servant. The reference to being made ruler comes out again in Matt. 25: This time the

servant is not given to rule at first, but as a reward for his faithful use of the five talents,

or the two talents, he is made ruler over five or two cities, and equally enters into the joy

of his Lord, Who "for the joy that was set before Him endured a cross, despising the

shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." To the same effect is

Phil. 2: 5-9:--

The state of heart of the bad servant is reflected in such passages as II Pet. 3: 3-14,

where the scoffing of those who walk after their own lusts regarding the coming of the

Lord, the reference to the flood (see 2: 5) and "being found of Him without spot" are

suggestive parallels to Matt. 24: The state of drunkenness is also likened to the

condition of unwatchfulness that shall overtake those who are in darkness; "for they that

be drunken are drunken in the night (see I Thess. 5: 1-11).

The fate of the evil servant is "to be cut asunder." The word literally means to be cut

in half, and has the meaning "cut in pieces" in the O.T. There is no doubt as to the word

itself. The question, however, is what does it mean? Are we to understand that the Lord

will literally cut His evil servants into pieces? The word "cut asunder" is dichotomeõ,

and occurs only here and in Luke 12: 46. Dicha enters into the word dichazõ, which is

rendered "set at variance" in Matt. 10: 35, although the word literally means "to divide

into two parts." Temno means "to cut" and apotome is the LXX rendering of the word

"smote off" in Judges 5: 26 (Codex Alex.). This word undergoes a change in some of its

usages in the N.T., for in Rom. 11: 22 we find apotomia rendered "severity," and

apotomõs in Titus 1: 13, "sharply"; II Cor. 13: 10, "sharpness." The idea of "cutting"

here is figurative and not literal or physical. This seems to be the meaning in

Matt. 24: 51. The severity of the punishment is emphasized by the usage of such a

word. Further, the evil servant's portion is to be with the hypocrites.

The original meaning of the word hupokrinomai was "to represent another person by

acting" as the ancient players did by speaking from behind a mask. It is an easy

transition to the meaning, "to feign, pretend, dissemble" (see Luke 20: 20), Peter acted

hypocritically (Gal. 2: 13) by withdrawing himself from the Gentiles. None could have

heard the stern denunciations of woe to the Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites," as

recorded in chapter 23: and not feel the severity of the punishment intended in

24: 51.

The words so solemnly uttered at other times of threatened judgment follow, "there

shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This is said in relation to the children of the

kingdom being cast into outer darkness in Matt. 8: 12, and in connection with the

casting of all that offends out of the kingdom into a furnace of fire, and also at the

severing of the wicked from the just in Matt. 13: 42, 50. The same is said when the man

without the wedding garment is cast into outer darkness (Matt. 22: 13), and again in the

judgment of the unprofitable servant (25: 30). The six references to the gnashing of

teeth are closely related, and the order of their occurrence should be noted:--