Luke 12:42-48
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.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - Luke 12:42-48
12:42 Jesus responds with another question. The question looks forward to the care of believers by their leaders (the "wise steward") during Jesus' absence. Peter himself deals with the subject in his first epistle (1 Pet 5:1-4).
12:43 The Lord affirms the blessedness of the "servant whom His master will find" faithfully and wisely carrying out the responsibility expressed in the preceding verse - the care of those in God's household. The use of doulos ("servant") here - different from oikonomos ("steward") in the preceding verse - potentially broadens the application to all believers in their responsibility to edify others in God's family with their spiritual gifts, a topic also later addressed by Peter (cf. 1 Pet 4:10-11).
12:44 Jesus promises that He will recompense faithfulness in present spiritual responsibilities with ruling privileges in the future kingdom: Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. (See Luke 22:24-30 for related teaching directed specifically to the Twelve, and Matt 25:14-30 for similar words applied to all believers.) Service now leads to rulership later.
12:45 Sadly, not every servant carries out his stewardship faithfully during Jesus' absence. Some conclude, "My master is delaying his coming." This concept gives rise to two terrible actions: maltreatment of those under his care, and excess - gluttony and dissolution. The language and responsibility of the servant pictures him as a believer. Some believers have suffered under pastoral leaders who have spiritually abused them and who focus their efforts on self-gratification and excess.
12:46 Although the disobedient servant has full awareness of the fact of the Master's coming, His actual return will catch that one "when he is not aware." A twofold consequence follows. The cutting "in two" constitutes figurative language - especially since the same person then gets appointed a portion that contrasts with the reward promised to the faithful (cf. v 44). The language may evoke Heb 4:12-13 and the piercing precision of God's Word. The judged servant retains the gift of eternal life (cf. John 5:24) but receives a fitting recompense - a portion (cf. v 42) commensurate with his unbelief and irresponsibility. Unbelievers refers here to those who did not believe the truth relative to Jesus' coming and their responsibility in light of His accompanying evaluation of them at the Second Advent.
12:47 Whereas vv 35-38 dealt only with blessed servants, Jesus now spells out the consequences for disobedient ones. The servant's degree of knowledge as well as his actions determine the appropriate judgment. This one "knew his master's will" and yet "did not... do according to his will" - the apparent opposite of the girding for service and the maintenance of a lit lamp pictured in v 34. Figuratively, this kind of servant "shall be beaten with many stripes."
12:48 Ignorance of God's will does not absolve a disobedient believer of all consequence. It does however ameliorate it. This servant "shall be beaten with few." He receives the same kind of consequence, but less. Jesus then communicates the essential principle that undergirds this judgment. The first portion of the saying applies to those under the care of a steward (who depending on his faithfulness provides less or more to the male and female servants). The second part applies to the steward who had received the commission of caring for the household. In this way the leaders experience a more severe consequence (cf. James 3:1) than those under their care, and yet God holds all of them responsible.
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - Parable of the Evil Servant, Matthew 24:45-51 (cf. Luke 12:42-48)
(Salvation) Interpretation: Those people who are not prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: Those believers who are not prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ will be judged severely at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The background of this parable is the imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus has just told His disciples that no one knows the time of His coming, so they must always be ready and prepared for that event (Matt. 24:42-44). This event could only speak of the Rapture of the church immediately preceding the seven-year Tribulation, because the time of the Second Coming can be calculated from the beginning of the Tribulation and the mid-point abomination of desolation, and therefore is known (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15; Rev. 12:4-6). Jesus predicted a coming era for His church, but the end of the era and the time of its Rapture is unknown (Matt. 16:18: 1 Thess. 4:13-5:6).
The issue in the parable is "Who then is faithful and wise?" Both these virtues, as well as the designation of "servant," apply most naturally to believers in Christ making this parable (Discipleship oriented). The servant does, after all, believe in the return of his master, who in the story represents Christ. He is also given responsibility in the master's house. There is only one servant in view with two hypothetical choices ("that servant" in vv. 46 and 48 signifies the same servant as v. 45). If the servant does good in anticipation of his master's arrival, he is blessed with more responsibility, but if he does evil because he thinks his master is delaying, he is punished. Describing the servant as "evil" seems an unbecoming description for a Christian, but the Bible and life experience is full of believers who choose to do evil.
Another difficulty in seeing this evil servant as a believer in Christ is his fate. He is cut in two and assigned a portion with hypocrites where he weeps and gnashes his teeth (Matt. 24:51). Again, we encounter symbolic language, because not even unbelievers are literally cut in two. The metaphor speaks of a severe and intense judgment. The basis of this servant's hypocrisy is not that he claims to be a believer when he is not, rather, he claims to be a servant of the Master when in reality he is not - he is serving his own purposes and desires. Instead of "hypocrites," Luke's version uses the word "unbelievers" (apistos), but that word can also be translated "unfaithful," which better fits the context raised by the Lord's opening question (Matt. 24:45; Luke 12:42). We have already seen in our discussion of Matthew 22:1-14 that "weeping and gnashing of teeth" is a metaphorical expression for intense regret, which could be short-lived. Luke adds the interesting information that the evil servant is "beaten with many stripes" while the servant who does not completely understand the master's will is "beaten with a few" (Luke 12:47-48). This would be an odd way to describe the punishment of unbelievers in hell, but fits comfortably with the relative experiences of the Judgment Seat of Christ.
An important application from this (Discipleship) parable is that we cannot discount the negative consequences for unfaithful and unprepared believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ. There, the Word of God will be like a sword that cuts painfully into their deepest thoughts and motivations (Heb. 4:12: 1 Cor. 4:5). There also, they will experience shame (1 John 2:28) and have a fiery experience as their unworthy works are burned (1 Cor. 3:11-15). There is a definite loss to the unfaithful servant's future experience in the kingdom as he shares the fate of other hypocrites who were not prepared for the Lord's return.
The Lord may return at any time. We must be ready, prepared for His coming by continuing in good works. We cannot grow lax as He delays His return lest we encounter a severe judgment at the Judgment Seat of Christ.