Christ's Judgment At His Coming

In Matthew 24, verse 3, Christ was asked a question. The question was, What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? And in Matthew 24 and 25, Christ answers those two questions. And the sign of Christ coming and the end of the age most assuredly ties in with the Feast of Trumpets, which we'll be focusing upon more thoroughly on Thursday. Our chief emphasis on Trumpets is the return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead. But you also have to realize that another part of the return of Christ is judgment. The return of Christ has very much to do with judgment. And we've been going slowly through Matthew 23, 24, and 25. And if you remember back to chapter 23, Christ was quite condemning of the religious leadership of the Jews and told them so. And one of the things that he brought out in that regard was that they failed in the basics of judgment, mercy, and faith. And in the final portion of Christ's discourse, what is Jesus' focus? It is upon judgment. And what Jesus does is in four parables or statements that you find at the end of chapter 24 and three others in Matthew 25, he speaks of judgment in each of those parables. And tells us different things about how he's going to judge, who he's going to judge, and the benefits and consequences of what's going to unfold there. And these parables are all directed to the disciples, you and me. So they all apply to all of us because we're all looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ. And when Jesus Christ returns, we're all going to be judged. And that's something that we have to keep in mind. So the title of my sermon today is Jesus' Judgments at His Coming. Jesus' Judgment at His Coming.

And as I said, at the end of chapter 24, he begins the first parable in verse 45. And goes through to the end of 24, and then picks up and has three more parables in chapter 25. So let's begin in Matthew chapter 24 and verse 45. Matthew 24 verse 45. We'll primarily stay in these two chapters. We may venture forth a little bit, but we're going to primarily look at the scriptures in these parables and see what we can learn from them. And Christ begins His first parable in 24 verse 45. He says, Who then is a faithful and wise servant, who is a faithful and wise servant, who His Master made ruler over His household, to give them food in due season. So He's talking to those who are, He's saying, How am I going to judge you as a faithful and wise servant? I'm going to be judging you based upon your giving the people that you serve food in due season. We're coming up on one of those seasons. I believe that was addressed in the sermonette. And there is food that's appropriate to that season, appropriate to the Feast of Trumpets, and appropriate to the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles, and leading up to all of that. And not only does this apply to ministers in the church, or pastors, it applies to all of us. As we think about the days, and we can go in, and we can look at God's Word and think about what it has to tell us about trumpets and about the food that we need in the particular season that we're in.

Matthew 24, verse 46, He says, Blessed is that servant whom His Master, when He comes, will find so doing.

Assuredly, I say to you that He will make him ruler over all His goods. So Christ is going to return, and He's going to examine those who have been commissioned to oversee the flock of God. And He's going to say, What have you been teaching my people? Have you been focusing upon the goals that I have set, and the plans that I have for my people, and the hope that they have, and the things that they need to be aware of?

We are, you know, those who are feeding the flock in due season are to be about the Father's business, and that's what He's looking at. That's what He's going to be looking for. So for all of us, He's going to look at where we're at, and He's especially going to be looking at me and saying, Were you feeding the flock of God? Did you give them the truths that they needed at the appropriate time, and in the appropriate amounts? So He says these things, and He's telling you, so be aware that you're going to be judged on this. So someday I'll have to answer for, did I feed the flock? Did I feed them those things that are appropriate in the season that we're in? And then there's a warning that comes along with this. He says in verse 48, But if that evil servant says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming. My master is delaying his coming. So, you know, if you were living back in the first century, obviously 2,000 years have passed, you may begin to conclude he's delaying his coming. Now, he's not delayed. He's right on schedule. But for us as human beings, we're like, Hey, look, it's going to take you 2,000 years to get it together and come back? Well, we have to realize there's something bigger going on here that God is working out. And until God has that worked out, primarily, the thing that He's worried about is, are my people ready? Do I have those who will be a part of my kingdom and be able to work with my son, Jesus Christ? Are they ready? That's the paramount thing. And everything else is secondary. So, you know, we can look at it in one way from a human perspective and say that He's delaying his coming. But the problem is, if Christ is delayed in His coming or people see it that way, what often happens can happen to ministers in the church, can happen to members in the church. For instance, those of you who were in the church back in the 60s and 70s, you all knew that the timing of Christ's return was 1975, wasn't it?

