Matthew, Chapter 25  

Matt. 25:1-13

          Matt. 25:1 "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

          6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.         11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

          The 25^th chapter of Matthew is divided into three parts.  The first part shows the relationship between the Lord as the Bridegroom and his disciples and his disciples as a part of the bride.  The second part shows the relationship between the Lord as Master and his disciples as servants.  The third part shows the relationship between the Lord as Judge of all the earth and his executed judgment upon the elect and the non-elect.

          In many passages of scripture, the Lord likened the kingdom of heaven unto things in nature.  In the above, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto the actions of ten virgins awaiting the coming of the bridegroom.  In order to understand the spiritual lessons of this passage it is necessary that we understand the utility of the natural things. 

          First, virgins are generally associated with young women who have not known a man.  They are considered chaste.  There are two categories of spiritual virgins described in the New Testament.  The churches are described as virgins: 2 Cor 11:2 "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."  These words Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, saying that he had espoused them as a chaste virgin to Christ.  The second category is the Lord's redeemed as found in Rev 14:4, "These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." 

          Thus, the Lord's churches are described as espoused virgins unto Christ.  Also, the Lord's redeemed are described as spiritual virgins.  It is within these two categories that the above passage must apply.  Making the virgins to represent something else would only be speculation and without scriptural New Testament usage. 

          Churches are composed of members who may vary in their zeal and preparation toward the service of the Lord.  Therefore, within a local church you could have some who are prepared for service, and some who are less prepared for service.  Thus, it does not make much sense that in the above passage, virgins are representing local churches.  The virgins are representing the Lord's redeemed people.

          The bridegroom is the Lord Jesus Christ: John 3:27 "John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled."  John described Christ as being the bridegroom and himself as being the friend of the bridegroom.

          Lamps are for giving light in the darkness of night.  This world is a world of spiritual darkness.  The world provides no light for the children of God.  The Lord compared the disciples to lamps as he said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16).  In order for a lamp to give light three things are necessary.  First, there must be an igniting source.  Second, there must be fuel for the lamp.  Third, there must be an oxygen or gas source. 

          The Lord ignites us in the new or spiritual birth: John 1:9 "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."  We must have spiritual life in order to be able to bring forth spiritual light.

          The Holy Spirit is the air or oxygen by which the fuel is combusted.  Without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing.  John 4:23 "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."  Thus, we conclude that both Spirit and truth are necessary to worship God and to serve God. 

          The fuel for the lamp is the word of God or truth. 

          The Lord compared the wise man and the foolish man thusly in Chapter 7, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."  Therefore, it is wise for a man to hear and do the sayings of the Lord, but it is foolish for a man not to do them. 

          The five wise virgins had taken oil in their lamps.  They had prepared by reading, studying, and meditating upon the word of God.  They were prepared to go out and meet the bridegroom.  In a worship service, some are prepared to meet and enter with the bridegroom  into the marriage, to feast at his table, and to show forth his glory by letting their light shine to glorify the bridegroom.

          The five foolish virgins had taken no oil for their lamps.  They were not prepared even though they knew that this world is a place of spiritual darkness.  They were unprepared to go out to meet the bridegroom, or to feast at his table, or to glorify the bridegroom by letting their light shine as they had no fuel.

          There are many times that the Lord comes to us in this life.  We often do not know just when he may come in the way of blessing, but we need to be prepared at all times by giving attendance to reading, by studying to show ourselves approved unto God, and by meditating on the word of God.  In this manner we will always have fuel for our lamps. 

Matt. 25:14-30 

          Matt. 25:14 "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

          16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

          19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

          22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

          24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strowed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strowed: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

          29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

          Jesus, of course, is the man traveling into a far country.  The far country is heaven.  The picture presented shows us the relationship of the Lord as Master and his disciples as servants. 

          The most commonly used Greek word for servant is "doulos" and means bond slave.  This is the Greek word translated to servant in the passage above.  Thus, the servants are bond slaves to their master.  They belong to their master.  The Lord's disciples are frequently referred to as servants.  This depicts the fact that we have been purchased by the Lord and that we belong to him.  We owe him our service.  1 Cor. 7:22 "For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. 23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men."  The Lord's servants are bought with the precious blood of Jesus and it is our blessed privilege and responsibility to serve him. 

          In the above passage, we are given the reaction of the servants to the responsibility given to them of the Master.  The three servants were given different quantities of talents to utilize for the Master.  This shows us the sovereignty of the Master.  God can do with his own what he pleases.  He is under no obligation to treat each exactly alike or to give to each exactly the same amount of talents.  God is sovereign.  Furthermore, we find that the three servants had differing abilities.  God has given us our abilities: Phil. 2:13 "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."  Again, God is sovereign.  He does not have to give to each of his servants the exact same ability.  He gives to them as it pleases him.

          "Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.  And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.  But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money."  Remembering that the talents and the abilities were given to the servants of the Lord, they had three choices.  They could use the talents to the best of their ability.  They could use the talents but less than their ability.  Or, they could not use the talents at all.  All three of the servants should have recognized that there was coming a day of reckoning, when the Master would reckon with them what they had done with the talents the Lord had given to them to use.

          "After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.  And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.   His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."  When we use our talents to the best of our ability, then we need not fear the day of reckoning with our Master.  The servant with the five talents used the talents to gain five more talents and gladly told his Master so. 

