Q: In Matthew 24:50-51, Jesus concludes a parable by saying that The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder. This seems unjust and cruel.
A: [Theres a typo in the SAB-sidebar here. Assunder should be replaced by asunder.]
In 24:51, the content of Jesus parable is blended with its explanation. Considering how the parable as a whole is framed, it seems obvious that the lesson Christ intended to teach is not that rebellious and irresponsible slaves ought to be thoroughly scourged; its that those who abuse their authority among Gods people will be punished and will not inherit the kingdom of God. The symbolism works out like this:
The landlord is Christ -- no big mystery about this; 24:42 invites this interpretation. The evil servant is anyone who abuses authority among Gods people. The day of the landlords return = the Second Coming of Christ. The cutting asunder is the initial punishment of the authority-abusers. And the portion with the hypocrites is an appropriate territory in hell.
The term used for cut asunder, btw, doesnt necessarily involve a slicing-in-two of the evil servant. Although the literal rendering of dichotomesei is will cut in two, this may be a colloquialism describing a severe scourging. But whether one understands it literally or non-literally, its framed as a /symbol/ in a /parable/. And parables are given to instruct us about heavenly things, not earthly things. In this case, it teaches that those in authority over Gods people ought to do good, not bad; they should conduct themselves in such a way that if the Lord returned at any given time, they would not be ashamed of what they were doing. Those who unrepentantly abuse their authority will be taken by surprise and will be overtaken by Gods judgment. To me, this is not an injustice; it's justice upon those who stain Christs holy cross with their unholy lusts and avarice.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
[edited to change the title]
A: [Theres a typo in the SAB-sidebar here. Assunder should be replaced by asunder.]
In 24:51, the content of Jesus parable is blended with its explanation. Considering how the parable as a whole is framed, it seems obvious that the lesson Christ intended to teach is not that rebellious and irresponsible slaves ought to be thoroughly scourged; its that those who abuse their authority among Gods people will be punished and will not inherit the kingdom of God. The symbolism works out like this:
The landlord is Christ -- no big mystery about this; 24:42 invites this interpretation. The evil servant is anyone who abuses authority among Gods people. The day of the landlords return = the Second Coming of Christ. The cutting asunder is the initial punishment of the authority-abusers. And the portion with the hypocrites is an appropriate territory in hell.
The term used for cut asunder, btw, doesnt necessarily involve a slicing-in-two of the evil servant. Although the literal rendering of dichotomesei is will cut in two, this may be a colloquialism describing a severe scourging. But whether one understands it literally or non-literally, its framed as a /symbol/ in a /parable/. And parables are given to instruct us about heavenly things, not earthly things. In this case, it teaches that those in authority over Gods people ought to do good, not bad; they should conduct themselves in such a way that if the Lord returned at any given time, they would not be ashamed of what they were doing. Those who unrepentantly abuse their authority will be taken by surprise and will be overtaken by Gods judgment. To me, this is not an injustice; it's justice upon those who stain Christs holy cross with their unholy lusts and avarice.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
[edited to change the title]