You all heard that. And a lot of people focused their lives on that and made decisions based upon that. And then 1975 came, I think it was when they were to flee in 72, wasn't that right? And then in 75, it was to return. Was that what it was? So anyway, I was just coming in when that was all people were beginning to realize, this isn't going to happen right now. So, Pete, it didn't happen and people were disillusioned. We've been told that Christ is going to come, that we're going to flee in 72, we're going to be in Petra for three years, three and a half years, and then Christ is going to come.

Isn't that right? And a lot of people made decisions based upon that, and it didn't happen. So different than in the first century, people counted on Christ coming soon. He died, he was resurrected, and they look forward to his coming soon. And you can see at various junctures in the New Testament where Paul and others came to the conclusion that Christ is not coming in our day, that it is going to be sometime off into the future. But what happens when people have an idea in mind, Christ is going to come in this timeframe and he doesn't come in that timeframe, they can become disillusioned, or they can slack off in some way. This has not happened the way I thought it would. And that's exactly what Christ describes here. He describes those who are concerned about Christ not coming as planned, and they begin to beat their fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards.

And that's describing a pretty radical direction to take, to begin to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunkards. So this is something that can happen, and we've seen people become disillusioned because of Christ not returning in the timeframe that they thought.

And eventually, I've seen people go from dutifully going to the feast to once the Christ is not coming and being released from having to go to saying, I never wanted to do that anyway. Because you see people that come into the church and begin to keep the feast and the Sabbath and all of those things, they eventually are just doing it from a physical standpoint. And once it's just physical and you don't have to do it, you're not doing it out of fear, you begin to say, I don't have to do this. I'm not going to do this anymore. And so then you begin to get the mindset, hallelujah, free at last. I don't have to do all of those burdensome things that I'm asked to do.

So we see people can become disillusioned with the way things are.

The thing that the servant troubled by the delay began to return to worldly ways. That's where you're beating your fellow servants and you're drinking with the drunkards. He began to speak against them and work against them. And he no longer loved the congregation as Christ's disciples would.

I don't want to serve them. I don't want to keep doing this. And eventually he would leave the fellowship. And displeased with his fellow servants, he prefers to eat and drink with the drunkards, the people of the world. He goes back into the world and rejects following Christ and enduring to the end, which we must do.

And I was thinking about it today as far as coming into the church. I came into contact with the church around 1971. So that's several years down the road. It's 2017. And so you've been at it a lot of years. There are times when it's run through my mind, you know, I'm tired of doing this and tired of this race. And I wish Christ would come sooner than later. But I can't control that. My job is to endure to the end and not go back to the world. There's nothing in the world for me or for any of us for that matter. So in Matthew 24, verse 50, this individual has gotten his mind off the coming of Christ. And that's not of paramount importance in his life. And so verse 50 in Matthew 24 says, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him. And at an hour that he is not aware of. So his mind is elsewhere. He's not thinking about the return of Jesus Christ. That's not his focal point.

And will cut him into and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. One commentary, the message of Matthew says, delay can breed bad behavior.

Nobody appears to be in charge and the servants do their own thing. Their baser passions are given free reign. And as that happens, the outcome is disaster. An organization with no one in charge cannot help but come apart. It says he will cut him in two. You know, you can go back to the Old Testament for an example. You know, God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites completely. But he saved the king and the best stuff that the Amalekites had. And Samuel condemned him for it. And he was to have killed Agag, the king of the Amalekites. And so Samuel said, what have you done? And Samuel cut Agag into...

I mean, I'm sure that was a startling event. But he cut him in two. I'm sure Agag thought, I've survived. But then Samuel showed up and ended that. So it tells us that God was not pleased. And he said, I'll cut you in two, just as I did in that Old Testament circumstance. So I hope all of us will continue to look for the return of our master and make sure that we're ready for his return. We've got to be ready. We can't let it go. We can't just go on about our business or return to the world because there is nothing there. So let's move on to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25.

And most of us are familiar with this particular parable. But it is an important parable to keep in mind because it does teach us various lessons. And I think most of us are familiar with this. So we're going to just think about it, look at a few verses here that probably we are familiar with. It's the parable of ten virgins. And it tells us that five of the virgins are wise, and five of them are foolish. Now as commentators look at this particular parable, they have a lot of trouble with this particular parable because from a many commentator's perspective, the rapture is in there. And when you have the rapture, it doesn't fit. They can't make it fit with the rapture theory. And several commentators acknowledge that there's no bride mentioned. There is no bride mentioned, which also confuses them. And the parable talks about the bridesmaid. It doesn't talk about the bride.

