Conclusion Of Keep Ready!

The "master" obviously is Jesus Christ. The "steward" pictures the "little flock" of disciples as a collective body, and the "body of attendants" refers to this same group of 144,000 who receive the heavenly Kingdom, but this expression highlights their work as individuals. The "belongings" that the faithful steward is appointed to care for are the master's royal interests on earth, which include the Kingdom's earthly subjects.

Continuing the illustration, Jesus points to the possibility that not all members of that steward, or slave class will be loyal, explaining: "If ever that slave should say in his heart, 'My master delays in coming,' and should start to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day that he is not expecting him. . . ., and he will punish him with the greatest severity."

Jesus notes that his coming has brought a fiery time for the Jews, as some accept and others reject his teachings. Over three years earlier, he was baptized in water, but now his baptism into death is drawing ever closer to a conclusion, and as he says: "I am being distressed until it is finished!"

After directing these remarks to his disciples, Jesus again addresses the crowds. He laments their stubborn refusal to accept the clear evidence of his identity and its significance. When you see a cloud rising in western parts," he observes, "at once you say, 'a storm is coming,' and it turns out so. And when you see that a south wind is blowing, you say, ' There will be a heat wave,' and it occurs. Hypocrites, you know how to examine the outward appearance of earth and sky, but how is it you do not know how to examine this particular time?" Luke 12:32-59.

Next time: A Nation Lost, But Not All

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991