We must not be surprised that our Lord suddenly changed from discussing His return as it relates to Israel to His return as it relates to the church. It is not uncommon in Scripture for a speaker or writer to change emphasis right in the middle of a sentence. For example, the entire church age occurs in the time period between the words given and and in Isaiah 9:6. A similar “leap” is seen in Isaiah 61:2, where the church age takes place in the period between the “year of the Lord” and the “day of vengeance.”
In the section devoted to Israel, Jesus described primarily the outward events of the period; in this section, He described inward attitudes. While everyone who has trusted Jesus Christ as Savior is going to heaven (John 3:16–18; 17:24), not every believer is ready to meet the Lord.
When Jesus Christ returns and takes His church to heaven, He will sit on His judgment seat and judge His own people (Rom. 14:10–12; 2 Cor. 5:8–11). He will not judge our sins, because these have already been judged on the cross (Rom. 8:1–4). But He will judge our works and will give rewards to those who have earned them (1 Cor. 3:9–15). These parables suggest that Jesus will judge three different groups of professed believers.
Obedient and disobedient servants (24:45–51). God’s people on earth are called a household (Gal. 6:10; Eph. 2:19). God has put servants over each household to feed the members. This suggests to us the local church family with its spiritual leaders. The purpose of spiritual leadership is that the leaders feed the people, not that the people feed the leaders! The apostle Peter caught this truth and emphasized it in his first letter (1 Peter 5:1–4).
It is a serious thing to be a pastor or other officer in a local church. We must take care that our motives are right and that we serve Christ and His people in love. Both in word and deed, we must lead the family in the right way (Heb. 13:7–8). The members of the family should submit to spiritual leadership, because one day both people and leaders will face the judgment seat of Christ (Heb. 13:17).
The servant’s task is not to be popular, but to be obedient. He must feed the family the food that it needs, when it needs it. He should bring out of his “spiritual cupboard” things new and old (Matt. 13:52). Some Bible teachers, in their search for something new and exciting, forget the nutrition of the old truths of the Word. But other ministers are so wrapped up in the old that they fail to discover the new insights and new applications of the old truths. The new grows out of the old, and the old is made more meaningful by the new.
If the spiritual leader is obediently doing his job when the Lord returns, he shall be rewarded. But if that leader is not doing his job when the Lord returns, he will be dealt with in a severe way. I prefer to translate Matthew 24:51: “And shall punish him severely and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.” (Even in that day of despotic rule, it would be unthinkable for a master to cut his servant in half.) The whole picture is one of pain and loss. This does not suggest punitive measures at the judgment seat of Christ, because there we will have glorified bodies. But it does suggest loss of reward and loss of opportunity.
Jesus did not amplify the truth here, but from other Scriptures we learn that one reward for obedient service will be ministry in the kingdom that He will establish on earth (Luke 19:11ff.). The reward for obedient service is the capacity for greater service. Not to have a place of ministry in His kingdom would, to me, be a tremendous loss.
What caused this servant’s downfall? Something went wrong in his heart: He ceased to expect his Lord to return (Matt. 24:48). He lived like the world and mistreated his fellow servants. Whenever God’s servants cannot work together, it is often because somebody has forgotten that the Lord will return. Looking for His appearing, and loving His appearing, should motivate us to be faithful and loving (1 Thess. 2:19–20; 1 John 2:28).
Wise and foolish witnesses (25:1–13). A wedding in that day had two parts. First, the bridegroom and his friends would go from his house to claim the bride from her parents. Then the bride and groom would return to the groom’s house for the marriage feast. The suggestion here is that the groom has already claimed his bride and is now on his way back home. However, we must not press the image of the church as a bride too far, because much of this truth was not revealed until the ministry of Paul (Eph. 5:22ff.).
The church has known for two thousand years that Jesus is coming again, and yet many believers have become lethargic and drowsy. They are no longer excited about the soon-coming of the Lord. As a result, there is little effective witness given that the Lord is returning.