Now I'll just refer to Revelation 14 and describe what's being addressed there. In Revelation 14, it speaks of the 144,000 standing with the Lamb.

So who are the people that are designated here as the 144,000? It says that they have the Father's name written on their foreheads.

And the fact that the Father's name is written on their foreheads is a pretty good indication that they are following God's way of life. That they are faithful and true. Verses 2 and 3 tell us that no one could learn that song that they were singing except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth.

What does redeemed mean? They were redeemed from the earth. That means to be bought back. It means they had been in trouble and their debt had been paid. And we were in that condition. We are the redeemed. Christ paid the price for our sins. Beginning in verse 4, I'll read that in Revelation 14.

These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. It tells us that they follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Obviously, they have a relationship with the Lamb, the shepherd of the flock of God. They have a relationship with Him and they follow Him wherever He goes. The fact that they follow Him implies movement. They are moving, following Christ wherever He leads.

And spiritually speaking, they are moving, they are growing, they are developing. They are moving along with Christ toward the Kingdom of God. It tells us that they are without fault.

Going on to Revelation 19, let's go to Revelation 19. We'll turn back there. We'll come back to Matthew 25. But Revelation 19 gives us something important here about the 144,000. Revelation 19, verse 7, it says, Let us be glad and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And that's what we're all involved in today. We are all in the process of being readied for the return of Christ, for being judged and being a part of God's Kingdom forever.

So they've made themselves ready for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. Verse 8, And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. So they've been cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ. They've been made white, and they're dressed symbolically in the fine linen, which represents that they are a righteous people in God's sight, and they are ready for the wedding supper.

He says in verse 9, Then he said to me, So they have been invited to the wedding supper. We've been invited to that. That's what we're pursuing, is that relationship with God, and we will be there when that takes place. Let's go back to Ephesians chapter 5 and look at verse 30.

Ephesians chapter 5 verse 30. And Ephesians 5 talks about marriage, and has some fundamental and important things for us in regard to marriage. And in verse 30, it says, chapter 5 verse 30 says, No one, for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

So then he goes on to say, This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. So he tells her that what's revealed here about the wedding supper is a mystery.

And Paul didn't fully understand it. He mentions it, but he doesn't elaborate on it. And we understand it to a degree that there is to be a wedding supper, but we don't understand it completely. So how is all this going to work? How is it going to happen?

We don't know exactly. So the key is, stay tuned.

Stay tuned, and we'll have the answers. We want to know all the details, but God hasn't given us every detail. But I know that there is a resurrection of the dead. I know that we will meet Christ, we will rise to meet Christ in the air. I know that we will reign with him for a thousand years. I know that there will be a wedding supper. It seems to indicate it's at the beginning of the before the Millennial Kingdom or somewhere around that time. But I don't know exactly because he didn't give us the specifics. But I know it's going to happen. And more than anything else, I want to be there.

We've been invited. Are you going to turn down that invitation? I don't think we want to. It'll be the greatest. You know, we've been to weddings, and it's always a joyous occasion. This will be the most joyous occasion ever. And we all want to be a part of that. And God says, you can be a part of it. So we understand that these virgins were all anticipating becoming part of the bride of Christ at his return. And I'm referring to the ten virgins found there in Matthew 24. All ten of the virgins anticipated the return of Christ to the earth and were expected to participate in the marriage supper of the land. They were all invited. They were expected to participate. But as you look at verse 2 and a few verses thereafter, it tells us that five were wise and five were foolish. And those who were foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them.

And those who were wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. So they were prepared. They had the oil. Their wicks were trimmed. And they had a vessel full of oil. Because Christ may delay his coming. So they were being prudent. The other virgins, they were virgins, but they were not prepared.

Verse 5 says, While the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. So you have both the wise virgins and the unwise virgins, they all slumbered and slept.

And there is no censure. There is no condemnation for sleeping. The thought that the bridegroom was delayed is an indication that his return would be later than they expected. They were expecting him, but time went on and he didn't come. So they fell asleep. And so they slept. Now let's go to Matthew 25 and begin in verse 6. Begin reading in verse 6. Matthew 25 verse 6.

