This is a direct telling of the Gospel message of the coming Judgment. Stripes are a type. It is good for instruction for the household of faith. “‘Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning,’ (Luke 12:35) The parable begins with a description of what is required of the Lord’s servants. In modern terms we would say that they have to have their sleeves rolled up and the lights switched on so that they can go about their tasks with all their might. They have to be like those swotting up in the week before their examinations, concentrating all their attention and effort on it. ‘Your loins girded.’ The long robes they wore hindered work, and so they had to be gathered up and tucked in their belts. ‘Your lamps burning.’ Their lamps for which they were responsible all had to be continually refilled with oil and their wicks tended so as to give off a bright flame. In a large household this could be quite a task in itself.” (Peter Pett)
“And you yourselves”— not just outwardly— “be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding"— “better rendered by 'because of the wedding.' The wedding, the marriage-feast does not precede His return, but follows that event." (Gaebelein)- "that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.“ (Luke 12:36)
“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." (Luke 12: 37) "If we are faithful to Christ, and are ready to meet Him when He returns, He will receive us into heaven - will admit us to all its blessings, and make us happy there - as if 'He' should serve us and minister to our wants." (Albert Barnes)- "And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. [No fourth watch because it is treated as imminent.] But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." (Luke 12:36-40)
"Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has." (Luke 12:42-44) Here is the wise stewards’ fortunes foretold. They will inherit the Kingdom and rule the nations under King Jesus.
”But"saying you are a servant does not secure our salvation. We must do the servant's work, preparing for the Master's return. "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." (Luke 12:45-46) In the presence of Jesus and the holy angels (Rev. 14:10), the unfathful servants will be slain and then utterly reduced to ashes. See Torment of Gehenna- https://www.mymorningmanna.com/post/torment-of-gehenna “The abusive minister in verse 45 is initially referred to as a ‘servant’ but is exposed as a 'hypocrite,' which literally means ‘actor.’ So we’re talking about a person who is only pretending to be a servant of Christ. He or she is a fake. Such a person may have begun as a legitimate Christian servant but somehow became corrupt over time. Position, power, pride, money, lust, etc. can easily corrupt any of us and cause us to fall away from the Lord if we fail to guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23).” (HELL KNOW!: Eternal Torment or Everlasting Destruction? by Dirk Waren)
The steward beat the master's servants (stripes) which is a picture of the Jewish church. In Luke 19, "Jesus told a parable about a landowner who established a fenced vineyard with a winepress and lookout tower, which he leased to vinedressers before traveling to a faraway country (v. 33). When the landowner sent his servants to collect his portion of the crop, the vinedressers beat one servant, killed one, and stoned another (v. 35). Then the landowner sent his son, saying, “They will respect my son” (v. 37). Maliciously, however, the vinedressers killed the landowner’s son (v. 39). What would happen now? Those listening to Jesus’ story emphatically affirmed that the owner of the vineyard would kill the evil men and find honorable workers to take their place.
Matthew 22:7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” (Rescue from Death by Robert Taylor)
”And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. (47) But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. (48) For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (49) Most conditionalists believe that the implication of these verses is that “all the lost will not receive same amount of suffering for their sins - before they are destroyed. God will see that they receive the exact amount of 'stripes' they deserve. Some (like Hitler) will receive very many 'stripes'. Others will receive 'few' as Jesus says. After they have received their appropriate 'stripes,' then they will 'perish' as John 3:16 states." (CI & Hell: A Biblical Response to Traditional Teaching by Douglas Barry Yet, I don't believe that will there be differing degrees of suffering for person devoted to destruction. Stripes pertain to believers and are a type of spiritual chastening for purpose of correction.
I acknowledge that there are degrees of sin. Jesus "acknowledged degrees of sin when He said to Pilate, 'You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin' (John 19:11). In light of Christ’s words, we must acknowledge degrees of sin.... Jesus himself used a comparative adjective to distinguish one sin from another. Without question, some sins are 'greater' than other sins....But this conclusion leads us to ask the question, Why does God treat some sin more seriously than other sin? The answer to that question depends [at least in part] upon.. the degree of light the sinner possesses... The degree of one’s guilt is relative to the degree of one’s knowledge of truth. In Luke 12:47-48, Jesus teaches this principle by way of an illustration: 'And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.' This is why Jesus warns his countrymen that it will be far more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for them if they reject His gospel message (Matt. 10:16; 11:21-24). I believe this is also the point Jesus underscores when He says to Pilate in John 19:11, 'the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.'" (The Greater Sin: Are There Degrees of Sin? by Bob Gonzales)
Jesus says that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment than for his countrymen. But the degrees of sin do not necessarily equate to degrees of punishment for the wicked. Jesus' fellows who reject him should prepare themselves for a harsher Judgment than the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah for sure. And what of us with the Gospel light!?
