Christ Divides Men

      49“I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! 50“But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; 52for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. 53“They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

      54And He was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55“And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. 56“You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time?

      57“And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? 58“For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59“I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
That servant will be blessed if his master finds him doing this job when he comes.

King James Bible
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come, he shall find so doing.

Darby Bible Translation
Blessed is that bondman whom his lord on coming shall find doing thus;

English Revised Version
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Webster's Bible Translation
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Weymouth New Testament
Blessed is that servant whom his Master when He comes shall find so doing.

World English Bible
Blessed is that servant whom his lord will find doing so when he comes.

Young's Literal Translation
Happy that servant, whom his lord, having come, shall find doing so;

Cross References

Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time?

Luke 12:44 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 41-53

Here is, I. Peter's question, which he put to Christ upon occasion of the foregoing parable (v. 41): "Lord, speakest thou this parable to us that are thy constant followers, to us that are ministers, or also to all that come to be taught by thee, to all the hearers, and in them to all Christians?" Peter was now, as often, spokesman for the disciples. We have reason to bless God that there are some such forward men, that have a gift of utterance; let those that are such take heed of being proud. Now Peter desires Christ to explain himself, and to direct the arrow of the foregoing parable to the mark he intended. He calls it a parable, because it was not only figurative, but weighty, solid, and instructive. Lord, said Peter, was it intended for us, or for all? To this Christ gives a direct answer (Mk. 13:37): What I say unto you, I say unto all. Yet here he seems to show that the apostles were primarily concerned in it. Note, We are all concerned to take to ourselves what Christ in his word designs for us, and to enquire accordingly concerning it: Speakest thou this to us? To me? Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears. Doth this word belong to me? Speak it to my heart.

II. Christ's reply to this question, directed to Peter and the rest of the disciples. If what Christ had said before did not so peculiarly concern them, but in common with other Christians, who must all watch and pray for Christ's coming, as his servants, yet this that follows is peculiarly adapted to ministers, who are the stewards in Christ's house. Now our Lord Jesus here tells them,

1. What was their duty as stewards, and what the trust committed to them. (1.) They are made rulers of God's household, under Christ, whose own the house is; ministers derive an authority from Christ to preach the gospel, and to administer the ordinances of Christ, and apply the seals of the covenant of grace. (2.) Their business is to give God's children and servants their portion of meat, that which is proper for them and allotted to them; convictions and comfort to those to whom they respectively belong. Suum cuique-to every one his own. This is rightly to divide the word of truth, 2 Tim. 2:15. (3.) To give it to them in due season, at that time and in that way which are most suitable to the temper and condition of those that are to be fed; a word in season to him that is weary. (4.) Herein they must approve themselves faithful and wise; faithful to their Master, by whom this great trust is reposed in them, and faithful to their fellow-servants, for whose benefit they are put in trust; and wise to improve an opportunity of doing honour to their Master, and service in the family. Ministers must be both skilful and faithful.

2. What would be their happiness if they approved themselves faithful and wise (v. 43): Blessed is that servant, (1.) That is doing, and is not idle, nor indulgent of his ease; even the rulers of the household must be doing, and make themselves servants of all. (2.) That is so doing, doing as he should be, giving them their portion of meat, by public preaching and personal application. (3.) That is found so doing when his Lord comes; that perseveres to the end, notwithstanding the difficulties he may meet with in the way. Now his happiness is illustrated by the preferment of a steward that has approved himself within a lower and narrower degree of service; he shall be preferred to a larger and higher (v. 44): He will make him ruler over all that he has, which was Joseph's preferment in Pharaoh's court. Note, Ministers that obtain mercy of the Lord to be faithful shall obtain further mercy to be abundantly rewarded for their faithfulness in the day of the Lord.