He says there, And at midnight a cry was heard. How many of you are going to expect the bridegroom to come at midnight?

That would surprise me. I've not known of any weddings taking place at midnight. But this is happening in this particular parable. Behold, the bridegroom is coming. Go out to meet him. Then all the virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. So they still had some oil in their lamp, but they knew they did not have enough to last. They didn't have what they needed. And so they asked the other virgins, Please give us some of your oil.

And those other virgins said, No, lest there should not be enough for us and you. But go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves. You need to go to the market, and you need to buy the oil that you need for your lamp. And really, you knew the bridegroom was coming. You should have been ready.

And they weren't. 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. The door was shut. Jameson Fawcett Brown says on this section of the parable, he says, At midnight, that is the time when the bridegroom would be least expected.

That's when he would come. And remember, it was said in 1 Thessalonians that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.

It will come as a thief in the night. You know, if you knew exactly when he was coming, you would be prepared, wouldn't you? But you don't know exactly when he's coming, so you've got to be prepared all the time.

You know, most thieves don't schedule showing up at your house. So you don't know when they're coming, so you have to be prepared, and we have to be prepared for the coming of Christ. And it will be in an unexpected time.

And you know, for all of us, we may be going about our business, not that we don't anticipate the coming of Christ, not that we've not been diligent to seek him, but it may be somewhat of a surprise when he comes.

For even us. But you know what? We've got our lamp, we've got our oil, it's trimmed, we're ready. And that's the condition we have to be in.

The message of Matthew by Greene says, the girls, that is the virgins, all looked the same, but they were not. Half of them were ready for the feast and went in to enjoy the festivities with the bride and groom. Then the door was shut.

What a warning. It tells us that it's all too possible to be often in church and in Christian company, and yet to be a stranger to the Holy Spirit.

See, the oil represents God's Spirit. And coming to church and being here, going to the feast, all of that, doesn't necessarily mean that your lamp is full. It depends on your relationship with God, as we'll see. It is possible to have a lamp that looks good. It looks good on the outside, but has no oil. It's possible that one day, Jesus may have to say, I never knew you, as he did in Matthew 7. And those are words we never want to hear. And all of it is going to come as a great surprise to many churchgoers, and God inspired Matthew to write this in order to prepare his people for the end of the age. As I taught it, the foolish virgins were not with that way. As I was taught it, the foolish virgins all had the foolish and the wise virgins. They all had God's Spirit.

They all had God's Spirit. Otherwise, they would not have been called spiritual virgins. However, those who were foolish didn't have enough of it. They did not have enough of it. And why not? The next parable addresses that particular problem. In Matthew chapter 25, verse 11.

It says, Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

But he answered and said, Assuredly I say to you, I do not know you.

I do not know you. So he says, Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

We don't know the day or the hour, so we have to be prepared. It's the point that he's making. William Barclay, in his daily study Bible on Matthew chapter 25, verses 1 through 13, brings out a couple of points which are, I think, important for us to understand. There are important warnings. Personally, in his writing, it warns us that there are certain things which cannot be obtained at the last minute. Things you can't get done at the last minute. It is far too late for a student to begin preparing when the day of the examination has come.

You know, I knew people that didn't study, that put no time in. I tried to study a little bit along the way, so I didn't have to cram at the end. So that worked well for me, and I feel more comfortable doing that. There are some people, they were perfectly happy cramming and doing it all at the last minute, and somehow or other they seemed to survive. But I was not comfortable doing that.

And a lot of times, if you wait until the last minute, it's hard to get it together. Because you're having to anticipate what the teacher's going to ask on the test, or whatever it may be, and it may not go the way you thought it would. So it's difficult to prepare at the last minute.

It is too late for a man to acquire a skill or a character if he does not already possess it when some task offers itself to him. So if you're going to play a strenuous sport, for example, you're going to swim the English Channel or something along that line, and you haven't had a decent swim in 25 years for you to jump into the water there and seek to swim the channel, good luck on that. You better make sure you've got a boat and something to haul you out of there, because you're probably not going to make it. I mean, I go in the pool with the kids, and I swim a couple of laps, maybe, and I'm pretty winded. So the English Channel and I are never going to meet. I may fly over it, I may be on a boat, but I'm not swimming it. And anyway, but you can't get it together that fast. You've got to be training and prepared.

