Luke 12:45 (ASV)

Passage

But if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

Nearby Context

Luke 12:43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Luke 12:44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath.

Luke 12:45 But if that servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

Luke 12:46 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the unfaithful.

Luke 12:47 And that servant, who knew his lord`s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many [stripes];

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "servant", "shall", "heart", "lord", "delayeth", "coming", and "begin". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "servant" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 44's "Of a truth I say unto you..." into verse 46's "the lord of that servant shall come...", so "servant" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Luke context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "servant" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.