ELL Bible Study: Luke 12:35-48 — Be Ready for the Master

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

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Luke 12:35-48 Printable Discussion Questions

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Can you think of a time when you waited a long time for someone to come home? What did you do while you waited?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn how Jesus teaches people to be ready for his return. He reminds us to be faithful and do what is right, even when no one is watching. We will talk about what it means to be a good and wise servant.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

Action — Doing something; not just sitting or waiting.
At An Hour — At a time, usually when you do not know or are not ready.
Beat — To hit someone again and again.
Break Into — To enter a place by force, usually to steal.
Come Back — To return to a place after leaving it.
Disobedient — A person who does not do what they are told to do.
Dressed — Wearing clothes and ready for something.
Drinks — To swallow a liquid like water or juice.
Drunk — When a person drinks too much alcohol and cannot think or act clearly.
Door — The part of a wall that you open and close to go in or out.
Eat — To put food in your mouth, chew it, and swallow it.
Even Later — After a very long time; later than expected.
Faithful — Someone you can trust because they do what they should.
Fate — What happens to a person in the end.
Find — To see or get something you are looking for.
Food — Things people eat to stay alive.
Give — To let someone have something.
Happy — Feeling good, glad, or pleased.
Heavy — Large or serious in amount or strength.
Hour — A period of 60 minutes.
Household — The people and things that belong to one house.
Indeed — A word used to show something is true or important.
Knocks — Hits a door to make a sound so people know you are there.
Lamps — Objects that hold a flame or light to see in the dark.
Light — Not heavy; easy to carry or soft in strength.
Lit — When something like a lamp or candle is burning and gives light.
Make — To create or build something.
Master — A person who is the leader or boss of servants.
Mean — To explain what something is or to have a certain idea.
Midnight — Twelve o’clock at night.
Much — A large amount.
Open — To move something so you can get through or look inside.
Owner — A person who has something that belongs to them.
Parable — A short story that teaches a lesson, often used by Jesus.
Pieces — Small parts of something whole.
Proper — The right or correct thing for a certain time or place.
Property — Things a person owns, like land, houses, or animals.
Put In Charge — To give someone the job to be the leader or manager.
Ready — Prepared for what will happen next.
Required — Needed or expected.
Return — To come back again.
Run The Household — To manage and take care of the people and work in a home.
Servant — A person who works in someone else’s home, doing jobs for them.
Share — To give part of what you have to someone else.
Share The Fate — To have the same ending or result as someone else.
Son of Man — A name Jesus often used to speak about himself.
Sure — Completely certain about something.
Take Off — To remove something you are wearing.
Taking — The act of getting or carrying something away.
Thief — A person who steals things.
Wait — To stay where you are until something happens.
Waiting — Staying ready and watching for something to happen.
Watchful — Paying attention so you can see what is happening.
Whatever — Anything that happens or is needed.
Whipping — A hard hit, often with a stick or rope.
Wise — Smart because of good choices and understanding.
Wedding — A special celebration when two people get married.

Summary of the Passage

This passage comes from a time when Jesus was teaching his followers how to live while they wait for him to return. He told them to be ready, just like servants who wait for their master to come home. These servants keep the lights on and are prepared, even if it is very late at night.

Jesus said the master would be happy if he finds his servants ready. The master might even serve the servants himself! Jesus gave another example: if a person knew when a thief was coming, they would stay awake to stop the thief. In the same way, Jesus said we must always be ready, because he will return at a time we do not expect.

Peter then asked if this teaching was for everyone. Jesus told another story about a servant who was in charge of feeding the other workers. If that servant did what was right, the master would reward him. But if the servant was lazy, mean, or got drunk, he would be punished when the master returned.

