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Turn with me in your Bibles to 
Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24. Our focus 
this morning is on verses 45 to 51, the last part of Matthew 
24. But I'll begin reading in verse 
36. Matthew 24, beginning in verse 
36, but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels 
of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, 
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the 
days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying 
and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the 
ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all 
away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two 
men will be in the field. One will be taken and the other 
left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken 
and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not 
know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master 
of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would 
have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 
Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming 
at an hour you do not expect. Who then is a faithful and wise 
servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to 
give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom 
his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say 
to you, that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But 
if that evil servant says in his heart, my master is delaying 
his coming and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat 
and drink with the drunkards, 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 and will cut him in two and appoint him 
his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing 
of teeth. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father 
in heaven, we thank you for the written word of the living God. 
We thank you that you've not left us in the darkness of this 
world filled with lies and deceit and our own wretched hearts that 
you have granted us the holy scriptures and we acknowledge 
them to be God-breathed We acknowledge their profitability in doctrine, 
reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, and we pray 
that now the Holy Spirit would attend as we look to Scripture, 
that He would take these things and apply them to our hearts, 
that as God's people we would be watchful, that we would be 
faithful. For those who are outside of 
Christ, we pray that today would be the day of salvation, for 
certainly as we understand our Lord's return, as we understand 
what our Lord teaches about those who are lost when He does come 
again in glory. God, I pray that Your Holy Spirit 
would awaken sinners, cause them to see their place before a holy 
God, and cause them to see the Lord Jesus Christ as that one 
who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000, that one 
who alone is able to save to the uttermost all who draw near 
to God through Him. So Lord, please fill us with 
Your Spirit, and even now we pray that You would forgive us 
for our sins and for our transgressions. Cleanse us in the blood of the 
Lamb, and we pray in His most blessed name. Amen. Well, this 
particular section, chapter 24, 36 to the end of chapter 25, 
is basically practical application. They are exhortations based on 
the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the idea 
is Christ is coming, how then ought we to live? Christ is coming, 
how ought we to conduct ourselves? Christ is coming, what is therefore 
imperative for the people of God? And that's what is explained 
in this portion of the discourse. Now the overarching concern is 
found here in chapter 24, verses 36 to 44. Jesus says to be watchful. That's the imperative. That's 
what's highlighted. Note specifically His statement 
in verses 42 and 44. Watch therefore, verse 42, for 
you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. And then again 
in verse 44, therefore you also be ready for the Son of Man is 
coming at an hour you do not expect. Unfortunately, at times, 
the people of God have applied this idea of watchfulness in 
ways never intended by our Lord. Watchfulness does not mean we 
sell everything, we shave our heads, and we sit out in the 
middle of a field and look toward the sky. That's not watchfulness. The rest of the section describes 
what watchfulness looks like. Specifically, here in the passage 
that we're going to consider this morning, watchfulness means 
faithfulness, verses 45 to 51. Watchfulness obviously involves 
preparedness, 25, 1 to 13. Watchfulness also involves diligence. 25, 14 to 30, and watchfulness 
is a recognition of our accountability before God. And that's where 
we finish the Olivet Discourse before the judgment throne of 
Christ Himself. So faithfulness is what we see 
here as an expression of watchfulness in light of the coming of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. So let's look at verses 45 to 
51. two considerations based on the two persons in the text. 
There is, first of all, a faithful servant. He is described in verses 
45 to 47. And then there is a wicked servant 
described in verses 48 to 51. Now, if you look at the parallel 
in Luke's gospel, there's only one servant, and he's viewed 
from two different angles. That might be the case here. 
But we're going to just treat it as two particular servants, 
two particular men, a faithful man and a wicked man. But note 
in the first place the question Christ asks in verse 45. He does this in other parables 
as well. It is common for our Lord to 
try and arrest the attention, to grab the attention of His 
hearers, and He does so at times with rhetorical question. Notice 
in verse 45, who then is a faithful and wise servant? And this would 
be designed to promote investigation. The disciples are sitting there 
with Christ on Mount Olivet, and they have heard Him in great 
detail describe the judgment of God Most High. And now as 
Christ comes to apply this particular message to them, He wants them 
to internalize it. He wants them to ponder it, and 
I think that this is a good call for all of us We need to ponder 
what our Lord teaches concerning His coming. Are we living in 
disregard of that reality? Are we living as practical atheists? Do we conduct ourselves the way 
they did in the days of Noah, wherein they ate, and they drank, 
and they married, and they were given in marriage, and then the 
flood came and took them all? Are we living in such a way that 
we're capitalizing on the ordinary to the exclusion of the eternal? Is it the temporal? Is it the 
timely? Is it the things that are going 
on now that captivates the entirety of our attention? Or do we ask 
questions like Christ sets before us here? Do we ask ourselves, 
am I a faithful servant? Or am I a wicked servant? How 
will it be when Jesus returns again in glory to judge the living 
and the dead? Where am I going to end up? Will 
I be numbered among the sheep? Or will I be numbered among the 
goats? If you haven't given thought to these things, you should. 
If you're a young person here, a child here this morning, and 
you don't ever think beyond your next birthday, I don't want to 
scare you this morning, but I do want to encourage you to think 
beyond your next birthday. Think beyond the next year. Think 
beyond to the reality that the Lord Christ Most High is going 
to come again. And He is going to call all of 
us to give an account before Him. There's a fundamental difference 
between Luke's presentation of this parable and Matthew's. Not 
a difference in terms of it's absolutely different, but there's 
an additional detail that Luke gives us in his description of 
this particular parable, and it's the detail concerning the 
degrees of punishment. The degrees of punishment. That 
servant who knew his master's will and did not do what he was 
supposed to, he will be visited or beaten with more stripes. 
