"The Last Parables" Matthew 25a April 06 2025

Communion

Matthew 26:26 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

Matthew 26:27–29 ESV

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Intro & Passage

Good morning

Today - The two parables of Matt 25

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

The Parable of the Talents

These two parables are the last parables of Jesus in Matthew

Sermon: “The Last Parables”

Matthew’s timeline: We are in the final days before Christ is crucified

Before getting into these parables, I want to read an excerpt from the Parable of the Ten Virgins

Please stand with me...

These are the words of Jesus

Matthew 25:11–13 ESV

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

(Pray...)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

As we take a look at the beginning of Matt 25, I want to point out that this is a continuation of Jesus talking from Matt 24

This is part of the Olivet Discourse - and Jesus is still talking about Israel during the tribulation in the future times

This chapter immediately starts off with this parable about the ten virgins

Notice that verse 1 of Chapter 25 begins with a conjunctive sentence

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.”

And for the Parable of the Talents, verse 14 starts off with “For it will be like...” - some translations: “again”

The author is reminding us that this is a continuation

Keep in mind:

In the previous chapter, Jesus said to “stay awake” in verse 42

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

And now, in Matt 25, Jesus is emphasizing that theme by giving us two parables

Jesus wants us to understand the sense of urgency in these parables

I realize these parables are intended for a specific audience:

Israel, during the time of the future tribulation -

But we can obviously draw applications for our lives

Jesus has essentially been telling us

Stay awake

You don’t know the day or hour when I will return, so be ready

There is a major sense of urgency in what he says

And both of these parables have sad endings

Both end with stern warnings from Jesus

So, Jesus first gives us this marvelous parable of the ten virgins

In one sense, it’s marvelous - and in another sense, it’s devastating

These ten virgins are off to meet the bridegroom

Five were foolish - five were wise

And here is the simple distinction between the two

They all had oil-lamps with them in search of the bridegroom - because part of this parable takes place at midnight

Btw, I believe the middle of the night in this parable points to our dark world

Anyhow, the foolish ones had their lamps with them, but they had no oil for their lamps

But the wise ones had their lamps filled with oil

That’s it - that’s the distinction

The wise virgins were ready for the bridegroom, the others were not ready

The bridegroom represents Christ

And the oil represents the Holy Spirit in the believer’s lives

The ones without oil can’t shine their lights because they are religious phonies

Again, this parable is about Israel, but we can still draw an application for ourselves

In end-times, the Church will already be married to the Bridegroom, after its raptured

And this is a picture of the Bridegroom who has come to take these virgins to the wedding party

In the story, all ten virgins go out to meet the bridegroom - the wise and the foolish

But the Bridegroom becomes delayed - and all ten virgins become drowsy and fall asleep

Suddenly at midnight, there is a loud cry:

“The bridegroom is here! Come out now and meet him!”

As soon as they heard the announcement, they shot up to get themselves ready - they all trimmed the wicks of their lamps

Translation: We need to be ready to meet the Lord - we need to trim our wicks, as it were

The Bible says that all ten virgins trimmed their wicks

Back then, a lamp was usually made of clay and filled with oil

There would be a short wick sticking out and it would stay lit because it was soaked with the oil

The wicks would often be a piece of linen or cotton - and over time, they would get charred, and useless

So it was necessary to trim your wick to be ready

This was at midnight, and the virgins needed to have a lamp that worked

But let me tell you -

You can trim your wick all you want - but without oil in your lamp, it aint gonna light properly

In verse 8, the foolish ones demanded from the wise virgins, “Give us some of your oil! Our lamps are going out!”

Did you catch that?

It’s interesting that they said their lamps were going out

As if, they were able to light them for a moment - but they didn’t stay lit

I imagine these foolish virgins were able to light their lamps for just a few moments before they went out

Probably due to a tiny bit of oil residue on their wicks

Just like our good works, based on our self-effort - our righteousness may light up for a short time

But the flame quickly goes out - because it all comes from ourselves and not the Holy Spirit

“We don’t have enough oil for us and for you,” said the wise virgins. “You should go buy some yourself.”

The foolish ones went out - but as they were frantically trying to buy oil for themselves - in the middle of the night, btw - the bridegroom came

As I was studying this,

I found it rather silly that here is the bridegroom

It’s midnight - the time has come - the bridegroom is coming in a few minutes

Time’s up!

And the foolish virgins have no oil, so they try and get some oil from the wise ones

What’s silly is that the wise virgins tell them essentially that they don’t have enough oil and for them to go out at night to the local WalMart and get some

And the foolish ones try exactly that!

They go out in the middle of the night to try and buy some oil

It’s all ridiculous that they have waited until the last minute

They just thought in the end, somehow it will all work out

This is a great comment on those who put-off believing in Jesus until later...

(Those who think they can live their whole lives with just a residue of oil in their wicks...)

When I was about twelve years old, my dad once said that I was a procrastinator

I didn’t know what that was - I thought “procrastinator” meant “future millionaire”

He told me to look it up in the dictionary...

