People who attend the Chicago congregation long term know that on the first Sabbath of the month, we have what we call a Sabbath Bible study. And we've been going through the five discourses in the book of Matthew. There are five discourses in Matthew, and we're just about the last one, the fifth one, and all going well, we should finish the fifth one today. The fifth discourse is Matthew 23, 24, and 25. So we covered Matthew 23, and we speak to the multitudes and the leaders there of the people. And Jesus Christ pronounced eight woes on the scribes and Pharisees for their blindness and hypocrisy, and warned of the resulting destruction that would come upon that generation, which it later did. Last time we finished Matthew 24, which was given to His disciples only, and today in Matthew 25, which it was also given to His disciples only, His teaching at the end of Matthew 24 about His servants being assigned to give His household meat in due season. That's to those who have been appointed to give the household meat in due season, the church. And He said how He will judge His servants when He returns. And the theme of Matthew 24 and 25 is Jesus judging at His return. I don't know that we always see that. Matthew 25 and verse 1, Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. And while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard, Behold, the bridegroom is coming. Go out to meet Him. Then all those 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. But the wise answered, saying, No, lest there should not be enough for us and you, but go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves. 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. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Assuredly I say to you. Now in this congregation we know what that phrase means. It means, pay special attention to that, what he says. Assuredly I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. So when he's talking about then, the question at the beginning was what his time will be coming. And he mentions that several times in Matthew 24. I won't go back over the beginning. Then he said, the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. The commentaries have a lot of trouble with this because they got the rapture in there. And when you get that rapture in there, it just muddles everything. It just makes it very difficult to comprehend their explanation. Several acknowledge that no bride is mentioned, which also confuses them. They talk about, they think they're talking about the virgins and the bridesmaids, but not they don't mention the bride from their perspective.
It causes them confusion. Wycliffe fretts, the Wycliffe commentary fretts, this is not a polygamous wedding.
The author claims the parable is about Christ marrying the Jewish remnant in the tribulation. That's how far off they are. I mean, they're really out there. Our teaching, that Christ will marry the church in His return, makes these verses plain. Makes it very plain. If you look at Revelation chapter 14, I think we know these pretty well, but let's just go over them again as part of our Bible study. Revelation 14 and verse 1. Revelation 14 verse 1, Then I looked and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 140,000, having his father's name written in their foreheads. Now, when they have their father's name written in their foreheads, that's a pretty solid commitment that they're following God's way fully. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, like the voice of a loud thunder, and I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang, as it were, a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed. Redeemed means bought back. They had been in trouble, and their debt was paid, and so they're freed. They're redeemed. They were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Now, notice that. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. This implies motion.
You follow somebody, you have to move. You have to keep growing. You have to keep developing. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. These, apparently, are the firstfruits. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. They are without fault. So these are the firstfruits. And if you look at Revelation 19, Revelation 19, verse 7, Let us be glad and rejoice, give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright. For the fine linen is the righteous axe of the saints. That word, righteous axe, is connected back with judgments in the Old Testament. Then he said to me, Right, blessed are those who are called to the married supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. So we understand, and also in Ephesians 5, I'll just read it to you, Ephesians 5, and verse 30 and 31, And for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Verse 32. This is a great mystery. It's something Paul didn't fully understand himself.
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. How's this going to work? How's this going to happen? We'll have to stay tuned. So we understand that these virgins were all anticipating becoming part of the bride of Christ at his return. Ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. There is a question about whether these lamps are small or large. That's significant because if you're going outside, you're not going to carry a candle, right? Because it'll go on. You carry a torch, which means you need more oil if you're outside. You carry something that needs more oil. And the actual torch, if you're going outside going through it, you would carry a torch, would require more oil. All ten of the virgins anticipated the return of Christ to the earth were expecting to participate in the marriage. Verse 2, Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps, but took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. This suggests a vessel on top of the lamp, a supply. You know, a lamp without oil is like a car without gas.
