RESURRECTION AND REWARDS ONCE MORE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjNZf878ISQ

Mt 25:14 For it is as when a man, about to take a journey, got his servants together, and gave them his property.
 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to everyone as he was able; and he went on his journey.
 16 Straight away he who had been given the five talents went and did trade with them, and made five more.
 17 In the same way he who had been given the two got two more.
 18 But he who was given the one went away and put it in a hole in the earth, and kept his lord's money in a secret place.
 19 Now after a long time the lord of those servants comes, and makes up his account with them.
 20 And he who had the five talents came with his other five talents, saying, Lord, you gave into my care five talents: see, I have got five more.
 21 His lord said to him, Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord.
 22 And he who had the two talents came and said, Lord, you gave into my care two talents: see, I have got two more.
 23 His lord said to him, Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord.
 24 And he who had had the one talent came and said, Lord, I had knowledge that you are a hard man, getting in grain where you have not put seed, and making profits for which you have done no work:
 25 And I was in fear, and went away, and put your talent in the earth: here is what is yours.
 26 But his lord in answer said to him, You are a bad and unready servant; if you had knowledge that I get in grain where I did not put seed, and make profits for which I have done no work,
 27 Why, then, did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I would have got back what is mine with interest?
 28 Take away, then, his talent and give it to him who has the ten talents.
 29 For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have more: but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
30 And put out the servant who is of no profit into the outer dark: there will be weeping and cries of sorrow.
 (BBE)


There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery.

Dante Alighieri


So imagine the sorrow of missing eternal happiness because you didn't think obedience or worship or keeping your faith strong was needed.



MATTHEW 25 - MATTHEW HENRY'S CONCISE COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE


The parable of the talents.

Christ keeps no servants to be idle: they have received their all from him, and have nothing they can call their own but sin. Our receiving from Christ is in order to our working for him. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. The day of account comes at last. We must all be reckoned with as to what good we have got to our own souls, and have done to others, by the advantages we have enjoyed. It is not meant that the improving of natural powers can

entitle a man to Divine grace. It is the real Christian's liberty and privilege to be employed as his Redeemer's servant, in promoting his glory, and the good of his people: the love of Christ constrains him to live no longer to himself, but to Him that died for him, and rose again. Those who think it impossible to please God, and in vain to serve him, will do nothing to purpose in religion. They complain that He requires of them more than they are capable of, and punishes them for what they
cannot help. Whatever they may pretend, the fact is, they dislike the character and work of the Lord. The slothful servant is sentenced to be deprived of his talent. This may be applied to the blessings of this life; but rather to the means of grace. Those who know not the day of their visitation, shall have the things that belong to their peace hid from their eyes. His doom is, to be cast into outer darkness. It is a usual way of expressing the miseries of the damned in hell. Here, as in what

was said to the faithful servants, our Saviour goes out of the parable into the thing intended by it, and this serves as a key to the whole. Let us not envy sinners, or covet any of their perishing possessions. (Mt 25:31-46)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJhsexd8Qqg


                                                                                                                                                                 


Hugh Whelchel is Executive Director of the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics and author of How Then Should We Work? Rediscovering the Biblical Doctrine of Work. Hugh has a Master of Arts in Religion and brings over 30 years of diverse business experience to his leadership at IFWE.



Without further ado, here are five lessons the Parable of the Talents can teach us about work, success, and wealth:

1. First, this parable teaches us that success is a product of our work.  

In the book of Genesis we see that God placed Adam in the garden to work it and take care of it. We were made to work. As Christians we have a mission that our Lord expects us to accomplish in the here and now.

Far too many evangelical Christians today see their salvation as simply a “bus ticket to heaven.” They believe it doesn’t matter what they do while they “wait for the bus.” The Parable of the Talents teaches us what we are supposed to do while we await the return of our King.

We are to work, using our talents to glorify God, serve the common good, and further God’s kingdom. Biblical success is working diligently in the here and now using all the talents God has given us to produce the return expected by the Master.

(And the result of His working it out THROUGH us.  W)

2. The Parable of the Talents teaches that God always gives us everything we need to do what he has called us to do.

Have you ever wondered what a talent is worth in today’s dollars? It is hard to know for sure, yet whatever its exact value, in the New Testament a talent indicates a large sum of money, maybe even as much as a million dollars in today’s currency.

