Matthew 25

 

Jesus taught us to be ready for His return

 

1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their flasks along with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him! 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there not be enough for us and you; but instead, go to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

 

  • Jesus is the eternal bridegroom in the parable of Matthew 22.
  • Those who were called were too busy with this life receive God’s invitation.
  • In this parable, they do not prepare to meet their bridegroom.
  • The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
  • Jesus told us to know and live by his word (Matthew 4:4) and be continually filled by His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:19).
  • he lamp stand of the tabernacle represented Jesus as the light of the world.
  • John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
  • Ephesians 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, which is excess; but be filled with the Spirit

 

The Lord is coming back to earth

 

11 Later the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us! 12 But he answered and said, Truthfully, I say to you, I do not know you. 13 Watch therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour that the Son of Man is coming. 14 For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 So he who had received five talents came and brought five another talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them. 21 His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them. 23 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.

 

  • A talent was 3000 shekels or 125 pounds by weight.
  • Notice their abilities are the basis for distribution, not the content.
  • What has God given us to invest in this world until He returns?
  • It is not money, or our abilities and talents or worldly things but His gift to the world of eternal life through faith (John 3:16), His word, more precious than gold (Psalm 19:10, Psalm 119:127, and His Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13).
  • In verse 12, those refused entrance are those who did not know the Lord.
  • 1Thesssalionans 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ will rise first: 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so will we ever be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
  • Romans 14:12 So then every one of us will give account of himself to God.

 

24 Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' 26 But his lord answered and said to him, You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

  • Imagine telling the One who loved you enough to die for us that He is hard.
  • Those who do not have, do not have because they refused it.
  • God has done everything possible to ensure that we have what He has provided.
  • He has given us His Holy Spirit and infinite power.
  • Those who overcome will rule with Him, they will possess the kingdom.
  • Daniel 7:22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
  • Revelation 3:21 Unto him that overcomes I will give to sit with me on My throne even as I overcame and am sat down with My Father on His throne.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for them that love him.

 

The Lord is coming in glory with His angels to the people of earth

 

31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? 40 And the King will answer and say to them, Truthfully, I say to you, when you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.

 

  • Jesus brothers are the Jews that believe in Him and any who have believed in Him and do His will (Matthew 12:15).
  • The greatest act of faith in the end times will be to help those who have been legally condemned to starvation and death for their faith in Jesus Christ by the world government of the antichrist (Revelation 13).
  • The Lord’s throne of glory is described in Ezekiel 1:26-28.

 

Christ showed us God’s standard of judgment

 

41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a foreigner and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. 44 Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a foreigner or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You? 45 Then He will answer them, saying, Truthfully I say to you, when you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

 

  • Hell is real. Jesus spoke of it more than anyone.
  • He knows, because He made it (John 1:3).
  • He gave His life so that none would go there.
  • This is a vital principle to remember when dealing with our families, God’s people at church, or anywhere else.
  • If we dismiss them lightly or treat them badly, we are treating Him badly. If we vent our frustration and anger on them, we are venting on Christ.
  • John 10:28 And I give to them eternal life; and they will never perish, neither will any man pluck them out of my hand.

 

                                                 Matthew 26

 

God remembers and honors our gifts to Him

 

1 And when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 You know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. 3 Then the chief priests assembled together, and the scribes, and the elders of the people to the palace of the high priest who was called Caiaphas, 4 And plotted to seize Jesus stealthily, and kill him. 5 But they said, Not on the feast day, so there is no uproar among the people. 6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, 7 A woman came to him having an alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on his head as he sat to eat. 8 But when his disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. 10 But knowing, he said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? She has done a good work for me. 11 You will always have the poor with you; but you do not always have me. 12 She has poured this ointment on my body; she did it for my burial. 13 Truthfully I say to you, Wherever this good news is preached in the whole world, there also, what this woman has done will be told for a memorial of her. 14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, 15 And said to them, What will you give me, and I will deliver him to you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

 

  • Man has betrayed God since the fall.
  • The disciples were focused on people; this woman was focused on God. It seems she knew He was about to die for her sins.
  • Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 

17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, Where do you desire that we prepare for you to eat the passover? 18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say to him, The Master says, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at your house with my disciples. 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had commanded them; and they prepared the passover. 20 Now when the evening came, he sat down with the twelve. 21 And as they ate, he said, Truthfully I say to you, that one of you will betray me. 22 And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and began every one of them to say to him, Lord, is it I?

 

  • We betray God today by valuing others and things above Him.

 

23 And he answered and said, He that dips his hand with me in the dish, the same one will betray me. 24 The Son of man goes as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would be good for that man if he had not been born. 25 Then Judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said to him, You said it. 26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

 

  • His body represents all that He is from Genesis ,1 where He spoke creation into being, to Revelation 22 where He makes all things new, a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells.
  • All that He is was broken for us.

