Matthew 25:14-30
Jesus has just completed giving a detailed explanation of ‘when’ and ‘what’ will be the signs of His coming…He now gives two additional parables:
…one that focuses on the importance of being ready at His return and the consequences for those who are not…in the Bible there are always consequences.
…and the other stressing the importance of being good managers of what God has loaned you while on earth…and the consequences of those who are not.
Matthew records eight parables Jesus gives during Passion Week…each parable is focusing on what a life of faith as Jesus’ disciple looks like.
There’s no mention of what is required for eternal life…these parables assume you are already a believer…in these parables Jesus is defining:
- the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth
- the blessing associated when we do.
In just this one day…Jesus counters the misunderstanding of the end times…the how…the when…and what will happen…He puts it into perspective for the common person.
If you have been with us for the past few weeks you probably remember the chronological order of events that will occur at Jesus’s return.
1) The Lord Himself will descend from Heaven…where He has been preparing a place for us [John 14:1-3].
2) The Lord will shout as He descends [1 Thess. 4:16] and the dead in Christ (deceased believers) will rise first [1 Cor. 15:52].
3) Then we who are alive will be caught up (Raptured) into Heaven. [1 Thess. 4:17] where we will meet the Lord in the air [1 Thess. 4:17] where He will personally receive us to Himself. The church age now comes to an end.
4) At that point we will be changed (made incorruptible) [1Cor.15:51, 53].
5) We will then stand before the judgment seat of Christ [Romans 14:10] not to determine lost or saved…but to get their rewards for work done while on the earth [1 Cor. 3:13-15].
6) We will then participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb [Rev. 19].
Two Things
…FIRST…there is a Bible verse for each one of those activities
…SECONDLY…you don’t find this written down in any one book
These events are scattered throughout the Bible…that’s the importance of knowing what the Bible says so you’re not mislead by those who don’t know what the Bible says.
Last week we looked at the Parable of the Ten Virgins…emphasizing the need to be vigilant…being ready means keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus at all times while we eagerly await His return…it illustrated the importance of being ready at His return and the consequences for those 5 girls who are not.
In that parable the bridegroom’s arrival was certain…Jesus is the bridegroom…He is coming…the only uncertainty is the timing of His return…which illustrates the need for constant vigilance.
In Jesus’ last parable on Tuesday of Passion Week He gives The Parable of the Talents…it’s the culmination of everything we have talked about the past month or so…it all comes down to this single verse…a verse we should all keep close to our vests…this verse should be a memory verse for everyone in this sanctuary:
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the
hour in which the Son of Man is coming. – Matthew 25:13
In everything we do we should ask ourselves is this what Jesus would want to see me doing if He came back right now.
To emphasize this point He tells the Parable of the Talents that relates the importance of keeping that always on our minds.
If you’re familiar with this parable then you know the ‘talent’ spoken of here is referring to money…he entrusts his servants with a measure of his wealth.
But it’s not as much about money as it is about being good stewards…being responsible and being prepared…it’s really one of self-examination.
In this parable He’s addressing item number 5 of the chronological order of events that will occur at His return…this parable is addressing the issue of rewards.
That all Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ…not to determine lost or saved…but to get their rewards for work done while on the earth.
He starts the parable off by saying…For the kingdom of heaven is like…look how many times Jesus starts a parable off with those words:
Parable of the Ten Virgins …the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to,
Parable of Wedding Feast…the kingdom of heaven may be compared to,
Parable of the Vineyard…the kingdom of heaven is like,
Parable of the Mustard Seed…the kingdom of heaven is like,
Parable of the Leaven…the kingdom of heaven is like,
Parable of the Hidden Treasure…the kingdom of heaven is like,
Parable of the Pearl of Great Price…the kingdom of heaven is like,
Parable of the Dragnet…the kingdom of heaven is like.
All these parables are given so we will have an understanding of what the kingdom is like…both here on earth before Jesus’s return…and what it will be like in heaven.
Jesus does not want us to be ignorant of what is going on in the world between the time of His ascension and His return at the rapture…we should not fret.
For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.
EVERYBODY…FIRST…a truth: God looks at every person individually…not just at who we are…but for the potential He created in us.
SECONDLY…notice this is not referring to spiritual gifts…it’s talking about talents…we are blessed with talents and abilities that are separate from spiritual gifts…however the application is applicable to spiritual gifts as well.
THIRDLY…that we are not all created with equal skills, abilities and opportunities.
We do our kids a dis-service today in what we tell them…FIRST…If you work hard enough, you can be anything you want to be…no you can’t…we all have personal limitations that prevent us from doing certain things…you’re not going to be President just because you want to.