We are tempted to feel sorry for the servant who received only one talent, but in reality he received as much as a million dollars from the master and buried it in his back yard. He was given more than enough to meet the master’s expectations.

Just as the master expected his servants to do more than passively preserve what has been entrusted to them, so God expects us to generate a return by using our talents towards productive ends. The servants were given enough to produce more – it is the same with the gifts God has given us. The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10:

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We seldom associate this verse with our work, but we should.

(And please note the           section closely.  He prepared them in advance.  He knew we would be equipped for them by Him and ready them for our doing.  I wonder how many each of us missed by our self absorption or our ego trips. W.)

3. The Parable of the Talents teaches that we are not all created equal.

The most overlooked part of this parable is the second half of verse fifteen: the master gives to each servant talents, “…each according to his ability.” The master understood that the one-talent servant was not capable of producing as much as the five-talent servant.

We want to protest this as unfair. Yet we know this is true from our own experience. Diversity is woven into the fabric of creation.

But even though we’re not created equal in regard to the talents we’re given, there is equality found in the Parable of the Talents. It comes from the fact that it takes just as much work for the five-talent servant to produce five more talents as it does the two-talent servant to produce two more talents.

This is why the reward given by the master is the same. The master measures success by degrees of effort, as should we.

(The master measures success by our commitment to him and by our following the lead of the Spirit as the previous parable showed. Our commitment to Him fills us with the Spirit and then we do things while lead by the Spirit and it is that leading that develops  our works.  Our "effort" is "working" in obedience.  The two "successful" servants OBEYED and used the "wealth" of the gifts of the Spirit to expand the kingdom.  Now we can look at it as money or sweat and tears over projects or a daily regimen of prayer and Bible reading.  Wee need to step back from the idea that we worked to build a church or a ministry.  We worked to let Him work through us to do it. Which is arrived at below but seems to be contradicted a bit here. W.)

4. The Parable of the Talents teaches that we work for the Master, not our own selfish purposes. 

The money that is given to the servants is not their own. The money they earn with the capital is not theirs to keep. The servants are only stewards of the master’s investment, and it is the quality of their stewardship that the master seeks to measure.

We should maximize the use of our talents not for our own selfish purposes, but to honor God. We know that we work in a fallen world. Because of the curse of sin, our work will be difficult. But we should feel satisfaction and joy from doing our best with what God has given us in the place where his providence puts us, seeking to succeed in order to honor him.

(Invert that: seeking to honor HIm and thus succeed.  We tend to Americanize and Puritan Ethic things.  Our work is letting Him work.

(We need to recall Paul's admission and admonision in Romans:


(Romans 7:15-20 New International Version (NIV)
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

(And then recall his clarifying statement in Philippians 4:13:


(I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.

(The thing to remember is that the servant understood he was given a gift by God to be used for God's purposes.  When one misdirects the gift as the previous examples, then God reacts accordingly.  when one does not use the gift at all except to sit in a congregation and sing a couple hymns and then go about their business, then God also reacts accordingly.  Wrong action and inaction receive the same "reward."  W.)

5. The Parable of the Talents shows that we will be held accountable. 

The Parable of the Talents is not about salvation or works righteousness, but about how we use our work to fulfill our earthly callings. It is about whole-life stewardship, or “Stewardship with a capital ‘S‘.”

The unfaithful steward in this parable didn’t so much waste the master’s money – he wasted an opportunity. As a result, he was judged wicked and lazy. We are responsible for what we do for God with what we have been given, and one day we will be held responsible.

What we hear from the Master on that day is up to us.

This post was adapted from its original version appearing in the latest edition of byFaith magazine

                                                                                                                                                                 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnx0NA9X4 John Wesley's commentary:


Mt 25:15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to everyone as he was able; and he went on his journey.

V. 15. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one-And who knows whether (all circumstances considered) there be a greater disproportion than this, in the talents of those who have received the most, and those who have received the fewest?

  According to his own ability-The words may be translated more literally, according to his own mighty power.



  And immediately took his journey-To heaven.

 16 Straight away he who had been given the five talents went and did trade with them, and made five more.
 17 In the same way he who had been given the two got two more.
 18 But he who was given the one went away and put it in a hole in the earth, and kept his lord's money in a secret place.