 

27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, from now on I will not drink of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. 30 And when they had sung a hymn/psalm, they went out into the mount of Olives.

 

  • Jesus isn’t drinking wine in heaven now; He’s waiting for us.
  • He poured out the cup of God’s love for us.
  • Every animal sacrifice of the Old Testament was a living picture of what Jesus was going to do to display God’s love.
  • He says here drink all of it. He wants us to receive all of His love.
  • John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”

 

31 Then said Jesus to them, All of you will be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered abroad. 32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. 33 Peter answered and said to him, Though all men will be offended because of you, yet will I never be offended.

 

  • Jesus gave them hope by telling them He would rise and go before them, meet them in Galilee.

 

Jesus did the Father’s will, not His own

 

34 Jesus said to him, Truthfully I say to you, That this night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times. 35 Peter said to him, Though I die with you, yet I will not deny you. All the disciples said the same. 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, Sit here, while I go over there and pray. 37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then he said to them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even to death: you wait here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.

 

  • This cup the Lord prayed about held the full wrath of our holy God against every crime, every injustice, every sin of man and angels, all creation.
  • Jesus knew them all from start of time to the end “exceeding sorrowful and very heavy, even unto death.”
  • Isaiah 53:4 Surely he has borne our grief’s, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

 

40 And he came to the disciples and found them asleep and said to Peter, What, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray so that you do not enter into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me unless I drink it, your will be done. 43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then he came to his disciples, and said to them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

 

  • Prayer is how we guard against our weaknesses.
  • The Father’s will is always best. It’s way beyond the things we are able to comprehend.
  • Jesus was betrayed and delivered up to death to deliver us from evil, sin, and death.

 

46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that betrays me. 47 And while he still spoke, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whoever I kiss, that same one is he: hold him fast. 49 Immediately he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 50 And Jesus said to him, Friend, why have you come? Then they came, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51 And, behold, one of them that was with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and struck off his ear. 52 Then said Jesus to him, Put up your sword into his place: for all those that take the sword will perish with the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot pray to my Father now, and he will presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But then how will the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen this way?

 

  • Those who use violence to solve their problem will die by violence.
  • However, governments are supposed to execute murderers, rapists, kidnappers, idol-worshippers to protect their people (Numbers 35;16, Deuteronomy 22:25, Exodus 21:16 )
  • Jesus showed that He died for us willingly.
  • Twelve legions of angels is about 30,000-70,000 angels. God would have sent them if Jesus had called.
  • One angel in 2 Kings 19:35 struck 185,000 in one night.

 

Jesus reasoned with them to look at what they were doing

 

55 In that same hour Jesus said to the multitudes, Have you come out as against a thief with swords and clubs to arrest me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and you did not arrest me. 56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. 57 And those that had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58 But Peter followed him afar off to the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60 But found none: yes, though many false witnesses came, still they found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62 And the high priest arose, and said to him, Do you answer nothing? What is it that these witness against you? 63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said to him, I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus said to him, You have said: nevertheless I say to you, After this you will see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

 

  • Jesus was the only truly perfect person in all of history.
  • They had Him swear by Himself, the living God.
  • He is coming again, in all power
  • Revelation 1:7 Behold, he comes with clouds; and every eye will see him, and those also that pierced him: and all races of the earth will wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

 

65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, He has spoken blasphemy; what further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his blasphemy. 66 What do you think? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. 67 Then they spit in his face, and slugged him; and others struck him with the palms of their hands, 68 saying, Prophesy to us, Christ, Who is he that struck you?

 

  • Imagine: This was their Creator who had planned them in eternity past, created them in time, loved them enough to die for them that they were spitting on and beating.

 

69 Now Peter sat outside in the palace: and a servant-girl came to him, saying, You also were with Jesus of Galilee. 70 But he denied before them all, saying, I do not know what you are saying. 71 And when he had gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said to them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73 And after a while bystanders came and said to Peter, Surely you also are one of them; for your speech betrays you. 74 Then he began to curse and to swear, saying, I do not know the man. And immediately the cock crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word that Jesus said to him, Before the cock crows you will deny me three times. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

 

  • Jesus had given Peter the means to succeed rather than fail when He said ‘watch and pray’ that you not enter not into temptation.
  • Peter with his great love for the Lord, was not able of himself to be strong.
  • He was afraid and chose safety over loyalty to his Lord.
  • Even as He was being crucified He would have been a refuge and strength for Peter.
  • Isaiah 53:7-8 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, he did not open his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who will declare his generation? He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
  • Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

 

 

*******************************

 

SUMMARY: Matthew 25-26

 

  • Jesus taught us to be ready for His return
  • The Lord is coming back to earth
  • The Lord is coming in glory with His angels to the people of earth
  • Christ showed us God’s standard of judgment
  • God remembers and honors our gifts to Him
  • Jesus did the Father’s will, not His own