Matthew 25 Musings

Did I mention that I've been doing inductive Bible study this year? After going through the Bible in a year last year, I realized that I don't know the New Testament as well as I would like. So I got started on a more intense study of the New Testament.

Here's something interesting I found.In Matthew 24 Jesus shared about the signs of the end-times. Matthew 25:1 starts with "At that time...", which tells us that the rest of the chapter is especially relevant to living in the end-times. What happens if we look at the rest of the chapter in that light?

The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt 25:1-13)

Notice all that the virgins in this parable had in common - they were all waiting for the bridegroom, they all became drowsy and fell asleep and they all had oil for their lamps. The only difference was that the wise ones had enough oil for themselves to last a long time. In other words, they expected that the wait would be long.

Does that tell us that the way to be ready for Jesus' second coming is to expect that it would take a long time? Hmm...

Another interesting thing I noticed is that the wise virgins did not help the foolish ones. Their first priority was to ensure that they had enough for themselves. They took personal responsibility for being ready. They set boundaries for themselves; they chose not to share their oil with the unprepared virgins, and Jesus did NOT chastise them for their 'selfishness'. On the other hand, the foolish ones probably expected that if they did not have enough oil they could always beg some off the wise virgins.

Not smart.

The Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14-30)

When looking at this parable, many people apply the principles in this lesson to everything else except what it was talking about in the first place - money!

Matt 25:16-18 (NIV) The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

Here's the interesting part - the master commended the servants who doubled the money entrusted to them (Matt 25:21, 23). The servant who did not lose any of the money (Capital Preservation, they call it) was called wicked and lazy (Matt 25:26). Wonder what would the master have done if there was a servant who lost the money or spent it all away frivolously, thinking it was his own money?

Can you imagine wearing a T-shirt with the logo "Jesus is coming back. Double your money QUICK!"

But that wouldn't be too accurate a logo, would it? We are not to double our money; it's not ours in the first place. Everything in our stewardship came from God in the first place (1 Chr 29:12). Many prosperity teachers promote the idea that we are to prosper in our finances so that we can give money to further the gospel. The problem with that idea? It's not our finances in the first place; it's God's. Meanwhile, other bible teachers react by roundly condemning the idea of financial prosperity for God's people. They ignore the scary part of this parable: We are to double our master's money or be condemned as wicked and lazy.

In other words, are those teachers guilty of spreading wickedness and laziness amongst the servants of Christ? Food for thought...

The Sheep and the Goats (Matt 25:31-46)

If we were to sum up this teaching, it would be that Jesus sees what we do for the least of his brothers as what we have done unto him. Here's the question: who does Jesus see as his brothers?

There are three possible answers:

1) Humanity in general? Possible, since Jesus repeatedly addressed himself as the Son of Man.

2) The Jews? This is likely, since Jesus himself was a Jew, a descendant of David (for example, Luke:18:38)

3) The believers - Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. (Heb 2:11, NIV)

Remember, whatever group we choose to apply this principle to, we need to make sure that we do not exclude the Jewish race. Remember, at that exact moment Jesus gave us this teaching, there was no body of Christ yet, since the Holy Spirit had not yet at that moment baptised us anyone into the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13).

That means that the most immediate application of this principle ought to be to the Jews. And that Jesus sees how we treat the Jews as a reflection of how we regard him.

In Conclusion:

Maybe we could sum up this chapter as:

1) Be prepared for the long term;

2) Double HIS money; AND

3) Watch how we treat his people.

What do you think? Be blessed!