More Is Expected Of Those Who Have More

41. Then Peter said unto HIM, “Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?”

42. And 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?

43. Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

44. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

45. But 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;

46. The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

47. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

48. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Introduction

Sportscasters Tom Hammond and Joe Dean were interviewing former Kentucky Governor A. B. “Happy” Chandler during a break in the action of the 1982 Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament.

Hammond referred to Chandler’s tenure as baseball commissioner, and remarked: “Governor, while you were the baseball commissioner, you were involved in a landmark decision. Would you like to comment on that?”

“Yes,” said Chandler, “I’d be glad to. When the owners met, they had voted 15 to 1 not to let Jackie Robinson or any other black play baseball in the heretofore white Major League Baseball. I had seen the young man play and I knew he was talented. I knew also that Branch Rickey would have to have my support if he was to bring Robinson in and make him a member of his team. Well, Rickey came to visit me and asked what I thought I would do. I told him that I had thought about it and that I knew that one day I would have to answer to my Maker for what I did. I felt that the good Lord would not take kindly to me if my only reason for keeping Robinson out was that he was black. So I voted with Mr. Rickey, and we brought Robinson in.

(Proclaim: The Pastor’s Journal for Biblical Preaching. The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Nashville, TN. JFM, 1987.

Jesus is coming again! And when HE does come, HE will reward HIS servants for the manner in which they have performed the responsibilities that were assigned to them. Jesus does assign responsibilities to each of you who are HIS. Those responsibilities are not given arbitrarily. The responsibilities the Lord gives are based on the resources and circumstances which HE provides for the individual or the church.

1. The Will of the Lord Known. V. 47.

Explanation

The Lord assigns responsibilities to some servants, using a means of communication that the servant understands. In verse 47 of Luke 12, see these words: that servant which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to HIS will...” When the will of the Lord is known by the servant, that servant has responsibility for doing the will of the Lord. And the Lord does make HIS will known to HIS servants. In John 15:15, Jesus speaking to HIS disciples said, “Henceforth I call you not servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of MY Father I have made known to you.” And last week in the Bible study passage we considered in Sunday School, in Amos 3:7, Amos preached, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but HE revealeth HIS secret unto HIS servants the prophets.” Then there is that occasion in Genesis 18:17, when God chose not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah without first telling HIS friend Abraham.

Not everyone who is a child of God knows the will of God in all matters. Some do not know because they do not want to know. And there are some matters in which the Lord reveals HIS will to those for whom it is important to know, and others have no knowledge of the will of God because they are not assigned the responsibility. God does make HIS will for each servant’s life known to that servant as they seek to know God’s will for their own life. Sometimes they must ask, and persistently seek to know. The servant may not have listened in their past, and may take some training to learn to interpret what God is saying. Yet, God desires to make HIS will known to HIS servant for the life of that servant.