Not just readiness to escape, but readiness to receive the Master, to give an account of our stewardship, and to inherit the world.
This passage is intensely practical. It is about how you manage your time, your resources, your household, and your responsibilities right now, in the light of His certain, yet unscheduled, return. It dismantles the false dichotomy between the "sacred" and the "secular." All of life is to be lived with girded loins and burning lamps, because all of life is lived before the face of the Master who is coming back to inspect the work.
The Text
"GIRD UP YOUR LOINS, and keep your lamps lit. And be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find awake when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.” Now Peter said, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations 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 slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many beatings, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a beating, will receive but a few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
(Luke 12:35-48 LSB)
The Posture of Readiness (vv. 35-38)
Jesus begins with two commands that define the Christian life.
"GIRD UP YOUR LOINS, and keep your lamps lit." (Luke 12:35)
In that culture, men wore long, flowing robes. To "gird your loins" meant to tuck your robe into your belt so you could work, run, or fight without tripping over your own garments. It is a command to be prepared for action. This is not a call to sit in a lotus position on a mountaintop, contemplating the infinite. It is a call to roll up your sleeves and get to work. The Christian life is a life of diligent, productive labor. We are to be unencumbered by the lazy habits and worldly entanglements that would hinder our service.
The second command is to "keep your lamps lit." This speaks of spiritual vigilance and testimony. A lamp does no good if it has no oil or if the flame has gone out. We are to be spiritually alert, filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit, and shining as lights in a dark world. This is not a passive state. Lamps must be trimmed and refilled. Our spiritual readiness requires constant maintenance through prayer, the Word, and fellowship.
The parable illustrates this posture. We are to be like servants waiting for their master's return from a wedding feast. Notice, the master is at a feast. He is celebrating. Our Lord's absence is not a tragedy; He is enthroned in glory, celebrating His victory. We are the ones on duty, and our job is to be ready to open the door "immediately" when he knocks. There is no fumbling for the keys, no stumbling out of a drunken stupor. Just immediate, joyful readiness.
And here we find one of the most astonishing verses in all of Scripture:
"Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find awake when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them." (Luke 12:37)
This is a stunning reversal of roles. The master comes home, finds his servants faithful, and then he serves them. This is the gospel in miniature. Our Lord Jesus, the Master of all, girded himself with a towel and washed the disciples' feet. He came not to be served, but to serve. The ultimate reward for our faithful service is not a paycheck, but a deeper, more intimate fellowship with the Master who delights in serving His people. This is the joy set before us. The blessing is promised whether He comes in the "second watch, or even in the third," which were the dead of night. Our faithfulness is not dependent on the hour, but on the certainty of His coming.
The Unexpected Hour (vv. 39-40)
Jesus then shifts the metaphor to drive home the point of unpredictability.
"But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect." (Luke 12:39-40 LSB)
The point of the "thief in the night" analogy is not that Jesus is a criminal. The point is the element of surprise. A thief does not send a calendar invitation. He comes when you least expect it. This is a direct refutation of all the date-setters and prophetic speculators. If you think you have His return figured out on your chart, you have missed the entire point of the parable. The command is not to "figure it out," but to "be ready."
This "coming of the Son of Man" has multiple applications in Scripture. It certainly refers to His final, bodily return at the end of history. But it also refers to His coming in judgment at various points in history. For the disciples hearing this, the most immediate "coming" was the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, a cataclysmic judgment that vindicated Jesus as the true Son of Man, coming on the clouds of judgment just as He predicted. The principle holds for every generation. Christ comes to nations in judgment, to churches in discipline, and to individuals at death. We are to live in a state of constant readiness for any and all of these comings, because we do not know the hour.
Two Kinds of Stewards (vv. 41-48)
Peter, ever the pragmatist, asks for clarification. Is this for the apostles only, or for everyone? Jesus answers with another parable, this time about two kinds of stewards, which applies to church leaders in particular, but to all Christians by extension.
"Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes." (Luke 12:42-43 LSB)
The faithful steward is defined by his work. He is not idle. His job is to care for the master's household, specifically to feed the other servants. This is the primary task of a pastor or elder: to feed the flock of God with the pure meat of the Word. He is to give them their "rations at the proper time." This means sound doctrine, timely application, and practical wisdom. The faithful steward is found "so doing." His blessing comes in the midst of his work. The reward for faithfulness in a little is responsibility over much: "he will put him in charge of all his possessions." This is the logic of the kingdom. God gives more authority to those who have faithfully handled what He has already given them.
But then there is the wicked steward. His downfall begins with a faulty eschatology.
"But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk..." (Luke 12:45 LSB)
Notice the chain of events. First comes the thought: "My master will be a long time in coming." He presumes upon the master's delay. This is not the hopeful longing of the faithful servant, but the cynical excuse of the wicked one. Once accountability is pushed into the distant future, tyranny and debauchery follow. He stops feeding the sheep and starts beating them. He abuses his authority. And he stops serving the household and starts serving his own appetites, eating and drinking and getting drunk. This is a picture of corrupt leadership in any era. When pastors stop believing in the imminent return of Christ and the reality of their own accounting, they begin to abuse the flock and indulge the flesh.
The judgment on this servant is severe and sudden. The master comes when he is not expected, and the punishment is twofold. He will "cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers." This is not talking about a believer losing his salvation. This is a steward who was never a true believer in the first place. His actions revealed his unbelieving heart. He is a tare among the wheat, and at the judgment, he will be bundled with the rest of the tares.
Degrees of Judgment (vv. 47-48)
Jesus concludes with a crucial principle of divine justice.
"And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many beatings, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a beating, will receive but a few." (Luke 12:47-48 LSB)
This teaches us that there are degrees of punishment in hell. Judgment is not a one-size-fits-all affair. God is perfectly just, which means the punishment will perfectly fit the crime. The servant who knew his master's will and flagrantly disobeyed will receive a greater punishment than the one who sinned in relative ignorance. This is a terrifying thought for those who have grown up in the church, who have sat under faithful preaching, who know the Bible inside and out, and yet do not obey it. To whom much is given, much is required.
Light rejected brings the severest judgment. This is why the judgment on the scribes and Pharisees, and on the cities of Capernaum and Chorazin, was to be more severe than the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom never had Jesus walk its streets. Capernaum did, and rejected Him. The principle is clear: greater privilege brings greater responsibility, and greater responsibility, if abdicated, brings greater condemnation.
Conclusion: A Postmillennial Readiness
So what does this readiness look like for us? It is not a frantic, suitcase-packed-by-the-door kind of waiting. It is the steady, diligent, and optimistic faithfulness of a steward who knows his master is returning to a world that is being progressively brought under his dominion. Our eschatology should make us the most practical and productive people on the planet.
We gird our loins by engaging in the cultural mandate, by building faithful Christian households, churches, schools, and businesses. We are taking dominion in our assigned posts. We keep our lamps lit by holding fast to the truth of the gospel, refusing to compromise with the spirit of the age, and shining the light of God's law and grace into every dark corner of our society.
We are the stewards of the Master's household. He has gone to the wedding feast, having secured His bride, the Church. He has entrusted us with His possessions, His servants, and His gospel. He expects a return on His investment. He expects us to be found "so doing" when He comes, faithfully feeding the flock, wisely managing His resources, and extending the borders of His kingdom.
The delay of His coming is not an excuse for sloth and indulgence. It is the opportunity for faithfulness. It is the time God has given us to work, to build, to plant, to teach, and to disciple the nations. And when He returns, whether in the second watch or the third, whether in judgment on our nation or in the final consummation, may He find us with our loins girded, our lamps lit, and faithfully at our posts. For to that servant, the Master will not bring a whip, but a towel. He will not bring condemnation, but the unimaginable honor of being served by the King of kings.