Dressed in Readiness

Luke 12:35-59

INTRO: Good morning. I will continue this morning with our text in Luke chapter 12. Luke continues in the same context we saw last time dealing with what it means to be a disciple of Christ. We read verses 1-12, and the first thing we noted was that while we are indeed given instructions and commands, there is more to discipleship than being compliant with a list of rules. Yes, rules are an important part, but God loves us, gave us free will, and desires us to be loving children, committed to Him in loyalty and love.

We were shown that it may be in our loyalty and commitment to God and His promise, that we may face times of adversity. This can be a stress point where it tests our loyalty and you might say it divides the sheep from the goats.

In the next section, we found that commitment to Christ oftentimes means that we need to prioritize things in this life. There was the example of someone concerned about his inheritance to the point where it was his focus when in Jesus’ presence. Jesus showed us that the Kingdom is not about money, and one's life does not consist of the abundance of the things we possess. It's about love, commitment, and loyalty.

This morning we will continue starting in verse 35 where we will see the commitment to Christ is an ongoing proposition, not a one-off event. This is a total commitment and it means being alert and ready at all times. Ready to serve, to teach others, to help those in need, and to love, not just one another, but our neighbors as well. Part of that commitment is having an expectation of His return.

We don't know exactly when that's going to be so the call to us is to always be on the alert, always to be ready, always be prepared because we don't know when Christ is coming again. If we are truly committed and loyal to Christ in discipleship then we will be found constantly busy about the work He has for us.

I. Let us begin then at Luke 12:35 – “35. "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;”

A. This is a warning to be prepared. We see the term girded in Exodus 12:11 when the people were told that while eating the Passover; “And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover.” Clothing at the time consisted of loose flowing robes and to “gird” meant to belt it up so one could move quickly.

1. Have your sandals on and have a staff in your hand while you're eating this because when the Lord comes, it's going to be quick. This judgment is going to come upon Egypt and you have to be prepared.
2. Exodus 12:29-31 – “And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.” 30. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31. Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, "Rise and go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have said.
3. The children of Israel were prepared, they had eaten to the full, with haste, and were ready to move. Jesus alludes to this in Luke 12:35.

B. Isn't that what we are doing? We have the blood of the lamb on our doorpost. That is, if we have the blood of the lamb on our hearts, on us, the wrath of God will pass over us.

1. We are also constantly feeding on the lamb. John 6:54 – “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” We're constantly feeding on Christ in the sense that we are connected to Him in faith. We are constantly taking Him in. When you eat something, it becomes one with you as it assimilates into your body. We take in Christ. We have oneness with Christ as we're devoted to Him, as we walk in Communion with Him, as we abide in Him, we're constantly feeding on the Lamb.
2. We also are to be dressed in readiness. In other words, with our loins girded, sandals on our feet, and our staff in our hands, knowing that He could come at any moment, that judgment could come at a time we are not expecting.
3. How should we be prepared? Look at Luke 12:35 again. We should do it dressed in readiness for Him to come again and have our lamps lit. Here is implied that there would be darkness. Don't we live in a world of darkness? In this world of darkness, we have to constantly have our lamps lit. Jesus said in the sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five that we are the light of the world. He says, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.

C. We are to constantly be letting our light shine in this dark world, constantly having the light shining within through the true knowledge of the Son and of our Savior, Jesus Christ, being filled with light inwardly, and shining light outwardly. We should have our lamps lit all the time.

1. There should be no time where we say, I've had a bad day and my light won't shine quite so bright today.
2. No, we always have the lamps going, and that's how we should be. The lights should be on saying, Lord, come at any moment. We're prepared for you to come.
3. We left the light on for you and we are dressed in readiness. That is, mentally prepared, ready for His coming. Just being in that posture of, Lord, you could come today, therefore we're living as though you might come today.

II. Now Luke 12:36-38 – “36. and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37. "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 38. "And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.”

A. Jesus says we are to be like servants waiting for their Master, watching and ready. The analogies in this parable are; (1) the master = our Lord, Jesus Christ, (2) the marriage feast = Jesus’ ascension to glory, (3) the master’s return = the Second Coming of Christ, (4) Loins girded, lamps burning = faithful Christian service, (5) Second and third watches = indefinite time of the Second Coming, (6) the servants were then served = eternal joys of the saved, (7) watchfulness of the servants = the watchfulness expected of Christians.

