Luke 12:35–40

Call to Faithful Stewardship

12:35 “Get dressed for service85 and keep your lamps burning;86 12:36 be like people87 waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration,88 so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 12:37 Blessed are those slaves89 whom their master finds alert90 when he returns! I tell you the truth,91 he will dress himself to serve,92 have them take their place at the table,93 and will come94 and wait on them!95 12:38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night96 and finds them alert,97 blessed are those slaves!98 12:39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief99 was coming, he would not have let100 his house be broken into. 12:40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”101

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85	tn Grk “Let your loins be girded,” an idiom referring to the practice of tucking the ends of the long cloak (outer garment) into the belt to shorten it in preparation for activities like running, etc.
86	sn Keep your lamps burning means to be ready at all times.
87	tn That is, like slaves (who are mentioned later, vv. 37–38), although the term ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) is used here. Since in this context it appears generic rather than gender-specific, the translation “people” is employed.
88	sn An ancient wedding celebration could last for days (Tob 11:18).
89	tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.
90	tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.
91	tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
92	tn See v. 35 (same verb).
93	tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
94	tn The participle παρελθών (parelthōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
95	sn He … will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18–27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.
96	sn The second or third watch of the night would be between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on a Roman schedule and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on a Jewish schedule. Luke uses the four-watch schedule of the Romans in Acts 12:4, so that is more probable here. Regardless of the precise times of the watches, however, it is clear that the late-night watches when a person is least alert are in view here.
97	tn Grk “finds (them) thus”; but this has been clarified in the translation by referring to the status (“alert”) mentioned in v. 37.
98	tn Grk “blessed are they”; the referent (the watchful slaves, v. 37) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
99	sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.
100	tc Most mss (א1 A B L Q W Θ Ψ 070 f1, 13 33 𝔐 lat syp,h sams bo) read “he would have watched and not let” here, but this looks like an assimilation to Matt 24:43. The alliance of two important and early mss along with a few others (𝔓75 א* [D] e i sys,c samss), coupled with much stronger internal evidence, suggests that the shorter reading is authentic.
101	sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it might take some time—so long, in fact, that some would not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).

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