Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 25 as we continue our study through the Word of God. In this portion of Scripture, Jesus is continuing His message from the Mount of Olives, called the Olivet Discourse. And these words of Jesus are born out of a question that His disciples asked Him. We read of this question in Matthew 24:3, which says, "Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’"
They wanted to know when the destruction of the temple would take place, which Jesus answers in Luke chapter 21. The focus of what Jesus says here is when is He coming into His kingdom and the end of this age. And Jesus lists several things that will come to pass before He returns. You see, they were thinking kingdom now, and Jesus is saying there is a time gap before He comes again and set’s up the kingdom.
Now in chapter 25 Jesus launches into a couple of parables and then what will transpire when He does return. The question for many is "What time period is Jesus speaking of?" You see, some see these things speaking of the rapture, that no man knows the day or hour, and the implication is we need to always be ready. And that is true. Others see this as the second coming of Jesus, and thus, these are speaking of those who make it through the tribulation period, and they too need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. And that too is true.
Here’s the thing, and you may agree with me and you may not. I think we can spend a long time debating the time frame that Jesus is speaking of and yet completely miss the point He is making. We can major on an issue that may not be directly related to us today, and thus, we need to be careful.
I would like to approach this portion of Scripture in a very practical way, which I hope and pray will minister to your life. Thus, in the parable of the ten virgins, in verses 1-13 of Matthew chapter 25, we are going to be looking at PERSONAL SALVATION. Then, in the parable of the talents, in verses 14-30 of Matthew chapter 25, we are going to be looking at RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP. And lastly, in the last section on the judgment of the nations, verses 31-46 of Matthew chapter 25, we will look at PRACTICAL SERVANTHOOD. And the key is always to be watching and be ready for the Lord’s return.
With that said, with that as our background, let’s begin reading in Matthew chapter 25, starting in verse 1, and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
VERSE1
1. Here is the picture that Jesus is painting in this parable, keeping in mind the focus is personal salvation. The 10 virgins represent the church, the bride, who go out to meet their Bridegroom, who is Jesus Christ. The number 10 seems to speak of completion, such as the 10 commandments or you needed 10 Jewish males to build a Synagogue in a community. And notice that all are going out with their lamps to meet the Bridegroom.
VERSES 2-13
1. First of all I want you to notice that the Bridegroom was delayed, it has almost been 2,000 years since His first coming. Now the five wise virgins I don’t believe were lazy or unfaithfully as they slept, they just rested in the Lord. On the other hand, the foolish virgins had a false confidence in their standing with the Lord.
2. Now there are several things these two groups of virgins had in common. First of all they were all virgins. They all had lamps. They all went out to meet the Bridegroom. They all slumbered and slept. They all were awakened by the call of the Bridegroom. And they all began to trim their lamps. The main difference is one group had oil for their lamps and the other group did not, they were not prepared to meet the Lord!
3. Oil in the Scriptures is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, and thus, they had the outward appearance of salvation, but not the inward reality of salvation, the Holy Spirit had not come in them, they were unsaved! It is as Paul said in Ephesians 1:13-14, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."
4. Now some have a hard time with this for the foolish virgins looked like they were dressed appropriately, that they were part of the wedding party. And that was the problem, it was all show without a relationship, and thus, Jesus says to them, "I do not know you." That is or should be a wake up call to some people. We see this same thought in Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" You see, they were religious people who felt their actions, their works would get them into heaven instead of a personal relationship with Jesus, and Jesus tells them to depart, that He never knew them!
5. So the key to this parable is being prepared for the Lord and that is done through personal salvation, between you and the Lord, asking Him to forgive you of your sins and be Lord of your life! It is as Peter said in II Peter 1:10-11, "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." And Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 3:12-13, "And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." Be prepared! Be ready! Be watching, for the Lord is coming back!