V. 18. He that had received one-Made his having fewer talents than others a pretence for not improving any.

  Went and hid his master's money-Reader, art thou doing the same? Art thou hiding the talent God hath lent thee?

 19 Now after a long time the lord of those servants comes, and makes up his account with them.
 20 And he who had the five talents came with his other five talents, saying, Lord, you gave into my care five talents: see, I have got five more.
 21 His lord said to him, Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord.
 22 And he who had the two talents came and said, Lord, you gave into my care two talents: see, I have got two more.
 23 His lord said to him, Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord.
 24 And he who had had the one talent came and said, Lord, I had knowledge that you are a hard man, getting in grain where you have not put seed, and making profits for which you have done no work:

V. 24. I knew thou art a hard man-No.  Thou knowest him not.  He never knew God, who thinks him a hard master.

  Reaping where thou hast not sown-That is, requiring more of us than thou hast given us power to perform. So does every obstinate sinner, in one kind or other, lay the blame of his own sins on God.

 25 And I was in fear, and went away, and put your talent in the earth: here is what is yours.

V. 25. And I was afraid-Lest if I had improved my talent, I should have had the more to answer for.  So from this fear, one will not learn to read, another will not hear sermons!

 26 But his lord in answer said to him, You are a bad and unready servant; if you had knowledge that I get in grain where I did not put seed, and make profits for which I have done no work,

V. 26. Thou knewest-That I require impossibilities!  This is not an allowing, but a strong denial of the charge.

 27 Why, then, did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I would have got back what is mine with interest?

V. 27. Thou oughtest therefore-On that very account, on thy own supposition, to have improved my talent, as far as was possible.

 28 Take away, then, his talent and give it to him who has the ten talents.
 29 For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have more: but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

V. 29. To every one that hath shall be given-So close does God keep to this stated rule, from the beginning to the end of the world. Mt 13:12.

 30 And put out the servant who is of no profit into the outer dark: there will be weeping and cries of sorrow.

V. 30. Cast ye the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness-For what?  what had he done?  It is true he had not done good.  But neither is he charged with doing any harm.  Why, for this reason, for barely doing no harm, he is consigned to outer darkness. He is pronounced a wicked, because he was a slothful, an unprofitable servant.  So mere harmlessness, on which many build their hope of salvation, was the cause of his damnation!

  There shall be the weeping-Of the careless thoughtless sinner;

  and the gnashing of teeth-Of the proud and stubborn.

The same great truth, that there is no such thing as negative goodness, is in this chapter shown three times: 

1. In the parable of the virgins; 2. In the still plainer parable of the servants, who had received the talents; and 3. In a direct unparabolical declaration of the manner wherein our Lord will proceed at the last day.  The several parts of each of these exactly answers each other, only each rises above the preceding.


Let's track these three parables and see them not as threats but as warnings.  See them as parts of the same story by Jesus. The ones doing the wrong things will not find Jesus' mercy at the Rapture.  But this was a warning issued two millennia before the Rapture.  Those knowing only the Second Coming, expecting Him back,  knew the warning and moved from being doomed to living for Him and were saved.  Today, as then,  we can see a link between the warnings.  We can be living wrong by living as the world.  That will mean missing the Rapture and facing the Tribulation. Perhaps some get saved then, perhaps not.  Turn away from that lifestyle and be recharged.  The way away from the lifestyle is to ask to be filled again  with the Holy Spirit and to feel the flame of the Holy living in  your life.  The way to keep staying away is to grasp the gifts the Lord has given  and walk in obedience to him sharing those gifts.   Time in prayer and in Love for others;  money spent in God's work, in missions, in the Church's needs.  But beware of thinking like the world and seeing  money or time as an investment for a return in this world though that may well be done.  Beware because the rewards of the world can displace the rewards of heaven and  one  will slip backward, perhaps not even being aware and end up with the Spirit quenched, living like the world. The curse is as circular as the blessing.  This is why we see so many saved at the altar on Sunday, praying for forgiveness, longing to be back forever. 

