(Study Outline sourced from “The System Bible Study” – “The Book of Life” [Zondervan])
(14). Warning Against Anxiety And Un-Readiness For The Coming Of The Son Of The Son Of Man
Parables Of The Waiting Servants And The Wise Steward
Do not worry be ready! “….do not worry about your life…” – We are cautioned not to worry about the necessities of life for “Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.”, and we are reminded of God’s care of the birds (ravens) and the lilies.
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” and since we cannot do so there is no point worrying about the rest. We are of much more value to God than the birds and the lilies, so God will care for us as well; we should therefore not set our hearts on these necessities because our heavenly “Father knows that you need them.” Our responsibility is to “seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
Furthermore, we should not be over-concerned with the collection of “earthly treasures”as these will loose their value with the passing of time; rather, we should strive to secure “a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” Our greatest concern, and therefore our greatest anxiety, will be to where our treasure is located! The most important thing for a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ is to “Be dressed ready…… waiting for their master to return…”, for it will be better for us to be so doing than to be concerned and anxious for “earthly treasures”; since, like the coming of an unexpected thief who will steal our “earthly treasures”, we do not know the hour or day that our Lord will return, so we “must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Be A Faithful And Wise Steward! “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten….” With many blows, or few blows, in proportion to the privileges that have been enjoyed, and the responses to those privileges [NIV Study Bible], as is explained further in Rom.2:12-16, since “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” This precedence is well documented in the Law . “One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether he is a native-born Israelite or an alien. ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the LORD’s word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.’” Here we see that the one who is aware of what the Law dictates, and who defiantly breaks the law despises God’s word and must be “cut off” from his people.
Lev. 5:17 further states that if anyone breaks the Law unintentionally, such is guilty and will be held responsible, and Deut.25:2 states that the penalty will be “the number of lashes his crime deserves”. Rom.2:12-16 gives the N.T. aspect of the Law, where Paul states that “All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law”, and clarifies this statement further by “(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law…)”. He also states that “it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.” Hence, the statement of our Lord Jesus in Luke 12:47-48 that much more will be demanded from those who are aware of what the Law states, so His disciples should be faithful and wise stewards in their service to Him!
(15). Divisions Caused By The Truth
“I have come to bring fire on the earth….” – The Lord Jesus came to bring salvation to mankind, but those who refuse this salvation will be separated from the righteous, by the coming judgment, for their unbelief.
“I have a baptism to undergo…” – Our Lord knew that in order for our salvation to be completed, He had to endure suffering on the cross, and here we see the “humanity” of our Lord being expressed as he wished that both the suffering and the judgment had been completed.
“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth?” – It had been prophesied that Messiah would bring peace to the earth but here we see that our Lord is indicating that His coming would bring division instead of peace; what did he mean by this statement? Christ’s coming into the world primarily brought peace between God and mankind by our faith in Christ. Our faith in Christ brought us our salvation, thus giving us that peace . Secondly, peace with God brings peace among the believers in Christ, and that peace should extend to all mankind. Instead we see a great division between the believer and the unbeliever because of the TRUTH that our Lord Jesus Christ represents . Such division sadly includes the family of God – the Church – and we must examine ourselves to see if God’s TRUTH is really in us; for if we are not at peace with God, we cannot be at peace with our fellow believers! .