And he says, similarly, it is easy to leave things so late that we can no longer prepare ourselves to meet with God. To be too late is always a tragedy, and you don't want to be too late to the coming of Christ.

Barkley also warns us that, speaking of the parable, it warns us that there are certain things which cannot be borrowed, things we can't borrow. The foolish virgins found it impossible to borrow oil when they discovered they needed it. And a man cannot borrow a relationship with God.

He must possess it for himself. A man cannot borrow a character. He must be clothed with it. We cannot always be living on the spiritual capital which others have amassed. There are certain things we must win or acquire for ourselves, or we cannot borrow them from others. They're good points for us to consider. We have to have a relationship with God.

And God is going to know if you had a relationship with Him, because it's been ongoing. And it's led to this point with the coming of Christ, and either you're rising from the grave or you're being transformed at His coming.

So we're ready. And you know, we can't get anything from anybody else, and God makes that very point in Ezekiel 14, verse 12, beginning in that verse. And I'll just read it to you, verses 12, 13, and 14. The Word... And he's speaking to Ezekiel, and he said, The Word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when a land sins against me, by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out my hand against it. I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.

Their righteousness could not be transferred to anyone else.

And when the day of reckoning comes, somebody else's righteousness, your mom, your dad, your friend, your brother, your sister, can't be transferred. It's where we stand with God, because our relationship with God is a personal relationship with Him.

And He's going to judge our relationship on its own merits. So we have to keep that in mind, that we are going to stand before God, and we have to be ready to stand before Him. We are to watch and to pray. As I said, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man is coming. So we don't know. So we need to be prepared whenever it may be. We're told to watch, therefore. And it doesn't mean stay awake as if the ability to fight off sleep were the main point of the story. That's not the main point, staying awake and not falling asleep from a physical point of view. Rather, in light of the entire parable, the dominant exhortation of what is said here is, be prepared, keep watching. And that's what we need to do, to be spiritually ready for when Christ returns. And so anyway, we look forward to that. And we want to build up our store of oil as we have the opportunity. We have the opportunity now to do that. What will we do with the time that we have?

Let's go to the next parable in Matthew 25. And the next parable begins in verse 14, and it talks about the parable of the talents. It says here in verse 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. And to one he gave five talents to another two, and to another one, and to another one, to each according to his own ability, and immediately he went on a journey.

So what's he telling us here in these two verses? He says in verse 1 that in the parable, Christ is returning to heaven, and he will eventually come back. And he's given his disciples something.

And he gave to one five talents, to another two talents, and to the third one one talent. And why did he give five, or two, or one? He gave them the number of talents based upon their ability.

So Christ and the Father looked at the individual and said, This is a person who can handle one portion of my spirit. This person can handle more, and this person can handle even more. And so he's giving those things out in order to make sure that they would bear fruit. And if you think back to the parable of the sower, you know, as the seed was sown in the ground, some of it fell on the good ground, and it bore a hundred, some sixty, some thirty. And that's what God is looking for. He's giving the talent. It's an investment. What will you do with it? What will you do with it? In the parable of the pounds is what we find in Luke. The parable of the menas. Jesus Christ is pictured as a young ruler, and it's different in Luke in that he gives each one the same amount.

So he says, everybody gets one portion, and everybody has the same amount, and there will be a day of reckoning.

And God is looking for us to multiply what He's given to us. And our reward is based upon how we use what He gives us, whether it's called a talent or a minut.

So we're going to be rewarded according to our works.

We're going to be awarded according to our works. We're going to be awarded based on our spiritual growth.

So what have we produced? That's what God is looking for. So you may say, well, that denies faith. That denies walking by faith and grace. No, it doesn't. Your reward is based upon your works. The fact that you are given salvation, and you can be a part of God's kingdom forever, eternal life, that's a gift. A gift none of us deserved. But God said, okay, once I make you that promise, and we enter into that relationship of Father and Son, and I give you my spirit, what did you do with it? What did you produce with it? And God is telling us, I expect you to produce. I expect you to produce. Not more than you have the ability to produce, but what you have the ability, I expect you to produce. And He expects all of us to do that. The sad thing, you know, as I was thinking about how many, how long I've been in the church, I was thinking, you know, I've been in this many years, but what have I produced?

And, you know, whenever I begin to think about that, I begin to get, realize, I've not produced enough, and there's more work to do, and probably some of us think in the same way.