And the Bible says that while the foolish went off into the night, the bridegroom was there - but it was too late for them

But the ones who were ready, the wise virgins, went with the bridegroom

They wasted no time - they went to the beautiful place where the marriage feast was -

In they went -

and the door was shut behind them

When the foolish ones finally came, they found themselves locked out

They came and cried out, “Lord, lord, open to us!”

Now the bridegroom heard them - but responded with the saddest thing any person could ever hear from the Lord Jesus, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”

What a terrifying statement from Jesus

That comment ought to break your heart -

because there will come a time when Jesus will say that to people who thought they had a ticket to heaven,

But never had a true faith in him

Maybe even went to church all the time

Even went to Wed nights

Maybe they knew all about the Bible - but they lacked a true faith in Jesus

You can possess great knowledge about God

You can know all of his attributes

You can know all about systematic theology

And have the Bible memorized

But Jesus didn’t tell them, “Truly, I say to you, you don’t know me”

He said, “I don’t know you”

Friends - what Jesus meant is that they never put their faith in the Lord - they never trusted their very lives with the Lord

Jesus didn’t know them because they lived only for themselves

Today is the day to enter that relationship with him - and begin your walk with him

Repent and believe

Trust him with your life

Don’t let Jesus ever say that he never knew you - believe in him and give your life to him

Jesus then ends this tragic parable by saying, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

This is probably one of the most heartbreaking parables of Jesus - because it’s all true

The Parable of the Talents

Now we’ve come to the last parable from Jesus

The Parable of the Talents

Remember - there is still a sense of urgency in this story

A secret to understanding parables is to first look at them within the context of the story itself -

First, take the story at face value

Do this before you start assigning a deeper meaning and application

Understand the historical and social setting within the parable before drawing analogies and interpretations

In other words, know the story really well - and who Jesus was talking to

What was the context and the overall setting in which Jesus told this story?

How would his listeners back then be affected by this story?

Don’t get caught into the temptation of assigning an allegory to everything in the parable - just look for the parable’s overall meaning

What is the main lesson?

Once you’ve done all that, then you can look to a deeper meaning and application for us

When we say the Parable of the Talents, we’re not talking about different talents people have - (America’s Most Talented)

The word comes from Greek - it is a measurement in weight, of precious metals

One talent would be worth a lot today

The story starts off with a man who is about to leave on an extended journey

He calls in his servants, and entrusts them with his property while he’s gone

He gives five talents to one - another, two - and the last, one - each according to their ability

Then the he went away

As the story goes - the man who had five talents went out and used that money to trade with

He didn’t procrastinate - thinking he could chill while the boss was away

The Bible says he “went at once”

Even though verse 19 tells us that the master returned “after a long time”

The Lord never tells us to put things off in serving him - again, there is a sense of urgency

So, the guy with five talents went out wheeling and dealing - striking up deals here and there

In the end, that servant doubled his money - he ended up with an incredible ten talents!

The other guy with two talents - did the same thing - and he ended up with double!

He started off with two, and ended up with four!

But the third guy - the third guy was afraid of his master

He didn’t know his master very well and thought of him as shrewd and unfair

So the third guy took his one talent and buried it in the ground

Then, after a long time, the master returned to settle his accounts

And this is the result - starting in verse 20 -

Matthew 25:20–21 ESV

And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

I want you to notice two things

When I was a kid growing up hearing this - I thought “five talents” was a lot!

I wasn’t wrong, actually - today, some scholars have estimated the value of one talent somewhere around $1 mil!

So, this guy took $5 mil and turned it into $10 mil!

But look what the master said to him - “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

Wait. He was faithful over a little?

The other thing I want you to notice is that the servant never hands over these talents to his master

Even though, v.19 says that the master came back and “settled” his accounts

Let’s keep reading - verse 22

Matthew 25:22–23 ESV

And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Another observation

This guy doubles his two into four - and the master says the exact same thing as he did to the guy who had ten

Notice the master told both of them that they were faithful over a little - but the master’s plan is to set them over much

In other words, what these servants did was only the beginning

Translation: how we serve the Lord on earth is only the beginning

I don’t know about you, but if $4 million and $10 million is “little,” I’d like to see what is “much!”

I think God has wonderful plans for us in heaven

God is going to set us over much - and we will enter the joy of our Master

Keep in mind, so far, the master hasn’t collected this money

Now that’s either the end of the story, or I forgot to mention somebody

Oh yeah, the guy who had one talent!

How do you suppose it went for this guy?

At least you can say, he was careful to bury it

He wanted to make sure nothing happened

He put that one talent in a secret place - no one knew about it

Let’s read on and see what happens

Notice the long disclaimer this servant uses - almost like an excuse

I imagine he was standing there - watching the interaction with the master and the first two servants

It might have sounded like a great idea to bury talents - but now he’s realizing he probably did the wrong thing

Listen to his excuses

Verse 24

Matthew 25:24–27 ESV

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.

The master called him wicked and slothful

Have you ever asked your kids to do a chore, but they don’t do what you asked - and they give some convoluted excuse why they didn’t do it

But all you see is laziness

Part of the problem with this is that the master could have easily dug a hole in the ground and buried all the talents himself

We can agree that the master is God, right?