The oil for burning reminds us of the special oil used in the tabernacle services (Ex. 27:20–21). Oil is usually a symbol of the Spirit of God, but I wonder if this particular oil is not also a symbol of the Word of God. The church should be “holding forth the word of life” in this dark and wicked world (Phil. 2:12–16). We need to keep the word of His patience (Rev. 3:10) and keep witnessing of the return of Jesus Christ.
When the bridegroom and bride appeared, half of the bridesmaids were unable to light their lamps because they had no oil. “Our lamps are going out!” they cried. The bridesmaids who had oil were able to light their lamps and keep them shining bright. It was they who entered into the wedding feast and not the foolish girls who had no oil. This suggests that not every professing Christian will enter heaven, for some really have not trusted Jesus Christ sincerely. Without the Spirit of God and the Word of God, there can be no true salvation.
Jesus ended this parable with the warning He had uttered before: “Watch” (Matt. 24:42; 25:13). This does not mean standing on a mountaintop gazing at the heavens (Acts 1:9–11). It means “to stay awake and be alert” (Matt. 26:38–41).
Profitable and unprofitable servants (25:14–30). This parable must not be confused with the parable of the pounds (Luke 19:11–27), though the two parables do have similarities. Please note that each servant in this parable was given money (a talent was worth about twenty years’ wages) according to his ability. The man with much ability was given five talents; the man with average ability received two talents; the man with minimal ability received one talent.
The talents represent opportunities to use our abilities. If five talents were given to a person with minimal ability, he would be destroyed by the heavy responsibility. But if only one talent were given to a man of great ability, he would be disgraced and degraded. God assigns work and opportunity according to ability. We are living in the period of time between Matthew 25: and 19. We have been assigned our ministries according to the abilities and gifts God has given us. It is our privilege to serve the Lord and multiply His goods.
The three servants fell into two categories: faithful and unfaithful. The faithful servants took their talents and put them to work for their Lord. The unfaithful servant hid his talent in the earth. Instead of using his opportunities, he buried them! He did not purposely do evil. But by doing nothing, he was committing sin and robbing his Lord of service and increase.
The two men who put their money to work each received the same commendation (Matt. 25:21, 23). It was not the portion but the proportion that made the difference. They started as servants, but their Lord promoted them to rulers. They were faithful with a few things, so the Lord trusted them with many things. They had worked and toiled, and now they entered into joy. Their faithfulness gave each of them a capacity for greater service and responsibility.
The third servant was unfaithful and therefore was unrewarded. Because this man was afraid he might fail, he never tried to succeed. He feared life and his responsibilities. This paralyzed him with anxiety, so he buried the talent to protect it. The least he could have done was put the money in a bank and collect some interest. There was no real risk in that.
What we do not use for the Lord, we are in danger of losing. The master reprimanded the unfaithful, unprofitable servant, and then took his talent from him. The man with the most talents received the extra talent.
Some feel that this unprofitable servant was not a true believer. But it seems that he was a true servant, even though he proved to be unprofitable. The “outer darkness” of Matthew 25: need not refer to hell, even though that is often the case in the Gospels (Matt. 8:12; 22:13). It is dangerous to build theology on parables, for parables illustrate truth in vivid ways. The man was dealt with by the Lord, he lost his opportunity for service, and he gained no praise or reward. To me, that is outer darkness.
It is possible that the one-talent man thought that his one talent was not really very important He did not have five talents, or even two. Why worry about one? Because he was appointed as a steward by the Lord. Were it not for the one-talent people in our world, very little would get accomplished. His one talent could have increased to two and brought glory to his master.
These three parables encourage us to love His appearing, look for His appearing, and labor faithfully until He comes. We should be watching, witnessing, and working. We may not be successful in the eyes of men, or even popular with others. But if we are faithful and profitable, we shall receive our reward.