This is part of the book: "The Warnings of the New Testament".

The parable of the unfaithful servant

Starting from Matthew 24, the Lord stresses the point of alertness and that we should be awake, waiting for Him to come. Then He further supports His point with three parables, given one after the other, thus showing the great importance He puts on the matter. The first one given is the parable of the unfaithful servant. Let’s read it:

Matthew 24:42-51
"Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

To whom did Jesus say this parable? Just before He started with it He said to His disciples: "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (Matthew 24:44). Who is this "you"? His disciples (see also Matthew 24:4). These are the ones instructed to be ready. These, and not some unbelievers or Pharisees, were His audience here. And then He goes on to describe what is going to happen to the one that will not be found ready. To the one who at certain time said to himself "my master is delayed". I do not think that this servant said this from the first day. To say to himself "my Lord is delayed" starting then behaving the way described in the passage means that some time had first passed in which this servant did not behave this way. But then he said to himself "my master is delayed" and began "to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards". He started in other words living like he had no Lord anymore. What happened then, or better what will happen when the Lord comes back? Here is the answer:

"the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Wow! Cut him into pieces, because he did not end up well, though he most probably started well? That’s exactly what the Lord says. Basically what He tells us is: pay attention, be alerted and make sure you are found faithful when I come. If we are found faithful we will be blessed and great would be our reward. But those who on the way will say to themselves "my Lord is delayed", starting living like the hypocrites, will, according to the above passage, also share the end of the hypocrites. And the Lord does not stop here. He further stretches His point - with 2 additional parables and another unparabolical passage, all one after the other. So let’s move to the immediately next parable: the parable of the ten virgins.

Next section: The parable of the ten virgins

Author: Anastasios Kioulachoglou