That servant who did not know his master's will will get less 
stripes. Notice he'll still get stripes. 
He will still be punished by the master, but he didn't know 
the master's will, so it will be less. I think that speaks 
peculiarly to the church today. I think that speaks peculiarly 
to young people and children brought up in the church today. 
I think it speaks peculiarly to those adults who come to a 
gospel-preaching church every single Sunday and do not close 
with the Lord Jesus. They hear the gospel proclaimed, 
they hear the truth as it is in Christ, the reality that He 
lived, He died, and He was raised the third day, and all those 
who look to Him in faith will have everlasting life. And they 
reject it, and they resist it, and they continue to live as 
a wicked servant. They continue to live in light 
of the reality that they have devised in their own hearts that 
Christ is not coming back. And this means for those who 
have heard the truth and then rejected and resisted that truth, 
there is severer punishment. There is harsher discipline. 
There is more at stake for you than that poor heathen out in 
the bush that has never heard the gospel. I've always been 
impressed, or not impressed, or very much unimpressed by that 
argument from pagans. You know, you witness, or you 
evangelize, or you tell people about the gospel in the United 
States or in Canada, and invariably they'll say, well, what about 
the heathen in the bush who's never had this presented to him? 
Wouldn't a pagan here like to think about that heathen in the 
bush more than he'd like to think about himself? Perhaps you've 
said that. Well, what about that poor guy 
who's never heard gospel preaching? Let God deal with that poor guy 
and let the church raise up missionaries and send them out to poor guys 
like that. What are you going to do with 
the information you've received? What are you going to do with 
the knowledge of Jesus Christ that you have heard? This is 
a very fitting and appropriate question for all of us. Who then 
is a faithful and wise servant? Are we ready to stand before 
the Lord God Most High when He comes again in glory to judge 
the living and the dead? The question is designed to promote 
investigation. Which one of Jesus' listeners 
will respond rightly to this? And the question is designed 
to promote reflection on Eschatological readiness. Now, don't be scared 
by that word. It just means the end times. 
Eschatology is the doctrine of the end. That's what I just told 
you to do, kids. Think beyond your next birthday. 
Think beyond the next year. Think beyond even college and 
be eschatologically ready. The world is going to end. Jesus 
Christ is going to consummate the age. The Lord Christ Most 
High is going to usher in the eternal state. And this is the 
question that bids our attention, is who then is a faithful and 
wise servant? Am I going to be able to stand 
on that day? Now, the situation, as I said, 
describes two men, two servants. The first reference to the servant, 
verses 45 to 47, indicates faithfulness. The second servant is 48 to 51, 
indicates unfaithfulness, which results in positive wickedness. Now, it is intriguing. There's 
only two categories of people, aren't there? See, we try to 
create a third category. I'm not one of those born-again 
nuts, but I'm not like those people that kill people or commit 
adultery. I'm a pretty decent human being. 
There's no third category for a pretty decent human being. 
You're either in Christ or you're not in Christ. This is Matthew 
12, 30. He who is not with me is against me. There's no third 
position this morning. There's no born again wackos 
and then the really wicked wackos and I just find myself in that 
golden mean and everything is good for guys and girls like, 
no. You're either in Christ or you're not in Christ. You're 
a wise servant, you're an unwise servant. You're a faithful servant, 
you're an unfaithful servant. You're a faithful servant or 
you're a wicked servant. Those are the two options this 
morning. And so Christ's question here has appropriate relevance 
to each and every one in His context and in our context. Who 
then is a faithful and wise servant? Notice the specific target or 
application of this passage. Many of the commentators see 
it primarily with reference to the disciples. In Luke's account, 
it's Peter's question, Lord, do you speak this parable to 
just us or to everybody? And Jesus gives this particular 
parable. So the history of interpretation, 
a lot of guys apply this to teachers in the church. Remember, it was 
the disciples that was Christ's audience or were Christ's audience 
with reference to this Olivet Discourse. And then note the 
specific functions of the wise servant. Verse 45, who then is 
a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over 
his household to give them food in due season. Obvious application 
of the master is Christ, right? The servant here ruling in the 
household would be the elders or the pastors, or in this particular 
context, the apostles of the church. And notice what they're 
particularly charged in doing. Entertaining? No. Being the pep 
rally leader? No. Being the cheerleader? No. It's providing food for the 
household. We understand correctly the nature 
of pastoral ministry. So much of what passes for pastoral 
ministry would be judged rightly as not being pastoral ministry. Preach the word, Paul tells Timothy. Not entertain the people. Preach 
the word, Paul tells Timothy. Not lead pep rallies. Preach 
the word. Be ready in season and out of 
season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. 
You see, with reference to the particular application of this 
part of Jesus' teaching on what watchfulness generally and faithfulness 
looks like specifically, it's probably His disciples. It's 
probably these apostles. It's probably these men who have 
the charge over the house of the living God, and they are 
tasked specifically with indeed feeding the flock of Christ. 
But it's not just limited to that. It's a general application 
to all believers, isn't there? And it's not the case that, you 
know, as long as those pastors are faithful and wise, the rest 
of us can just live like slobs. No, we all need to be faithful 
and wise. We all need to be doing what 
Christ calls us to do. If it's not pastoring or teaching 
in a particular local congregation, it's going to be something, a 
lawful calling placed on us by our God that not only does not 
bring dishonor to Him, but is the vehicle to bring honor to 
Him. There is this crazy idea of the pastoral ministry, teachers 
in the church, they have a real position to glorify God. But 
you know, I'm a plumber, I'm a lawyer, I'm a doctor, and I 
can't do that. Yes, you can. We talked about 
this last week. Do what God called you to do. 
