Waiting – who hasn’t experienced this? Nobody actually likes to wait, but often there is no choice. Many people wait for their train every day. You often see people waiting for the bus early in the morning. Others wait in front of closed doors. We are expected to wait in the waiting rooms of hospitals or at the doctor’s office. Waiting requires endurance, patience, and quiet hope. Waiting can also be a test.
In Luke 12:36, Jesus says: “Be like men who wait for their master.” This was obviously about something very important. What position did these people take, and what did others not take? Jesus repeatedly reminds us of waiting and presents it with many practical examples.
In Luke 12, we read the parable of the servants who are in service of their master. A servant is expected to follow the will of his master and fulfill the duties assigned to him. Then Jesus said: “But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers” (verses 45-46).
At the same time, Jesus mentions the faithful servants and says: “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you, that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them…he will make him ruler over all that he has” (verses 37 and 44). Therefore, it is important to be a faithful and wise steward.
Another example showing us the importance of persistent waiting is the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25). Jesus again emphasizes the importance of vigilance and preparedness. Jesus presents a picture of a Middle Eastern wedding at the time. Jesus compares Himself to the bridegroom. The virgins, together with the bride, symbolize the church, the faithful disciples.
The bride had to wait and be ready for the bridegroom at any time. The exact time was not known to the virgins and the bride, hence the importance of waiting and being ready. The bride’s reception apparently took place in the late evening. That is why the virgins kept their lamps burning.
The Lord called five of these virgins foolish. They did not have extra oil along, and their lamps went out. Because of this, they missed the wedding and had to stand in front of the closed door. Jesus wants to show us the seriousness of this situation. He warns the church and all believers against spiritual fatigue, idleness, indifference, and half-heartedness. At the same time, He shows us how important vigilance, persistent waiting, and constant preparedness are. The most important thing is to have a firm, living faith! – Do we have that genuine, firm faith that includes persistent, rewarding waiting for our Lord to return?
D. S. Warner wrote in one of his songs:
Are you ready, waiting for the Lord?
See, the signs proclaim Him near;
In the awful thunder of His Word,
Now His coming steps we hear.
Hark! the solemn warning unto all,
Judgment’s coming, O how soon!
Flee, O man, at mercy’s final call,
Heaven trembles at our doom.
Thou art coming, O my Savior,
Who can stand Thy flaming light?
Now the burning of Thy Spirit
Sweeps away the works of night;
Quickly coming in Thy glory,
With Thy bright angelic train,
We shall see Thee in Thy beauty,
And forever with Thee reign.
What can we learn from Luke 12 and Matthew 25? Pfäfflin translates Luke 12:35-36 like this: “Gird your loins and keep your lamps burning brightly! Be like those who stay awake waiting for their Lord.” Isn’t that a noteworthy word for us? It is of utmost importance for our time. We live in a world poor in faith and their backs turned away from God!
Who still believes in eternity, in the return of our beloved Lord and in the final judgment of the world? These outstanding events are ignored in disbelief. And whoever tries to point them out faces anger and malicious contempt, but that doesn’t change the clear reality! In view of Jesus’ coming again, we are exhorted to persistent waiting, constant vigilance, and complete readiness. None of us can act wiser than to follow this.
Let us have the same resolution as the poet F. Hiller:
I want to strive for the life where I am blessed;
I want to fight, to press on until I win!
If someone holds me back, I will run away;
If I am weary, Your Word lifts me up;
I will wrestle and persevere until I reach the prize!
Yes, “the hope of the righteous will be gladness” (Proverbs 10:28).
Friedrich Krebs
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