Jesus has warned His disciples that His coming will be at a time they do not expect; hence the most important thing for them to take-away from everything He has said in response to their request for a sign of His coming is that they must keep watch lest it overtake them like a thief. Now, in response to Peter’s question if the parable of the thief was being addressed to them or to everyone else as well (Luk 12:41), Jesus answers with another parable that makes clear that it applies especially to those whom He has put in charge as stewards over His house to give the other slaves who are still maturing in their faith their rations of spiritual food at the proper time; cf. Jam 3:1. What does Jesus say will be the general outcome for those whom He finds so doing when He comes? See Mat 24:46. What blessing had He already said would be for those whom He finds on the alert when He comes? See Luk 12:37. How great a blessing must it be to be served by the Lord of all creation in whom are found all the richest and most lasting treasures of creation? In what way did Jesus gird Himself to serve at His first coming? See Joh 13:3-5. Should we expect that His service will be any less at His second coming? Cf. Rom 8:32. What table has He already prepared at which He bids His disciples to recline? Cf. Pro 9:1-6, Isa 55:1-2, Mat 22:1-4. In what sense does Jesus already wait upon and serve those who come to the feast He has prepared for us in His word? See Joh 6:48-51. But do we in fact come, or are we like those in Mat 22:5-6 who were unwilling to come? Cf. Mat 23:37. Should we expect that when Jesus comes again He will find on the alert those who have refused to come to the feast He has already prepared? Should we expect that when He comes the blessing of the feast He serves those whom He does find on the alert will be any less than the richness of the blessing which accompanied His first coming? Cf. 1Co 2:9.
What additional blessing does Jesus say will be for those stewards whom He finds faithfully providing the other servants their food at the proper time? See Mat 24:47; cf. Mat 25:19-23. What is meant by “all His possessions”? Although as the Son of God Jesus is heir of all things and is rich with a fabulous wealth, are His possessions like those deemed valuable by the world? See Luk 4:5-8, and consider that the gold treasured by men on earth is only as valuable in the heavenly Jerusalem as stones used to pave streets for men to tread upon; Rev 21:21. What were Jesus’ possessions on earth? Cf. Mat 8:20, Joh 19:23, 2Co 8:9. What are the possessions of His true wealth that will last forever and never perish? See Mat 24:35, Col 2:3, 1Pe 1:23, and Eph 1:18; cf. Pro 8:11,18-21. Consider too the riches described in Scripture that we inherit from God as joint heirs with Christ; see Eph 1:7, 2:4,7, 3:8,16, Rom 2:4, 11:33.
What is the significance that the Greek word for possessions is also used as a verb of being or existence? For example, see Luk 11:13, 16:23, Act 7:55,16:20, 17:29, Gal 1:14, 2:14, Phil 2:6 for the same word. What is the relationship between a person’s possessions and their being or who they are? Do we not often think of who a person is in terms of their possessions because who they are is reflected by what they have? Are the things a person may possess necessarily just physical? See 2Co 6:10; cf. Luk 12:15. In what way do the things that Christ possesses reflect who He is? What do our possessions then say about who we are? Do our possessions and the things we treasure indicate that we are of the earth and earthy like the first man Adam, or that we are of heaven and heavenly like the last Adam, Christ? See 1Co 15:45-48. Although everyone says they want to go to heaven, how many live their lives on earth as if they really do, and how many live their lives on earth as if they wished this was their eternal home? Do we?
So when Jesus says concerning those faithful stewards whom He put in charge of His household to give the other slaves their spiritual food at the proper time that if He finds them so doing He will put them in charge of all His possessions, what are we to understand is the blessing they will receive? Will they have charge over a physical mansion or estate such as those treasured by the kings and great men of the world? Or will it be a spiritual estate, such as that possessed and treasured by Jesus? Is it kings and men who are great in the eyes of the world that Jesus will put in charge of His most valuable possessions? Or is it those who are meek and humble and poor in spirit who are like Him in serving others? See Mat 5:3,5,7-9, 20:25-28. Do those who love the world really want to even be a part of His kingdom, let alone have high standing in it as the least and servant of all? How does this help us to understand the way that Jesus by His word sifts the hearts of men like a winnowing fork?