Life Project Blog

Matthew 26:1-16

We have now begun the final section of Matthew’s Gospel. I don’t want to interrupt the narrative of Matthew’s story, so I will compile a Bonus Post for tomorrow afternoon with the background on this section, which is quite interesting. I will say that you will notice that Matthew really picks up the pace from this point forward…

This text has three parts that flow in rapid succession. By arranging the narrative in this way, Matthew shows us that there is quite a lot going on behind the scenes at or about the same time. We begin with Jesus and the disciples (26:1-2) which is set in time as “When Jesus had finished saying all these things…” (26:1). From this transition we come to see that they are all sitting there where Jesus has been giving the Olivet Discourse; Jesus finished the Parable of the Sheep and Goats… and then said…

That He was about to be crucified.

Isn’t it interesting that He has told them everything we have seen in 24-25, and then brings them right back to His messianic mission: He must die?

Matthew immediately follows this statement by shifting to the Jewish leaders behind closed doors plotting His secret arrest and His murder (26:3-5).

Next, in verse 6 we have a scene change; now Jesus and the disciples have left the Mount of Olives and walked the few miles to Bethany where they are in the home of Simon the Leper. Nothing more is said about Simon, and thus we can’t be quite sure of who he was, or if he was even present. The scene centers on an unidentified woman who anoints Jesus with “a very expensive perfume”. The disciples object, saying that the ointment could have been sold for a lot of money, and then the money given to the poor; apparently they had been listening to Jesus’ story of the sheep and goats. Yet Jesus tells them something else that should bring them back to His messianic mission: she was preparing His body for burial!

Is It just me, or are those disciples just not hearing Him when He tells them that He is about to be killed?

Then Judas slips out and goes back into Jerusalem and makes his deal with the chief priests to deliver Jesus into their hands so they can kill Him.

Yes, momentous events are moving quickly now.

Matthew 25:31-46

Today we reach the final passage in the Oliver Discourse, the parable of the sheep and goats. In this parable, Jesus is painting for us a picture of His return, and the assembling of all people for judgment. They are divided into two groups “as a shepherd would divide the sheep from the goats.” This language from verse 32 underscores the figurative nature of the parable, and once again I must remind you that this is not a literal passage.

The king, representing Jesus, says to sheep, representing His people, that they are to enter into His Kingdom which is prepared for their inheritance, representing eternity with Christ.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

Matthew 25:34-36

Jesus tells them they are “in” because of the things they have done for Him, and yet they have no knowledge of having done them. In verses 37-39 hey ask when it was that they did these things for Him, and He drops the bomb in verse 40:

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

To fully appreciate the gravity and significance of this statement, recall the lessons of the first two parables in this chapter. Half of those 10 virgins were “ready” when the bridegroom came for them, and they entered the wedding feast. When the master returned from his journey, two of his servants had used the money that he had left with them for the master’s benefit, and they were rewarded richly. Add to these our question in the last post about the commands Jesus gave us: Love God, love your neighbor, love you brothers and sisters, and make disciples. Putting these things together, we have an amazing picture!

The things the king will say the righteous have done, are those things Jesus has commanded us to do. We love God, He loves us, and He loves our brother. Thus we love our brother because we love God, and show God’s love in us when we care for our brother… and when we do that, we are expressing our love for God. Thus, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

In the remaining verses, the goats are condemned because they did not do these things for the king. They appeal to the king, “When did we ever see you in one of those situations?” And the king replies that if they didn’t do it for the least of these, they didn’t do it for Him!

Now we have the whole picture of what will be necessary for us to be ready when He returns suddenly and without warning; it’s all about the way we live and interact with others. If He should return today, will we be ready?

Matthew 25:14-30

Before we get started, let’s remember our context, Jesus is still giving His answer to this question: “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (24:3). Also, please don’t forget this is a parable, and they are not meant to be understood literally.

OK, so here we have a master, three servants, various amounts of money and a trip. The master gives each servant a certain amount of money, according to their ability, and leaves on an extended trip. While he is gone, the servants are to protect the master’s interests, and so the first two put the money to work for the master, and by the time he returns, they have each doubled his money. The third is fearful and cautious; he buries the money out back, and returns it intact, if damp and muddy, to his master. The master’s reactions to the three were different. For the first two, who had brought him a very nice return on his cash, he rewarded them generously, but the master was furious with the third servant and had him cast out into the darkness.