So God could have easily dug a hole and buried that one talent, right?

He didn’t need help - he could do that by himself

Let me ask - is it also possible for the Lord, all by himself, to take five talents and turn them into ten?

And also take two talents and make them into four? Without anyone’s help?

Of course!

But the master entrusted his talents to his servants

God has included us in the work of his kingdom

That ought to blow your mind

He has equipped us with gifts so that we can use those gifts for his purpose

God employs us to serve him

God could easily do all the work himself, but he has given us the unbelievable privilege to be a part of his kingdom and to serve him -

Which is our ultimate purpose in life

What’s the message here??

Do something with the life God has given you!

God has given each one of you a gift or gifts to serve him

And he keeps giving you opportunities to serve him

Don’t take what God has given you and hide it away in a secret place that no one knows about!

What God has given you is not meant to be a secret

The master is on a long journey, but he will return!

Jesus is coming for us -

Believe in Jesus

Don’t get caught in unbelief

This is an urgent message to place our faith in God

Because, as Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

But, we can certainly glean from this and apply it to our lives

We don’t know the day nor the hour when our lives will be called, or when the rapture will happen

Therefore, there is a sense of urgency for all of us

Here is the ending to this parable

Verse 28

Matthew 25:28–30 ESV

So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Yes, this parable is a warning to the Jews who will get caught in the tribulation

But in a larger sense, I believe we can take these parables to teach us

The oil in the lamps in the first parable represents the Holy Spirit

I believe that our response to the talents God has given us is driven by the Holy Spirit within us

These are stories about the faithful - and the unfaithful

The five foolish virgins and the man with one talent are the religious phonies in the world

These are the people who go to church and do religious things - but they lack a true faith in Jesus

They treat the Lord as if he were a pagan god - they try to appease their god with religious activities

See what I can do for you, God??

Instead, they should be on their knees, thanking the Lord for all he has done for us

They are like a fig tree that doesn’t produce fruit

To the five foolish virgins, Jesus tells them, “I do not know you”

And in the next parable, Jesus calls that last servant, “worthless” and casts him into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth

Friends, don’t let Jesus say this of you

Like in John 15 when Jesus is talking about abiding in him

And he is the true vine...and we are the branches...and the Father is the vinedresser

And any branch that is not producing fruit is not abiding in Christ

And those who are not abiding in him will be:

“thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

Those are Jesus’ words, not mine

In the strongest sense, Jesus is talking about hell and is warning us to stay out of that place

We like to think that the parables are nice, sweet, little, cozy stories

But it’s been said that parables are like theological hand-grenades - because their truth blows-up in your face

Friends, don’t be like the foolish virgins, or like the worthless servant

Put your trust in Jesus

Don’t just pretend that Jesus is your master

Don’t rely on your self-effort

Btw, We only have oil in our lamps because of the Lord

And we are only able to double our talents because of the Lord

These parables have nothing to do with self-effort - they are about having a true faith in Jesus Christ

This is all about what Christ has done for us

Close

As I close, what do you think of in verse 19 where it says the master came and “settled accounts” with his servants?

What comes to mind?

Doesn’t that sound like he came back to gather his profits (p.r.o.f.i.t.s.) for himself?

In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matt 18, that same wording is there - the king who wished to settle his accounts

In that parable, the king was very interested in getting back what was owed

But in this parable, it’s the opposite

He makes no effort to take those talents back

We know that the guy who started off with five was given one more talent - so he ended up with eleven

And nothing is mentioned about the guy with four talents - so I can only assume that he got to keep his four talents

Then there’s the “worthless servant” with one talent -

That guy tried to give it back to the master

But the master had him give it to the first guy!

So, what did the master have in mind when he came to “settle” his accounts?

I think the master cared more for his workers, rather than the millions of dollars that were at stake

The talents themselves were important to the servants - but to the master, the most important thing was his servants

More than anything else, the master cared for them

He’s less concerned with collecting what is rightfully his and more focused on evaluating the faithfulness and stewardship of his servants

This master was focused more on rewarding his faithful servants and not just taking back what was his

Then he told them they were faithful over a little - the talents were, in a sense, just a tool to test them

Then he said to them, “I will set you over much”

Friends, this Master is Jesus

The bridegroom is Jesus

And what a sweet picture of Jesus

He’s more concerned with us, than with the stuff in our lives

The stuff is so important to us - but it’s just stuff

Jesus is more concerned with how faithful we are - and what we do with our stuff - and what we do with the gifts he’s given us

In reality, it aint about stuff, anyhow - it’s about the life God has given you

What are you doing with the life God has entrusted to you in order to serve him?

And are you actively serving God in his kingdom?

Jesus is coming - to settle his accounts...he’s coming for us!

That’s what Jesus cares about

What a tender picture of Jesus, our Shepherd, who cares for his sheep

I can’t wait for heaven,

When we will enter into the joy of the Lord -

and he will set us over much more, for all eternity

(Pray...)