Matthew 24:51Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And He instructs His hearer not only by the honour which awaits the good, but by the punishment which threatens the wicked, adding, If that evil servant shall say in his heart, &c.

He will be thrown into the abyss. Previously, he led others astray through his service. Consequently, many church leaders seem virtuous solely due to their ministerial role. In time, grace will be withdrawn from them, and they will face judgment as deceivers for not being true to their actual selves.

Let us delve into the significance of being severed (Matt. 24:51). In the beginning, when Adam was created, God endowed him with unparalleled beauty and bestowed upon him a share of His own Spirit, breathing into him the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). This Spirit, which is the essence of life, is indeed Christ (see John 1:4, John 14:6). However, after Adam fell into sin through deception, the Spirit departed from him. When God the Father decided to unite all creation under Christ’s authority (Eph. 1:10) and restore humanity to its original splendor, we received through grace what sin had stripped away, for after the Resurrection, Christ breathed upon us, renewing us to our former glory. ‘Receive,’ He instructs, ‘the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:22).

The temper of this servant is shewn in his behaviour, which is thus expressed by his good Master; his tyranny, and shall begin to beat his fellow servants, his sensuality, and to eat and drink with the drunken. So that when he said, My Lord delayeth His coming, he is not to be supposed to speak from desire to see the Lord, such as was that of him who said, My soul is athirst for the living God; when shall I come? (Ps. 42:2.) This shews that he was grieved at the delay, seeing that what was hastening towards him seemed to his longing desires to be coming slowly.

The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for Him, is to rouse the stewards to watchfulness and carefulness. He shall cut him in sunder, is not to be understood of execution by the sword, but that he shall sever him from the company of the saints.

The authority to govern will be taken away. Alternatively: separation de

Notes: The complete and eternal loss of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Even now, if she does not unite with those souls that defile her, while aiding those who have once been sealed to her as they await conversion, she will ultimately become entirely estranged from them forever. Consequently, she will assign him to share in the fate of the unfaithful, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. From his perspective, he names himself as one already stripped of the power to rule. In other words, he will distance himself from his servants and subject him to the same destiny as the hypocrites, as he merely pretended to be a steward and leader, when in truth, he was more destructive.

Or, he that makes progress in the faith, though he is not yet perfect in it, is ordinarily called faithful, and he who has natural quickness of intellect is called prudent. And whoever observes will find many faithful, and zealous in their belief, but not at the same time prudent; for God hath chosen the foolish things of the world. (1 Cor. 1:27.) Others again he will see who are quick and prudent but of weak faith; for the union of faith and prudence in the same man is most rare. To give food in due season calls for prudence in a man; not to take away the food of the needy requires faithfulness.

He will be divided and subjected to the same fate as the insincere. The term “cut up” should not be interpreted literally as a physical punishment, for that would reflect harshness and rage. Instead, it signifies the spiritual withdrawal of the blessings of Baptism and the loss of the freedom to approach God in prayer. To be “cut off” entails the judgment of the Lord: it is not feasible to penalize those who have pledged their allegiance to Christ, who are marked with His seal and equipped for His service, unless they are first stripped of their designation, as contemporary regulations indicate. A guilty soldier is not penalized until his insignia and rank are revoked. Once these are removed, he stands on equal footing with the general populace.

Or, shall set him over all his goods, that is, shall place him in the glory of God, because beyond this is nothing better.

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.

Nor yet does it imply the impossibility of attaining perfect virtue, but only the difficulty.

And shall be separated from him - This indicates that he will be distanced from the community of believers. The unfaithful servant will neither be honored alongside the saints nor lightly chastised with those who have committed lesser offenses, but instead will be cast out with the deceivers and unbelievers into the realm awaiting those whose lives served as a warning to him. The righteous priest receives glory not only for his own virtue but also for the virtue he inspires in others, as he is a source of their righteousness. Similarly, the wayward priest faces harsher consequences than others, not merely for his own transgressions but also for the transgressions he has led others to commit, as he is the origin of their wrongdoing.

In His fury, He will sever him in two and cast him among the hypocrites, where he will be thrown into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, an unbearable and eternal torment. St. John Chrysostom points out, if anyone questions, "Do you recognize the thoughts that arose in the servant due to the day's uncertainty?" For he remarked, "My lord will delay his coming." This thought did not stem from the lack of knowledge about the day, but rather from his own wickedness as a servant. Why did such thoughts not arise in the mind of a faithful and wise steward? Alas! Even if the master is tardy, why do you not anticipate his arrival at all? Why are you unconcerned? The Lord is not slow: heed the words of the Apostle Paul who states, "The Lord is near" (Phlp. 4:5).

The Lord emphasized the significance of remaining vigilant and active while expressing faithfulness, especially under challenging circumstances. Be watchful, for the hour of your Lord’s return is unknown. You hold authority in your household in My absence, yet the master of the home stays alert, for he always fears the possibility of a thief breaking in. Reflect on your condition following My departure; consider the servants entrusted with the management of the household during the master’s absence. How unfortunate it will be for the servant if he is discovered squandering the master's resources, while conversely, how blessed is the steward who has no complaints made against him and is held in favor by all.

Among the teachings of Jesus Christ, which encouraged His disciples to remain vigilant in light of the uncertainty surrounding the return of the Son of Man, each Gospel writer has retained unique memories. Luke offers a concise directive on this matter and later adds a summary of the life and ministry of Jesus, from His royal entry into Jerusalem to the Last Supper. Mark presents a parable about servants and a gatekeeper waiting for their master. Meanwhile, Matthew shares four parables: 1) the story of a homeowner facing a thief, 2) the parable of the faithful and unfaithful servant (cf. Luke 12:39-48), 3) the tale of the wise and foolish virgins, and 4) the parable of the talents, concluding with an illustration of the final judgment.

"Dissection" was a form of execution that took place in the East, utilized by the Hebrews, as seen in 1 Samuel 15:33, 2 Samuel 12:31, and Hebrews 11:37, as well as by the Chaldeans in Daniel 2:5 and 3:29, among the Egyptians, and to some degree by the Romans. This gruesome method involved cleaving the body from head to toe, employing either a sword or a saw. The term broadly indicates that an unfaithful and wicked servant would face intense suffering from their master.

Those who share the same grim destiny as the hypocrites (refer to the commentary on Matthew 6:2) are depicted as individuals of the utmost depravity, destined for grave punishments. The phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” relates to the reference found in Matthew 8:12-13.

When the exact moment of the Son of Man’s return remains uncertain, believers are called to remain spiritually vigilant: be watchful and pray continually, for you do not know when that time will arrive. To impress the importance of this spiritual vigilance on the hearts of His disciples, the Lord shared a parable in which He depicted Himself as a master departing from His household, representing the Church, to return to His Father in heaven, and later to come back to His servants for accountability regarding the tasks entrusted to them. Like a man who leaves his home, granting his servants authority and assigning each his duty, he instructs the gatekeeper to remain alert.