The master is the Lord Jesus, who has left us with talents, abilities, spiritual gifts and manifold blessings, and who has now gone away from us. We are the servants. Our Lord will soon return, although we don’t know quite when. When He returns, He expects that we will have put out talents, abilities, spiritual gifts and manifold blessing to good use in the furtherance of His Kingdom.

When He settles our accounts, what will His reaction be? Will we be ready?

Up to this time, Jesus has focused on lack of a sign of His coming, when He spoke about the days of Noah. He has also made it quite clear that no one, not even He knows when He will return; only the Father knows. He has focused on our need to be ready when He does return, as with the parable of the 10 virgins, and here He kicks the whole thing up a notch, for being ready means that we have produced something for the Kingdom.

When we think about this, our minds might race all over the place, worrying about what it is that we are supposed to be doing with all of those abilities, talents, spiritual gifts and blessings that we have received… you mean I’m supposed to DO something?

Apparently so.

So let’s consider… here, I’ll give you a hint: What commands has Jesus given to His followers? I don’t mean teachings, parables and the like, I mean imperative voice commands?  If you are a “regular” here, you have a big advantage, because I’ve gone through this many times before…

If you can think of what He actually commanded then you will have the answer. Hint: don’t overlook the obvious.

Matthew 25:1-13

In this text, there are several elements to consider: There is a bridegroom, there are virgins, lamps, light, darkness and oil. Finally, there is a wedding feast. When the bridegroom finally comes for His bride, only half of the 10 virgins are prepared for his arrival. It is a dark night, and they must light their lamps as they hasten out into the darkness to meet the groom, but those who are unprepared do not have enough lamp oil for their lamps to remain lit, so they rush off to the store to buy some, while the other five go out to meet the bridegroom. He sees their light and comes running to them, and they all go into the wedding feast together. Sadly, the ones who were not prepared are late and are not recognized when they try to enter the banquet.

The bridegroom represents Jesus, who is returning after a long absence to the scene; the second coming. The virgins represent His Bride, the Church. The oil represents preparedness. The darkness represents this dark world, devoid as it is of the light which is His Truth. The lamps represent His Bride, the Church, shining the light of His Truth to a dark world. The wedding feast represents the union of Christ and His Church in eternity upon His return.

Jesus’ last line here is telling:  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (25:13)

Those virgins who were prepared for the bridegroom’s return: Were they watching for signs, or were they watching for the Bridegroom?

The answer is that they made sure they were prepared at any and every moment of every day, in case he should come for them, and they watched for his coming. The ones who were not prepared were looking for signs so they would know when to get ready.

If Jesus returns today, will we be ready?

Matthew 24:36-50

Once the transition (24:29-34) is completed, Jesus answers the second question the disciples asked Him, about the sign and time of His coming (24:3).

The short answer is: He will come when He comes, and everyone will be surprised.

This is a hard answer for most people to take; even now there are many who write books with long lists of “signs” and “what must happen” before He comes. I’ve often said that if I wanted to make a million dollars in a hurry, I’d write one of those and make a video series with every last titillating detail, but I fear that I’m not clever enough to make them all up!

24:36-37 makes this point about as clearly as it could possibly be made: Jesus didn’t even know when He would return. He expands on this theme in vv. 38-41: It will be just like the flood in Noah’s time. People were going about their lives, just as on any other day, and then it happened: Surprise!

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (24:42-44)

There it is again; it will be a surprise; enough with the signs already! The real question is not when will He return, it’s “are we ready if He returned today”? Maybe this is unfair of me, but I’ve often wondered if so many people were fascinated about wild speculations, signs and lists simply to avoid having to answer that question…

The last few verses of the chapter (24:45-50) make the point yet again with a servant and returning master, which of course would be us (His servants) and Jesus (our master). If He returned today, what would He find us doing? I haven’t been counting, but Jesus, in this short passage, has told us that His return will be a surprise several times, several different ways; we might think He’s made His point by now. Yet still, even now, people today speculate and invent and write…

What makes this even more amazing, is that the entire next chapter keeps giving the same answer to this question, as Jesus tells the disciples three parables; we’ll begin our look at them next time.

For more information:

1. Next Question!  (Matt. 24:36-44)
2. Is This Difficult, or is This Simple?  (Matt. 24:29-33)