Matthew 25(01–30)

Introduction

At the end of chapter 24 the Lord Jesus made clear that no-one knows the date of his second coming. We know he’s coming; and when he comes he’ll send his angels to gather his people from all parts of the earth, so that we will be with him forever in the new heavens and earth. We know he’s coming, but no one knows when it will be. And since we don’t know when it will be, we have to keep watch so that, whenever it happens, we’ll be ready for it. We’re to be like the faithful and wise servant whose master went away and left the servant in charge of the household. And because the servant was faithful and wise, he faithfully and wisely carried out his duties so that he was prepared for his master’s return. He won’t be embarrassed or ashamed when his master returns, because the master will find him doing his duty. And we should be like that faithful and wise servant. And the way to get ready for Christ’s return is by believing in him. Whoever believes can look forward to his coming, because whoever believes will be declared ‘not guilty’ and ‘accepted by God’ on the day of judgment and will be brought into the presence of God to be with him forever.

The Lord continues to speak about his second coming and our need to be ready for it in chapter 25, where we have three parables. There’s the parable of the ten virgins. There’s the parable of the talents. And there’s the parable of the sheep and the goats. We’ll look at the parables of the ten virgins and talents this evening; and we’ll come back to the sheep and the goats next week.

The point of the parable of the ten virgins is that five were ready for the bridegroom’s arrival and five were not. And so, are you ready for Christ’s arrival? And the point of the parable of the talents is that two servants were ready for the master’s return and one was not ready. And so, are you ready for Christ’s return? We don’t know when the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, will come again. But are we ready for his coming?

Verses 1 to 13

Let’s turn to verses 1 to 13 and to the parable of the ten virgins. The Lord says in verse 1 that at that time the kingdom of heaven will be like this. When he refers to ‘that time’, he’s referring to his second coming. At that time, when he comes again in glory and with power, it will be like this. And then he describes for us how these ten virgins or girls took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

In Bible times a wedding would take place over several days. But it would begin with the bridegroom arriving at the bride’s house and taking her back to his house where the festivities would be held. This would often take place in the evening and so it was customary for the guests to bring lamps or torches with them to take part in the procession from the bride’s home to the bridegroom’s home. These ten girls were probably friends of the bride and they had gone out to meet the groom.

The Lord tells us that five were wise and five were foolish. Five were wise, because they realised that the bridegroom might not come immediately and the procession might be delayed and therefore they would need to bring extra oil to ensure that — when the time was right and the groom arrived — they had enough oil for their lamps. The lamps may have been either containers holding oil and a wick or else torches with oil-soaked rags, wrapped around them. The wise girls would either pour the extra oil into the lamp or else pour the extra oil over the rag. And they were wise, because they were prepared for a delay.

The five foolish girls were foolish because they did not think to bring extra oil. They did not anticipate that the groom might be delayed. And therefore they were not prepared for a long wait.

And, as we read in verse 5, the bridegroom was a long time in coming. And all ten of the girls became drowsy and fell asleep. The Lord does not fault them for falling asleep. After all, it’s perfectly understandable that they should drop off, because they’re young and it’s late and they’re had to wait a long time.

Incidentally, since the bridegroom in the parable represents the Lord Jesus, then the Lord is perhaps making clear that his coming would not be imminent. Just as the bridegroom was a long time in coming, so it will be a long time until the Lord Jesus comes again.

At midnight, someone alerted the girls that the groom was finally coming. And the girls woke up and prepared their lamps. And that’s when the foolish ones realised how foolish they had been. They realised their oil had been used up. They asked the wise girls for some of their spare oil. But there was none to spare, because if the wise ones shared their extra oil with the foolish ones, none of them would have enough. And so, the wisest thing for the foolish girls to do was to go and buy some more for themselves. If anyone thinks they’re being unkind and selfish, we need to remember the point of the parable is not to teach us to be generous and to share what we have with others. The point of the parable is to teach us to make sure we’re ready for Christ’s return.

And while the foolish girls were away buying more oil, the bridegroom arrived. They wise girls were able to join the procession and they went into the house to enjoy the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. The way into the wedding banquet was now closed. No further guests will be allowed to enter. In a similar way, after the Lord Jesus returns, the door will be shut and the way into God’s presence will be closed to those who were not ready for his coming. On the other hand, those who are ready for his coming will be invited to come in and to receive all that God has prepared for his people in the life to come. But all those who are not ready for his coming will be shut out forever.

In the parable, the Lord tells us that when the foolish girls finally arrived and knocked on the door, the doorkeeper told them that he did not know them. So it will be for all who are not ready for the day when Christ comes again. Therefore, the Lord says at the end of the parable, keep watch. That is, be prepared. Get ready. Get ready, because you do not know the day or the hour of his coming.

And the way to get ready for Christ’s coming is to believe in him. Whoever believes in him will not be shut out when he comes again, but will be invited into the presence of God to enjoy all that God has prepared for his people.