Useless. I've had a couple cars without gas, so you can't do it. You know, you can play the radio, but that's about it. Not too long with that either. So prudence in both cars and lamps requires preparation. But when the bridegroom was delayed, verse 5, they all slumbered and slept. Now both the wise and the foolish slumbered and slept, and no censure is given for doing so. So there's no criticism of them for doing so. The thought that the bridegroom was delayed is an indication that his return would be later than they expected. And so they slept.
And at midnight a cry was heard, Behold, the bridegroom is coming. Go out to medium. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give me some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, No, lest there should not be enough for us and you, but go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves. 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. JF&B comments that at midnight, that is, the time when the bridegroom would be least expected. Remember, he said in 1 Thessalonians that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. It will be unexpected. The message of Matthew makes this comment. The girls, they go take a little liberty there, all looked the same, but they were not. Only half of them were ready for the feast and went in to enjoy the festivities with the bride and groom. And then the door was shut. What a warning! It tells us it's all too possible to be often in church and in Christian company and yet be a stranger to the Holy Spirit. Isn't that interesting?
They continue, it is it is possible to have a lamp that looks good, but has no oil in it. It's possible that one day Jesus may have to say, I never knew you, as he did in Matthew 7.23, the first of the five discourses. They continue, all that is a great surprise to churchgoers in Matthew Day, all that is a great surprise to churchgoers in Matthew's day and ours. As I was taught it, the foolish virgins were not without the Holy Spirit, so they wouldn't have been spiritual virgins. However, they had an insufficient supply of it. Their supply was too light. At the next parable, Matthew 25, 14 to 30, addresses that problem. Matthew 25, 11, 13, verses 11 to 13, still in the parable we're in. 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. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor hour when the Son of Man is coming. Here's another, I tell you the true statement from Jesus Christ as a warning to his servants. Barkley has comments on this, I think you'll find interesting. The parable has at least two universal warnings. One, it warns us that there are certain things which cannot be obtained at the last minute. It is far too late for a student to be preparing when the day for the examination has come. It is too late to acquire a skill or character if we do not already possess it when some task offers itself to us. Similarly, it is easy to leave things so late that we can no longer prepare ourselves to meet with God. Too late is always a tragedy. Two, it warns us that there are certain things which cannot be borrowed. The foolish virgins found it impossible to borrow oil when they discovered they needed it. We cannot borrow a relationship with God. We must possess it for ourselves. We cannot borrow a character. We must be clothed with it. We cannot always be living on the spiritual capital of which others have amassed. There are certain things that we must win or acquire for ourselves, for we cannot borrow them from others. I thought that's a very good point for us to contemplate.
I've from time to time gone over to Ezekiel 14, which is a prophecy, and verses 12 to 14. Ezekiel 14 verses 12 to 14. The word of the Lord came to me again saying, Son of man, when the land sins against me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out my hand against it. I will cut off its supply and bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, Noah's family was saved through the flood, but he was the only righteous one. Daniel was saved, and then he had others with him who benefited from him. And then Job, his family was spared, and his family was replaced. That must have been a great tragedy, but they all helped other people to get through the time of the test that was going on at that time. But God says, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, and he repeats that several times in the following verses, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness. We must each have it ourselves. We cannot borrow from somebody else, and we cannot go in by anybody else's coattails. Expositor Bible comments on the theme that we don't know the time. That's a theme that keeps going through the section here, and he mentions the theme that we don't know the time. It's re-aided it once more. It's in 2436, 2442, 2444, 2450. Jeremiah is a commentator, and others suggest this verse is a late addition to the parable, since it's at various with the fact that both the wise and the foolish versions fell asleep. But this misses the purpose of 2513. Keep watch does not mean keep awake, as if the ability to fight off sleep were relevant to the story. Rather, in the light of the entire parable, the dominant exhortation of this discourse is repeated. Be prepared. Keep watching. That's what we need to do, brethren. We must all be spiritually ready for his return, and watching for indications of his return, and building up our store of oil while we have the opportunity, while we have the time. Nothing really is more important. Now, the next parable that he's ending his discourses is Matthew 25 verses 14 to 30. For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, and called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each one according to his own ability. And immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise, he who had received the two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time. You see, the parables are saying the time is going to be a long time. It's implied inside it. After a long time, the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and bought five other talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Look, I have gained five more talents besides them. His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You are faithful over through things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.
