(Matthew 24:45-25:30)
Entering this section, we see a marked change in the Lord’s remarks regarding His coming. These changes indicate that He is not speaking of the same people as in the previous section. Mr. Darby said that this part of the discourse is actually a parenthesis. I suppose, in one sense, you could go from chapter 24:44 over to chapter 25:31, where the subject of the coming of the Son of Man is continued.
Some of the differences in this section are:
The Lord’s coming is not called the coming of the Son of Man.
The Lord’s coming (the Rapture) is mentioned three times.
No Old Testament prophecy is quoted.
No earthly signs are given.
Jerusalem and the temple are not mentioned.
The Sabbath is not mentioned.
Christ as the Messiah is not mentioned (Christ means “Messiah” – John 1:41).
These things show that the subject before us now does not have to do with the Jews, but rather, with a different group of people. A closer look will show that the Lord is speaking of His coming in relation to the part of the earth that has had the light of the gospel of the grace of God that is being preached today—the Christianized part of the earth, sometimes called Christendom. It therefore deals with Christian responsibility during this present time when Israel would be set aside in the ways of God and the Lord would be absent.
Three Parables
This section consists of three parables; the first is in Matthew 24:45-51, and the emphasis is on faithfulness in the time of the Lord’s absence. The second is in Matthew 25:1-13, and the emphasis is on watchfulness in the time of the Lord’s absence. The last one is in Matthew 25:14-30, and it emphasizes usefulness in service in the time of the Lord’s absence. We could summarize the three parables as faithfulness, watchfulness, and usefulness.
It is significant that the Lord’s coming for His saints (the Rapture) is mentioned in all three of the parables (Matt. 24:46; 25:10; 25:19), whereas it has been conspicuously absent in Part One. The Appearing of Christ is also mentioned in this section (Matt. 24:50; 25:26-30), but it’s never called the coming of the Son of Man.
PARABLE I—Faithfulness in the Time of Christ’s Absence
(Matthew 24:45–51)
Now let’s focus on a few details in the first parable. It’s a scene where the lord of the house is absent, and the servants are tested as to their fidelity. The parable indicates that there are two kinds of servants in the house existing at the same time—a “faithful and wise servant” and an “evil servant.” In the time of the Lord’s absence the house of God will be marked by this kind of a mixture—those who are real and those who are false.
What we have in the faithful “servant” is what should characterize every true believer in the house of God today (vss. 45-47). The faithful servant looks for his lord to return at any moment, and that gives him motivation to be found “doing” his lord’s service faithfully. This would speak of having the imminence of the Lord’s coming (the Rapture) before our hearts. If it is bright before our souls, we will be motivated to live faithfully for Him in the time of His absence.
The faithful servant rises up and gives “meat in due season” to those in the house. This would speak of being busy in the ministry of the Word of God. Dear fellow Christian, this is what God wants us to be doing in the time of the Lord’s absence. But we won’t be able to give people spiritual food (the truth) if we haven’t first gathered it ourselves! This means that we need to be spending time in the Word gathering food for our souls so that we will be able to give it to others.
Notice also, it says that he gave food to his lord’s household “in due season.” This speaks of being in communion with the Lord to know when to give out what we have gathered. It’s one thing to have meat, and another thing to have the wisdom to know when and how to give it out. The Lord adds that there would be a reward for such faithfulness. There are going to be places of rule given in the kingdom to those who have served in this way (Luke 19:16-19). This will happen at the Lord’s Appearing.
Then the Lord Jesus speaks of the “evil servant” in the time of his lord’s absence. We can see from the last verse of the chapter (vs. 51) that such a person is a mere professor and is not saved at all. He is in the house taking the place of a servant but is not a real believer. There are many like this in Christendom today who have made a profession in some way of being a Christian, but they’ve never been saved.
Three things characterize the evil servant. First, he says, “My lord delayeth His coming” (vs. 48). Notice, he doesn’t deny the fact of his lord’s coming, but rather, the nearness of it. He doesn’t say, “My lord is not coming.” He says, “It’s a long time away!” This depicts those who hold the truth of the Lord’s coming as a doctrine, but their lives show that they’ve given up the imminence of it. Today many evil servants have gone farther than this and have given up the doctrine of the Lord’s coming (the Rapture). They will tell you plainly that the Lord is not coming—that it’s a mistake to think that He is!
Secondly, the evil servant begins to “smite his fellowservants” (vs. 49). This depicts a judgmental spirit that would attack the Lord’s servants, perhaps being critical of them in their work. He becomes the proverbial “arm-chair critic.” This kind of a person is full of criticisms of his brethren but does little or nothing himself.
Thirdly, he would “eat and drink with the drunken” (vs. 49). This speaks of the breakdown of separation. He goes on “with” worldly people who are “drunken” with this world’s pleasures.