Verses 14 to 30

We come now to the second parable, which is the parable of the talents. Really though, it’s the parable of the servants. The Lord tells us about a man who was going on a journey. Before he left, he called his servants and entrusted his property to them. Servants in Bible times were often given responsible positions in their master’s household. And so, what the Lord describes here is not surprising.

The Lord tells us that the man gave five talents to one servant, two talents to another, and one talent to yet another. The footnote in the NIV says that a talent was worth several hundred pounds. However, some of the commentators believe that a talent was worth much more than several hundred pounds. In that case, the master gave all three servants a considerable amount of money. And the Lord says that he gave them ‘according to their ability’.

While it doesn’t say so, it’s clear that the man expected his servants to do something with the money. And sure enough, the first servant went at once and put the money to work and in this way he doubled what he had been given. The second servant also went at once and put the money to work and in this way he doubled what he had been given. The third servant, however, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. Hiding money in a hole to keep it safe was common in those days.

After a long time, the man returned from his journey. This once again implies that it will be a long time before the Lord returns to earth. When the man returned, he called in his servants so that they could give an account to him of what they did with his money. The master praised the first and second servants who had doubled his money. He also said that since they had been faithful with a few things, he will put them in charge of many things. And he invited them to come and share his happiness.

When the third servant came in, he explained that he knew the master was a hard man. That is, he was a harsh, stern, violent man. And the servant said that his master harvested where he had not sown; and gathered where he had not scattered seed. In other words, he benefits from the labour of others. Other people do the hard work and he reaps the rewards. And because the servant regarded his master as harsh, he was afraid. Presumably he was afraid of what his master might do if he lost the money. And so, he hid it in a hole in the ground.

Instead of praising this servant, the master called him ‘wicked and lazy.’ The master also repeated what the servant said about him: that he harvests where he has not sown. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the servant was right about the master. The master is not endorsing what the servant said, but is only repeating his words. And then he asks why his servant didn’t at least put the money in a bank so that it would earn interest?

And since this servant was unfaithful with what he had been given, the master decided to take the money from him and give it to one of the other servants. And he had the servant thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. It seems that the Lord has now stepped out of the parable and he’s describing the fate of the wicked when Christ comes again and how they will be sent away to suffer the pains of hell forever.

As we turn to consider the meaning of the parable, we can say that the talents which the master gave to his servants signify all that God has given to us. And just as the master did not give each servant the same amount, so God has distributed his gifts unequally so that he gives more to some and less to others. Nevertheless, every good thing that we possess has come to us from him; and he has bestowed on us all that we own as well as all our gifts and abilities and knowledge and skills. Every good thing we possess has come to us from him.

And we ought to use his good gifts for his glory, which means we should serve the Lord faithfully with whatever gifts he has bestowed on us. We should serve him faithfully and diligently while we wait for Christ to come again, so that he will say to us, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’

However, it would be wrong to conclude from this parable that whether we enter eternal life or not depends on what we have done with the gifts God has given us. We must not conclude from this parable that we are saved because of our works. That would be to contradict everything else the Bible teaches us, because the rest of the Bible makes clear that we are saved not by our good works, but by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If our salvation depended on what we have done, then there would be no hope for any of us, because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All of us are sinners who sin against God continually. And therefore what we all deserve is to be condemned and shut out of the presence of God forever.

But the good news of the gospel is that whoever believes in what Christ has done for us in his life and death and resurrection will be saved. All who trust in him will receive eternal life in the presence of God. That’s the good news of the gospel.

However, I should also add that while we are saved by faith alone, true faith is never alone. True faith is never alone, because it always leads to good deeds. Whoever believes in Christ not only receives forgiveness and the hope of eternal life, but they also receive the Holy Spirit who makes us more and more willing and able to do God’s will here on earth. Because of the influence of the Spirit in their lives, believers will want to serve God more and more and they will want to use what they have for his glory more and more.

That means they will become like the first two servants in the parable, who served their master faithfully and diligently while he was away. And when he returned, he praised them and invited them to share his joy. In a similar way, whoever believes in the Lord Jesus will want to serve him faithfully and diligently while he is away. And when he returns, he will praise them and invite them to share his joy. But every good thing they accomplish in this life is because of the Spirit’s influence in their lives.

Conclusion

And so, what should we do while we wait for Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, to come?

We should believe in him. We should believe in him, because the only way to get ready for his return is to believe in him. There is no other way to get ready for his return, because whoever does not believe will be condemned, but whoever believes will be declared ‘not guilty’ and ‘accepted by God’ when he comes.

And so, we should believe in him. And having believed, we should make it our aim in life to serve him faithfully and to use all that he has given us for his glory.

No one knows on what day the Lord will return. But we know what we must do while we wait for him. We must believe. And having believed, we must serve him.