Verse 22. He also had received two talents, came and said, Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Look, I have gained two more talents besides them. And his lord said to him, in his exact wording, 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.
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 went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours. But his lord answered and said to him, You wicked and lazy servant, you know that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received my own back with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has ten talents. 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, and cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Very serious message, you'll agree.
First of all, let's establish what a talent is. Exposers points out that modern English uses the word talent for skills and mental powers, gods, and trust to humans. But in the New Testament, the talaton is a unit of exchange.
When we covered the second discourse, Matthew 10, we briefly reviewed the parable of Luke 19. So I won't go over that again, but I will make some comparisons. We noted that some of God's servants seek him more diligently than others, and some produce more spiritual fruit than others. Remember, Jesus also gave the parable of the sower in Matthew, but he who received the seed and the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, and indeed bears fruit and produces some 100-fold, some 60, some 30. In the mystery of the ages, pages 2, 53, and 54 in the hardcover, in the parable of the pounds, that's the one in Luke, Jesus is pictured as a rich young ruler going to God's throne in heaven to receive the kingdom of God. He gave to each in the church a pound representing a portion of God's Holy Spirit. The investment God made is the Holy Spirit.
This illustrates that we must grow in the Spirit or in grace and in knowledge, in grace and knowledge, during the Christian life. When Christ returns to earth, having received the kingdom and being already crowned, he shall call those of the church to an accounting. The one who has multiplied the portion of the Holy Spirit received, as grown and developed in grace and knowledge, by ten times over shall be rewarded, I explained this in the sermon a couple years ago, by being given rule over ten cities. He who qualified by spiritual growth and development only have as much shall reign over five cities as his reward. Remember, we shall be rewarded according to our works or spiritual growth, but salvation is a free gift. Salvation is a free gift, but the responsibilities and the blessings that come, it's called in the Scripture a reward.
Matthew's parable of the talents makes a slightly different point than Luke's parable of the pounds. In Luke's version, each servant is given the same amount, one mina. A mina is estimated about three months' wages. Whatever your wages are for the year, take a quarter of it and you'll know what a mina is today. The first servant produced tenfold, given ten cities, the second had five, given five cities, the third produced no growth, and his mina was given to the one that produced ten. In Matthew's version, he gives the more capable servants a greater amount, and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability. A talent is thought to be a much greater amount than a mina. It's a huge sum of money, actually. The servant with greater ability was given a greater amount of money, or Holy Spirit, to work with. Think of Abraham, Job, Moses, David, Daniel, Paul, the twelve apostles. Then there's us. So these men were given incredible amounts of power of spirit, and more was expected of them, of course. Expositive makes the comment, so the sums are vast, much larger than in Luke, where a mina is very close to 100 denarii, one-third of a year's wages, perhaps $5,000 they speculate when they wrote that. Moreover, in Matthew's parable, the talents are distributed according to their master's evaluation of his servant's capacity. Whereas in Luke, each servant is given the same amount. In Matthew, therefore, the parable lays intrinsic emphasis on the principle to who much is given, much is required. That's the underlying plug in Matthew's. The message of Matthew, commentary, both the five-talent man and the two-talent man made full responsible, full and responsible use of what they've been entrusted to them. Both of them received the identical commendation with the master returns, and this is the NIV version, well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a few things. I will make you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. Different translation, interesting. Both found their opportunities doubled. It is not the quantity of the talents that matter. It's how we use them. If we deploy them responsibly, we have the master's commendation and is renewed and in large commission. It is those who will not try who are condemned. They just put it all aside and not deal with it. Before looking at the last servant, I thought I should point out something. Let's remember that all Christ's servants, after they were called by the Father, agreed to become His servants.
They volunteered or voluntarily entered into a covenant with Him through repentance and baptism. They willingly agreed to become disciples of Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit dwelling within, grow spiritually to become as Jesus and His Father are. So His servants had said, I'll participate. They were called and they responded.
Now let's examine the servant who did nothing.