But, again, this seems to be after the Rapture and warning not to miss the first chance.  We need to add that any of us could die at any time and be in that wavered state, having loved and lost the love and now with only one place left to go.  Please don't count on Him coming while a person is in this state and them getting a second chance in  the Tribulation.  We simply don't know that there is one,

Worse, we don't know that the re-fallen will be alive to see that chance. As we arrive back in Revelation and study the vial judgements, we'll see death from the sea ruined and sea life destroted.  (16:3).  Ezekiel is profound on the depths of suffering:

 Eze 7:14 And he who has given a price for goods will not get them, for my wrath is on all of them.
 15 Outside is the sword, and inside disease and need of food: he who is in the open country will be put to the sword; he who is in the town will come to his end through need of food and disease.
 16 And those of them who get away safely will go and be in the secret places like the doves of the valleys, all of them will come to death, every one in his sin.
 17 All hands will be feeble and all knees without strength, like water.
 18 And they will put haircloth round them, and deep fear will be covering them; and shame will be on all faces, and the hair gone from all their heads.
 19 They will put out their silver into the streets, and their gold will be as an unclean thing; their silver and their gold will not be able to keep them safe in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they will not get their desire or have food for their need: because it has been the cause of their falling into sin.
 20 As for their beautiful ornament, they had put it on high, and had made the images of their disgusting and hated things in it: for this cause I have made it an unclean thing to them.
 21 And I will give it into the hands of men from strange lands who will take it by force, and to the evil-doers of the earth to have for themselves; and they will make it unholy.
 22 And my face will be turned away from them, and they will make my secret place unholy: violent men will go into it and make it unholy.
 23 Make the chain: for the land is full of crimes of blood, and the town is full of violent acts.
 24 For this reason I will send the worst of the nations and they will take their houses for themselves: I will make the pride of their strength come to an end; and their holy places will be made unclean.
 25 Shaking fear is coming; and they will be looking for peace, and there will be no peace.
 26 Destruction will come on destruction, and one story after another; and the vision of the prophet will be shamed, and knowledge of the law will come to an end among the priests, and wisdom among the old.
 (BBE)


If you have a friend  who has fallen or is cooled or are that way yourself, please pray to the Spirit for renewal and listen and act on His lead. You will find the Spirit again. 






https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNRFumI2ch0






https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsiDukXIeVY

                   RESURRECTION AND REWARDS: SECOND TAKE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qETfaJXx22g


Before we move on, let's discuss a couple points not mentioned last time about the good and evil servants.

First, we need to keep in kind that our salvation and any rewards are due to our actions in  reaction to Jesus' direction.   We alone determine if we are living FOR the Resurrection or for ourselves, but we can tell easily if our lifestyle resembles the fallen.

So stop and look at your lifestyle.  Teaching this remains hard for me because I have to start tossing out things I have treasured for a long time simply because they don't aid me in being close to Jesus.  Things that bother me and reduce my connection with Christ are things which may seem trivial to you.   Likewise, your vulnerability may seem like a flea to me.   Keep an ear in your tongue and the way your mind leads while  doing anything from watching a TV show to reading a book to merely strolling down the street.  Ask the Spirit to make clear to you what is hindering you and then pay attention.  Sometimes the Spirit whispers because a yell might damage your life somehow, but it will,if you don't listen the first couple times, actually yell.  Or God may, as he did with that evil servant, turn you over to your vices to have them as your home until such time as you abandon them for His leadership or He comes and lets you work things out in a more difficult circumstance.

Second, this evil servant may or may not have been indwelt with the Spirit.  Clearly he may have accepted Christ but may not have had the empowering of the Spirit.  So that example could show how a belief in salvation without the proper reverence to God can lead to a place in the Tribulation.

On that account, the second parable is vastly more troubling:



Mt 25:1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, the friends of the bride, who took their lights, and went out with the purpose of meeting the husband.
 2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
 3 For the foolish, when they took their lights, took no oil with them.
 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lights.
 5 Now the husband was a long time in coming, and they all went to sleep.
 6 But in the middle of the night there is a cry, The husband comes! Go out to him.
 7 Then all those virgins got up, and made ready their lights.
 8 And the foolish said to the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lights are going out.
 9 But the wise made answer, saying, There may not be enough for us and you; it would be better for you to go to the traders and get oil for yourselves.
 10 And while they went to get oil, the master came; and those who were ready went in with him to the feast: and the door was shut.
 11 After that the other virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, let us in.
 12 But he made answer and said, Truly I say to you, I have no knowledge of you.
 13 Keep watch, then, because you are not certain of the day or of the hour.
 (BBE)

So we deal first with the symbolism and then with the apparent message.

Symbols abound.