3. What a dreadful reckoning there would be if they were treacherous and unfaithful, v. 45, 46. If that servant begin to be quarrelsome and profane, he shall be called to an account, and severely punished. We had all this before in Matthew, and therefore shall here only observe, (1.) Our looking upon Christ's second coming as a thing at a distance is the cause of all those irregularities which render the thought of it terrible to us: He saith in his heart, My Lord delays his coming. Christ's patience is very often misinterpreted his delay, to the discouragement of his people, and the encouragement of his enemies. (2.) The persecutors of God's people are commonly abandoned to security and sensuality; they beat their fellow-servants, and then eat and drink with the drunken, altogether unconcerned either at their own sin or their brethren's sufferings, as the king and Haman, who sat down to drink when the city Shushan was perplexed. Thus they drink, to drown the clamours of their own consciences, and baffle them, which would otherwise fly in their faces. (3.) Death and judgment will be very terrible to all wicked people, but especially to wicked ministers. It will be a surprise to them: At an hour when they are not aware. It will be the determining of them to endless misery; they shall be cut in sunder, and have their portion assigned them with the unbelievers.

4. What an aggravation it would be of their sin and punishment that they knew their duty, and did not do it (v. 47, 48): That servant that knew his lord's will, and did it not, shall be beaten with many stripes, shall fall under a sorer punishment; and he that knew not shall be beaten with few stripes, his punishment shall, in consideration of this, be mitigated. Here seems to be an allusion to the law, which made a distinction between sins committed through ignorance, and presumptuous sins (Lev. 5:15, etc.; Num. 15:29, 30), as also to another law concerning the number of stripes given to a malefactor, to be according to the nature of the crime, Deu. 25:2, 3. Now, (1.) Ignorance of our duty is an extenuation of sin. He that knew not his lord's will, through carelessness and neglect, and his not having such opportunities as some others had of coming to the knowledge of it, and did things worthy of stripes, he shall be beaten, because he might have known his duty better, but with few stripes; his ignorance excuses in part, but not wholly. Thus through ignorance the Jews put Christ to death (Acts 3:17; 1 Co. 2:8), and Christ pleaded that ignorance in their excuse: They know not what they do. (2.) The knowledge of our duty is an aggravation of our sin: That servant that knew his lord's will, and yet did his own will, shall be beaten with many stripes. God will justly inflict more upon him for abusing the means of knowledge he afforded him, which others would have made a better use of, because it argues a great degree of wilfulness and contempt to sin against knowledge; of how much sorer punishment then shall they be thought worthy, besides the many stripes that their own consciences will give them! Son, remember. Here is a good reason for this added: To whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required, especially when it is committed as a trust he is to account for. Those have greater capacities of mind than others, more knowledge and learning, more acquaintance and converse with the scriptures, to them much is given, and their account will be accordingly.

III. A further discourse concerning his own sufferings, which he expected, and concerning the sufferings of his followers, which he would have them also to live in expectation of. In general (v. 49): I am come to send fire on the earth. By this some understand the preaching of the gospel, and the pouring out of the Spirit, holy fire; this Christ came to send with a commission to refine the world, to purge away its dross, to burn up its chaff, and it was already kindled. The gospel was begun to be preached; some prefaces there were to the pouring out of the Spirit. Christ baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire; this Spirit descended in fiery tongues. But, by what follows, it seems rather to be understood of the fire of persecution. Christ is not the Author of it, as it is the sin of the incendiaries, the persecutors; but he permits it, nay, he commissions it, as a refining fire for the trial of the persecuted. This fire was already kindled in the enmity of the carnal Jews to Christ and his followers. "What will I that it may presently be kindled? What thou doest, do quickly. If it be already kindled, what will I? Shall I wait the quenching of it? No, for it must fasten upon myself, and upon all, and glory will redound to God from it."