          The Master was pleased with the servant and commended him saying, "well done, thou good and faithful servant."  What more could a servant ask for than to be commended for his service and to be told that he is a good and faithful servant.  However, with the Lord there is more as He rewarded the faithful servant by giving him more responsibility: "thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things."  Sometimes the Lord's disciples want more responsibility.  If you want more responsibility, then the lesson here is be faithful with what the Lord has given you to do and to use.  However, the Lord did not stop here as he told the servant, "enter thou into the joy of thy lord."  When we do the Lord's bidding and use the talents the Lord has given us, the Lord causes us to rejoice in that service and in his pleasure in that service.

          "He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."  The servant that had been given the two talents reckoned likewise with the Master and his reward was the same as the servant who had been given five talents.  This teaches us that it is not the number of talents that we are given or the ability that we are given, but rather what we do with the talents and ability that we are given. 

          God's view of things and man's view of things is quite different.  Man would say that the five talent preacher is a better preacher than the two talent preacher.  However, God does not look at it that way.  In the eyes of God, the five talent preacher who is only using four talents is not doing as well as the two talent preacher who is using both of his talents.

          "Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strowed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strowed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.  Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents."  The servant that had received only one talent was both wicked and slothful. 

          He was wicked because he did not act like a servant, but spoke harshly about his Master.  He was slothful, because he was lazy and would not put forth the effort to use the talent the Lord had given him.  The Lord condemned the man with his own words, "thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strowed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury."  Notice how our actions and words condemn us when we fail to use the talents and abilities the Lord gives us.  The man with the one talent could have received the same blessing that the other two servants had received, but he was wicked and slothful.  The talent that he had been given was taken away from him.  This should be a lesson to all of the Lord's servants.  While we cannot lose our eternal life, we can lose the talents and abilities that the Lord has given us here in time. 

          "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  This verse can either encourage us or be a strong warning to us.  If we utilize the talents and abilities that the Lord gives us then we shall have abundance of blessings in our service to the Lord.  If, however, we do not use the talents and abilities the Lord has given us, we can find ourselves cast into outer darkness where we shall be weeping and gnashing our teeth. 

          Outer darkness is where we are when we are without knowledge and understanding.  Weeping and gnashing our teeth is what we do when we try to live our lives in outer darkness. 

Matt. 25:31-46 

          Matt. 25:31 "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

          34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

          41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

          There are a few things that indicate to us that this is an end of time passage of scripture.  First, it speaks of Christ as the "Son of man."  This title is used to show Christ as the substitutionary atoning sacrifice for his people.  The result of His sacrifice for them is that they are glorified. 

          Second, it speaks of Christ coming in his glory and sitting on the throne of his glory.  This points us to the covenant of redemption wherein all that God foreknew are also predestinated, called, justified, and glorified.  The result of the covenant of redemption is that God's people are glorified and Christ receives all the glory for this.

          Third, the sheep are told to come and inherit the kingdom prepared for them before the foundation of the world.  Again, this points us to God's covenant of redemption in Romans chapter 8 verses 29 and 30.  This covenant was made before the foundation of the world and this kingdom is the result of this covenant.

          While we should attempt to give Christ all the praise, honor, and glory that is due unto his Holy name while we live here on earth, the capstone of his glory shall be when the finishing work of his atoning sacrifice is brought forth in the resurrection.  It is there that he shall sit upon the throne of his glory. 

          That Christ is coming should be a cause of great rejoicing by his people.  He is not coming alone, but he is coming with all his holy angels.  He is coming to separate the elect (sheep) from the non-elect (goats).  He is coming to usher in paradise for the elect and to usher in eternal condemnation to the non-elect.

          We are told that he will separate his sheep from the goats.  First, we note that the sheep belong to him.  He has purchased them.  He makes no claim on the goats.  He has not purchased them.  Next, the sheep are placed in the position of honor, "the right hand."  In contrast, the goats are placed on "the left hand." 

          The elect (sheep) are blessed of the Father.  They have a possession awaiting them that was prepared for them from the foundation of the world.  They receive this possession by inheritance, not by works.  You must be an heir to receive an inheritance.  We, the elect, are heirs by spiritual birth, by adoption, by marriage, and by covenant arrangement.  We are heirs in every way that a person can be an heir.  The spiritual birth, adoption, marriage, and covenant are all works of God and not by the heirs.  The heirs are the recipients of these works of God. 

          In contrast, the non-elect (goats) are cursed.  They were cursed in Adam when he ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Adam brought a curse upon all of mankind.  Further, that curse was added to by their own sins.  Only the elect have their sins atoned for and the curse removed (Gal. 3:13).  The curse for unatoned for sins is to depart into everlasting fire.  This is the result for the non-elect.  They go away into eternal punishment.

          In the new or spiritual birth, the elect are given a new nature in the inner man.  While, the outer man is not changed in this life, yet the inner man is made perfect and acts in an unselfish way.  We see this picture of the elect when Christ tells them of all the good deeds they had done unto him.  These good deeds are not the cause of their inheritance, but are the evidences of their changed nature in the inner man and that they are among the elect.  Their own thoughts were to ask, "When did we do these things unto you?"  The Lord's response is that when they had done the good deeds unto others, they had done it unto him. 

          In contrast, the non-elect have no change and therefore only have the nature of fallen man.  This nature of the flesh is totally selfish.  When the Lord told them that they had done no good deeds unto him, their thoughts were to ask, "When did we not do these things unto thee?"  The Lord told them that in that did not do it unto one of the least of these little ones; they did it not unto him.  Certainly, the non-elect receive exactly what they deserve, eternal punishment.  In contrast, the elect receive grace and in that grace, they are given eternal life.