As I said, the servant with a greater ability was given the greater amount of money or the Holy Spirit to work with. And the talents in Matthew are distributed, as I said, based upon the Master's evaluation of each servant's capacity. And in Luke, it's just everybody's given the same amount. There's no evaluation that takes place. The message of Matthew's commentary says, both the five talent men and the two talent men made full and responsible use of what had been entrusted to them. Both received the identical commendation when the Master returns. 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.

So there is a time of evaluation, and we all want to hear, welcome into the joy of your Lord. Both found opportunities to double what had been invested in them. And it's not the quantity that you produce, or the quantity of talents that you receive. It's how you use them. What do you do with what God has given to you? If we deploy them responsibly, we have the Master's commendation and a renewed and enlarged commission.

And it is those who do not try who are condemned.

They are the ones that are condemned. Before looking at the last servant, I thought I should point out something that we can keep in mind. We need to remember that all Christ's servants, after they were called by the Father, agreed to become His servants.

Nobody was forced to become a servant.

We all voluntarily signed on. We all said, I understand what this is all about. I understand that I have the opportunity to be a part of God's kingdom forever.

That's what God's calling me to, to be a part of His kingdom forever. He's giving me that opportunity. And I had a choice. And I know that probably all of us can think back to when we were making a decision about whether we were going to follow this way or not.

And I know that I thought about, okay, I think I can walk away. I thought about walking away, but I also realized I couldn't in good conscience.

So I realized this was the right path. I didn't necessarily chomp at the bit when I first started to go to church and all of that. I wasn't ready for baptism by any means, but I also saw that this was the right path. And little by little, I began to say, this is the path that I want to follow to the end of my life. And we all voluntarily signed on. No one put a gun to our head and said, you have to do this or else. Didn't happen. So we all said, yes, I'll do what you want me to do. I'll live your way. Not my will, but your will be done.

But one of the people that signed up, they didn't produce anything.

Christ brings that out beginning in verse 24. Matthew 25 verse 24. He said, 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. And I was afraid. And when it hid your talent in the ground, look, there you have what is yours. So he didn't produce anything and he gave the talent back to Christ, in essence. The Expositor's Bible Commentary says the servant is saying the Master is grasping. I'm not sure I'd be telling Christ what this servant told him. He's grasping, exploiting the labor of others, reaping where he didn't sow, and putting the servant in a difficult position.

Should he take the risk of trying to increase the one talent entrusted to him?

He would see little of the prophet. You're going to get most of it. I only had one, so you're going to get most of the prophet.

If he failed and lost everything, he would incur the Master's wrath. Perhaps, too, he is piqued at having been given much less than the other two.

It is, in rather, a spifle act he returns to his Master what belongs to him. No more, no less. So what the servant overlooks is his responsibility to his Master.

He had a responsibility to his Master, and he voluntarily signed on to take the one talent and produce with it.

He voluntarily did it.

So his failure displays a lack of love for his Master, which he masked by blaming the Master and excusing himself.

The foolish virgins failed in their quest. They failed because they basically looked at their task as being too easy. All I have to have is my lamp and be ready.

What about putting oil in your lamp? So they looked at it as very easy. The wicked servant here failed from thinking his part too hard, and he didn't produce.

The grace that God extends to you and me never condones irresponsibility.

Even those given less are obligated to use and develop what they had. You can't worry about what somebody else had. What you've been given, you've been given. Make the most of it.

In Matthew 25 verse 29, it says, 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.

Jesus basically repeats Matthew 13 verse 12. He says, after being given every opportunity to succeed, if you don't use it, you lose it.

The United V. Suddy Bible makes the point, the main point of the parable, being ready for Christ's coming, involves more than praying.

Or playing it safe, of doing little or nothing. It demands a kind of service that produces results.

A kind of service that produces results. And that applies to all of us. What are we producing? What have we produced? And what will we produce in the future? Expositor says, The talent entrusted to this wicked servant is taken from him. And at that point, the relationship is severed. There is no more relationship. It's over. And as you think about the relationship being severed, and the talent being taken away, you can go back to Saul. Saul was offered the kingship. He was offered a dynasty.

But he failed in his responsibilities as a king. He failed to honor God. And God took the kingship from him. And what did he do? He gave it to David.