1. We need to be in such a state of mind that when He comes, we're prepared to just open the door and receive him. There's no time to be looking for oil for your lamp, getting dressed, and then looking for a way to light the lamps. You've got to be prepared and ready when He comes.
2. Look at verse 37. If we have prepared ourselves for His coming, guess what? The roles are going to be reversed. You've been serving Him all that time getting prepared, but when He comes again, He's going serve you and bring you into a state of blessedness.
3. Then in verse 38 we find there is a definite hint that the Second Coming will be delayed far beyond the expectations of that generation. The watches represent the dead of night, and by metaphor, the unexpectedness of the Second Coming.

B. Then in verses 39 and 40, Jesus warns again about the consequence of not being prepared and watchful. Luke 12:39-40 – “39. "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. 40. "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.''” Jesus starts with the word “But” and then dramatically shifted to another metaphor in which He compares His Second Coming to the unexpected arrival of a thief. Paul applied the same figure of speech to the Second Coming in 1 Thessalonians 5:2

1. A person who doesn’t have their house ready, who isn’t on watch, is susceptible to a thief coming in and taking their possessions. He will come at a time when many Christians are not prepared but have fallen asleep in their commitment to Christ.
2. If you're on your guard, and you're watchful, then you'll be ready and you'll be prepared. When He comes the ones prepared will not see it as the arrival of a thief but as the arrival of the loved and longed-for One. For them, it will not be night but it will be as day for our lights will be burning strong.
3. He is coming one way or the other. Either he's going to come to meet us or we're going to go to meet him in death. Either way, we don't know exactly when that's going to be.

III. Continuing in Luke 12:41 – “41. Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?''

A. Peter appears to be curious and asks Jesus if the parable was for them or everyone. The answer to Peter would of course be “Yes” and in Mark 13:37 – Jesus says; “... what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

1. Here though, Jesus answers indirectly. Let’s look at what Jesus answered Peter by asking the question in verse 42 And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Then Jesus says; 43. "Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44. "Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.
2. Jesus is asking here about a certain person, a faithful and wise steward. The sensible steward was a person who was in charge of the estate. Yes he's a servant but also has some authority, probably very similar to what Joseph had, if you remember Joseph back in Genesis, he was put over Potiphar's house.
3. Who were the stewards Jesus is asking about? First, I would suggest that they would be the Apostles. The primary application was to Peter and the Apostles, but that doesn't mean that the principle doesn't apply to the rest of us as well.
4. By the use of the word "steward," Jesus includes all who undertake to do the Savior’s will, and do service at His bidding. I would say anyone who has the responsibility placed on them for the spiritual advancement of others, needs to be diligent about that task. Feeding the household, the flock.

B. Whether it's someone who's preaching, or teaching formally. Or it could be someone who has small children they trying to raise in the knowledge of the Lord. A Bible class teacher. Even brothers and sisters, just one to another, can be helping each other get their daily portion.

1. I think everyone, if it's within the realm of possibility for them, should be working towards helping someone else spiritually.
2. Whether it's a friend, whether it's a child or grandchild, we can help each other in our spiritual formation. There are a lot of ways in which you do it, but the Lord wants us to be diligent in giving people their daily portion, helping each other out in our spiritual growth.
3. Paul spoke of this in his letter to the Ephesians; Ephesians 4:10-14 - “10. He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12. for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, Notice the purpose here is for equipping who? The saints, that is us. For what? For the work. What else? for edifying the body of Christ.
4. There is more and Paul goes on: 13. until we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; This is our goal, to perfect ourselves in the knowledge of Christ. But there is a warning and Paul continues, 14. that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive,”

C. In our text at Luke 12:45 Jesus stated a warning as well. 45. "But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, 46. "the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware; and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. ”

1. This is a description of someone who's doing the opposite of what they should do. This is a person who is abusing other people and being self-indulgent. In this verse, Jesus passed beyond the metaphor of physical punishment to appoint him his portion with the unbelievers which is a reference to the final judgment.
2. Verses 47 and 48 tell us that the judgment will be just. Judgment will come for all and that includes those who do not accept Christ. They will not be prepared. Jesus tells Peter, and us, that there is a real weight of responsibility on those who know He is coming, who have been given the knowledge of the truth, for we have been given a tremendous opportunity to serve Him.

