‘Who Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?’

◆ Just three days before his death, Jesus Christ gave his apostles a prophecy of things to take place after his death and resurrection, down to the conclusion of this world’s wicked system of things. Jesus’ words revealed that during all this long period of time there would be a “faithful and discreet slave” who would be giving God’s household “their food at the proper time.”​—Matt. 24:45.

How can we identify this “slave”? We need to look back to God’s words to his ancient nation Israel, to whom God said: “You are my witnesses, . . . even my servant whom I have chosen.” (Isa. 43:10) So Israel as a nation was here designated as God’s “servant” or ‘slave.’

However, the apostle Paul pointed out that, by then, natural Israel no longer constituted God’s “servant.” Why? Because the nation had rejected Christ, only a remnant of Jews exercising faith in him. Paul wrote: “For he is not a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is circumcision that which is on the outside upon the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one on the inside, and his circumcision is that of the heart by spirit, and not by a written code.”​—Rom. 2:28, 29.

Thus the ‘servant’ or “slave” that Jesus foretold must be the members of spiritual Israel on earth​—not an individual person, but a body. They would therefore be the spirit-begotten joint heirs with Jesus Christ, who are to share as kings with Christ in his heavenly kingdom during a thousand-year reign over the earth. (Rev. 5:9, 10; 20:4-6) Their duty while on earth has been to disseminate spiritual food among the members of the household of God, especially seeing that they are equipped spiritually to face the issues confronting them from time to time.