1. He must himself suffer many things; he must pass through this fire that was already kindled (v. 50): I have a baptism to be baptized with. Afflictions are compared both to fire and water, Ps. 66:12; 69:1, 2. Christ's sufferings were both. He calls them a baptism (Mt. 20:22); for he was watered or sprinkled with them, as Israel was baptized in the cloud, and dipped into them, as Israel was baptized in the sea, 1 Co. 10:2. He must be sprinkled with his own blood, and with the blood of his enemies, Isa. 63:3. See here, (1.) Christ's foresight of his sufferings; he knew what he was to undergo, and the necessity of undergoing it: I am to be baptized with a baptism. He calls his sufferings by a name that mitigates them; it is a baptism, not a deluge; I must be dipped in them, not drowned in them; and by a name that sanctifies them, for baptism is a name that sanctifies them, for baptism is a sacred rite. Christ in his sufferings devoted himself to his Father's honour, and consecrated himself a priest for evermore, Heb. 7:27, 28. (2.) Christ's forwardness to his sufferings: How am I straitened till it be accomplished! He longed for the time when he should suffer and die, having an eye to the glorious issue of his sufferings. It is an allusion to a woman in travail, that is pained to be delivered, and welcomes her pains, because they hasten the birth of the child, and wishes them sharp and strong, that the work may be cut short. Christ's sufferings were the travail of his soul, which he cheerfully underwent, in hope that he should by them see his seed, Isa. 53:10, 11. So much was his heart set upon the redemption and salvation of man.

2. He tells those about him that they also must bear with hardships and difficulties (v. 51): "Suppose ye that I came to give peace on earth, to give you a peaceable possession of the earth, and outward prosperity on the earth?" It is intimated that they were ready to entertain such a thought as this, nay, that they went upon this supposition, that the gospel would meet with a universal welcome, that people unanimously embrace it, and would therefore study to make the preachers of it easy and great, that Christ, if he did not give them pomp and power, would at least give them peace; and herein they were encouraged by divers passages of the Old Testament, which speak of the peace of the Messiah's kingdom, which they were willing to understand of external peace. "But," saith Christ, "you will be mistaken, the event will declare the contrary, and therefore do not flatter yourselves into a fool's paradise. You will find,"

(1.) "That the effect of the preaching of the gospel will be division." Not but that the design of the gospel and its proper tendency are to unite the children of men to one another, to knit them together in holy love, and, if all would receive it, this would be the effect of it; but there being multitudes that not only will not receive it, but oppose it, and have their corruptions exasperated by it, and are enraged at those that do receive it, it proves, though not the cause yet the occasion of division. While the strong man armed kept his palace, in the Gentile world, his goods were at peace; all was quiet, for all went one way, the sects of philosophers agreed well enough, so did the worshippers of different deities; but when the gospel was preached, and many were enlightened by it, and turned from the power of Satan to God, then there was a disturbance, a noise and a shaking, Eze. 37:7. Some distinguished themselves by embracing the gospel, and others were angry that they did so. Yea, and among them that received the gospel there would be different sentiments in minor things, which would occasion division; and Christ permits it for holy ends (1 Co. 11:18), that Christians may learn and practise mutual forbearance, Rom. 14:1, 2.

(2.) "That this division will reach into private families, and the preaching of the gospel will give occasion for discord among the nearest relations" (v. 53): The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father, when the one turns Christian and the other does not; for the one that does turn Christian will be zealous by arguments and endearments to turn the other too, 1 Co. 7:16. As soon as ever Paul was converted, he disputed, Acts 9:29. The one that continues in unbelief will be provoked, and will hate and persecute the one that by his faith and obedience witnesses against, and condemns, his unbelief and disobedience. A spirit of bigotry and persecution will break through the strongest bonds of relation and natural affection; see Mt. 10:35; 24:7. Even mothers and daughters fall out about religion; and those that believe not are so violent and outrageous that they are ready to deliver up into the hands of the bloody persecutors those that believe, though otherwise very near and dear to them. We find in the Acts that, wherever the gospel came, persecution was stirred up; it was every where spoken against, and there was no small stir about that way. Therefore let not the disciples of Christ promise themselves peace upon earth, for they are sent forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Calvin's Commentary

Matthew 24:43-51

Mark 13:34-37

Luke 12:35-50

43. But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly have watched, and would not have permitted his house to be broken into. 44. Therefore, be you also ready; because the Son of man will come at an hour when you are not aware. 45. Who is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master hath appointed over his household, to give them food in due season? 46. Blessed is that servant, whom his master, when he cometh, shall find acting in this manner. 47. Verily I say to you, He will appoint him [165] over all his property. 48. But if that wicked servant shall say in his heart, My master delayeth to come; 49. And shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and even to eat and drink with drunkards; 50. The master of that servant will come on a day when he doth not look for him, and at an hour when he is not aware; 51. And shall cut him off; and assign his portion with hypocrites: weeping and gnashing of teeth shall be there.