 The virgins represent Christians.  We are washed clean of our sin by Jesus' sacrifice and are virgins in His eyes. Suitable to be his bride.  But notice these are "friends of the bride".  We fond the possible reference to who these friends are in John 3:29.  John the Baptists speaks to his disciples about Jesus:

John 3:28 You yourselves give witness that I said, I am not the Christ. What I said was, I am sent before the Christ.
 29 He who has the bride is the husband: but the husband's friend, whose place is by his side and whose ears are open to him, is full of joy because of the husband's voice: such is my joy, and it is complete.
 (BBE)


Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers:

(29) He that hath the bride is the bridegroom.--This is the only instance in this Gospel where the familiar imagery of an Eastern marriage meets us. (See Note on Matthew 9:15, where we have the same imagery in the answer of our Lord to these same disciples of John, then taking sides with the Pharisees, on the question of fasting.) The "friend of the bridegroom"--called by the Hebrews "Sh?shb?n," and by the Greeks "Paranymph"--was charged with the preliminaries of the marriage. He arranged the contract, acted for the bridegroom during the betrothal, and arranged for, and presided at, the festivities of the wedding-day itself. It was a position of honour, in proportion to the position of the bridegroom himself, and was given to his chief friend. That friend then joyed in his joy, and there was none brighter on that day than he. This in John's thought is an illustration of his own position. The bridegroom is the Messiah; the bride is the Kingdom of God--the church, consisting of all who with pure hearts are willing to receive Him; the friend who has arranged the betrothal, who has prepared these hearts, is John himself. He now stands and hears the Bridegroom. Some of those who had been prepared by him for the Bridegroom would have come, it may be, and told him of his words. He is now near at hand. Throngs crowd to Him. The bride is approaching. Do they see in all this matter for envy? It is to him the consummation of all hopes. The life-work has not been in vain. The cup runs over. The joy is fulfilled.


The virgins proclaimed Christ in their lives.  They were about the business of the Church.  they didn't live a fallen life style or trail after false teaching.


Meanwhile, the oil represents the Holy Spirit. 

https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/8517/Oil-as-Symbol-Gods-Holy-Spirit.htm

Oil is a widely understood symbol of the Holy Spirit and thus does not require a detailed explanation, but one scripture will suffice to link the Holy Spirit and oil directly:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. . . . (Luke 4:18)

"The Spirit of the Lord" and the oil of anointing are directly linked. The oil of anointing stands as a physical representation of Jesus being given the Spirit to perform these functions for God in His service to man.

Acts 10:38 reveals another aspect of this symbolism: ". . . how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." Again, reference is made to anointing—an act normally done with oil—with the Holy Spirit, and Peter adds "with power," a characteristic not included in Luke 4:18.

Though Jesus was bruised in service, He never lacked power. By contrast, we are rarely bruised, broken, or ground in service, but we are usually powerless. The truth is, the greatest zeal and knowledge are useless without God's Holy Spirit providing the right perspective, attitude, and intention for any service we perform.

John W. Ritenbaugh


                                                                                                                                                                 
But let Ray Stedmen expand in his commentary on these verses.

Ray Stedman believed in biblical exposition. As pastor of Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, California, for forty years, he was committed to preaching through entire books of the Bible, or at least major passages from them. He believed that by presenting the whole counsel of God in this way, his congregation would receive truth in balance and grow into mature saints, as God intended.

https://www.raystedman.org/new-testament/matthew/the-wise-and-the-foolish


The background is an eastern wedding in which the bridgroom, rather than the bride, is the center of attention. In Oriental weddings it is the bridegroom who bears all the expense of the wedding (which seems a bit fairer than our system where the poor father of the bride has to foot the bill for giving up his daughter to another man!) and thus has the prime spot. Weddings were always held at night and it was customary for the bridegroom to go to the house of the bride and take her to the wedding. As they walked through the streets they would be joined by guests at various places along the route. Our Lord's story of the ten maidens is the story of such a group, waiting for the bridegroom.

There are five movements in this story as the Lord tells it. Let us remember that it was intended for those who live in the intervening time between our Lord's first coming and his second. It will be of value to us only as we permit it to be autobiographical, if we recognize ourselves somewhere in the story. It is clearly intended to describe an element of watching that is vital and essential. If we miss the point of it we shall be unable to watch for his coming as he desires.


The First movement is common expectation...

