The Wicked Slave in Matthew 24

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Description: In the closing verses of Matthew 24, Jesus issues a sobering warning about the wicked slave who, convinced the master is delayed, turns on his fellow servants and indulges himself—only to face sudden, severe judgment. This is part 28 of a series on the Olivet Discourse, completing the final verses of Matthew 24 after last week’s focus on the faithful slave.
During the transition from the old covenant to the new, two groups of leaders stood in Israel: those appointed by Yahweh under the old order and those raised up by Jesus. The events of 70 AD would reveal who proved true. Some clung rigidly to the passing covenant. Others joined the Christians yet refused to release their former ways, honoring men above God and growing fat off both Jews and believers.
Jesus describes the evil slave who says in his heart, “My master is not coming for a long time.” Throughout Israel’s history, delay provoked rebellion. When Moses lingered on the mountain in Exodus 32, the people demanded gods. Ecclesiastes 8:11 observes that when sentence against evil is not executed quickly, the hearts of men are given fully to do evil. Scoffers in 2 Peter 3 asked where the promise of His coming was. Before Babylon, Ezekiel 12 records Israel dismissing the vision as far off—yet judgment came swiftly. Hebrews 10 declares the day drawing near and warns that willful sin after receiving the truth leaves only a terrifying expectation of judgment, for “yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.”
The wicked slave then begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards. The New Testament records Jewish leaders striking and beating faithful witnesses—Sosthenes, Paul, and others in Acts. Instead of feeding the flock, these shepherds fed themselves. Ezekiel 34 indicts them for eating the fat, clothing themselves with the wool, and dominating with severity while neglecting the weak, the broken, and the lost. First Samuel 2 rebukes Eli for making himself and his sons fat on the choicest offerings. Micah 3 describes leaders who tear the flesh of the people and prophesy only when paid. Romans 16 and Philippians 3 expose those whose god is their stomach, using smooth and flattering speech to deceive. The same patterns appear among some modern pastors who tell the sheep what they want to hear so the money keeps flowing.
Drunkenness compounds the failure. Isaiah 28 portrays the priests and prophets of Ephraim reeling with wine, their tables full of filthy vomit. Revelation 17 shows the harlot drunk with the blood of the saints and the witnesses of Jesus. The master of that slave will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. Faithful ones, like John the Baptist, expected the coming judgment; the axe was already laid at the root of the trees. Believers who held the promises of the prophets looked for and hastened the day of God.
The judgment is decisive: the master will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Cutting in pieces recalls the language of Deuteronomy 32, where Yahweh declares He would cut the perverse generation to pieces, and Ezekiel 16, where the harlot Israel is stoned and cut with swords until divine wrath is satisfied and the remnant is saved. The place with the hypocrites is the place of the scribes and Pharisees of Matthew 23, who devour widows’ houses, and is synonymous with the unbelievers in Luke’s parallel account. Parables in Matthew 8, 13, 22, and 25 repeatedly locate this weeping and gnashing in outer darkness or the fiery furnace—outside the presence of God—after the separation of true and false, wheat and tares, sheep and goats. Luke 13 shows it continuing after the resurrection as the wicked see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets in the kingdom while themselves cast out.
What does this mean for us? Since the kingdom has now been turned over to us, we must be diligent to feed the sheep the word of God, to present to Christ the fruit of justice and righteousness, to refuse to grow fat off the sheep, and even to expose these wicked pastors.

0:00 – Series intro & Matthew 24:45-51 overview
1:15 – The wicked slave’s heart: “My master is not coming for a long time”
2:50 – Historical pattern of delay and rebellion (Exodus 32, Ecclesiastes, 2 Peter, Ezekiel, Hebrews)
5:30 – Beating fellow slaves – New Testament examples
7:20 – Eating and drinking with drunkards: fat shepherds in Ezekiel 34, Eli, Micah
13:30 – Drunkenness, Isaiah 28 & Revelation 17
15:10 – The master comes on an unexpected day
16:40 – Cut in pieces and assigned with the hypocrites
20:00 – Weeping and gnashing of teeth across the parables
25:00 – Application: feed the sheep, do not get fat, expose wicked pastors

Uploaded By: schuttemeier

Uploaded On: October 24, 2026, 11:25 PM