The torah of stripes: "If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows. Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother be humiliated in your sight." (Deuteronomy 25:1-3)
"Reference to the two men in controversy as the 'wicked' and the 'righteous' hardly conveys the true status of the contenders. Orlinsky gave the correct translation of the terms here as 'the innocent' and 'the guilty.' [Notes on the New Translation of Torah by Harry M Orlinsky]." (Coffman Comm) "The Jews never inflicted more than forty stripes for one offence, Deuteronomy 25:3. For smaller offences they inflicted only four, five, six, etc., according to the nature of the crime... Forty signifies the full measure of judgment (cp. Gen. 7:12; Num. 14:33-34); but the son of Israel was not to be lashed like a slave at the mercy of another." (Albert Barnes) So the judge was always to be present to see that the offender was beaten relative to guilt and to restrain the severity of the individual blows of the one executing the decree to avoid humiliation... and perhaps death. The hope was repentance. Moreover, the proceedings as well as execution of sentence was public.
The church militant chastens its members. And when they will not listen, the instruction is clear: “Expel the wicked man from among you...” (1 Cor 5:13), which is a death sentence with hope that he will repent and be saved. "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.“ (Matt 18:17-20)
Mysteriously, physical stripes were enforced by Rome— the last kingdom in the image in Nebuchadnezzar's dream that Daniel prophesied would excercise dominion over Israel. It was their law that the infliction of stripes were just to be on the Jews, not Roman citizens. They adopted this Hebrew precept in their own administration of justice, probably because it was just and humane. And remember: "Paul claimed the privilege of a Roman citizen in regard to the infliction of [unjust] stripes (Acts 16:37, 38; Acts 16:37 -29).” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary)
Don't beat a man beyond the Judge's intent, lest "your brother be humiliated in your sight... or better rendered lest he be considered vile or contemptible by you- "By this God teaches us to hate and despise the sin, not the sinner, who is by this chastisement to be amended; as the power which the Lord hath given is to edification, not to destruction, 2 Cor 13:10." (Adam Clarke)
There is the spiritual part even in the Hebrew infliction of stripes where things are explained to the guilty: “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of Yahweh, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom Yahweh loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’ [Prov. 3:11,12]” (Heb 12:5-6) "This exhortation by Solomon is based on a truth that is in force under all ages of the world, hence Paul cites it and applies it to the servants of God in the Christian Dispensation. ‘Despise not’ denotes that they should not belittle or disrespect the correction.” (E.M. Zerr)
Paul tells the church, "don’t resist my gentle reproof to you. Hereto you have reacted badly to opposition. Behave as Jesus did and stay the course as He did, even unto death." “Chastisement for sin is a family mark, a sign of sonship, a proof of God’s love, a token of His Fatherly kindness and care; it is an inestimable mercy, a choice new-covenant blessing. Woe to the man whom God chastens not, whom He suffers to go recklessly on in the boastful and presumptuous security which so many now mistake for faith. There is a reckoning to come of which he little dreams. Were he a son, he would be chastened for his sin; he would be brought to repentance and godly sorrow, he would with grief of heart confess his sins, and then be blest with pardon and peace.” (A. W. Pink) “'Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful.' Yet it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness - holiness and happiness— to them that are exercised thereby - that receive this exercise as from God, and improve it according to His will.” (John Wesley)
"You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." (Deut 25:4) The threshing floor is a place of Judgment, where wheat is separated from tares. Ox perform the task. "In other kinds of labor the oxen were usually muzzled. When driven to and fro over the threshing-floor in order to stamp out the grain from the chaff, they were to be allowed to partake of the fruits of their labors." (Albert Barnes) "While the oxen were at work some muzzled their mouths to hinder them from eating the corn, which Moses here forbids, instructing the people by this symbolical precept to be kind to their servants and laborers, but especially to those who ministered to them in holy things; so St. Paul applies it 1 Corinthians 9:9, etc.; 1 Timothy 5:18." (Adam Clarke)
So, there is degrees of sin. However, we must also beware of drawing unbiblical conclusions from this truth, it does not imply degrees of suffering in hell. Rather, believers will be chastised in varying degrees at the Judgment seat of Christ, but not with stripes. Those were nailed to the cross. Alas, Jesus not only died for us— meaning that we will not died the second death like the wicked servant— but He was also beaten beyond the constraint of law for us. (Matt 27:26).
"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isa 53:4-6)
And we must listen to reproof now and repent of the sin lest we fall into apostasy and fate of the wicked. Yet, if we persevere to the end, we will stand before the Judgment seat of Christ to give an account of our lives. We will be saved but many works will be burned up. (1 Cor 3:15)
Jesus then said, "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (49) “‘Fire’ is symbolic of that which searches and judges, and it had been already kindled by His rejection.”( F. B. Hole) “Fire is almost always the symbol of judgment. So, then, Jesus regarded the coming of his kingdom as a time of judgment. The Jews firmly believed that God would judge other nations by one standard and themselves by another; that the very fact that a man was a Jew would be enough to absolve him. However much we may wish to eliminate the element of judgment from the message of Jesus it remains stubbornly and unalterably there." (William Barclay) "But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!" (50) “ By His 'baptism' He indicated His death, and until that was accomplished He was 'straitened,' that is, narrowed up, or restrained.“ (F. B. Hole)
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