If you're wiping rear ends and changing diapers and making sure 
that your child is comforted in their sickness, that honors 
God. So many times I see Christian 
pastors or teachers get up and browbeat the people of God. You 
need to be a missionary. You need to go pass out tracts. 
You just need to be faithful where God's planted you. Bloom 
where you have been planted. Ordinary, regular, day in, day 
out Christianity is that sanctioned by God. It's not the case that 
you have to sell everything you have and, you know, go live in 
China among the people there. Just be faithful here in Chilliwack 
where God has planted you. But it is intriguing. Notice 
what is going on in this passage. The primary application to teachers, 
but a general application to all believers. Davies and Allison 
say that watching for the Lord entails what? Service to others. Bruner puts it even more sort 
of pithily. Surprisingly, the focus in looking 
for the return is not the sky, it's the table. You've got to 
follow this part of the argument, brethren, because faithfulness 
as a Christian under the general overarching concern of watchfulness 
for the coming of the Son of Man does not mean to cease and 
desist from your regular, normal, ordinary lives. It means to function 
in your regular, normal, ordinary lives with an eye on Christ and 
an eye on people serving, caring, loving, helping, and being, overall, 
faithful. There's no magic sort of answer. 
What do I do until the Lord Jesus returns? If you're a carpenter, 
go pound nails! If you're a plumber, go change 
toilets. If you're a mother, go wipe noses. If you're a child, study your 
ABCs. What do I do in light of the 
coming of the Lord Jesus? You are faithful in the regular 
and the ordinary and the... Every day. That's the point of 
the passage at hand. Note, verses 46 and 47 pronounce 
a beatitude. We all know what a beatitude 
is. It's when Jesus says, blessed are you. Matthew chapter 5 contains 
several beatitudes. Well, here's a beatitude pronounced 
on the faithful servant who does what he's supposed to do. Notice 
in verse 46. Blessed is that servant whom is master when he 
comes. Isn't this the specific concern of the entire context? 
This is, let me just answer that, it is the specific concern of 
the entire contact. It's his coming, right? What 
promotes watchfulness? I know he's coming again. I know 
he's going to return. I know that I will be accountable 
for what I do or don't do in this life. It is His coming that 
marks the separation of the faithful and the unfaithful in this particular 
context. But the specific concern in the 
entirety is the master will come. The master comes, he examines 
this particular servant, and therefore the particular servant 
must be doing what he's supposed to be doing. And note the reason 
for the beatitude, blessed is that servant whom his master 
when he comes will find so doing. Isn't that beautiful? You've 
probably seen this in Christianity today. You have probably seen 
this in the church today, but there's something of a celebrity 
culture. You know, if you have a conference 
and Joe Blow, that nobody's ever heard of, is the guest speaker, 
you know, maybe 30 people will show up. You get John Piper, 
you get R.C. Sproul, you get Joel Beakey, 
you get one of these guys, and this is no, I'm not, you know, 
dissing these men for, you know, for being conference speakers, 
but, you know, 400, 500 people come. How do you explain that? 
Can I take a stab at it? We, as the people of God, are 
given to celebrity. I'm not gonna get out of bed 
for Joe Blow, who nobody's ever heard of, but if R.C. Sproul 
were to come, wow, wow, that's really good. You see what Jesus 
is saying in this particular passage, and I find this very 
helpful and very encouraging, is it's not yours to be famous, 
it's yours to be faithful. It's not yours to be super, It's 
yours to be consistent. It's not yours to, you know, 
shatter the world, but just to get out of bed and live your 
life under the eye of God for His glory. Blessed is that servant 
whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. The master 
tells the servant, govern the house and feed the people properly. Note that the master leaves, 
he departs, the whole context again is that he's going to return 
in glory. Now the servant has one of two 
choices. He can sit by the window and 
wait for the master's return. Those of you who have dogs know 
something like that. You leave for a moment and the 
dog is there waiting by the door. They can't fathom that you would 
have abandoned them for those hours or whatever it was. They're 
just waiting. They're watching. That's not 
the kind of waiting and watching that Jesus calls the church to. 
This watchfulness is marked by faithfulness. Do what you're 
supposed to do. If you have been told to govern 
and to feed, govern and feed. If you have been told to plumb, 
plumb. If you have been told to mother, 
mother. If you have been told to do whatever 
it is that is lawful, It's not saying go out and be a prostitute 
for the glory of God. That's unlawful. But whatever 
God calls us to that's lawful, that's what we're supposed to 
be doing when He comes again in glory. Isn't that radical? What do you want to be doing 
when Jesus returns? Well, I hope I'm in church. I'll get extra 
points for that. I really hope we're singing out 
of the psalter because that must impress God. I can't be in class 
doing math or going over whatever it is I go over in science. Why not? That honors God. The earth is the Lord's and the 
fullness thereof. We need a proper understanding 
of vocation. Yes, there's a specific application 
to the disciples of Christ in the way that they govern the 
church of God and the way that they feed the church of God, 
but the general application is bloom where God has planted you. 
If you can do more, praise God, do more. But don't feel guilt-manipulated 
to go out and be a missionary to wherever. Maybe God hasn't 
called you to be a missionary to wherever. There's a story 
where a woman came up to D.L. Moody, and she said, Mr. Moody, 
I want to preach the gospel. He says, do you have children 
at home? She said, yes. He said, then go and preach the 
gospel there. We don't think like that. Do 
we? Oh no, I've got to have some 
other ministry. I've got to have some higher calling. What more 
higher calling, ladies, than to rear these children unto God? 
