The Parable of the Servants' Responsibility is found in Luke 12:47-48.
The Story
"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten
with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will beaten with few blows.
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much
more will be asked. (Luke 12: 47-48, New International Version).
The Interpretation
The master represents God. The servant represents the Christian. Clarke comments on the Jewish custom of whipping:
47. SHALL BE BEATEN WITH MANY STRIPES. Criminals among the Jews could not be beaten with more than forty stripes; and as this was the sum of the severity to which a whipping could extend, it may be all that our Lord here means. But, in some cases, a man was adjudged to receive fourscore [eighty] stripes! How could this be, when the law had decreed only forty? Answer: By doubling the crime. He received forty for each crime; if he were guilty of two offenses, he might receive
fourscore.
48. SHALL BE BEATEN WITH FEW. For petty offenses the Jews in many cases inflicted so few as four, five, and six stripes.
From this and the preceding verse we find that it is a crime to be ignorant of God's will, because to everyone God has given less or more of the means of instruction. (Clarke, COMMENTARY ON THE HOLY BIBLE, Abridged by Ralph Earle, p. 875).
Jesus' hearers would understand the Jewish punishment for disobedience. They would also understand the same type
of punishment that masters would inflict on their slaves (servants). Morris applies the parable to Christians:
1. Responsibility rests on those who have received much. (Jonah 4:11; Amos 3:2).
2. Men will be punished for failing to do right, as well as for doing wrong. (James 4:17).
3. Why are people punished who sin in ignorance? There is no such thing as absolute moral ignorance. (Romans 1:20; 2:14-15). (R. G. V. Tasker, TYNDALE NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARIES, LUKE, by Leon Morris, pp. 218-219).
Farrar comments,
... there is no such thing as absolute moral ignorance. ...punishment shall be PROPORTIONAL to sin.... They who knew not will not of course be punished for any INVOLUNTARY ignorance, but only for actual misdoing. (Carr, CAMBRIDGE GREEK TESTAMENT FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, LUKE, by F. W. Farrar, pp. 280-281).
Childers comments further:
Greater LIGHT, ABILITY, AND OPPORTUNITY mean greater responsibility. (BEACON BIBLE COMMENTARY,
LUKE, By Charles Childers, p. 530).
THERE ARE DEGREES OF GUILT. Only God can be the true judge because in him there is absolute objectivity. He alone has exhaustive knowledge of right and wrong. Degrees of guilt are ABSOLUTE, whereas degrees of CULPABILITY are relative.
THERE ARE DEGREES OF CULPABILITY. Only God can be the true judge because he is omniscient (all knowledge and all wisdom). People may do bad things and yet have diminished responsiblity or culpability because of a lack of knowledge,
or low IQ, or mental illness.
THERE IS CULPABLE NEGLIGENCE. This entails truth we are held accountable for, even though we do not know it, but could have know it if we had (1) Read the Bible; and (2) Walked in the light God would have shown us.
Here are three examples to illustrate the above three points:
(1) A man murders another man in a jealous rage. He is convicted of murder and serves prison time. Another
man deliberately rapes and murders two women. He is convicted of rape and premeditated murder and is executed.
These two men are both guilty. The first man killed one man. The second man raped and killed two women.
(2) A mother backs her car over her child and kills it because she did not see the child. She is GUILTY of killing her child. The
child is just as dead as if someone had murdered it. However, the mother is griefstricken and in anguish, because
she loved her child so much that she would have gladly given her life for the child. She is not CULPABLE because she did
not know her child was behind the car. She does not have to serve jail time.
(3) A man is driving his car and his brakes fail. He hits a pedestrian and kills him. The driver is GUILTY of killing the pedestrian. The driver is very sorry--he did not deliberately kill the pedestrian. During the trial, it is pointed out that the driver knew that his brakes were bad and had put off not having them repaired. The driver is found CULPABLE to some degree because of his negligence. He is convicted of manslaughter, is sentenced, and must serve some time in jail.
Central Truth
WE ARE RESPONSIBLE TO OBEY GOD AND WE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR OUR ACTIONS.
Conclusion
We need to be very careful to obey our Heavenly Father. What we do or fail to do affects many other people. Much
personal suffering and suffering of others could be avoided if we simply would obey the Lord. What we do will not only
affect those who are now living, but those who may be born in the future!
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