Olivet Discourse: 3 Parables & a Prediction

Introduction

Yeshua gave us warnings through the parable of the fig tree and the comparison to the days of Noah to pay attention. At the end of the comparison with Noah and Lot, Yeshua says the following Matt. 24:43-44

Matthew 24:43–44 TLV

But know this, that if the master of the house had known what time the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

I had said last time that the main point of the fig-tree parable is as follows:

When we see these end-time events occuring, we should look through them to see the future that is coming soon. We should not worry about the events themselves, but recognise that Adonai has it all in his hand.

And the warning, that Yeshua is trying to drive home is that we should pay attention! We should be aware of the season, with eyes wide open, and we should be ready.

Now Yeshua continues with a few more parables on these same main points and finished up with a prediction.

Faithful vs. Wicket Servants

Let’s turn to Matt. 24:45-51

Matthew 24:45–51 TLV

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master put in charge of his household to give them food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whose master finds him so doing when he comes. Amen, I tell you, his master will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is taking a long time,’ and he begins to beat his fellow servants, and he eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. And he will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

So, going back to the picture of the arrow that we showed last time.

Arrow

What are the ideas of the picture that form the feathers of the arrow? Yeshua is using two different pictures to compare a righteous servant with an unjust servant. The connection to reality is from the passage we read at the beginning where Yeshua is reminding is Talmidim to live in such a way that we are ready at all times.

Let me ask you a few questions about this parable. Who do you think Yeshua is writing to? We know who the audience is, but do you think that this applies to all followers of Yeshua? If it does, how much more so does it apply to leaders within the congregation?

What is the difference between the faithful servant and the wicked servant? Which one thought that he was coming sooner? Which one was expecting him to take longer? How did the delay affect the actions of each servant? Which servant does the master surprise?

Brown and Keener point out that:

Matt. 24:45-51 warns us to humbly serve our fellow servants rather than to lord it over them, since we will all answer to the one Lord.

Wise vs. Foolish Virgins

This theme is continued in the next parable with the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins. Let’s read in Matt. 25:1-13

Matthew 25:1–13 TLV

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish ones took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the wise ones took oil in jars along with their lamps. “Now while the bridegroom was taking a long time, they all got drowsy and started falling asleep. But in the middle of the night there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. Now the foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, since our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Instead, go to those who sell, and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were going off to buy, the bridegroom came. And those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Now later, the other virgins came, saying, ‘Sir, Sir, open up for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Amen, I tell you, I do not know you.’ Therefore stay alert, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

What we see in Matt. 25:13 is a repeat of Matt. 24:44. In fact, both verses seem to form book-ends for both parables. With the parable of the 10 virgins, what was it that distinguished the wise from the foolish? Would you agree that the only difference is that the 5 wise were willing to wait longer? The foolish virgins missed out on attending the wedding party because they expected that the Bridegroom would come sooner.

In fact, both of these parables warn the Talmidim of the delay of the master and bridegroom. Do you think that any of the Talmidim thought that it would take 2000 years? Probably not. The parable’s message clearly encourages us to be prepared to wait longer than initially expected, or for as long as it takes.

What it is not saying

I have heard people speak about how the oil in this parable is representative of the Ruach HaKodesh, and then make the claim that people who claim to be a follower of Yeshua but are not filled with the Ruach will not be permitted to enter the Kingdom of God. That is not what this parable is saying.

As I mentioned last time, just because oil is compared to the Ruach HaKodesh is a Psalm, does not mean that every time that oil is mentioned in Scripture, it is always referring to the Ruach.

Now, do I believe that receiving the infilling of the Ruach is a wonderful gift and blessing, and is something that is distinct from salvation? Well, yes I do, but that is based upon my reading of the book of Acts, and how some people were filled with the Ruach L’Adonai much later than they first believed (Acts 19:1-7). I do think that belief and trust in Yeshua, immersion in water, and immersion in the Ruach can happen around the same time. But there are many examples where an individual only trusted in Yeshua, such as with the 2nd thief crucified next to Yeshua (Luke 23:40-43).

Coming back to the parable, this parable of the wise and foolish virgins is specifically speaking about being willing and prepared to wait as long as it takes. This parable has nothing to do with the Ruach HaKodesh.

The Talents

The parable of the talents is very well known, but what I found interesting is that Yeshua is telling his Talmidim this parable on the mount of Olives, and only a week earlier he told a similar one at Zacchaeus’ home. We will read the one from Matt. 25:14-30 but we will also look at the additional details from the earlier parable in Luke 19:11-27.