It's the world that mocks, it's the world that lies, it's the 
world that's got some sort of fascination with aggression toward 
the family. But God sees the high calling 
of motherhood. Every nose you wipe, every diaper 
you change redounds to the glory and praise of God. You see, I 
think if we understand these parables in light of the coming 
of the Lord, and what watchfulness looks like as an overarching 
principle, and then the particulars in terms of faithfulness, then 
go out and thrive. Do what you're supposed to do, 
and do it for the glory of God. If you're a carpenter, and you're 
pounding nails into the wall, what better time for Jesus to 
return? What better time than when you're 
doing what the Lord God made you to do and called you to do? 
Don't have this idea that, you know, in order to really please 
Jesus, I've got to be in the ministry. No. Not everybody in 
the ministry necessarily pleases Jesus, so don't get that idea. 
The analogy with Noah in verses 37 and 38 showed obsession with 
the ordinary to the neglect of God's judgment. Remember that 
analogy with the days of Noah? They ate, they drank, they married, 
they were given in marriage, and then the judgment came. The 
flood overtook them. Why? Because they were engaged 
in the ordinary to the neglect of the eternal. But the strategy 
of Christian faithfulness, while we are watching for the Lord's 
return, is commitment to the ordinary with a view to the coming 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is doing your normal tasks 
with a view and an earnest expectation concerning the return of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what makes the difference. 
R.T. France explains it well. The 
readiness of the good slave consists not in sitting by the window 
watching for his master, but in getting on with the job he 
has been given. In other words, do what you're 
supposed to do. How do I prepare for the coming 
of Jesus? Do what you're supposed to do. Now, if you're not a believer, 
how do I prepare for the coming of the Lord Jesus? Believe the 
gospel. Look to Christ. All the faithfulness 
in your plumbing job will not avail you on the day of judgment 
if you are found outside of Christ. See, it's a different set of 
instructions to those who are unbelievers. The preparation 
that is desperately needed by you is to look and live. It's 
to believe on Him. It is to look from yourself to 
the one who lived and died and rose again. so that all those 
who look to him will have everlasting life. But for believers, brethren, 
do what you're supposed to do. Again, sometimes people say, 
well, you know, I'm getting really, you know, it's humdrum, ordinary. 
That's life. What have we bought in terms 
of every day has to be our best life now? I'm just okay with 
not getting run over by a truck some days, you know? I don't 
know that I need my best life now every day. Just don't poke 
me in the eyes with forks, and we'll call it a good day. But 
for whatever reason, and it's filtered even into reformed communities, 
we've got to do more. And brethren, do more. If you're 
a lazy, sloppy Christian who never testifies concerning the 
glory of Christ, then by all means, do more. But if you're 
in a particular vocation that God has specially fit you for 
and equipped you for, don't feel that in order to really serve 
Jesus, you need to quit that vocation, go to seminary, and 
go to China as a missionary. I'm not saying God never does 
that, but be careful that you don't associate that with somehow 
pleasing to the Lord, but that gift or that vocation or that 
ability that you possess, you know, that's just sort of second 
tier. It's an amazing thing when those 
men are chosen to build the tabernacle, Betzalel and Aholiab. It says 
they are filled with the Spirit. They're artisans working on the 
tabernacle construction, and they're filled with the Spirit. 
Have you ever pondered that? Have you ever considered the 
fact that you have a gift and an ability that not everybody 
does? Where does that come from? Well, 
you know, I was hatched under a rock. I don't know. God is 
the one who gives these things to people, right? And yet in the church, we've 
imbibed this idea that if you're not a pastor, you're not an elder, 
you're not a missionary, you're not, you know what, brethren? 
That is faulty thinking. There is blessing in the ordinary, 
in the routine. Obedience to God is the way of 
Christian faithfulness. And notice, with reference to 
the beatitude, the promise connected to it, verse 47. Assuredly, I 
say to you, that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 
Now, this foreshadows what's going to come up later in chapter 
25, verses 14 to 30, especially verses 21 to 23. That old principle, 
you know, spoken in Luke 16. He was faithful in little, is 
faithful in much, right? I mean, we shouldn't have a problem 
with that principle. If your kids can't keep their rooms 
clean, you're probably not going to hand them the keys to the 
car. Now, some of you young people 
are saying, that's precisely what happens. It shouldn't. Parents go home and change everything 
today. You don't clean your room. You're 
not faithful and little. You're not going to use my, you 
know, however many thousand dollar car. It's a very basic and fundamental 
principle. But it is intriguing with reference 
to this faithful servant. Do you know what we're craving 
in North America as reward? Is rest. We work from Monday 
to Friday with a weekend in mind because we get to cease, we get 
to stop, we get to just veg out. Now, I'm not here to condemn 
rest. I'm not here to condemn the reality 
that sometimes we just need to tune out, turn off, and just 
forget about things for a day or two. But brethren, it is intriguing 
that what this faithful servant gets is not more rest, but greater 
responsibility. Right? He's managed the household 
well. Everybody under his charge has 
eaten. Therefore, he can manage everything 
that I possess. You see, he who is faithful in 
little is faithful in much. Those who diligently take the 
master's talents and go out and trade and barter and traffic 
with them are pleasing to the master. And as a result, the 
master rewards them. The master gives them more. There 
is increase. You see, God is not a socialist. God is not a communist. God gives 
to those who labor faithfully, consistent with their labors. It's a beautiful thing, isn't 
it? I think that principle's there, 
and I don't go home and blog and say, we heard a sermon today 
on anti-communism or socialism. I'm not suggesting that's the 
point of the text. But the servant who did what 
he was supposed to do was given greater responsibility. It's 
a beautiful thing, isn't it? It's a glorious thing. There's 
incentive in the kingdom of God. It's not incentive in the sense 
that if I do these things, God will save me. No, God has saved 
me. I want to do these things for 
His glory, and because He's good, kind, and merciful, He at times 
blesses His people with even greater responsibility. It's 
an amazing thing. Now, note secondly, the wicked 
servant, verses 48 to 51. Everything we just said about 
the faithful servant, we're going to reverse it. Note the issue. Note the issue in verse 48, but 
if that evil servant says in his heart, my master is delaying 
his coming. You see, here's the rab, again 
the context, the coming of Christ, the coming of the Son of Man. 