You can be the best in the world…no you can’t…again…doing your best is different from being the best.
Everyone is a winner (everyone deserves a trophy): all people are not winners… sometimes you lose…not everyone comes in first…that’s just life.
We are not all created with equal skills…abilities…and opportunities…this parable reveals that some have more talents and ability than others.
BUT…God expects that we do our best with what we are capable of…He’s not asking anyone to do more than what they are capable of.
Notice the parallel between this parable and Jesus’s life
…Jesus called His disciples
…He entrusted them with the message of the gospel
…He then departed
…He will one day return
In this parable
…a man calls his servants together
…He entrusts them with His possessions
…He immediately goes on a journey
…at some point, he’ll return to settle the accounts with them [19].
The tragedy of wasted opportunity is the theme of Jesus’ parable of the talents…the ‘it’ in [v14] is the antecedent of the kingdom of heaven…and ‘his own slaves’ reinforces the idea that Jesus was referencing the organized church composed of those who ALLEGE to belong to Him…He’s not referring to mankind in general.
The number of talents given to each slave has no significance in themselves…no one received more than he could handle…the number given to each simply illustrates a wide range of responsibilities that were given to each according to his own ability…the man who received one has nothing to do with him being poor.
The first two servants used their opportunity to serve the Lord…the resources they were given by God…time …money…talents…and abilities were invested as they served God as they eagerly awaited His return.
When the master returned, the servants who were faithful were praised and entrusted with more of the master’s wealth.
Well done, good and faithful servant…You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master [25:21]
The third servant failed to use what had been entrusted to him by his master:
the one who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money [25:18]).
He’s representing a life in which a profession of faith in Christ proved meaningless by the careless waste of the privileges and opportunities God gave him.
He produced absolutely nothing with the talent he had been given…he did not even make an attempt to use it for his master’s benefit and profit…HE SIMPLY DISREGARDED THE STEWARDSHIP HE HAD BEEN GIVEN.
He didn’t take joy in His master’s return but instead wasted his time…his abilities …his talents…and his opportunities…he did nothing creative and responsible with the talent given to him…as a result bad news…there are consequences:
26 …his master…said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant…
27 …you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on
my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest.
30 Throw out the worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Wait a minute…does that accurately describe Jesus? …Throw the worthless servant into the outer darkness…will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
No it does not…need to remember…these parables are about believers…no mention of unbelievers…something’s terribly wrong here for Jesus to address a believer in that manner.
Some scholars think the wording…cast into outer darkness…is wording that is used for the place we call hell…therefore…we assume he was never truly saved.
That he may have professed faith but he really never possessed faith…He demonstrated a limited knowledge of God that led him to conclude that He was saved…this is a tragic reality that millions of people will come to realize one day… believing they are saved…when they’re not.
Some scholars believe…the Lord’s sharp rebuke…the removal of the talent from his possession…and his being cast into outer darkness constitutes what many view as a sequence of events that prove he must be an unbeliever because a Christian can never be cast into Hell.
As Christians we possess eternal life, which can never be taken from us…this leads us to conclude that the Lord was dealing with an unsaved person at this point in the parable…BUT
Remember…these parables are not given to unbelievers…they are for believers… knowing that puts a whole new look on this parable.
I’m going deep this morning…contained in these parables Jesus is revealing something most Christians are completely unaware of.
I’m not going to reveal to you any new revelations…there are far too many people today pretending to hear from God…receiving new revelations…having new insights into the Bible by receiving visions and thereby re-interpreting Scripture.
As a result, they make statements about the Bible that are false and unreliable… these guys are untrustworthy…I’m not telling you I’ve discovered some previously unknown truth…I’m sharing a portion of the Bible many people are unaware of.
The unfaithful slave demonstrated that his identification with Christ was superficial. He may have accepted Jesus as his Savior but not his Lord…the importance in knowing the difference between Jesus as my Savior and as my Lord has eternal implications…and we’re going to see that right here.
By not accepting Jesus as his Lord…he didn’t seek God’s purpose and plan for his life…he didn’t use the talents…gifts…and abilities God gave to him…as a result he went about his entire life living his own selfish way…avoiding what God had called him to do.
Look again at number 5 in thechronological order of events that will occur at Jesus’s return…All Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to get their rewards for work done while on the earth [1 Cor. 3:13-15].
Following the judgment seat of Christ, servants who demonstrated themselves to be faithful servants…and those who were less than faithful, will find themselves in two entirely different realms.
Servants having been shown to be faithful will find themselves among those who will be attending the marriage festivities…look at number 6… We will participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb [Rev. 19] …while those who have shown themselves to be less than faithful will look on from a distance.