D. The idea here is that when we understand the gospel and we come to Christ, we are making a commitment.

1. Think of all that God has given us, the tools and the opportunities presented to us. (1) He gives us His Holy Spirit. (2) He gives us His Word. (3) He gives us gifts and abilities in accordance with His Word. (4) He gives us knowledge of Himself. (5) He gives us knowledge of the future.
2. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for corrections, that the man of God may be fully equipped unto every good work. We have everything that we need and we're fully prepared to be ready for his coming.
3. Certainly He should expect more from us when He comes again. That only makes sense. A boss is going to require more from his employee based upon how trained, how equipped that employee is, the investment that he's put into that person for him to be a profitable employee. There is going to be a greater responsibility on him than a new hire or someone who doesn't even work for the company.

IV. As Jesus continues at Luke 12:49 – “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ” He is warning about division. I suspect some are reminded of Jeremiah 23:29 "Is not My word like a fire?'' says the Lord... "

A. The Jews were expecting the Messiah to come and bring Israel back into a blessed state. They expected him to sit on the throne in Jerusalem, to take the place of David, and to free Israel from all of its oppressors, all the nations.

1. When Jesus came He brought instead, the gospel, and understanding "fire" here as the word of God, that is, the gospel, gives the key as to why Jesus desired that it already be kindled on earth. Paradoxically, however, the preaching of the gospel would bring pain, sorrow, and division, as well as joy, peace, and salvation.
2. Jesus brought fire and judgment. John the Baptist said this as well in Matthew 3:10 – “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And in 3:12 – “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

B. Luke 12:50 says; “But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” This of course is referring to what Christ must suffer. He's talking about the baptism of death, the baptism of crucifixion, of suffering, everything that He's about to undergo when He goes into Jerusalem.

1. By the way, that baptism is kind of that we undergo. Yes, we do practice water baptism, but what are we baptized into? His death. The old self is crucified with Him. Romans, chapter six. We joined Him in that baptism to walk in newness of life. Living a life committed to him.
2. Jesus had this baptism coming, this baptism of suffering. He says, how distressed I am until it's accomplished. He knew the crucifixion was coming. Yet, He also knew of the blessings that were going to flow from it.

C. Continuing now at Luke 12:51-53 - 51. "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52. "For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53. "Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.''”

1. Jesus tells us by a divine prophecy that the gospel will cut across family lines. People are converted as individuals; Jesus' prophecy here has been fulfilled in every community on earth where the gospel message was preached.
2. Inherent in the conflict between light and darkness human divisions are brought into view. True, Jesus was preaching love, joy, peace, and goodwill, etc., but it should never be thought that conflict and division are negated by Christian principles. To preach God's love is to encounter hatred; to teach truth is to endure the furious opposition of error.
3. I will ask the question yet answer only to yourself. How many of you have experienced this in your family where Christ comes into the situation one way or the other and people start battling it out?
4. There was this expectation that the messiah was going to come and bring unity. There is going to be a time for that when He comes again. Then there will be this unity that will take place, and there's even a foretaste of that within the Church. We, as the Church, are a symbol of the unity that can be brought through Jesus Christ.
5. But for now, there's friction. There's conflict that comes oftentimes in serving Christ. He's just saying, be ready for it. Don't be naïve.

V. Starting in verse 54 we see a warning about lack of perception. Luke 12:54-56 – “54. Then He also said to the multitudes, "When you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. 55. "And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. 56. "Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?”

A. By paying attention they (and we) could generally detect what the day is going to be like. As imperfectly as we forecast the weather, we at least have general ideas of what type of weather is coming. We may not have the specifics nailed down, but we have an idea of what the weather will do based on what we see. Jesus says in verse 56, you hypocrites, you know how to analyze the appearance of the Earth and the sky. Why do you not understand this present time?
B. The coming of Christ had been prophesied thoroughly. (1) the prophetic weeks of Daniel were expiring, (2) John the Baptist, “that Elijah” has come, (3) the scepter had departed from Judah, (4) the sign from heaven occurred at Jesus’ baptism, (5) it was revealed to Simeon that the Christ would appear in his lifetime, (6) Christ had been baptized at the Jordan and identified by John as “the Son of God”.
C. Jesus clearly fulfilled the prophecies in the Old Testament and they should have seen that He was from God through the miracles He was performing and the teachings He was giving. Yet many rejected the Messiah that did come, though the signs that He gave were much greater than just a cloud passing over the Mediterranean or some wind blowing from the south.