34. As a man [166] who is going abroad, and hath left his house, and hath given it in charge to his servants, and hath assigned to every man his work, and hath commanded the porter to watch. 35. Watch, therefore; (for you know not when your Lord will come, [167] whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning;) 36. Lest, when he shall come suddenly, he will find you sleeping. 37. But what I say to you I say to all, Watch.

35. Let your loins be girt, and your lamps burning; 36. And yourselves like men who wait for their master, till he shall return from the marriage, that, when he shall come and knock, [168] they may open to him immediately. 37. Blessed are those servants whom their lord, when he cometh shall find watching. Verily I tell you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down at table, and will come forward and serve them. 38. And if he shall come in the second watch, or if he shall come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39. But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly have watched, and would not have permitted his house to be broken into. 40. And therefore be you also ready; for the Son of man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him. 41. And Peter saith to him, Lord, sayest thou this parable to us, or likewise to all? 42. And the Lord said, Who is a faithful and wise steward, whom his master will appoint over his household, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 43. Blessed is that servant, whom his master, when he cometh, shall find acting in this manner. 44. Verily I tell you, that he will appoint him over all that he possesses. 45. But if that servant shall say in his heart, My master delayeth his coming, and shall begin to beat the men-servants, and maids, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46. The master of that servant will come on a day when he doth not expect him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him off, and assign his portion with the unfaithful. 47. But that servant, who knew his master's will, and did not make himself ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48. But he who knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much hath been given, much will be demanded from him, and to whom men have entrusted much, from him they will exact more. 49. I came to send a fire on the earth, and what do I wish if it be already be kindled? [169] 50. But I have to be baptized with a baptism, and how am I distressed till it be accomplished!

Matthew 24:43. If the householder had known. Luke relates this discourse of Christ at a different place from Matthew; and we need not wonder at this, for in the twelfth chapter, where (as we have formerly explained) he collects out of various discourses a summary of doctrine, he inserts also this parable. Besides, he introduces a general preface that the disciples should wait for their master, with their loins girt, and carrying burning lamps in their hands. To this statement corresponds the parable, which we shall soon afterwards find in Matthew 25:1-12 about the wise and foolish virgins.

In a few words Christ glances rapidly at the manner in which believers ought to conduct their pilgrimage in the world; for first he contrasts the girding of the loins with sloth, and burning lamps with the darkness of ignorance. First, then, Christ enjoins the disciples to be ready and equipped for the journey, that they may pass rapidly through the world, and may seek no fixed abode or resting-place but in heaven. The warning is highly useful; for though ungodly men have likewise in their mouth this form of expression, "the course of life," yet we see how they lay themselves down in the world, and remain unmoved in their attachment to it. But God does not bestow the honorable title of his children on any but those who acknowledge that they are strangers on the earth, and who not only are at all times prepared to leave it, but likewise move forward, in an uninterrupted "course," towards the heavenly life. Again, as they are surrounded on all sides by darkness, so long as they remain in the world, he furnishes them with lamps, as persons who are to perform a journey during the night. The first recommendation is, to run vigorously; and the next is, to have clear information as to the road, that believers may not weary themselves to no purpose by going astray; for otherwise it would be better to stumble in the way, than to perform a journey in uncertainty and mistake. As to the expression, girding the loins, it is borrowed from the ordinary custom of Eastern nations in wearing long garments.

