Who Is the Trusted Servant?

⁴¹Peter said, "Lord, did you tell this story for us or for all people?" ⁴²The Lord said, "Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the servant that the master trusts to do that work? ⁴³When the master comes and finds that servant doing the work he gave him, that servant will be very happy. ⁴⁴I tell you the truth. The master will choose that servant to take care of everything the master owns. ⁴⁵But what will happen if that servant is evil and thinks that his master will not come back soon? That servant will begin to beat the other servants, men and women. He will eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶Then the master of that servant will come when that servant is not ready. It will be a time when that servant is not expecting the master. Then the master will punish that servant. The master will send him away to be with the other people that don't obey. ⁴⁷"That servant knew what his master wanted him to do. But that servant did not make himself ready or try to do what his master wanted. So that servant will be punished very much! ⁴⁸But what about the servant that does not know what his master wants? The servant does things that deserve punishment. But he will get less punishment than the servant that knew what he should do. Any person that has been given much will be responsible for much. Much more will be expected from the person that has been given more."

People Will Not Agree About Jesus

⁴⁹Jesus continued speaking: "I came to bring fire to the world. I wish it were already burning! ⁵⁰I must be baptized with a [different kind of] baptism.* I feel very troubled until it is finished. ⁵¹Do you think that I came to give peace to the world? No! I came to divide the world! ⁵²From now on, a family with five people will be divided, three against two, and two against three. ⁵³A father and son will be divided: The son will be against his father. The father will be against his son. A mother and her daughter will be divided: The daughter will be against her mother. The mother will be against her daughter. A mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law will be divided: The daughter-in-law will be against her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law will be against her daughter-in-law."

Understanding the Times

⁵⁴Then Jesus said to the people, "When you see clouds growing bigger in the west, you say, 'A rainstorm is coming.' And soon it begins to rain. ⁵⁵When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, 'It will be a hot day.' And you are right. ⁵⁶You hypocrites*! You can understand the weather. Why don't you understand what is happening now?

Settle Your Problems

⁵⁷"Why can't you decide for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸Suppose a person is suing you, and you are going with him to court. You should try hard to settle it on the way. If you don't settle it, he may take you to the judge. And the judge will throw you into jail. ⁵⁹You will not get out of there until you have paid every cent of what you owe."

baptized ... baptism These words have a special meaning here--being "baptized" or "buried" in troubles. hypocrites Bad people that act like they are good.