As far as I am aware of…the Bible never shows …that all people will receive exactly the same gifts or rewards in Heaven…clearly the Bible gives evidence that there are differing degrees of rewards and these series of parables are the evidence.
I want to show you how these parables are all interrelated…the KEY words in all of them are WATCHFULNESS and FAITHFULLNESS…they are not given in some random order without any reference to each other…they were given with a purpose in mind and in a specific order.
Before we get the idea that ‘I’ve got to do more’ God is not asking us to do more so I can get more…He’s asking that we be responsible with what we have been given …because ultimately regardless of who you are…we are all unworthy servants.
Jesus reminds us of the lowly place a servant occupies: You also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty (Luke 17:10, ESV).
As servants of Christ our lives on earth are a brief time of preparation for eternity …which includes being good stewards of what God has loaned us to complete the purpose and plan He has prepared for you.
In the Parable of the Good Man of the House…as it’s referred to in Mat 24:42-51 one servant is blessed when his master finds him being faithful…the other servant says My master is not coming for a long time [48] and is unfaithful.
For the one servant faithfulness resulted in a position alongside the Lord…for the other servant unfaithfulnessresulted in the forfeiture of this position.
Immediately following that parable is The Parable of the Ten Virgins…it begins with the word ‘Then,’ pointing back to the previous parable…the Parable of the Ten Virgins covers the same subject matter… concluding in a similar fashion.
The faithful servants (wise virgins) were allowed to enter into the marriage festivities, but the unfaithful servants (foolish virgins) were excluded…they were not admitted into the banquet hall.
The Parable of the Talents follows the Parable of the Ten Virgins…it is introduced in the Greek by the words Hosper gar meaning “For just as” …these two introductory words tell the reader that the parable that is about to follow is just like the parable that has proceeded it.
In that parable…the Parable of the Talents, the faithful servants were allowed to enter into ‘the joy’ of their Lord, but the unfaithful servant was cast into the darkness outside. http://www.bibleone.net/BF09.htm
Understanding the interrelationship between these parables and comparing them with the parable of the marriage festival in chapter twenty-two where Jesus says to the man not wearing wedding clothes to be thrown into outer darkness is important.
So what is this place…this outer darkness place…this place where the unfaithful servants find themselves in…it goes back to consequences.
Scripture says Jesus is light and in Him there is no darkness…see where this is going…being in Jesus’ presence is represented by light…unfaithful servants will be removed from the inner light.
They have been cast into a place outside Christ’s ‘joy’ …removed from the place associated with events surrounding the marriage supper of the Lamb and the reign of Christ that follows…and will be cast into the darkness outside like the five foolish virgins…they will be on the outside looking in.
They will not be allowed to attend the marriage festivities…nor will they be allowed to return to earth during Jesus’ 1000-year reign…they will find themselves in a place outside the realm where these activities occur…where there will weeping and the gnashing of teeth… [25:30]
What is that? that term is an Eastern expression of deep grief…the phrase weeping and gnashing of teeth occurs seven times in the Bible, all of them in the New Testament gospels, and all spoken by Jesus.
LOOK again…only the faithful will be given positions of responsibility…will be allowed to take part in the marriage supper of the Lamb…will be allowed to return with Jesus to earth…these are the rewards given to the faithful.
The unfaithful will not only be denied positions in the kingdom but they will be excluded from the festivities at Jesus’ return and apportioned their place with the hypocrites [24:51].
What does Jesus say about hypocrites… ‘how will you escape the sentence of hell?’ [23:33] if this is what Jesus says to Israel’s most righteous people, the religious leaders of Israel…the scribes and Pharisees…where does that leave us?
The more I study Scripture the more I’m convinced that ‘small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life’ [Matt. 7:14] …it is even more difficult than we are able to understand.
We have opened that narrow way up so wide that it’s like a marble on a four lane hi-way…we have watered down the requirements for entry into heaven…and there are requirements:
- Be Born Again
- Be Baptized
- Confess Jesus
- Confess Your Sins and Repent
- Do God’s Will
- Do Not Willfully Sin
- Do Not Be Ashamed of Jesus
- Follow Jesus And Serve Him
- Have Fruits of The Spirit in Your Life
But we have reduced them to a level that makes it sound as though everyone will be there…they won’t…because few who find it [Matt. 7:14] and even for those who do we can see in these parables that not everyone is rewarded the same.
In these parables Jesus is defining:
—the expectations on how we are to live our life while on earth
—the blessing associated when we do.
How are you investing your life? What are you doing with your time? What are you doing with your skills? What are you doing with your relationships?
What better way to start out a new year than by being serious about the talents… abilities…and gifts God has loaned us…as we stay watchful for the Lord’s return.