That's what's conspicuous. You cannot forget we're in the 
Olivet Discourse. That's what conditions all of 
these particular exhortations or applications. It's the reality 
that Christ is coming. So the faithful servant has an 
expectation, he has a watchfulness, and it issues forth in faithfulness. This evil servant, who's also 
an unwise servant, this man says in his heart, the master's going 
to delay his coming. Probably it translates into, 
the master's not going to come. That's sort of the vibe you get 
in that 2 Peter 3, 3-7 context, where Peter speaks of those scoffers 
who say, where is the promise of his coming? We've been hearing 
this over and over again by every generation of God's people, that 
the Lord is coming. The Lord is coming. The Lord 
is coming. And these scoffers interpret this absence or this 
delay or the lack of application of this particular promise as 
meaning that He's not going to come. And that's precisely what 
this man does. And I love the language that 
Jesus employs here. It says, "...Assuredly, I say 
to you..." I'm sorry, verse 48, "...but if that evil servant 
says in his heart..." Do you know that some of the worst problems 
you have is as a result of you saying in your heart? Some of 
the worst problems we face as human beings is because we talk 
to ourselves, and we start to reason with ourselves, and we 
start to think unbiblically, and we start to look out among 
us and we say, well, he hasn't come back yet, I have no indication 
he's going to come back tomorrow, so therefore, I have no indication 
he's going to come back in the future, so why don't I just live 
like a wretch? It really is an amazing way of 
thinking, isn't it? I haven't seen him come, I don't 
really believe he's going to come, so I'm going to live in 
light of him not coming. That is wish fulfillment, isn't 
it? That's just wishing something was true and then aligning your 
life with that. You know, we hear it all the 
time. You Christians are fools. You Christians are pie in the 
sky. You Christians don't have any 
sort of objective data for your religion to validate it and whatnot. Sometimes they say you're like 
the ostrich. You know, an ostrich hides from 
people or hides from things. The ostrich puts its head in 
the sand. It really is a brilliant tactic that is so foolish. It's 
truly sophomoric. You know what sophomore means? 
It means wise fool. You look at that ostrich and 
he's a wise fool. I mean, isn't there a certain 
gut level logic to that? Maybe when you were a little 
kid and you were laying in your bed and you heard a sound, you 
pulled the covers over your head. Did we think that the violator 
and the intruder wasn't going to see us when we did that? Now 
kids are going to be scared tonight. Don't be scared at home. But you see that, right? Or when we're trying to be quiet, 
we make our ears so that it reduces the amount we're able to hear. 
No, the point is, they're not supposed to hear us. But he's 
foolish because he plants his head in the sand in total view 
of all of his enemies. So Christians are looked at sort 
of like that. But if you stop and think about 
it, it really is the opposite way around, isn't it? Isn't it 
the worldling who puts his head in the sand? He's trying to hide 
from God. Remember what Adam and Eve did 
when they rejected God and His law and they rebelled against 
God and His word? Where did they go? They ran and 
they hid among the trees. Did they actually think God wouldn't 
find them? The creator of the trees, the 
creator of Adam and Eve, wouldn't have the wherewithal to investigate 
and find them? This is the tactic of the worldling 
with reference to the God of heaven and earth. They hide their 
face in the sand and pretend that he just isn't there. That's this fool. if that evil 
servant says in his heart, my master is delaying his coming. He believes that because there 
is a delay, it most likely ought to be interpreted as a denial 
of the master's coming. The servant, by denying his master's 
coming, now lives consistently with his own understanding. I 
hope you're following this at least apologetically. It's another 
charge made against Christians. You guys reason in a circle. 
Yeah, guilty as charged, but our circle contains the word 
of the living God. You reason in a circle to the 
exclusion of the word of the living God. It's based on what 
you've reasoned in your heart. It's based on the feelings that 
you've had. It's based on your interpretation of reality around 
you. It's based on what you can see, 
taste, feel, and hear. You're really going to hang your 
soul on that? Perhaps some of you are like that. Well, he hasn't 
come back yet. No indication he's coming back 
tomorrow. He may not come back next week. He may therefore never 
be coming again. That's wicked. And that's what 
this man's doing. John Calvin says, it is because 
they trust to a longer delay and thus of their own accord 
involve themselves in darkness. They imagine that the day when 
they must render an account will never come. And under the pretext 
of Christ's absence, they promise themselves that they will remain 
unpunished. Now note what this leads to. A denial of the coming of the 
master leads to a life of wickedness. You want a good explanation of 
why society looks the way society does? I think it's found right 
here. Because when you have a whole 
host of wicked servants that deny the coming of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, all manner of evil flows out. Look at what it says concerning 
this particular fellow. And he begins to beat his fellow 
servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards. You see, 
there's a practical implication with reference to your view of 
the coming of Christ. If you believe he is coming again 
in glory to judge the living and the dead, the hope is, is 
that watchfulness will mark your life. And that watchfulness will 
be expressed in faithfulness to whatever it is the Lord has 
called you. But if you exclude the possibility, or exclude rather 
the reality of his coming again in glory, you're gonna live like 
this. you're gonna live like a wretch. Why do people murder 
babies and abortion? Because they deny God. Why is 
sodomy growing in popularity? Why transgenderism? Why the sorts 
of things that mark our society? Because we have no concept of 
accountability before God. And for whatever reason, the 
church has not pressed this particular claim. It's become all about, 
let's love, let's serve, let's do, and yeah, by all means, let's 
love and serve and do with a conscious expectation of the coming of 
the Son of Man. This man reasons in his heart 
that God, or Christ specifically, is not going to return, therefore 
he beats his fellow servants. Now some have appreciated the 
contextual application. Whose job was it to beat servants? 
