Transcript

Please take your Bibles and let’s go to Luke 12 as we continue through the gospel of Luke. If you’re visiting today, we’re going verse by verse, chapter by chapter through the New Testament gospel of Luke. We come to a section where this massive crowd, Luke says there are so many people gathered around, they’re literally stepping on one another and in that kind of a setting where there are all kinds of folks, curiosity seekers, folks who want healing, want to be fed, small remnant of genuine devoted followers, the Lord gives some powerful stinging teaching, some things you wouldn’t say if you wanted to keep a big crowd around, probably. He’s trying to prepare his followers for their future ministry and what they’re going to be up against and the challenges and the difficulties they’re going to face.

So, he begins, if you will, in Luke 12:35 saying this to them. I say he begins, he’s continuing his discourse but for us it’s a beginning this morning, of course.

“ 35 ‘Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. 36 Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.’ 41 Peter said, ‘Lord, are You addressing this parable to us,” he’s talking about that inner circle of disciples, “or to everyone else,” that’s the mass mob of people, “as well?’ 42 And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 44 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says in his heart, “My master will be a long time in coming,” and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; 46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. 47 And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

I’ve entitled this section “Discerning Shepherds and Sheep,” that is, discerning the shepherds and sheep not shepherd and sheep who are discerning. But the Lord is giving us some good understanding here about how to understand what a true shepherd is and how to understand what true sheep are like. Someone interviewed Dr. John MacArthur not long ago and I think I’ve mentioned this to you before, I think John MacArthur is probably the most trustworthy and faithful pastor, theologian, alive today as far as one that’s prominently known. They asked Dr. MacArthur, “What is the great need for the church today?” Immediately he said, “Discernment.” Discernment. I might disagree a little with that, I might say the preaching of the word is the dire need because that’s what gives discernment, however, it’s really just two sides to the same coin. Discernment, and that is what the Lord is talking about here. He’s teaching against the backdrop of the false shepherds, the religious authorities of the nation of Israel, and he’s trying to show the contrast between an unfaithful shepherd, a false one, an unfaithful and false sheep and what he’s trying to make of this little remnant of disciples, true shepherds who will shepherd true sheep.

First of all, let’s talk about the true shepherds and the true sheep. That would be I and we’ll look at verses 35-44. The Lord said you will know they are true shepherds and you’ll know that they are true sheep by the reverence and readiness that is in their lives. Now, this is actually th