This passage teaches us that Jesus wants us to live faithfully every day. He wants us to care for others and be ready for his return. It shows us that God sees what we do and that he rewards faithfulness.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

Text from the ERV Bible Translation

Always Be Ready
35 “Be ready!
Be fully dressed and have your lights shining.
36 Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party.
The master comes and knocks, and the servants immediately open the door for him.
37 When their master sees that they are ready and waiting for him, it will be a great day for those servants.
I can tell you without a doubt, the master will get himself ready to serve a meal and tell the servants to sit down.
Then he will serve them.
38 Those servants might have to wait until midnight or later for their master.
But they will be glad they did when he comes in and finds them still waiting.
39 “What would a homeowner do if he knew when a thief was coming?
You know he would not let the thief break in.
40 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”
Who Is the Trusted Servant?
41 Peter said,
“Lord, did you tell this story for us or for all people?”
42 The Lord said,
“Who is the wise and trusted servant?
The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time.
Who is the servant that the master trusts to do that work?
43 When the master comes and finds him doing the work he gave him, it will be a day of blessing for that servant!
44 I can tell you without a doubt, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns.
45 “But what will happen if that servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon?
He will begin to beat the other servants, men and women.
He will eat and drink until he has had too much.
46 Then the master will come when the servant is not ready, at a time when the servant is not expecting him.
Then the master will punish that servant and send him away to be with the other people who don’t obey.
47 “That servant knew what his master wanted him to do.
But he did not make himself ready or try to do what his master wanted.
So that servant will be punished very much!
48 But what about the servant who does not know what his master wants?
He also does things that deserve punishment.
But he will get less punishment than the servant who knew what he should do.
Whoever has been given much will be responsible for much.
Much more will be expected from the one who has been given more.”
Luke 12:35-48 (ERV)

Text from the GNT Bible Translation

Watchful Servants
35-36 “Be ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit, like servants who are waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast. When he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him at once.
37 How happy are those servants whose master finds them awake and ready when he returns! I tell you, he will take off his coat, have them sit down, and will wait on them.
38 How happy they are if he finds them ready, even if he should come at midnight or even later!
39 And you can be sure that if the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, he would not let the thief break into his house.
40 And you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.”
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant
41 Peter said, “Lord, does this parable apply to us, or do you mean it for everyone?”
42 The Lord answered, “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? He is the one that his master will put in charge, to run the household and give the other servants their share of the food at the proper time.
43 How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home!
44 Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property.
45-46 But if that servant says to himself that his master is taking a long time to come back and if he begins to beat the other servants, both the men and the women, and eats and drinks and gets drunk, then the master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the disobedient.
47 “The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping.
48 But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with a light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.
Luke 12:35-48 (GNT)

Very Easy: Easy-to-Read Version: Luke 12:35-48 (ERV)
Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 12:35-48 (NIRV)
Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 12:35-48 (GNT)
Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 12:35-48 (NLT)
Hard: New International Version: Luke 12:35-48 (NIV)
Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 12:35-48 (ESV)

Luke 12:35-48 Printable ERV Passage

Luke 12:35-48 Printable GNT Passage

Luke 12:35-48 Printable Discussion Questions

Comprehension Questions

What does Jesus tell the servants to do while they wait?
How does the master feel when he finds the servants ready?
What does Jesus say about the thief and the house?
Why must the people be ready at all times?
What question does Peter ask Jesus?
What kind of servant does Jesus say will be rewarded?
What does the bad servant do while the master is away?
What happens when the master returns and finds the bad servant?
What does Jesus say about people who know what they should do but do not do it?
What does Jesus say about people who are given much responsibility?

Application Questions

What does it mean to be ready for Jesus?
What are some things you can do to be a faithful servant?
Is it sometimes hard to do what is right when no one is watching? Why or why not?
How can you help care for others like the good servant did?
What are some ways God has given you responsibility?

Theological Insights

Jesus will return one day, and no one knows when.
Jesus wants his followers to live ready and faithful lives.
God sees our hearts and our actions, even when no one else does.
Faithfulness is shown through daily obedience and service.
God is kind but also just. He rewards those who are faithful and punishes those who do wrong.