Matthew 24:45

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Who	Τίς Tis	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
then	ἆρα âra	G687	therefore
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
a faithful	πιστὸς pistos	G4103	objectively · adjective — nominative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
wise	φρόνιμος phronimos	G5429	thoughtful · adjective — nominative singular masculine
servant	δοῦλος doulos	G1401	a slave (literal or figurative · noun — nominative singular masculine
whom	ὃν hon	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — accusative singular masculine
his	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
lord	κύριος kurios	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — nominative singular masculine
hath made ruler	κατέστησεν katestēsen	G2525	to place down (permanently) · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
over	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
his	αὐτοῖς autois	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
household	θεραπεία therapeía	G2322	attendance (specially
to give	δοῦναι dounai	G1325	to give (used in a very wide application · verb — second aorist active infinitive
them	αὐτός autós	G846	the reflexive pronoun self
meat	τροφὴν trophēn	G5160	nourishment (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular feminine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
due season	καιρῷ; kairō	G2540	an occasion · noun — dative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over ma…
1 Corinthians 4:1-2 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Matthew 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many th…
Luke 12:41-43 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
Luke 16:10-12 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
Matthew 25:35-40 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also…
John 21:15-17 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 24:45

Who then is a faithful and wise servant,.... The Vulgate Latin adds, "do you think?" and is a question put to the disciples, which they might apply to themselves: in Luke 12:42, it is spoken in answer to a question of Peter's, in relation to the above exhortation, whether it was spoken to them, or to all; and by this answer, it looks as if it was more especially designed for them, though it may be applied to other. The "servant" is there called a "steward", for such a servant is meant; and a name that is very proper for the apostles and ministers of the word, who are stewards of the mysteries of Christ, and of the manifold grace of God; and whose characters are, that they are "faithful": for…

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John Calvin on Matthew 24:43–end

Matthew 24:43-51 Matthew 24:43-51 Mark 13:34-37 Luke 12:35-50 43. But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly have watched, and would not have permitted his house to be broken into. 44. Therefore, be you also ready; because the Son of man will come at an hour when you are not aware. 45. Who is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master hath appointed over his household, to give them food in due season? 46. Blessed is that servant, whom his master, when he cometh, shall find acting in this manner. 47. Verily I say to you, He will appoint him [165] over all his property. 48. But if that wicked servant shall say in his heart, My…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 24:45-51

This parable and the three that follow (25:1-13, 14-30, 31-46) each dramatize the need for faithful obedience during the delay of Jesus’ second coming. 24:45 servant: It is possible that Jesus’ listeners would have thought of God’s special servants, the prophets and lawgivers; however, Jesus so frequently used servant figuratively that it is more likely a description of every disciple’s responsibility (see 10:24-25; 13:27-28; 18:23-35; 20:26).

Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).

The Church Fathers

Nor yet does it imply the impossibility of attaining perfect virtue, but only the difficulty.
— Remigius of Rheims ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Though the Lord had given above a general exhortation to all in common to unwearied vigilance, yet He adds a special charge to the rulers of the people, that is, the Bishops, of watchfulness in looking for His coming. Such He calls a faithful servant, and wise master of the household, careful for the needs and interests of the people entrusted to Him.
— Hilary of Poitiers ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The lord is Christ, the household over which He appoints is the Church Catholic. It is hard then to find one man who is both faithful and wise, but not impossible; for He would not pronounce a blessing on a character that could never be, as when He adds, Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
— Rabanus Maurus ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Matthew, Gospel according to — The author of this book was beyond a doubt the Matthew, an apostle of our Lord, whose name it bears. He wrote the Gospel of Christ according to his own plans and aims, and from his own point of view,…
Olves, Mount of — So called from the olive trees with which its sides are clothed, is a mountain ridge on the east of Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:7; Ezek. 11:23; Zech. 14:4), from which it is separated by the valley of…
Commandments · DISCOURSE — DISCOURSE
Faithfulness · EXHORTATION TO — EXHORTATION TO
Parables · Parables of christ: Faithful, and evil servants — Parables of christ: Faithful, and evil servants
Second Coming Of Christ, The · Signs preceding — Signs preceding
Watchfulness · 36:18-21; — 36:18-21;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).