These maidens were waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. In terms of the Lord's ultimate message, they were waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ. These maidens represent, therefore, those who are convinced that the end of the age will come just as Jesus describes it. They are not deluded by highly colored dreams of an earthly utopia which will be brought about by man's wisdom and skill. They believe in a golden age, but they do not believe that age will ever come by the efforts of men. They are persuaded that only the return of Jesus Christ can accomplish that end, and they are hopeful that his coming will be very soon.

(Again, these would be viewed as the best of the best in  the Church.  They have been preparing others for the way. W)

But the second movement of this parable is one of division, of a divided procedure:

"Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps."

Though this group is united in its expectation it is quite divided in the way it conducts its waiting. Five maidens have brought along extra oil, and five have not. This does not represent a division between good and bad, but, as Jesus says, between the wise and the foolish. Someone has said there are only two kinds of people in this world: the righteous and the unrighteous; but the classifying is always done by the righteous! That is all too humanly true. But here there is no moral division intended. In their expectation of the coming bridegroom they are all equally sincere and devoted. The only difference is, five of them felt it would be wise to provide some extra oil.

This proves ultimately to be the most significant part of this story. Yet, to the five foolish maidens, it represented only a trivial difference which was as nothing compared with the fact that they were unitedly waiting for the bridegroom's coming. They were all agreed on the importance of oil and were all using it for its proper purpose-the giving of light. The only slight difference was that some felt more was needed than others.

What the oil represents we shall see in a moment, but it is certainly evident that the wise and the foolish are still with us. Despite our agreement in desiring the bridegroom to come, and our conviction that history will end as Jesus describes it, nevertheless, there are doubtless some reading this who will prove in the end to be wise, and others will be revealed to be foolish, lacking the essential for waiting till the Lord returns. If this parable has any message at all for us, it is that we determine what that essential is.

(Again, it is not the state if knowledge nir commitment that varies.  W)

 But the third movement of the story introduces an element of delay:

"As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'"

No explanation is given for what delayed the bridegroom. This seems to be another hint from the Lord that his absence would be long extended, as has certainly proved to be the case. It was this protracted delay of the bridegroom which constituted an unexpected demand on the part of the ten maidens for more oil. At any rate, the story describes how all ten grew weary of waiting and fell fast asleep.

There are many interpreters who view this as suggesting negligence on the part of the maidens. But there is no hint of rebuke or disapproval suggested by the Lord for this sleeping. And the wise slept as well as the foolish! It was, therefore, a perfectly natural and right thing to do, under the circumstances. It was night and therefore it was impossible to do any work. It was also a festive occasion, and their only purpose for being there was to wait for the bridegroom. So when his coming was delayed they grew drowsy and it was only natural that they would drop off to sleep .

But this is highly suggestive, for it indicates the awareness of Jesus that watching does not mean unceasing, conscious anticipation of his return. We are not to be continually peering up into the heavens like an air-raid sentry on duty. Nor are we to be forever meeting and singing, "Is It The Crowning Day?" or discussing the Lord's return. Such meetings are helpful and needed, because of the human tendency to forget, but what our Lord is indicating is that watching also allows time for normal activities. Money must be earned, investments looked into, food must be cooked, babies washed, school lessons studied, weddings held and funerals attended-all the usual activities of life must go on.

While these wise and foolish maidens were sleeping, their thoughts were diverted, for the time being from the coming of the bridegroom. Thus, while we are engaged in the normal activities of life, there is no need to feel guilty because we have not been thinking of the Lord's return. There is nothing at all wrong about this, it is as it should be. We have not failed to watch because we have been busy doing natural and necessary things. These maidens were waiting for the bridegroom's coming, even while they slept. There was a sense of imminence when they went out, yet a perfectly proper activity took their attention for a time.

But suddenly there is a cry of warning, "Behold! the bridegroom! Come out to meet him." It may well be that the ten had even posted a sentry to warn them when the bridgroom came, or it may be that the bridegroom was proceeded by someone sent for that purpose. At any rate the cry is sounded and all ten of the maidens are awakened. Again it is clearly evident that the problem which would soon confront them did not arise out of the fact that they had fallen asleep. They are awake in plenty of time to meet the bridegroom.