I can't get my page here. There we are. Expositor's commentary. The servant is saying that the Master is grasping, exploiting the labor of others, harvesting where you have not sown, and putting the servant in an invidious position. Should he take the risk of trying to increase the one talent entrusted to him, he would see little of the prophet. If he failed and lost everything, he would incur the Master's wrath. Perhaps too, he is peaked at having been given much less than the other two.
So rather a spiteful act, he returns to his Master what belongs to him no more, no less. What this servant overlooks is his responsibility to his Master, which he voluntarily joined to follow, and his obligation to discharge his assigned duties. His failure betrays his lack of love for his Master, that's pretty clear, which he masks by blaming his Master and excusing himself. Only the wicked servant blames his Master. The foolish virgins failed from thinking their part too easy. The wicked servant failed from thinking his is too hard. The virgins thought, well, this is easy, it'll be easy, you know, I'll make it. And the other one said, oh, it's too hard, it's too difficult, and didn't produce. Grace never condones irresponsibility. Even those given less are obligated to use and develop what they have.
In verse 29, Jesus repeats what he said in 1312. After being 13, it was the middle discourse, chapter 13, after beginning, every opportunity to succeed, if you don't use it, you'll lose it. To use a more common expression.
The NIV study Bible makes this point. The main point of the parable, being ready for Christ's coming, involves more than praying, or playing it safe, and doing little or nothing. It demands the kind of service that produces results. And brethren, that applies to all of us. Expositors said, the talent entrusted to this wicked servant is taken from him. The relationship between master and servant is severed. That's an implication of taking the talent. It is given to the man who had made ten talents, following the kingdom rule. Jesus had already taught in 1312. Moreover, there is an Old Testament warrant for this pattern on the basis of the Kingdom of Israel was stripped from Saul and given to David. So it's pretty pretty strong. In these final parables in Matthew, the faithful are always commended, and the unfaithful are always rejected. In other words, it's judgment. Verse 30, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. As we also noted in chapter 13, the phrase occurs seven times in the New Testament, six times in Matthew and one in Luke. It appears in Matthew 8, 12, 1342, 1350, where it's wailing there instead of weeping. And then in 2213, 2451, and 2530, where we are right now. It's also in Luke 13, 28. Weeping indicates great sorrow and grief.
When they are gathered out of his kingdom by the angels, they begin weeping and wailing or weeping and crying. Gnashing of teeth comes from great anger. They get angry, even rage. Having been gathered out and rejected, they're angry at God for doing what Jesus warned God was going to do.
It's a very sobering parable, and it's what Matthew arranged to be at the end of his parable. We have one more to go. The parable of the sheep and of the goats. Verse 31 to 33, 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 he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Expositors points out to the city folks, in the countryside, sheep and goats mingled during the day. At night, they were often separated. Sheep tolerate the cool air, but goats have to be herded together for warmth. In sparse grazing areas, the animals must be separated during the day as well. But now these well-known simple pastoral details are freighted with symbolism. The right hand is the place of power and honor. It says, all the nations will be gathered before him. This ties in, connects the phrasing with Matthew 24, 14, which we know pretty well. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations. It's the same all the nations. And then the end shall come. And you remember Amos chapter 3, verses 7 and 8, surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets. The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken. Who can but prophesy? He's going to raise up somebody. We know he raised up Mr. Armstrong for 50 years, a little bit more than that, actually. But he's going to raise somebody up before the end. And I think most of us are thinking it'll be the two witnesses to let them know what's coming powerfully, and everybody will see it.
Let me share with you Psalm 110 from the NIV. Psalm 110 from the NIV. Psalm 110 from the NIV. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion. You will rule in the midst of your enemies. Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. That's those around your side. They're willing. They're very supportive. A raid in holy majesty from the womb of the dawn. You will receive the dew of your youth. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush the kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rules of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook beside the way. Therefore, he will lift up his head. Now, as we've mentioned before, the Jews have a problem with this perec, this psalm, because a king has to come from the line of David. And a priest has to come from the line of Aaron. So how can this guy be a king and a priest? One day they will understand, staying in the New Testament, king of kings and Lord of lords, both the high priest and the king, in one person, Jesus Christ. If you look at John chapter 5, John chapter 5, we often read this at the feast, or at least many do.