It was the master's job. I'm not saying it's okay to beat 
servants. Don't add that to your blog post 
today. We heard about anti-communism, anti-socialism, and it's okay 
to beat your servants. I'm not suggesting that for a 
moment, but if anybody was going to beat a servant, it would be 
the master. But you see, this fellow servant now begins to 
beat his fellow servants. What's happened? The denial of 
the coming of the master leads to a usurpation of the master. This man puts himself in a position 
that God had never called him to. And he gets drunk with the 
drunkards. Now, Jesus was a friend of sinners, 
certainly. He received tax collectors and 
heathens, and he saved them. This being sort of a friend for 
sinners with the purpose of evangelizing, the Bible certainly commends 
But participating with sinners in ungodliness, the Bible forbids. You all get that, right? It's 
not association with sinners in order to see them saved unto 
Jesus Christ, but it's participation with sinners at the rejection 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. So don't interpret this and say, 
well, Jesus said to be a friend of sinners. Maybe he's just becoming 
that. And that's quite popular today. 
Yeah, I'm going to shoot heroin so I can win heroin dealers to 
cry. No, no, don't do that. That's not good. The Bible does 
not commend such a practice. Paul has been abused when he 
said, I have become all things to all men so that I might save 
some. He didn't mean he'd shoot heroin with heroin shooters. 
Why we even have to qualify that in our day is beyond me. You 
ever realize the sorts of things we can't take for granted anymore? Very basic, fundamental, foundational 
truths, like Jesus is going to come again, and we need to live 
in light of that. The reality is, brethren, we 
are to associate with sinners in order to win them unto Jesus 
Christ. We're not to participate with sinners in order to become 
like them. This man's wicked. He begins 
to beat his fellow servants to eat and drink with the drunkards. 
Now notice the reckoning. Notice the reckoning. The master 
comes. 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." Again, this is the point. This is conspicuous 
throughout this section of narrative. Christ is coming. And this man 
reasoned in his heart that the delay meant a denial, or the 
delay translated into a denial of his coming. But the master 
comes when he's not expecting this. Remember the analogy with 
the days of Noah, same sort of thing. They were caught off guard. 
They were caught unawares. They were eating, they were drinking, 
they were marrying, giving in marriage. They didn't know until 
the floodwaters came that it had overtaken them. See, you're 
not gonna have that excuse. You're not going to be able to 
say, I never heard nobody ever explain this. Remember one time 
picking up a hitchhiker and explaining the gospel to this particular 
person, they said, I never heard this. That's the servant who 
didn't know its master's will and therefore it would be beaten 
with fewer stripes. Think about yourself this morning. 
Think about you particularly. You're hearing the gospel. Well, 
what do you mean? What's the gospel? God's holy, 
you're not, and Jesus came and lived and died and rose again 
in order to save sinners. That's the good news. I hope 
everyone here could rehearse it. I hope everyone here could 
explain the active and the passive obedience of our Lord Jesus. 
I hope everybody could explain the imputation of Christ's righteousness 
and the forgiveness of sins. That's what justification entails. It's not a growing thing, it's 
a decisive thing when the Lord God saves a sinner. You see, 
what are you doing with the knowledge? Have you reasoned in your heart 
that he's not coming again? Have you reasoned in your heart 
that he's not coming again so it doesn't matter how I live? 
And if you're a professed believer and you're living inconsistently 
or you're living unwisely, you're just like this foolish servant. 
Practical atheism is governing your life. You understand what 
that means, right? Practical atheism. You're not 
a doctrinal atheist. You still believe that God is. 
You still believe he's three persons, Father, Son, and Holy 
Spirit. But practical atheism is living as if there is no God. 
It's that Psalm 14 sort of orientation. The fool has said in his heart, 
there is no God. Does it surprise us that the 
fool then lives in a particular way? Some of you who have professed 
saving faith in Jesus Christ, if you look more like this wicked 
servant, I would call upon you today to repent. I would call 
upon you to forsake. Wisdom, faithfulness, this is 
an expression of Christian watchfulness in light of the second coming 
of our Lord. This man is marked by an atheistic 
spirit and attitude that he has concocted in the recesses of 
his own depraved heart, and now he's gonna live his life in light 
of that. It's really just terrible what 
he does here. But notice the reckoning. The 
master does come. and the master punishes him. 
