Servants - Acts 1:6-7 & Matthew 24:36-51 8/18/2011

Acts 1:6-7
"⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
 ⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."

For hundreds of years the Jews have been waiting for God to "restore the kingdom to Israel."  Jesus' response switches the core expectation of those who would believe in Him.  The very question that so many people have been waiting for an answer to is now rendered obsolete.  It's not that it's fruition is obsolete; however in this verse Jesus shows borderline indifference to times and dates and says it's not for them to know.  

Therefore, the same will be said and re-enforced here.  We are not to worry about times and dates for questions like this.  The many in history who have tried to predict when events will happen before they do have most often been foiled by some element that is, and always will be, completely out of their control.

Other than the book of Revelation, which is full of prophetic and extremely visual and interpretive language, Matthew 24 gives us the most concrete information regarding what Christians most often refer to as "the end times."  I bring this up for 2 reasons.  First, to mention that I'm not entirely sure that what is being referenced in this Acts verse as "restoring the kingdom to Israel" is the same as what Christians often refer to as "the end times."  I think it probably is, however I cannot be sure. While specific numbering exists in Revelation, I do not claim to know that the 144,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel is the same Israel that is referenced in the first question.

The 2nd reason I bring up Matthew 24 instead of delving into Revelatory scripture is that it is Jesus speaking to his disciples about the events to come and nearing the end of Matthew 24, leaves them with some solid, concrete stuff relating to what all the information means to them.

Matthew 24:36-51
^"36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[f] but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
   ⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
   ⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. ⁵⁰ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. ⁵¹ He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

All of scripture is extremely valuable and full of truth and words that can give life alongside a relationship with Jesus Christ.  For me, these verses paint a picture of how we should live every single day.  If you live each day like the faithful and wise servant, you will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."  The trouble with living the life of the faithful servant is sin.  Without sin we would never consider what to do with our time if God - the master - was not present.  We would simply take care of the household He left us as He would take care of it Himself!  This is how it was in Eden before the fall - before sin and iniquity entered the heart of man.

Case and point - do not become enraptured with the end-times or when they are coming.  Seek first His kingdom and have a mind like the faithful servant.  Focus on what God has given you to take care of and do that with Him!  As you consciously choose to do these things as God would do them, your relationship with Him will grow into a dependable, immovable rock to hold onto at all times.  The goal of the faithful servant is not to simply fit Jesus in, it's to recognize that Jesus is all there is.


The author of life wants to be involved and take the lead in writing your story.  Whether you let him in or not in this life, He will write the final page.