Maybe not read at every feast site. I like to fit it in. John chapter 5 verse 21. John 5 verse 21.
For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in me, who sent me, has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, because he's passed from death to life. The followers of Jesus Christ, who truly believe and follow him fully, will not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 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 has he granted the Son to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming, in which all who are in the graves, they're not in heaven, they're in the graves, will hear his voice, and will come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. It's very strong when you get the picture here very clearly of the coming judgment that's going to be there. So most today do not comprehend that Jesus Christ was given that responsibility, and yet it's as plain as can be in the scripture. If you look at Matthew chapter 3, again back in Matthew again, Matthew chapter 3, this is John the Baptist speaking, and now, and even now, the axe is laid to the root of the trees. That means there are going to be some changes made.
His withering hand is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean his threshing floor and gather the wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. It's a promise that's here that he's here to judge. In the scripture we were very close to earlier this morning, or earlier in the sermon, if you look at Luke 12, Luke 12, but at verse 49, Luke 12, 49.
Jesus Christ has been called or sent to the earth to determine which is wheat and which is not.
He says in Luke 12, 49, I have come to send fire on the earth, and how I wish you were already kindled. But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am until it's accomplished. Do you suppose that I came to give peace? I tell you not, but rather division.
But he has a baptism to take care of, and he says how I wish it were already kindled, and that the job was done. But it's not done, and so he's got to do it. He had paid the price to free every human from the wages of sin, death. Therefore he is the perfect judge of every human being who ever lived.
And if you look lastly at 2 Peter, in my Bible, I've got a little thumb, and I can go to 1 John, it takes me right to 2 Peter's on the other side. 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 10.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Again, the phrase thief in the night, and the day of the Lord. Like Jesus in Luke 12, Peter jumps ahead to the whole time of the end, leaving out the periods in between. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and the works in them that will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of person ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? Looking for and hastening for the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with a fear of heat. That's going to be the biggest big bang ever. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
So very sobering prophecy is there, and I thought I'd show you a few of them. Just to give the picture, there are more. Now back to Matthew 25, and this time, 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. 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, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty, or give you a drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? Or when did we see you sick or in prison to come to you? And the king will answer and say to them, Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me.
Exposers comments, almost everyone praises the simplicity and power of the passage. Alfred remarks, quote, it will heighten our estimation of the wonderful sublimity of this description when we recollect that this, that it was spoken by the Lord only three days before his suffering. It takes on an extra weight when you think about that. Exposers again, the change from Son of Man. Notice they call him a king. The son of man up there, all of a sudden now it's king. The change from Son of Man to king is not all, is not at all unnatural. For the Son of Man in Daniel 7 approaches the ancient of days and receives a kingdom. And here that kingdom is consummated. The kingship motif has long since been hinted at and on occasion made fairly explicit to certain persons. Had a whole list of quotes there. Yet Jesus still associates his work with the Father, something he loves to do. They get a whole bunch of quotes where Jesus is talking about the Father. They inherit the kingdom of my Father. And many references in John. He addresses the sheep, come you blessed by my Father. Which is the phrase it was, not not blessed by me, but by my Father. The righteous were completely unaware of their acts of service for Jesus Christ. They didn't even know they did it. Following Christ's teaching, they didn't let their charitable deeds be seen to others. They didn't let their left hand know what their right hand was doing. They just served. As they were unaware they were actually serving Jesus Christ, they can neither be hypocrites nor sycophants.
They were unaware. They were just serving. They weren't doing it for a purpose, for parents' sake, or to gain something. They just, so they were neither hypocrites nor sycophants.
He replied, Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the leastly of my brethren, you did it to me. My brethren, in the New Testament refers to spiritual brethren, love toward his brethren is proof of of a Christian discipleship. A new commandment I give you that you love one another's I've loved you that you also love one another. By this all will know that you're my disciples. You've got love for one another.