You see what takes place in the parable? Same thing took place back in the time of Saul and David. And the outcome for that individual who didn't produce is found in chapter 25, verse 30. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

That weeping of gnashing of teeth is mentioned seven times in the New Testament. In Matthew, it's mentioned several different times and once in Luke. Weeping indicates great sorrow and grief over not being found wanting, basically. And gnashing of the teeth is an indication of anger. They're weeping and they're angry because God is doing exactly what he told them to do.

He said, if you don't produce, there's a consequence. And you're angry about that?

You really can't be. It's your own fault. And Matthew was inspired by God to put this at the end of his gospel in order to warn all of his people. Then we move on to chapter 25, beginning in verse 31, talking about the sheep and the goats. Matthew chapter 25 verse 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.

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. And verse 33, And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. The Expositor's Bible commentary points out, in the countryside, sheep and goats would mingle together during the day. But at night, they would separate the sheep and goats because the sheep can stand the cool air, goats can't. So they need to huddle together for warmth. And when you would have the goats and the sheep to eat, out in the field, and the grazing was sparse, then you would separate them. Because one would eat it all the way to the ground and not leave any for the other animals that were grazing. And Christ used these pastoral analogies to teach us things that are important to us. It says that all the nations will be gathered before him, and they will come before him, and he will allocate those things that are important to them and their future.

And have they borne fruit? Have they produced? They will stand before him, and he will judge them. And let's go to John 5, which deals with, gives us some indication about this, John 5.

And it tells us how this will work out. John 5.

Beginning in verse 21.

John 5, verse 21. As the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son of Man gives life to whom he will.

For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son. So the Son is going to be the one who will judge. And as he's described being on his throne, obviously he's returned if he's on his throne, and he is going to judge.

That all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father. Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life. And, you know, we've all heard God's truth. We've heard the preaching of the Gospel in one way, shape, or form. We came to hear the Gospel. We began to respond to the Gospel, and we voluntarily signed on.

And we heard the Word, and we believed in him, and began to act accordingly.

And he who believes in him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come to judgment, but has passed from death into life. They're not going to be condemned. They're going to be judged as far as what they're going to receive as far as a reward, but they're not going to be condemned. Most assuredly I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. So Christ has been commissioned with the responsibility to judge those who will come before his throne.

Verse 28, Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming, in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice. All, all who are in their graves and awaiting the coming of Christ, and will rise at the sounding of the seventh trump, and all of those who will be resurrected later on. All will be raised up and come forth. Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, they will be raised and given eternal life. And those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment, they'll come up in the great white throne period if they did not understand the truth and be given their opportunity. They will be judged. And there will be others who will be raised who will face the ultimate penalty in the lake of fire. Verse 30 says, I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my own will but the will of my Father in heaven. And he will judge righteously those who are raised up. And Matthew chapter 3, I'll just quote this to you where it talks. John the Baptist is speaking. And he says in Matthew chapter 3 verse 10, in his time, he said, And even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Indeed, I baptized you with water unto repentance. But he who is coming after me is mightier than I who sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. So Jesus Christ has been sent to the earth to determine that which is wheat and that which is chaff. As you look at the Apostle Peter, the Apostle Peter speaks about the day of the Lord, and he talks about it coming, and it will come as a thief in the night, he says, in 2 Peter chapter 3. And then he goes on to say, talk about their being judged, and the outcome of that judgment, and the earth being burned up with fire. So it's very sobering, the prophecies there, and I thought I would just show you a few of them to give you a picture, and there are more, of course. So back to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25. So we saw that Christ is coming in His glory. All nations will be gathered before Him. He'll divide the sheep from the goats. You'll set the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left. And then verse 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.

So why is He going to grant them eternal life in His kingdom? He says, and what does He say? 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. 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 and say, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothed You? Or when did we see You sick and in prison and come to You? And the king will answer and say to them, Assuredly I say to You, and as much as You did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, You did it to me. Interestingly, Christ made this point three days before He was executed. Note that He goes in the parable from the Son of Man up in verse 31, and it's interesting that by verse 40 it says, and the king will answer and say to them, Assuredly I say to You.