Matthew 25:14–30 TLV

“For it is like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and handed over his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them and gained five more. In the same way, the one with two gained two more. But the one who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed me five talents. Look, I’ve gained five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a little, so I’ll put you in charge of much. Enter into your master’s joy!’ “The one who had received the two talents also came up and said, ‘Master, you handed me two talents. Look, I’ve gained two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a little, so I’ll put you in charge of much. Enter into your master’s joy!’ “Then the one who had received the one talent also came up and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ “But his master responded, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you should have brought my money to the brokers, and when I came I would have received it back with interest. Therefore take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For to the one who has, more shall be given, and he shall have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw the worthless servant out, into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ”

Based upon our analysis of parables, what would you say is the one point of this parable? I would say that God expects us to do something with the resources that he has given us. We need to remember that a talent was a very large sum of money equivalent to 6,000 Denarii, around 10 years wages. So even the person who was entrusted with 1 talent, recieved a huge gift and responsibility.

What decision does this parable lead us to? Would you agree that we much choose the steward the resources that Adonai has given us, and be faithful to give Adonai a return on His investment in my life?

Let’s consider a few other questions.

Do you think that it matters how much or how little we are given? No, the servant given 2 also doubled what he was given. Yeshua was always more interested in percentages than actual amounts. Do you remember when he saw the lady who put 2 copper coins in the tzdakah box? Yeshua pointed out that she had given more than all the others, because those 2 coins represented a larger percentage of her world than the other offerings.

Both the servant with 2 and the one with 5 recieved equivalent praise from the master.

What was it that angered the master with the third servant? Laziness. The master states that he would have been fine with simple interest from the bank, but instead he only gets back the principle that he initially gave.

All of us have been given great gifts from Adonai. We have been given salvation, forgiveness, giftings, talents, the ability to earn an income. God is expecting us to take what we have been given and increase it, and give it back to him as a return on His investment in our lives.

Before we move on to the prediction, there are a few extra points that we can gleen from the previous time that Yeshua told a similar parable in Luke 19:11-27

In this version Yeshua starts out by saying in Luke 19:11

Luke 19:11 TLV

As they were listening to this, Yeshua went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they supposed that the kingdom of God was about to appear at once.

Part of the reason for telling this parable was to warn the talmidim that the kingdome of God was not coming immediatly, but rather would be after a long time. This goes right along with the previous parables that we just looked at.

We also see in this earlier parable that the reward for being faithful to the master was rulership over cities. We see this in Luke 19:17

Luke 19:17 TLV

The master said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you were faithful with so little, take charge over ten cities.’

An one other item of difference between the two version of the parable is that in Luke we see that there is another party. There are people who are hostile to the master, who do not want the master to rule over them. They had sent a delegation after the master to inform him that, “We don’t want this fellow to reigh over us!”

This makes this parable much more personal to Yeshua. Yeshua was born to rule on the throne of his father David. However, the Judean leaders at the time did not want him to rule. There is a warning at the end of this parable in Luke against anyone who does not want to submit themselves to Yeshua’s lordship. Luke 19:27

Luke 19:27 TLV

But those hostile to me, who didn’t want me to reign over them, bring them here and execute them before me.’ ”

The Prediction

Coming back to Matthew 25, we close out the Olivet Discourse with a prediction. Let’s read Matt. 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31–46 TLV

“Now when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 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 was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger and invite You in? Or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “And answering, the King will say to them, ‘Amen, I tell you, whatever you did to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Go away from Me, you cursed ones, into the everlasting fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in; naked and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they too will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not care for You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Amen, I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ These shall go off to everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.”

I call this a prediction, because Yeshua is clearly stating what He will do when he returns. This is not a parable, although Yeshua compares us people to sheep and goat.

In terms of application we need to heed the direction and warning of Yeshua where he declares, Matthew 25:45 “Amen, I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’”

I would like to make a few points. The term “My brethren” or “these brothers of mine” does refer to believers and followers of Yeshua, but how much more does it refer to the Jewish people? This is a judgement of the nations, not just of individuals, and as such the nations will be judged based upon how they treated the Jewish people, and how they treated followers of Yeshua. This follows the same theme as the prophesies in Zechariah 12-14 And finally, Yeshua is claiming equality with Adonai in that Yeshua is declaring that He will be the one to judge the nations, something that Adonai has decalred of Himself throughout the Scriptures.

However, although I see this as a prediction that will address nations, I do think that we should choose to take care of one another and love each other as Yeshua praises in this story.

Summary & Application

We covered three parables and a prediction in today’s study, so let us summarize and have another look at the Summary slide and the Timeline.