6. Some people spend so much time on sports, on making themselves beautiful, at work, at school, and-so-on, and yet, when it comes to their personal salvation, their eternity, they are in no hurry. William Barclay tells of a meeting Satan had with his demons, trying to figure out how to trick people into eternal damnation.
One demon said, "Satan, I’ve got the plan. Let’s whisper in people’s ears that there is no God."
"No," Satan said. "Creation declares the reality of God. People are too smart to deny His existence. A few idiots might be sucked in, but not the masses."
"I’ve got it," a second demon said. "We’ll say there’s no Hell."
"No," said Satan. "People understand there needs to be retribution and judgment. People won’t buy that."
A third demon said, "Let me suggest how we might trick them. Instead of saying ‘No God’ or ‘No Hell’, we’ll just say ‘No hurry!’"
Satan said, "That’s it!" And he commissioned his demons to go throughout the world whispering, "No hurry."
Tragically, many have bought into that lie and lost the sense of urgency. But make no mistake about it, the call will soon go forth, "Behold the Bridegroom is coming!" Don’t miss out!
VERSES 14-15
1. This second parable deals with responsible stewardship. You see, the man traveling to a far country is Jesus. And before He went back to heaven He entrusted His people with gifts, with talents.
2. A talent was a weight of measure, ranging between 58 and 80 pounds. Thus, a talent of gold or a talent of silver, kind of like a pound of butter or something like that. Now we can look at this as the money that God has entrusted to us, but I see even more than that. As I have said, I think when He is speaking of talents, He is speaking of the gifts He has entrusted to us and as we will see, how we use those gifts.
VERSES 16-18
1. Here we see two out of the three use their gifts and in doing so they were blessed, there was a profit to their actions. On the other hand, the foolish person took his one talent and buried it in the ground, covered it up, did not use it.
VERSE 19
1. It has been almost 2,000 years since the Lord’s first coming, and for some, they have become lazy, complacent, not doing the work because there is plenty of time. That is just an excuse. Paul said in Romans 12:6, "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them..." We are to use the gifts that God has given to us for the edifying of the Body of Christ, the building up of the body of Christ, and to minister to the unsaved.
2. Jesus is telling us here that he holds us accountable for what we do and don’t do, He will come to settle accounts. Now this is not speaking of judgment for punishment but of rewards. You see, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Notice what Paul says in II Corinthians 5:6-10, "So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."
It should be our goal to complete the task that God has set before us, using those talents He has given to each of us. And notice what the Lord is looking at as we do serve Him, it is our motives. In I Corinthians 3:11-15 Paul tells us, "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." What is motivating you to serve? That too is important, and all that is done out of a fleshly desire, that will be burned in the fire, and you will not be rewarded for that, but you will not lose your salvation.
3. Now we are going to see what the Lord is going to do when He does return.
VERSES 20-23
1. The Lord is showing us that if we are faithful in the little things He has entrusted to us, He will give us more. It is amazing the people who want titles or positions and yet are unwilling to do the little things. Do you really think I would place someone into a leadership position when they are not even responsible for the little things? Of course not, and neither will the Lord. In a sense, this life is a proving ground, a test, and our rewards will be the position we get in the kingdom age.
2. And please understand that it is not how great or how big your ministry is, but how faithful you are to it! One had five talents the other had two and yet both were rewarded for their faithful service. It is as Jesus sais in Luke 12:48, "...For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."
VERSES 24-25
1. I hate to say this but these are nothing more than excuses for being lazy! And in these excuses he is blaming God, that God is hard, that God is demanding, that He is a task master and God is dishonest. You can say that if you want to, but it is untrue and you will still be held accountable for what you didn’t do. In fact, the true picture of Jesus is given to us in Matthew 11:28-30. And this picture is very different from what this person was saying. We read, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
VERSE 26
1. This man tried to use the excuse that he was fearful, and the Lord see’s right through that and says that it was not fear that stopped him from serving, but his laziness! Ouch! He was wicked because of his concept of God, and his actions were empty because he was lazy.