So it starts out, Son of Man, and ends up being king. It's not at all unnatural, because as you go back to Daniel chapter 7, you find that Christ comes before the ancient of days, and the kingdom is given to Him. Christ was the Son of Man, but He is also to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So the righteous are completely unaware of their acts of service to Jesus Christ. They didn't serve Him because He's Christ. They served Him because they had the opportunity to serve. They didn't make a judgment, well, it's Christ, so I've got to serve Him. No, they served because they had the opportunity to serve. And it didn't matter if it was Christ or anyone else. Somebody was in need, and they stepped up and served that individual. And that's what God is looking for in our lives. Do we serve only because we know the people, they're our friends, or we're going to gain something out of it, or do we serve because there's a need? It doesn't matter who it is, do we serve them out of them as we see their needs. And Christ is going to answer them. He said, and the King will answer them when they say, well, when did we serve you? And He said, I say to you, and as much as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. These are people who put into practice the commandment that Christ gave at the end of His life in John 13. By this, all will know that you are my disciples because you have love for one another. And not just love for one another in the church, but people that you see that are to the church, people that are your enemies, possibly, but you love them enough to serve them.

And then, let's focus here about those on the left hand. Matthew 25, verse 41. It says, 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. For I was hungry, and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in naked, and you did not clothe me sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.

Then they will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or stranger or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you? Basically, they're saying, hey, if we had known it was you, we would have served you. We would have offered to you. But that's not what Christ wants, is people who are going to do it just because it is the Christ. And that was their mindset. Assuredly I say to you, and as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.

And these will go away into everlasting punishment with the righteous into eternal life. Notice again, it's a matter of judgment. Those on the left hand had failed to serve Jesus when he was in need. It's just like Lazarus and the rich man.

The rich man walked out day by day from where he lived with all of his riches and all of the goods that he had. And he walked right by somebody right by his door that was in need. And he never made provision for him. And he ends up being separated from Christ by that great gulf. And he did not do what he should have done. In James it talks about, in chapter 4 verse 17, therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

To see somebody in need and not to help them as best you can, it is sin. And it is a lack of fulfillment of the commitment we made to Jesus Christ, to follow his example and to live the way that he did. So these verses tell us that we're accountable to serve others as did Christ. And I would say, living in Houston over the last month, we've had opportunity to do that in various ways. Hopefully we've taken the opportunity to do so. And there are going to be people in need for a while to come.

Revelation chapter 20 talks about the great white throne judgment. And in that period of time, how are people judged? They're judged based upon the Bible. Did you follow the Bible? And the expectation is going to be that they're going to take the instructions and they're going to apply them just like we've applied them. And there are going to be opportunities for them to serve their fellow man. The question is, will they? That will be part of the judgment because God's expectation of them is going to be no different than all of us.

So that's something to keep in mind. So when we look at Matthew 24 and 25 taken together, we see that Jesus is answering the disciples' questions. Tell us when all these things will be and what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. And his reply began with Jesus explaining the events and troubles that will take place at the end of the age. And then we come to verse 31.

And he focuses upon the church. And he says certain things to them that are important for the church to understand and remember and live by. In Matthew 24 verses 32 through 35, he tells us we should be alert to the times. In Matthew 24 verses 36 through 44, we don't know the day or the hour, so we must be ready whenever it is, whenever it comes. Matthew 24 verses 45 through 51, those Jesus Christ has signed to provide for his house in due season must remain faithful and not quit and turn away. We are to be faithful to the end. In chapter 25 verses 113, he talks about the ten virgins, virgins the five wise and the five that were not wise.

And he tells us to be prepared to store up the oil we need to see us through to the end, because we don't know the day nor the hour. We just want to be ready, and we want to have our lamps full and to be ready for however long it takes. In the parable of the talents, the wicked servant did not see the opportunity that had been given, so he was unprofitable.

He was given an opportunity to persist in the kingdom of God forever, and he missed it. He missed it. As profitable servants, we must be growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, now and using the Holy Spirit to overcome our sinful ways, and increasingly growing in God's ways. And finally, in Matthew 25 verses 31 through 46, it is the parable of the sheep and the goats, and we must be serving Christ, brethren, right here and right now as we have opportunity. So in summary, in his final discourse, Christ emphasizes the coming judgment, the day of reckoning that will take place with the coming of Christ at the sounding of the seventh trump.

It is coming, and all of these parables are given to us because it is coming. And what's he telling us? Be ready.

I'm just telling you to be ready. And as we're ready, when that seventh trump sounds, we won't have anything to worry about. We'll rise to meet Christ in the air. We will be forever with him, and we will receive our reward. So as all of those parables tell us, we must be ready.