Luke 12:37

37 ¹Blessed are those servants^[a] whom the master finds ²awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ³he will dress himself for service and ⁴have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.

Luke 12:37 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 12:37

Blessed are those servants whom the Lord
The Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, "their Lord", the master of them, or the Lord Jesus Christ:

when he cometh shall find watching:
for him, and not asleep. The Ethiopic version reads, "so doing, and watching"; girding up their loins, trimming their lamps, and waiting for their Lord's coming: such servants are happy, they will appear to be in the favour of their master, who will take notice of them and show some marks of respect to them; as Christ will to all his good and faithful servants, whenever he comes, whether at death, or at judgment; and who will be happy then, being found so doing, and found in him:

verily I say unto you that he shall gird himself;
not that Christ shall really do this, or appear in the form of a servant; but that he shall readily, cheerfully, and at once introduce his servants into his joy, and make them partakers of all the glories of the other world:

and make them to sit down to meat;
at his table in his kingdom; see ( Matthew 8:11 ) ( Luke 22:30 )

and will come forth and serve them;
with food, yea, will feed them himself, and lead them to fountains of living water, ( Revelation 7:17 ) The Arabic version renders it, "he shall stand to minister unto them": the phrase is expressive of the posture of a servant; who, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, is (Klwh) , "walking", and who goes round about the table, whilst others sit ^F20: some think there is allusion in the words to a custom used at some feasts, particularly at the feasts in honour of Saturn, in which servants changed clothes with their masters, and sat at their tables, and their masters served them ^F21

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Jarchi in T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 77. 2.
F21 Vide Lipsii Saturnal. l. 1. c. 2. p. 6.

Luke 12:37 In-Context

35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,

36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.

37 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.

38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!

39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.

Cross References

• 1. 12:37 See Matt. 24:42, 46
• 2. 12:37 See Matt. 24:42, 46
• 3. 12:37 John 13:4; [ver. 35; ch. 17:8]
• 4. 12:37 [ch. 22:27]

Footnotes

• [a] 12:37 Greek 'bondservants'