Luke 12:36. And you yourselves like men that wait for their master. He uses another parable not mentioned by Matthew, who writes more briefly on this subject; for he compares himself to a householder who, while he is joining in the festivities of the marriage feast, or in other respects indulging in pleasure, out of his own house, wishes his servants to conduct themselves with modesty and sobriety at home, attending to their lawful occupations, and diligently waiting for his return. Now though the Son of God has departed to the blessed rest of heaven, and is absent from us, yet as he has assigned to every one his duty, it would be improper for us to give way to indolent repose. Besides, as he has promised that he will return to us, we ought to hold ourselves prepared, at every moment, to receive him, that he may not find us sleeping. For if a mortal man looks upon it as a duty which his servants owe him, that, at whatever hour he returns home, they shall be prepared to receive him, how much more has he a right to demand from his followers that they shall be sober and vigilant, and always wait for his coming? To excite them to greater alacrity, he mentions that earthly masters are so delighted with such promptitude on the part of their servants, that they even serve them; not that all masters are accustomed to act in this manner, but because it does sometimes happen that a master, who is kind and gentle, admits his servants to his own table, as if they were his companions.

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Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On Worldly Folly
"But God said unto him, Thou fool!" Luke 12:20. But one of these fools is commonly wiser in his own eyes "than seven men that can render a reason." If it were possible for a Christian, for one that has the mind which was in Christ, to despise any one, he would cordially despise those who suppose "they are the men, and wisdom shall die with them." You may see one of these, painted to the life, in the verses preceding the text. "The ground of a certain rich man," says our blessed Lord, "brought forth …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

On Divine Providence
"Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." Luke 12:7. 1. The doctrine of divine providence has been received by wise men in all ages. It was believed by many of the eminent Heathens, not only philosophers, but orators and poets. Innumerable are the testimonies concerning it which are scattered up and down in their writings; agreeable to that well-knowing saying in Cicero, Deorum moderamine cuncta geri: "That all things, all events in this world, are under the management of God." We might …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Use of Fear in Religion.
PROVERBS ix. 10.--"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Luke xii. 4, 5.--"And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him." The place which the feeling of fear ought to hold in the religious experience of mankind is variously assigned. Theories of religion are continually passing …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Darkness Before the Dawn
"Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether."--SONG OF SOLOMON 2:17. THE SPOUSE SINGS, "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away," so that the beloved of the Lord may be in the dark. It may be night with her who has a place in the heart of the Well-beloved. A child of God, who is a child of light, may be for a while in darkness; first, darkness comparatively, as compared with the light he has some times …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 42: 1896

Hypocrisy
I am sure that every true child of God will stand at times in doubt of himself, and his fear will probably take the shape of a suspicion concerning his own state. He that never doubted of his state, He may--perhaps he may--too late. The Christian, however, does not belong to that class. He will at times begin to be terribly alarmed, lest, after all, his godliness should be but seeming, and his profession an empty vanity. He who is true will sometimes suspect himself of falsehood, while he who is …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Our Requests Made Known unto God
OUR REQUESTS MADE KNOWN UNTO GOD ". . . Let your requests be made known unto God." -- Phil. 4:6. Paul, the pattern saint, would have us see the value of revealing our needs to God in prayer. We must not presume that the things required to sustain life will be granted without making our requests known unto God. Our requirements on earth and God's resources in heaven are meant for each other. If we ask, we shall receive. When we fail to ask, we fail to receive. The Word declares, "Ye have not, because …
T. M. Anderson—Prayer Availeth Much

Lii. Concerning Hypocrisy, Worldly Anxiety, Watchfulness, and his Approaching Passion.
(Galilee.) ^C Luke XII. 1-59. ^c 1 In the meantime [that is, while these things were occurring in the Pharisee's house], when the many thousands of the multitude were gathered together, insomuch that they trod one upon another [in their eagerness to get near enough to Jesus to see and hear] , he began to say unto his disciples first of all [that is, as the first or most appropriate lesson], Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. [This admonition is the key to the understanding …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Christianity Misunderstood by Men of Science.
Attitude of Men of Science to Religions in General--What Religion is, and What is its Significance for the Life of Humanity-- Three Conceptions of Life--Christian Religion the Expression of the Divine Conception of Life--Misinterpretation of Christianity by Men of Science, who Study it in its External Manifestations Due to their Criticising it from Standpoint of Social Conception of Life--Opinion, Resulting from this Misinterpretation, that Christ's Moral Teaching is Exaggerated and Cannot be put …
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you