Matthew 25 - Prepared for the Judgment Day of Jesus
Introduction
A. Jesus presents three parables about the judgment day of Jesus, 1. The groom that came at midnight, 2. The man who went on a journey, 3. and The Son of the Man who will Come in his Glory.
B. The warning is based on the approaching condemnation of Jerusalem, and the people who were not prepared for the first coming of the Lord. God condemned them because they did not receive Jesus. “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” John 1:11.
C. The teaching of this chapter gives us an understanding of the Judge's heart as to the judgment of men on the Final Day. 1. We must make enough preparation and be ready always, because the day will come in an untimely hour. 2. While we wait, we must use our opportunities, resources, and gifts well, because He will judge us according to our fidelity and courage in using what we have. 3. Above all, he will judge us according to our conduct: especially the mercy and love we demonstrate to other needy people.
I. Matthew 25:1-13: The Ten Virgins.
A. The ancient wedding was a party that began with the arrival of the groom. The groom and his companions were greeted by virgins with lighted lamps. In the parable, there were five prudent virgins and five foolish.
1. The prudent took oil and the foolish did not.
2. The Groom delayed his arrival until midnight and the oil of those who did not bring enough was used up.
3. The foolish virgins did not receive the groom with lamps burning bright, because at the last moment it was necessary to go and buy more. They came to the wedding feast after the groom's arrival and the wedding doors were closed against them. They were not allowed to enter because of the shame of failing to receive the bridegroom. The groom said, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”
B. Jesus gives us the lesson. “Watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
1. He had just said the same thing in Matthew 24:42. “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
2. The preparation that He demands is that one be a faithful and prudent servant who always does the will of the Lord. (Matthew 24:44-47)
3. On the contrary, if the servant strikes his fellow servants and eats and drinks with the drunkards, the Lord will punish him harshly with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:48-51)
C. From the beginning, Jesus taught that our service, doing the will of Jesus, is "the light of the world." Matthew 5:14-16.
1. Is there an acceptable minimum of service that we can offer the Lord? The foolish thought that the oil inside their lamps would be enough, but it failed them at the last minute.
2. 2 Corinthians 9:6, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” There is no place in the kingdom for laziness and leisure in the service of Jesus.
3. 2 Peter 1:10-11, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
--V3-9 exhorts us to partake of the divine nature by adding to our faith virtue and seven more things by saying, “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. But If we sow the flesh, (Galatians 6:7-8) “will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
II. Matthew 25:14-30: Parable of the Talents
A. The opportunities the Lord gives us to serve him are pure gold.
B. Acts 1, Jesus ascended to the right hand of God and sits on his throne of glory. There He will remain until the day indicated to call all men to account. He will judge us according to what we have done during the days of his absence.
C. The Parable speaks to us of a rich man who went on a journey leaving three servants in charge of their gold. Each one received gold according to their ability. To one of them he left five talents. To another he left three, and to the third servant, he left one. In ancient times, the "talent" of gold was worth twenty years of salary for the ordinary worker. The five-talent man won five more and the three-talent man won three more, but the one-talent man was afraid of failing and kept the gold he had without using it. After "a long time,” the Lord returned and “settled accounts with them.”
1. To those who gained more gold for their lord, he said: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
2. There Is joy for the faithful servant. Faithfulness is what the Lord demands of his servants.
D. The servant who did not use his Lord's money tried to justify himself in saying, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.”
1. Even so, the Lord condemned him for being: “You wicked and slothful servant!”
2. The sentence was severe: “And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
3. He was afraid of failing but was not afraid to suffer the wrath of the Lord, so for that reason he was a useless, wicked, and negligent servant. Better to try and fail than to not try. Negligence is like laziness.
-- Proverbs 22:13, “The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” (Province 26:13-14)
-- Proverbs 15:19, “The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.”
-- Proverbs 18:9, “Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.”
-- Proverbs 12:27, “Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.”
-- Proverbs 20:4, “The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.”
E. God demands faith and faithfulness from us, his servants.
1. 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace”
2. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”
3. Good Example of Joseph
-- Genesis 39:6. He found himself a slave because of the unjust envy of his brethren, but he behaved faithfully.
-- Genesis 39:22-23. Unfairly imprisoned but he remained faithful.
--God put him over all Egypt. Genesis 41:37-45; 45:8 Father to Pharaoh
-- Genesis 47:25. The Egyptians very grateful for Joseph's faithfulness: "He saved our lives."
4. Another example of faithfulness was Daniel: Daniel 6:1-4
5. Revelation 2:10 "unto death."
F. God condemns the evil servant. 1 Peter 4:16-18, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
-- 2 Peter 1:8-11, “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”