These three things characterize the false profession in Christianity today. It is sad, but many dear Christians are marked by these same things, even though they are true believers. This shows that we can be affected by the great apostasy. Christians can never apostatise—which is to abandon the profession of Christianity altogether—but they can be affected by the current of apostasy and let go of certain doctrines and practises. For instance, many real Christians have swallowed the teaching that the Rapture is a false idea. The New Covenant theologians, for example, teach this—and most of them are true believers.
PARABLE II—Watchfulness in the Time of Christ’s Absence
(Matthew 25:1–13)
In this second parable, which has to do with the “ten virgins,” the Lord speaks of His coming as a “Bridegroom.” It emphasizes the need for watchfulness during the time of His absence. Notice again, it does not mention His coming as the Son of Man. It’s in verse 13 in the KJV, but the last six words of that verse are really not in the original MSS, as most other translations show. The aspect of the Lord’s coming here, is again, the Rapture.
In this parable, the Lord mentions four distinct periods that would mark the time of His absence in this present day. These four periods span the whole period of the Church’s history on earth:
They “went forth” (vs. 1). This refers to the apostles’ day when the saints first went forth outside the camp of Judaism (Heb. 13:13) and from their worldly associations (1 Thess. 1:9).
“They all slumbered and slept” (vs. 5). This would mark another period in the Church’s history when the whole Christian profession fell asleep as to the Lord’s coming. This happened shortly after the apostles’ day and carried on right through the centuries into the dark ages.
“At midnight there was a cry” (vs. 6). This refers to a revival that took place in the 1800’s when there was an awakening in the Christian world to the fact that the Lord Jesus was coming again.
“The Bridegroom came” (vs. 10). This is the moment that I hope we are all looking for—the Rapture! It will close the Church’s history in this world, and we’ll be taken home to heaven.
Let’s look at the first couple of verses. There are three things here that characterized the early Church. First of all, it says that they “took their lamps.” A lamp speaks of profession. It refers to the bright testimony that they had before the world in that day. There was a manifestation of their faith. Then it says that they “went forth.” This speaks of separation. They went outside the camp of Judaism and out from their worldly associations (Heb. 13:13; 1 Thess. 1:9). Lastly, it says, “to meet the Bridegroom.” This speaks of expectation. They had the hope of the Lord’s coming before their souls. There was manifestation, separation, and expectation. That’s what marked the early church.
There were ten virgins, but “five of them were wise and five were foolish” (Matt. 25:2). The wise had “oil” in their lamps, but the others didn’t. This means that some were saved and sealed with the Spirit, and others were not. Again, this depicts the mixture that exists in the Christian profession today.
That happy state didn’t last long; they all “slumbered and slept” (vs. 5). The Church got tired of looking for the Lord to come and became affected by the world, and this caused it to lose sight of His coming. Note, there was first slumbering and then sleeping. This shows that it was a state that came over the Church gradually.
Then, in the 1800s, a sovereign work of God took place whereby there was a revival of the truth of the Lord’s coming and many related truths. “At midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh.” People awoke to the fact that the Lord was coming! There was quite a stir among Christians, and many began to look into prophecy. As they looked into the subject of future events in the Word of God, they learned that the Church formed no part of prophecy. They learned that the Church didn’t belong to the earth but that it had a heavenly calling and destiny. They then realized that the Lord could come at any moment and take the Church to heaven, as there was nothing in prophecy that first had to be fulfilled.
The word, “cometh” is not in the earliest MSS. It has been put into the text by the KJV translators, but really, it has no business being there. It makes His coming more of an event. The thought, rather, is that a PERSON is coming—the Lord Jesus Christ! It should simply read, “Behold, the Bridegroom!” This portrays the spirit of things at that time more accurately. People were not just looking for an event to happen; they were looking for the Lord to come! The call also exhorted them, “Go ye out to meet Him.” This means that there was an exercise to revert to their original position—outside the camp and the world. They left every ecclesiastical and secular association that they had been connected with and waited for the coming of the Lord.
In the next few verses we see what happened at that time in the Christian profession at large. There was quite a stir to get ready to meet the Bridegroom. Many were discovered to have “no oil” in their lamps. The exhortation of “the wise” to “the foolish” was to go and “buy” it from “them that sell.” This refers to the great gospel effort that marked that day. The gospel was preached freely, and many were saved. Buying would speak of having a personal transaction of faith with “them” (the Father and the Son), whereby they would be saved and sealed with the indwelling Spirit of God, of which the “oil” speaks (compare Isaiah 55:1-3). The foolish were told, “Buy for yourselves.” Everyone who gets saved must have a personal transaction with the Lord Himself. It is not possible to buy it for another person.
Then came that happy but solemn moment when the Bridegroom came, and “they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut” (vs. 10). Those who were foolish and unprepared when the Bridegroom came missed out. Afterward they came and cried, “Lord, Lord, open to us,” but it was too late! (vs. 11) Five times we get the expression in Scripture, “Lord, Lord,” and it always refers to empty profession (Matt. 7:21; 7:22; 25:11; Luke 6:46; 13:25).
