Luke 12:35-38

The Parable of the Master returning to his House. “ Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36. And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37. Blessed are those servants whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. ”

Ver. 35. The long oriental robe requires to be taken up, and the skirt fastened under the girdle, to allow freedom in walking (Luke 17:8). If it is night, it is further required that one have a lighted lamp in his hand, to walk quickly and surely to his destination. Those two figures are so thoroughly in keeping with the position of the servant spoken of in the following verses, that we have no doubt about Luke 12:35 forming part of the parable, Luke 12:36-38. The faithful believer is described as a servant waiting over night for the arrival of his master, who is returning from a journey. That there may be no delay in opening the door when he shall knock, he keeps himself awake, up and ready to run. The lighted lamp is at his hand; he has even food ready against the time of his return. And it matters not though the return is delayed, delayed even to the morning; he does not yield to fatigue, but persists in his waiting attitude. ῾Υμεῖς, ye (Luke 12:36), your whole person, in opposition to the lighted lamps and girded loins. The word γάμοι, marriage, might here have the sense of banquet, which it sometimes has (Esther 2:18; Esther 9:22; and perhaps Luke 14:8). It is more natural to keep the ordinary sense, only observing that the marriage in question is not that of the master himself, but a friend's, in which he is taking part. What does the master do when received in this way? Moved by such fidelity, instead of seating himself at the table prepared, he causes his devoted servants to seat themselves, and, girding himself as they were girded, he approaches them (παρελθών) to serve them, and presents them with the food which they have prepared for him. And the longer delayed his arrival is, the livelier is his gratitude, the greater are the marks of his satisfaction. Among the ancient Jews, the night had only three divisions (Jdg 7:19); later, probably after the Roman subjugation, four were admitted: from 6 to 9, from 9 to midnight, from midnight to 3, and from 3 to 6 o'clock. If, as cannot be doubted, the master's return represents the Parousia, this parable teaches that that event may be long delayed, much longer than any one even of the disciples imagined, and that this delay will be the means of testing their fidelity. The same thought reappears in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:5), “ While the bridegroom tarried; ” and again in that of the talents (Matthew 25:19), “ After a long time, the lord of those servants cometh. ” Jesus thus proclaimed His return, but not the immediateness of that return.

One hardly dares to apply the promise included in this parable: The Lord in His glory serving him who has faithfully waited for and served Him here below! There is an apparent contradiction of Luke 17:7-9. But in the latter passage Jesus is expressing the feeling which should animate the servant: “ I am, after all that I have done, but an unprofitable servant. ” Jesus wishes, in opposition to pharisaism, to sweep away the legal idea of merit. Here He is describing the feeling of the master himself; we are in the sphere of love both on the side of the servant and of the master.

The variations of Luke 12:38 do not affect its general meaning.

The Parousia is a sweet and glorious event to the servants of Jesus (Luke 12:35-38). But at the same time it is solemn and awful: for He who returns is not only a well-beloved Master, who comes to requite everything which has been given for Him; He is also a thief who takes away everything which should not have been kept.