You ought to appreciate the contrast. The faithful servant is rewarded. Verse 47, Assuredly I say to 
you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. Well, the 
unfaithful servant is punished. A conspicuous contrast. If you're 
faithful, good things come to you. If you're unfaithful, bad 
things will come to you. And then the Lord Christ specifies 
or highlights the very particular punishment that is in view. Note 
verse 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 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with 
the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing 
of teeth. Now, this is strong language, 
isn't it? You've probably heard the word 
dichotomy before. It means two, right? That's the 
word that's used here. Only it's not talking about how 
many parts are man, two or three. It's not talking about, you know, 
servant-master. The dichotomy here is the punishment 
of this wicked servant. And some try to soften the text 
a little bit. I don't think any of the translations 
that are in use in our church does this, but there are translations 
out there that really can't deal with the concept of Christ cutting 
persons in two, and so they translate it, punish. You know, the idea that Christ 
would ever bring judgment to bear upon wicked people is so 
foreign and so contrary in our day. Again, that's something 
mocked. Oh, you're Jesus, you know, gentle, 
meek, and mild is going to send people to hell. Yeah, precisely. I mentioned on Wednesday night, 
and I don't know if any of you did, I actually have gotten a 
little bit of feedback. Some of y'all did look up Rolf 
Barnard and y'all did complain, or not complain, but confirm 
that the brother is hardcore. And my son texted me and he said, 
Rolf Barnard says the God of the Bible kills people. Why do God's people struggle 
with that? Why have we become a gentler, 
softer, more effeminate version of what the church militant is 
supposed to be? Christ says that when the master 
comes, and he sees this wicked, unwise, unfaithful, ungodly man 
who neglected and rejected the return of the master himself, 
this one who has beaten fellow servants, this one who has gotten 
drunk with the drunkards, Christ says when the master comes, he 
will cut him into two pieces. He will visit judgment upon him 
because you cannot live in such a manner and think that somehow 
everything's going to be okay. Again, it's a concept that has 
been all but stripped from our society. Solomon in the book 
of Ecclesiastes says, because the punishment for a crime is 
not executed speedily, the sons of men are given to all manner 
of evil. This concept of accountability, 
this concept of punishment, this concept of judgment, this concept 
of righteousness and justice. Why is it that the church at 
times are the loudest whiners when it comes to this particular 
thing? Oh no, we don't affirm that Jesus really means cut in 
two. We don't really think that's what it means. He's speaking 
metaphorically, he's speaking hyperbolically. I don't doubt 
he's speaking hyperbolically. I don't doubt that he's trying 
to arrest the consciences and the mindset of those who would 
hear him, but notice how he chooses to do that. They will be cut 
in two pieces. It's truly an amazing statement. 
Notice as well, the unfaithful will be counted among the hypocrites. 
Luke translates it, or in Luke's version of the narrative, it's 
unbelievers. Both things are consistent, both 
things are true, unbelievers and hypocrites. But it does add 
some particular weight that Jesus uses hypocrites here with his 
disciples a chapter away from Matthew 23. So what's he doing 
in Matthew 23? He condemns the religious leaders 
of Israel, and he says, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Over and over again, our Lord 
Jesus Christ called them hypocrites. So what is Jesus suggesting here 
to his disciples? Do not think that showing up 
at a church somehow excludes you from the gross punishment 
of being cut in two pieces or being numbered among the hypocrites. 
In other words, if you sin the way those Jewish leaders sin, 
the same lot will fall on your head. If you are unfaithful, 
if you are unwise, if you are ungodly, if you are unrighteous, 
it will be your lot as well. In fact, France describes it 
this way. If the same term, hypocrites, 
can be used for the unfaithful disciple, as for the failed Jewish 
leadership, the Christian reader is warned that merely belonging 
to the disciple community is not in itself a guarantee of 
ultimate salvation. And as well, the use of hypocrite 
is appropriately fitted for those who would teach or preach in 
the church. Matthew Henry makes the statement, 
wicked ministers will have their portion in the other world with 
the worst of sinners, even with the hypocrites, and justly, for 
they are the worst of hypocrites. And then he says to underscore, 
to highlight, to finish out this particular parable, there shall 
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That language is employed in 
1812, 1342, 1350, 2213, and 2530, and it means hell. So you see the contrast, just 
as we sort of summarize and put into a tidy little package the 
meat of the particular narrative and view. There's two types of 
people out there. Those who live in light of their 
master's return and get about doing what they're supposed to, 
or those who deny their master's return and live like lawless 
wretches, live like godless people. The faithful servants who do 
what their Lord calls them to, when the Lord returns, He approves 
of their conduct. He pronounces blessing upon their 
conduct, and He rewards their conduct by giving them increased 
responsibility. For that faithless, unwise, ungodly 
servant, his service is recognized as well. It is condemned and 
it is punished. And the threefold punishment 
here is given. They are cut into pieces. They're assigned with the hypocrites 
and they will be in that place where there is weeping and gnashing 
of teeth. So as we conclude this morning, 
we ought to understand just two closing thoughts. First, the 
positive benefit of faithful living in light of Christ's return. The positive benefit, we always 
have to be positive, right? Don't wanna make anybody feel 
bad. I want you all to go home with some sort of boost in your 
soul. The positive benefit of watchfulness. Well, in the first 
place, I'm sorry, faithfulness, it is an expression of Christian 
watchfulness. In other words, what we are supposed 
to do in light of the second coming is not to sit on this 
roof and look at the sky. Our focus is directed to the 
table. Our focus is directed to one another. Our focus is 
directed to our vocation. Our focus is directed to those 
places sanctioned by the master himself. Secondly, it is an expression 
of our obedience. Isn't this what the Christian 
is supposed to do? I mean, when all is said and 
done, right? Why did God save us? It's not 
because we were good. It's not because we were obedient. It's not because we were perfect. 