PARABLE III—Usefulness in the Time of Christ’s Absence
(Matthew 25:14–30)
We have had faithfulness in the first parable, and then we’ve had watchfulness in the second parable; now we have usefulness of service in the third parable. We want to be faithful, watchful, and useful during the time of Christ’s absence. The first parable brought before us service in the house of God; whereas this parable has to do with service outside the house.
This parable has to do with the exercise of our gift during the time of the Lord’s absence. The “man travelling into a far country” would be the Lord Himself who has departed from this scene through death and ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11). In departing, the man gave to one “five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability” (vs. 15). They were to trade with these in his absence, and when he returned, he would take account of their labour.
There are two things here: “ability” and “talents.” “Ability” is our natural intellectual powers that God gives and forms in our personalities right from birth. God providentially singles out and fashions each one of us in this way long before we are even saved.
When we are saved, we are given a spiritual gift by the Holy Spirit so that we might be able to serve the Lord in the place in which He has put us. The “talents” speak of these spiritual gifts. It might be a gift for evangelism, shepherding, or teaching (Eph. 4:11), or perhaps something less distinctive like helps (1 Cor. 12:28) or showing mercy (Rom. 12:8).
We see the sovereign wisdom of the Master here in giving gifts that match the servant’s natural abilities. For example, someone who is naturally out-going, who likes to be with people and is talkative, could be given the gift of the evangelist. It is not likely that the Lord would give such a gift to someone who is naturally reticent and lacks communication skills.
If we turn over to 1 Peter 4:10-11, we’ll see this distinction again. “As every man hath received the [a] gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to Whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
I mention this because Christians today do not understand what gift is and confuse it with natural ability. Take for instance, someone who is able to throw a football a mile. People will tell him, “Oh, that’s your gift!” So, he gets the idea that he is called to go into professional football to serve the Lord. Perhaps some other Christian is able to sing or play music very well. People will tell him, “That’s your gift, brother!” So, he is encouraged to go into the entertainment field to pursue a career. The result is that we see Christians involved in all sorts of endeavours that I don’t believe the Lord would lead them into. We have Christians in Hollywood; we have Christians in the Super Bowl, etc. They are only helping on the world system in its purpose of keeping people distracted and entertained as they go on their way to hell!
How could a right-minded Christian musician play in a dance band that is helping people to flitter away an evening dancing merrily into hell? It’s an incredible thing; real believers are being reduced to entertain the man of the world as he steps mindlessly into a lost eternity! It reminds me of Gehazi who was found to be covetous and was dismissed from his service for the Lord (2 Kings 5:20-27). We find him later entertaining the godless king with stories of the amazing things that Elisha had done! (2 Kings 8:4-5) It’s happening today in the Christian world, and it’s because of bad teaching, and perhaps a lot of self-will and glory seeking too.
The faithful servants went and “traded” with their talents and “gained” more (vss. 16-17). This does not mean that if we serve the Lord with our gift that we’ll get another gift, but that our gift must be cultivated. The more we exercise our gift the stronger it will grow and the more effective we will be in our service.
Then it says, “After a long time the lord of those servants cometh.” The “long time” would speak of the whole period of the Lord’s absence—the Church period of some 2000 years. The master’s coming back would, of course, speak of the Lord’s coming—the Rapture. Then, the servants were assembled and held accountable. This speaks of the judgment seat of Christ when our lives and service will pass into review, and we will be rewarded accordingly (Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:10). The great thing to see here is that the Lord does not reward according to gift. That wouldn’t be fair since some received more talents than others in the first place. They are rewarded according to their willingness and diligence to use what was put into their hands. If they multiplied what they received, they would be rewarded accordingly. Each one who worked according to the ability that the Lord gave received His commendation, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (vss. 21, 23).
The man who “hid” his talent in the earth answers to a mere false professor in Christianity. We can see that he was not saved because he was cast into “outer darkness” (vs. 30). A difficulty that some have with this is that he had been given a talent (a gift). But the truth is that God gives certain outward manifestations of the Spirit to all who are in the house of God, whether they are saved or not. In that sense, all in the house of God have been given a gift. Remember the Spirit of God today dwells, not only in believers, but also among them (John 14:17: Acts 2:1-4). The Spirit of God is in the house of God where there is a mixture of believers and unbelievers; and mere professors who are there partake of the Spirit of God in an outward way (Heb. 6:4).
The Lord gave an example of one who had a gift, but was not saved, in Matthew 7:21-23. Judas is an example also (Acts 1:17). He preached, cast out demons, and healed people, but was lost (John 6:70; Acts 1:25). The master of the house holds such people responsible because they have taken the ground of being a servant by their profession, and are viewed as such, even though they are not saved. The greatest judgment will belong to those who have had the greatest degree of light and privilege but have not responded to it! (Luke 12:47-48)