Luke 12:47

“And that servant, who knew his lord's will, and did not make ready, nor did according to his will, will be beaten with many stripes,”

The question here is whether this is the same slave or another one. If the steward was decapitated it would certainly suggest that this is another one. This tagging on of an extra idea to a parable would also fit in with the way that Jesus suddenly tagged on an extra idea to the previous parable (Luke 12:39). It is a vivid way of stressing a point. And we must remember that the lord will always have all his staff to call into account for their behaviour while he has been away.

There would therefore appear to be three gradings (threefoldness thus covering all the servants), the steward, the high level servant who was in the know about his lord's requirements, and the lower level servant who was not. This high level servant then is one who was under the steward, but who also knew what his lord wanted and had not made ready. He too had been faithless, although not going as far as the steward. He is not therefor decapitated and assigned with the unbelievers. Rather he is given a severe beating. This might suggest that he was rather seen as a believer who had to be disciplined, although the severe beating might indicate the fate of the unbeliever. It is, of course, picture language. It does not mean that beatings will be handed out at the second coming (even though what is handed out may in some ways be worse, ‘he himself will be saved but only as through fire' - 1 Corinthians 3:15, compare 2 Corinthians 5:10).