Luke 12:35–59

Watchful Servants

^35*“Be ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit, ^36*like servants who are waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast. When he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him at once. ³⁷How happy are those servants whose master finds them awake and ready when he returns! I tell you, he will take off his coat, ask them to sit down, and will wait on them. ³⁸How happy they are if he finds them ready, even if he should come at midnight or even later! ^39*And you can be sure that if the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, he would not let the thief break into his house. ^40*And you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.”

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant

⁴¹Peter said, “Lord, does this parable apply to us, or do you mean it for everyone?”

⁴²The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time. ⁴³How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! ⁴⁴Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. ⁴⁵But if that servant says to himself that his master is taking a long time to come back and if he begins to beat the other servants, both the men and the women, and eats and drinks and gets drunk, ⁴⁶then the master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces^r and make him share the fate of the disobedient.

⁴⁷“The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping. ⁴⁸But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.

Jesus the Cause of Division

⁴⁹“I came to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already kindled! ^50*I have a baptism to receive, and how distressed I am until it is over! ⁵¹Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the world? No, not peace, but division. ⁵²From now on a family of five will be divided, three against two and two against three. ^53*Fathers will be against their sons, and sons against their fathers; mothers will be against their daughters, and daughters against their mothers; mothers-in-law will be against their daughters-in-law, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law.”

Understanding the Time

⁵⁴Jesus said also to the people, “When you see a cloud coming up in the west, at once you say that it is going to rain—and it does. ⁵⁵And when you feel the south wind blowing, you say that it is going to get hot—and it does. ⁵⁶Hypocrites! You can look at the earth and the sky and predict the weather; why, then, don’t you know the meaning of this present time?

Settle with Your Opponents

⁵⁷“Why do you not judge for yourselves the right thing to do? ⁵⁸If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, do your best to settle the dispute with them before you get to court. If you don’t, they will drag you before the judge, who will hand you over to the police, and you will be put in jail. ⁵⁹There you will stay, I tell you, until you pay the last penny of your fine.”