Notes on Luke 12:34-4534For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 35Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36And 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. 37Blessed 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. 38And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. 41Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; (Luke 12:34‑45)
The coming of the Lord does not present itself, when we think of it rightly, as a thing we learn, but in Scripture it is constantly identified with all the feelings and character of a Christian, “as men that wait for their lord.” It does not say, “As men that believe in the Lord’s coming.” The feeling of those who had grown cold was not that the Lord would not come, but that He delayed His coming (vs. 45). Now in the beginning of 1 Thessalonians they were converted to wait for God’s Son from heaven. He was a living, personal reality to them. There is a great deal more in the passage, but that is the first reason for which they were converted. Expecting Him is the state that becomes a Christian. I do not say there is no other motive, for the blessed love He has shown in His death would lead us to follow Him too, but still the Christian is a person between Christ’s first coming to save him and His second coming to take him out of this scene, and what characterizes him (if he acts on the Word of God) is that he is waiting for Christ.
Watching and Doing
It is described in detail in Luke 12. You first get the “watching,” and then “doing,” while He is away; that is, serving Him. Those who are watching (vs. 37), with their hearts upon Himself, He makes sit down to meat (a figure, of course), and He girds Himself and serves them. But when it comes to doing (vs. 43), He makes them rulers over all that He has. You first get the blessedness of heaven (vs. 37), and then joint heirs with Him (vs. 44) — two distinct things — one, watching for Him, and the other, doing. When Christ comes, He will put us into possession of the inheritance. Meanwhile, He does not yet enter into possession of all things in the inheritance, but is sitting on the Father’s throne till the joint heirs are gathered, and then He will put them into glory.
The Person
The thing I find most precious in the coming of the Lord is that the Person of the Lord becomes so prominent. It makes Him more precious. He is coming to take me to be with Himself. It is the Person who is the object of our affections as Christians. But it will be a grand thing when we are with Him, and, of course, we cannot be separated. It is not our glory that is the great satisfaction, but being with Him. This hope sets Christ personally before our eyes.
Detachment From the World
There is another thing it does. This expecting Him every moment detaches us from the world; if we were really expecting Him, the life of every Christian would be changed — all thoughts and plans gone. There are two things needed in order to look for the Lord in that way — peace with God and love for Him. Of course, we must have peace with God to be able to look for His coming, but it depends largely on the affection of heart for Christ. “Unto you ... which believe He is precious.” It is wonderful how distinctly Scripture makes being with Christ the thing to hope for. It exercises the conscience also, because if I am looking for the Lord, evidently it will keep my conscience awake, lest I should have anything that will produce a jar in my own heart when He does come.
A Present Expectation
It is a striking thing, as regards the present expectation, that in all the parables, it never supposes beforehand that His coming is beyond the life of the people He is speaking to. It is the present expectation. The virgins that slept were the same that woke. Those who received the talents were the same reckoned with. He would never present to them beforehand a thing that was beyond present expectation. It is evident we should like to be found, whether absent or present, agreeable to Him when He does come. It gives Christ the place. We are poor things, but would it not be wonderful to hear Him saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”?
There is more than waiting in this chapter. “Loins ... girded about.” The flowing garments were to be tucked up, not loose — going on with things as they are in the world, but hearts in order, according to the Word of God — “loins girt about with truth,” and then “lights burning — a full profession of Christ.
He Will Serve
There is another thing quite distinct, a very blessed, touching expression of the Lord’s love. Here we are to have our loins girded (our hearts in order), but then “He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.” He says, “You won’t have to have your loins girded when you come into My house. I shall make you sit down to meat and will serve you.” He will make us sit down and feed upon the things that are in heaven at the table there, and He will minister the blessings to us — infinitely more precious. Not merely the giving us things to eat, but Christ Himself ministering them to us. In that sense Christ never gives up the form of a servant. What a wonderful thing it is to think that Christ the Son of God takes this place and never gives it up!
J. N. Darby (abridged
from a reading)