VI. I would call this next warning one against procrastination. Luke 12:57-59 – “57. "Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? 58. "When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59. "I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.''”

A. Look at verse 57. Jesus is asking, why don't you take initiative to figure out what's going on? The teacher and the preacher will teach and preach, but all of us individually should have the initiative to figure these things out on our own as well. Use your resources to go about doing that. Observing what's going on, compare that with scriptures. Compare it to what the Lord is saying. Take your initiative to figure out what is right.
B. The exhortation here is for ACTION NOW; do not wait until judgment is set, but make an agreement now, while you are "on the way."

(1) Just as the human system of courts decides human affairs, in the larger sphere of time and eternity it is God, the judge of all, who makes decisions.
(2) All men are represented here as "on the way" to court, that is, moving inexorably to that moment when all shall stand before the Judge.
(3) The man in the parable had an opportunity to settle before he got to court; and so do men have a chance to make peace with God now.
(4) While it was the adversary who provided the occasion for reconciliation in the parable, think of it spiritually. The one who is with us "on the way" is Christ, who also shall judge men.
(5) Letting the matter reach the judge can result only in disaster for the offender; the man who does not prepare to meet God in advance of the judgment shall likewise encounter disaster.
(6) Notice the necessary implication throughout, that the offender on the way to court has a very poor case, there being no way that "justice" could decide in his favor.
(7) Hence, the necessary deduction that preparation should be made NOW.
(8) That Jesus' use of an analogy that makes Him "the adversary" is illuminating. Such was the hostility of that generation that they would instantly recognize Him in the comparison.

CONCLUSION:
That's what it means to be a disciple. It means being committed to Him even amid adversity, being loyal to Christ, no matter what happens. It means also making some very difficult decisions about your priorities in life.

We should all be prepared. We see in this last section of chapter twelve, the call to be ready for Christ coming. We are to be ready all the time, be alert, be prepared, and be active. We do this in two ways, by our spiritual formation, being diligent about learning more about God, getting into the Word, spending time in prayer, commitment to Christ, and Communion with Christ, abiding in Christ. There are a lot of internal things that we deal with and wrestle with as we are trying to advance spiritually. But it also includes helping other people as well.

When you have a few minutes I suggest reading Matthew 25 which goes into a little more detail about those things. There is also this call to help administer to people, to the sick, visit the sick, someone's hungry, give them food, if someone's naked, give them clothes, it is about being benevolent towards others. There are things that we are to do. But the idea is that we're busy, that we're active, that we're prepared.

We have our eyes looking up to heaven, but at the same time with our hands, working here on the Earth, and being prepared so that when He comes again, we're dressed, ready, the lights are on, ready to receive Him, and He will receive us into His Kingdom. That's our call this morning. If you're here, settle out of court with God today. That would be a good way to end this. As I mentioned before, we've all accrued debt because of our sins, the transgressions, iniquities that we've committed. Oh, and that last part? “...till you have paid the very last mite.” The language here is in the sense of future-perfect: "will have paid"; and that moment never arrives. The full repayment or liquidation of the debt is not possible for the guilty person. Condemnation lasts forever.

But God has given us the means by which that debt can be erased, eradicated through Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:14 tells that He wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, by nailing it to the cross. If we'll come to Him in faith, stand on the Grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. If we'll repent of our sins, turn back to Him, if we'll meet Him in that baptism of His death, committing ourselves to Him, we have the promise of eternal life, eternal blessedness. It's a good trade. As one put it; All of us "are moving on to the courtroom of the Great Judge," and all "should make peace with their adversary while they have opportunity to so.”
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If anybody here needs to respond, either to dedicate themselves to Christ and be buried with Him in baptism, or to ask for prayers on their behalf, won’t you come forward as we stand and sing our Invitational song.

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Reference Sermon: Joseph Vaughan