Let's look at Galatians chapter 6. Galatians chapter 6, where Paul makes the very same point in different words and helps us understand the point more clearly. Galatians chapter 6 and verse 7. Do not be deceived. Galatians 6, 7. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever man sows, that he will also reap. Somebody once said years ago that people sow their wild oats and then hope for a crop failure. Doesn't work that way. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good. You know, as the years go on and go by, we can become a little tired and get weary. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, this is something where you come up and you have the opportunity. Let us do good to all, especially to those of the household of faith. When we serve our brethren, no matter their ethnic linguistic background or other physical characteristics, we are actually serving Jesus Christ. And that characteristic will carry over to others we see who are in need. It's something that becomes a way of life. Now to the others. Verse 41, then he will say to those on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed into 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 also say, they will also answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not minister to you? Then he will answer them saying, assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one and the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Notice again the judgment theme on all these parables. Those in the left hand were similarly unaware that they had failed to serve Jesus when he was in need. He says to them, then he will answer them saying, assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to me, to one and the least of these, my brethren, you did not do it to me. Like the rich man in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, he ignored the suffering right outside his gate. He didn't see it. He missed it. These are sins of omission, not commission. That's important to realize.
James wrote, therefore to him to knows to do good and does not do it to him and his sin. Therefore, when we fail to serve, especially our spiritual brethren, no matter their ethnic background or linguistic background or other physical directions, we fail to serve the risen Jesus Christ. The message of Matthew from InterVarsity Press is, it tells me that I am accountable. It tells me that I am accountable. I am free to live my life just as I please, but at the end I shall have to give account to the one who gave me my life.
It tells me that judgment awaits everyone. There will be no exceptions. There will be no favoritism. There will be no excuses. It will be totally fair. Expositor says, the kingdom was prepared for the righteous. Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. But now also serves as the doom for those guilty of the sins of omission, of which Jesus here speaks. They have refused to show compassion to King Messiah through helping the least of his brothers.
Very sobering lesson there. Look at Revelation 20. Another one we tend to look at at the feast. Revelation chapter 20 and verse 11. Revelation 20 and verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heavens fled away.
That means because of Jesus, he's going to take the old physical away and replace him as we see a little further down in Revelation. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were open. Another book was open, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. We understand the books to be the Bible. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one, according to their works.
Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and anyone not found in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. My hope, and I'm sure yours too, is that that will be relatively few, that God's going to pull this off and give people a chance to repent and have an abundant harvest.
He's good at harvesting, so I'm hoping he gets as many of that as possible. Then Revelation 21 goes on to describe the new heaven and the new earth. When you look at Matthew 24 and 25 taken together, you see that Jesus is answering his disciples' question, tell us when will these things be, and what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? His reply began by explaining the troubles that beset the world, and that was the first part of that, up to about verse 31 in Matthew 24.
Then in Matthew 24, from there on he focuses on the church at 2432. The focus is on the church. Matthew 24, 32 to 35, we should be alert to the times. Matthew 24, 36 to 44, we don't know the day or the hour, so we must be ready. Matthew 24, 45 to 51, those he's assigned to provide his household with food in due season must remain faithful and not quit to turn away. Matthew 25, 1 to 13, the parable of virgins, the wise are storing up oil in preparation for his return to the earth.
We don't know the hour, so we must be ready. Matthew 25, 14 to 30, the parable of the talents, the wicked servant did not see the opportunity he had been given, so he was unprofitable. He was given an opportunity to participate in the kingdom of God forever. He missed it. To the profitable servants, we must be growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ now, and using the Holy Spirit to overcome our sinful ways and increasingly growing in God's ways.
Matthew 25, 31 to 46, the parable of the sheep of the goats, we must be serving Christ's brethren. And as the discourse ends, on the next verse, he always says, now it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these sayings that he said to his disciples, you know that after two days of the Passover. That was the closing of all these various ones that were there. And Matthew closes his gospel. He closes the fifth discourse with the parable of the sheep and the goats, but he ends his gospel with Matthew 28, 19 to 20.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I've commanded you. Christianity today that's known by many, they don't teach them to observe the things Christ commanded. They say that's all done away. You just do whatever you want. Teaching them to observe all things I've commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And Matthew ends it. Amen.
