Luke 12:35–40 is a short parable, but it carries a powerful call: don’t just believe in Jesus—live ready for His return.
The Scene: Lamps, Belts, and a Door
Jesus begins with an image His listeners would immediately recognize:
“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast…” (Luke 12:35–36)
In that culture, to have your belt fastened meant you were ready to move. Loose robes were gathered up and tied when it was time to work, run, or serve. A burning lamp meant you had prepared ahead of time—oil purchased, wick trimmed, flame protected through the night.
Put simply, the servants in Jesus’ story are not lounging; they are alert. They stand close to the door so that when the master knocks, they can open “at once.” There’s eagerness in the picture, not irritation or surprise. They are waiting for the one they love and serve.
The Surprise in the Story
Then Jesus drops a stunning twist:
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.” (Luke 12:37)
No first-century listener would expect this. Masters did not serve servants—servants served masters. Yet Jesus portrays a Lord who finds His people awake and then does the unthinkable: He takes the servant’s posture and waits on them.
This is a window into the heart of Christ. The One we serve is not a distant taskmaster keeping score; He is the Lord who washed His disciples’ feet and gave His life for them. The reward for readiness is not just “getting in” to heaven; it is deeper fellowship, joy, and honor in the presence of the One who loved us first.
The Uncertain Hour
Jesus continues:
“If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!” (Luke 12:38)
The second and third watches are the deep hours of the night, when it’s hardest to stay awake. That’s where most of us live spiritually—not in the excitement of early faith, but in the long middle stretch where prayers seem slow to be answered, temptations repeat, and the world hums along as if Jesus will never come.
It is precisely there that faithfulness matters most.
The parable ends with a sober warning:
“You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:40)
We don’t get a countdown clock. We don’t get calendar dates. We get a Person and a promise—and the clear instruction to live as if His return could be today.
What Readiness Looks Like Today
So what does it actually mean to live “ready” in everyday life? It is less dramatic than we sometimes imagine, and more demanding.
Readiness looks like:
- Consistency in hidden obedience
Choosing integrity when no one sees; repenting quickly when the Spirit convicts; refusing to make peace with “respectable” sins. - Active, not passive, faith
Keeping the “lamp” of your heart burning through Scripture, prayer, worship, and community—treating your walk with Christ as essential, not optional. - Open-handed stewardship
Holding your time, money, opportunities, and gifts before God with a willingness to use them for His kingdom, not just your comfort. - Love that looks like Jesus
Serving others rather than demanding to be served, forgiving freely, and carrying the good news of Christ into your relationships.
Readiness is not panic or prediction. It is a long obedience in the same direction, anchored in the confidence that the Master is good and that He is, in fact, coming.
A Personal Question
This parable invites a simple but piercing question: If Jesus came today—if He “knocked” on the door of your life right now—would He find you awake?
Not perfect. Not sinless. But watchful, responsive, and oriented toward Him.
Maybe for you, “keeping your lamp burning” today looks like returning to a neglected habit of prayer. Maybe it’s finally obeying a prompting you’ve pushed aside. Maybe it’s reconciling with someone, confessing a hidden sin, or stepping into a calling you’ve delayed.
The good news is that readiness doesn’t start with your effort; it starts with His grace. The same Lord who will one day return in glory is the Lord who now strengthens, forgives, and restores all who come to Him. He calls us to be ready—but He also supplies what we lack.
So fasten the belt. Trim the wick. Keep the lamp burning.
The Master is coming.
Have you prepared?
Are you following the studies of the Parables?
Discovering the Path of Salvation series by Stephen Luckett
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