Matthew 24:48

Say in his heart. The “evil servant” may not admit openly that he believes his lord is delayed, but his way of life betrays him. He does not act as if he believed his lord would soon return.

Delayeth his coming. He is not one of the scoffers, who deny the reality of Christ’s return (2 Peter 3:4). He pretends to believe; in fact, he has accepted the responsibility of giving the members of the “household of faith” spiritual food that will help them to prepare for their Lord’s return (see on Matt. 24:45). But his words lack conviction. He is not in dead earnest. His life and labors proclaim that he does not really believe his Lord is coming soon. In a time of crisis he does not stand “between the dead and the living” (Num. 16:48). He does not minister “in season, out of season”; nor does he “reprove, rebuke, exhort” (2 Tim. 4:2), rather he adapts his message to the “itching ears” of his parishioners (v. 3). He forgets that “the message of Christ’s soon coming is designed to arouse men from their absorption in worldly things” (COL 228).