Reading Assignment: Matthew 25:1-30
Key verse: Matthew 25:21
Truth: Be busy about the Master’s business.
Overview:
1. The parable of the ten virgins
2. The parable of the talents
Prayer:
1. Seek the Lord’s help to learn His will and be busy about it as we await His coming.
Transcript
Let's pray and we'll begin. Lord, You are God, and You have made a way for us to be reconciled to You, and that we might live life in service to You. Thank You for the great privilege that we have as redeemed people forgiven of our sins and reconciled to the Holy God. We pray that You would teach us this morning, that You will sustain us through Your holy word. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The next reading assignment is Matthew 25:1-30 and the central truth I want to highlight is this: be busy about the Master’s business. The key verse is found in verse 21: “Well done, good and faithful slave.” And a little later in that verse, “enter into the joy of your master.” That verse captures what the response of Jesus will be toward those disciples of His who faithfully served Him as they await His return. There are two parables that make up the passage before us. The first one is about ten virgins and the second about talents. A talent was a form of currency, a large sum of money. As we get into this section, let me first remind us that chapter 25 is a continuation of Jesus’ teaching on the end times. Jesus had previously explained in chapter 24 what was the sign of His second coming. He then told parables to show the disciples that they must be ready for His coming. He told them to be on the alert. That was 24:42. The same idea appears again in verse 13 because this is the point of the first parable of chapter 25. The second parable also has to do with being on the alert, but it specifies what we are to be about during our time of waiting.
Let’s begin with the story of the ten virgins. There is a little bit of background to the Jewish wedding tradition I need to give so we properly understand the parable. Jewish weddings in the first century were solemnized through three stages. First, there was the engagement stage, where the two families entered into a contract for the marriage of the man and the woman. Then there was a betrothal stage in which the bride and the groom exchanged vows. This made them legally married, but they didn't consummate their marriage yet. They still lived separately at this point, and they do not come together physically. It was during this time that the groom established himself in business or trade and started to make provisions for his new household, in particular to prepare a house for the couple to live in. Then there was the finalizing of the wedding, which was the wedding feast. This was the third stage. This was the celebration which marked the culmination of their wedding. The festivities began with the groom with his groomsmen coming to the bride's house in the nighttime. The bridesmaids would be waiting with the bride in her parents’ house for the groom to show up and take them all to the feast. Then once the groom came, the bride and the groom, along with the bridesmaids and the groomsmen, paraded through the streets at night with lamps and torches to attract attention and to call everyone in that community to the wedding feast. The coming of the groom to the bride's house is the setting in which Jesus’ story takes place. The story goes like this.
This begins in verse one, "Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins [these are the bridesmaids], who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying [the groom and his groomsmen were taking their time], they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' [the groom was near] Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. [they had to bring their lamps to light up the streets for the procession] The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the prudent answered, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' [don’t read into this as an act of unkindness or selfishness; that’s not the point of the story. The point is that these other five should’ve been ready.] And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, 'Lord, lord, open up for us.' [they had missed the procession; they came late.] But he answered, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' [the meaning is this; the groom only accounted for five bridesmaids because only five showed up with their lamps for the procession; only five were ready; these others were not a part of the wedding party.] Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” The point of the story is that we must be ready for Christ whenever He should come. As I explained before, within the context of this discourse, this is directly related to the second coming of Christ, at which point the Jewish remnant is gathered. But the principle applies to us the same, because the day or the hour of the rapture and the second coming are both unknown and unpredictable. And so the lesson for us is this: be prepared for the Lord.
Jesus then tells another parable of the talents. This story requires just a little background for proper understanding. When you hear the word “slaves,” you may be led to think about slaves from the American history where they were oppressed and abused. But in the Roman Empire, slaves were more or less the working class of the society. Some of the slaves were actually well educated. They were professionals like doctors, craftsman, cooks, teachers, philosophers, managers, and administrators. In this story we find a reference to slaves who were of the latter kind, managers and administrators. They were men who knew how to conduct business. They managed their master’s assets. So here's the story.
Jesus says "For it is [that is, the kingdom of heaven is] just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.” I told you that a talent was a form of currency. Let me explain its value. A talent was equal to 15 years of wages. That's quite a bit of money. So let’s say that a person earned $100,000 a year. Given that annual wage, a talent would be about $1.5 million. That's a hefty sum of money. So this master, he's about to go on a journey for a while and he gives three of his slaves quite a sum of money to do some business with it. These were managers of his assets. And so to one he gives 5 talents, to another 2, and to another 1. The difference in the amounts had to do with each one’s ability to engage in business. And so that's what the master gives these funds for. “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.” Smart slave. Second slave did the same thing with his two talents, and he gained 2 more. Also a smart slave. The third one, on the other hand, went away, and he dug into the ground and hid the money in the ground. Now that's obviously a bad move if you've been entrusted with $1.5 million as an employee by a businessman, your master will expect you to have invested that money and at least earned interest on that money. Well, you can already tell this isn't going well for the third slave. Now, after a long time, Jesus says “the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.” This is a long time later. There has been sufficient time for the slaves to have conducted business or investment with the funds. Well, the one who had received the five talents gives an accounting that he gained five more talents. The master therefore said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” This whole thing was actually a test to see how faithful the slave would be. Of course, this first man was faithful, and so that first slave received an accolade from his master. The master also expresses his pleasure with him by telling him, “enter into the joy of your master.” The second slave likewise received the same kind of accolade. The third, however, was quite ashamed of himself and he tells the master, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.” This third slave, although he knew that he was supposed to conduct business or investment with the funds, he totally failed his master. The master then holds him accountable, and he responds with these scathing words: “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.” That was the accountability. What's the outcome? The master then says, “Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” There is a severe consequence to this man's failure to handle the charge the master had given him. What's the point? The point is that Jesus expects His people to be busy about His business while they wait for His coming. We are to be busy about the Lord’s work while we wait for the rapture.
There's something for us to pray about in light of this. The Lord wants us to be ready for Him. There will be accountability. He wants us to learn to do His will. He has a job for us to do as a father, as a husband, as a mother, as a church member, as an employee, to honor Him. Moreover, the Lord wants us to do His will and be busy about carrying out His word and spreading His word. We should be busy about the Master’s work as we await His coming. That’s the Lord’s lesson for us today.
Let's pray together. Lord, thank You for teaching us about Your soon coming and that we ought to be busy about Your work. Keep us from distractions. Keep us focused on Your will and Your work. Thank You that You are indeed coming again. We long for Your coming. Help us to be ready for You when you come. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Lord bless you, and we are done for today.