2. Now His excuses caused him to do nothing but bury, hide what he had, and it is amazing the excuses people will have not to serve the Lord. I love the picture the Lord gives us of a sluggard, a lazy person. In Proverbs 26:13-15 we are told, "The lazy man says, ‘There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!’ As a door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed. The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth." First of all he makes a excuse that a lion is on the road, it was too dangerous to go out. Then, he sleeps so much that when he turns he sounds like a squeaky door. And lastly, he is so lazy that when he eats, he can’t expend enough energy to lift the spoon to his mouth, so he just puts his face in the bowl! That road, that path is a unfruitful one, don’t go down it!
VERSES 27-29
1. You see, if you are faithful to what the Lord has given to you, He will give you more. It is not how much you have, but what you do with what you have that Jesus is speaking of. And if you don’t use it, He will take what He has given you and give it to another who will use it. He is not going to give you more when you aren’t using what He has given you!
VERSE 30
1. Now this person must be unsaved for he is being cast into outer darkness, the lake of fire, Gehenna. Now in saying that, some will come to the conclusion that we must work our way into heaven, for this person was lazy and was cast out of heaven into outer darkness. That is wrong. First of all Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
We are saved by grace and not by works. Then what is Jesus saying here in this parable? It is not a works salvation but a salvation that works! It doesn’t save you but it does show that you are saved. James makes this point very clear when he says in James 2:14-18, "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Again, works just shows that you are saved!
VERSE 31
1. This is the second coming of Jesus Christ, as the tribulation period comes to an end. You see, this world is going to be judged for its wickedness, for its rebellion against Jesus, its rejection of Jesus, and in the end we see the judgment of the nations. In that judgment, as we will see, some who have made it through the tribulation period will enter on into the kingdom age, the others will be cast out. Jesus is preparing for the kingdom - taking authority on the earth to rule and reign.
VERSES 32-33
1. Here we see a separation, not all are going to make it into the kingdom. The question is "What is needed to enter into the kingdom age? What do you have to do?" And keep in mind that this last section deals with practical servanthood.
VERSES 34-40
1. To the sheep, those on His right hand, they will enter into the kingdom that was prepared for them. What is the basis for their entering in? Treating people kindly, ministering to the needs of the people, and the phrase "My brethren" can be referring to the Jewish people. You see, during the tribulation period, especially the last 3½ years, the Antichrist will come against the Jews in a more gruesome way than Hitler did, killing two-thirds of the Jews! And during that time, like when the German forces were killing Jews, some gentiles will hide them, care for them, feed them and-so-on. And Jesus says if you have done it unto them, then you were doing it unto Him. You see, that is how closely Jesus relates to His people, how closely He identifies with His people. If you are kind to them, ministering to them, you are doing it unto the Lord!
2. Again, some would like to argue that this is a works salvation. I disagree. It is, though, a salvation that does work. It is the fruit that is born in the life of someone who loves Jesus. It is the evidence that they are saved! It is as Paul said in Colossians 3:12-17, "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
VERSES 41-46
1. You see, not all will enter in. Here is the division. For those who have rejected Jesus, it will be seen in their actions and they will be cast out of the kingdom and ultimately into the lake of fire for eternal punishment. Look at Joel chapter 3, beginning in verse 1, for in this we see this time of judgment spoken of. We read "For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land. They have cast lots for My people, have given a boy as payment for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink...’Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow-- for their wickedness is great.’ Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The LORD also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the LORD will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Joel 3:1-3, 12-16.
2. That day is coming. It is not time to be lazy or slothful. It is as Paul said in Romans 13:11, "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed." Thus, make sure of your personal salvation with Jesus, don’t take it for granted. Make sure you are responsible in your stewardship towards Him, using those gifts that He has given you. And lastly, be a servant unto others. You see, judgment is coming, the day of reckoning is coming, are you ready?