Just the opposite. We were bad, disobedient, wretched, 
lawless, helpless, hopeless, Christless, wretches, occupying 
space in God's universe. And in his grace and mercy and 
kindness, he reached down, he brought us out of darkness into 
marvelous light. He gave us the gifts of faith 
and repentance so that we may close with Jesus and be saved. Once that occurs by the grace 
of God, once that justification takes place, then God calls us 
to live faithfully, to live obediently. Jesus says this in the upper 
room, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. We missed 
that one too somewhere along the line. Oh no, the law doesn't 
apply to us. Oh no, it doesn't matter what 
I do. Oh no, I have Jesus as my Lord and Savior. But Jesus, 
your Lord and Savior, tells you to not be an idolater. Jesus, 
your Lord and Savior, tells you not to be a blasphemer. Jesus, 
your Lord and Savior, tells you not to be a Sabbath breaker. 
Jesus, your Lord and Savior, tells you not to be disobedient 
to your parents or disobedient to lawful authority. Jesus, your 
Lord and Savior, tells you not to murder. You say, well, I don't 
shoot people. Yeah, but do you hate them in 
your heart? Jesus, your Lord and Savior, tells you not to 
commit adultery. You say, well, I've never lain with another 
person. Do you look at porn? What's your phone like? What's 
your history like? You're able to say, yeah, this 
is what I want to be doing when Jesus returns again in glory 
to judge the living and the dead. You see, Christians, we are called 
to obey God. Jesus, your Lord and Savior, 
tells you not to steal. Imagine that. I mean, we live in such a day. 
What? He doesn't want me to steal? Yes, he doesn't want you to steal 
or lie or covet. You see, as those who take watchfulness 
seriously and seek to live faithfully before the Lord, it is an expression 
of obedience. As well, it promotes sanctification. 
What's John the Apostle say concerning those who have a hope in the 
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ again? Everyone who has this 
hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure. You see the 
sanctifying influence of eschatology. That's why I always had a problem 
when people say, well, you know, no one can know. Well, we cannot 
know all of the particulars and the ins and outs, but the fact 
that Christ is going to return ought to affect the way that 
we live right here and right now. Everyone who has this hope 
in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. And then as well, 
it produces faithful service to the master. Isn't that what 
the child of God wants? Don't you really want it to be 
the case when Jesus returns, he says, well done, good and 
faithful servant? Don't you want to hear those words? Does that 
want to make your heart leap as to please your Father in heaven? 
As children, as young people, if we had Christian parents or 
we had virtuous parents, we wanted to please them. We don't want 
to go out and ruin their lives and make everything miserable 
for them and dishonor them and their name and all that sort 
of thing. Well, if we at a human level wanted to please our earthly 
fathers and our mothers, or we at a human level want to please 
our earthly masters in the workplace, isn't it the heart of every blood-bought 
child of God that they want to please their father? I hope it 
is. I'm looking at sort of confusion 
here. You can nod along and say, yes, 
this is what we want. Well, understanding the coming 
of the Lord's return, being watchful in light of the Lord's return, 
applying faithfulness in light of the Lord's return, produces 
faithful service to the Lord. That's the goal and the heartbeat 
of every believer in Christ. And for those who are not believers, 
and I know this probably gets tiresome every week. You probably 
feel like you're being picked on. Just a little bit of autobiography. I wasn't raised in the church. 
I wasn't raised with confession and archaicism. It wasn't the 
case that I was just this Reformed Baptist guy all my life. And 
that's the case with many people in here. Wretched, hellbound, 
damned sinners who by the grace of God were redeemed, who by 
the grace of God were saved. The same God who saved wretches 
in this place can save wretches still in this place. Do not tire, 
do not resist, and certainly do not reject the reality that 
God is a holy God. We considered this on Wednesday 
night. You couldn't just wander into the tabernacle. You couldn't 
just wander into the temple. You see, when the Shekinah glory, 
that means the glory, the visible representation of God, comes 
and dwells in the tabernacle at the end of the book of Exodus, 
Moses himself, the holiest man in Israel, couldn't go in. He 
couldn't go in. That's how glorious God's presence 
is. That's how holy God is. That's 
the rationale for the book of Leviticus. How do sinners out 
here come to God in here? And the point of the book of 
Leviticus is to teach us that sinful man draws to a holy God 
through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. That's the rationale for 
the sacrificial system in the Old Testament. Without blood, 
there is no forgiveness. Now, all those sacrifices pointed 
forward. All of those sacrifices pointed 
the people to the what? John 1, 29, man. It was said of Jesus, behold, 
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That's 
the way to approach our holy God. That's the bloody knife 
and the smoking altar in this new covenant era. It is the Lord 
Christ and his cross. It is what he did at Calvary. 
It is because those persons, as Pastor Porter read earlier, 
cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. Christ 
willingly went to the cross. Christ was sent there, not by 
that godless, hateful mob, but by his own father. It pleased 
Yahweh, Isaiah says, to bruise Him. Peter says it was the predetermined 
plan of God to hang His Son on the cross for the punishment 
due for our sins. That's the bloody knife. That's 
the smoking altar. That's what you desperately need. 
It's the cross of our Lord Jesus. Do not conclude today that I 
need to go out and be a better me. No, you need to come to the 
Lord Jesus Christ. You need to believe on Him. And once, by the grace of God, 
you believe on Him, then pursue obedience to His holy law. That's 
the answer. And live in light of the reality 
that Christ is coming again in glory. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for your word, we thank you for 
Jesus' instruction on this very practical topic of his return. I pray that all of us would take 
to heart what it means to be watchful in this first instance, 
to be faithful in what you have called us unto. And I pray, God, 
that you would just use your word throughout the earth to 
awaken dead sinners and call them forth by the power of your 
sovereign grace so that they may indeed taste and see that 
the Lord is good. And we pray these things through 
Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.