Many times we are, like these, called back to an awareness of the Lord's imminent return by events of the day, or some realization that time is short. We are often made aware that the grind and routine of life was never intended to go on that way forever. And certainly one day the awakening will come not through events but the actual cry, it may be, of the returning Lord himself. Paul tells us that when he comes for the church it will be with a shout, and that shout may be these electrifying words, "Behold, the Bridegroom!"

(At this point I must step into the commentary,  That voice calling from nearby leads me to think that those of us driven to today tell you the time is near serve as that sentry.  We are calling to all the Church to wake up and be ready with their oil full and their eyes upward.  The calls began years ago and they echo in writings years old and only new today because we newer author repeat them.  This is why the Scriptures in Daniel were sealed for so long, because there would need to be that wake up call.  So close to His arrival, the voice needs to be raised to waken the virgins.  W)

(The Fourth movement brings  crisis)

To the consternation of the foolish, they find their lamps are flickering, guttering, about to go out. The long delay has used up the oil and they have no more. They make their appeal to the wise: "Give us some of your oil." The reply of the wise indicates that oil is not something that can be borrowed or loaned. Whatever it may represent, it is an individual matter. We have all felt something of this in some crisis hour when we have found our resources unequal to the demand. We see someone else who is going through the same thing, and he appears unmoved and calm, well able to take the pressure. We may long to borrow some of his strength, but it is impossible. In such an hour each has what he has and nothing more.

So it is with these five foolish maidens. Their oil is gone and to their dismay they discover their need and there is a panicky rush to get more. But our Lord moves right on into the story, and the final movement is one of denial:

"And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But he replied, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

When the foolish finally arrived, the door was shut. Are we not surprised at that? Many will probably feel that these five were unjustly treated. Why should they not be allowed into the wedding, even if they were a few moments late? But there is no vindictiveness in this shut door. We must be careful that we do not impose our faulty judgments into this matter. What the Lord did was right, and we must be careful to look diligently for those clues that will help us learn why he takes such action as this. There is even a note of sorrow in these words, "I do not know you." Our Lord's words are a faithful, honest revelation of something that had been true all along. Weddings are no place for strangers. Only the friends of the family are permitted to come. So to these five foolish maidens the door is shut for the Lord says, "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you."

 "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). The oil symbolized the Spirit of God by which the light of testimony could be maintained in the hour of darkness.

Some ministry of the Spirit is then in view. The supreme ministry of the Spirit is to impart to men the knowledge of Jesus Christ. In John 16:13,14, Jesus said of him: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his authority, but...will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

The Spirit's task then is to take the Word of God, and through it reveal Jesus Christ. But there are levels of such revelation. There is even a Spirit-born ministry of the word to those who are not true Christians. Jesus revealed this too. "When he comes, he will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment" (John 16:8). Here is a ministry of the Holy Spirit available to anyone who will seek in the Scriptures to know the truth. But it is designed to take them deeper, into a fuller and permanent relationship that will involve the imparting of divine life.

Halfway is Not Enough

The great danger is that in exposure to the truth of Scripture, in the knowledge of its teaching, we should become satisfied with an intellectual portrait of Christ instead of a living Lord. It is possible to know much doctrine but never to know the Lord. This is the problem with the foolish maidens, who represent those who gladly take enough of the oil of the Spirit to give them immediate help in their problems, or some release from fear or guilt, but who never go on to a surrender of the will to the authority of Jesus Christ.

The foolish, then, are those who reckon no deeper than a superficial knowledge of scriptural truth. They look for moral enlightenment or for comfort in some hour of uncertainty and doubt. They read to gain reassurance when life seems to be a senseless tangle of threads without apparent purpose. They believe in the Bible but not in the Lord of the Bible. But faith must go deeper than doctrine. Orthodox knowledge is worthless unless it leads to the surrender of self. God freely lights a lamp of knowledge for all who want to know the truth of revelation, but what Jesus indicates here is that there is a deeper level of commitment to the Spirit which is essential to meet the unexpected demands life will thrust at us.

The wise have found that deeper level. They have an extra reservoir of oil which continually feeds the flame of life, never letting it falter or gutter out in darkness, undergirding them in every hour of stress, of pressure or disaster, keeping them firm and steady in the midst of the buffeting pressures of life. They have found a friend who sticks closer than a brother. They have a hidden supply of the mystic oil that lights the flame of life despite the circumstances, and the greater the pressure the brighter the light shines.

(See below for a further analysis.  W.)

Perhaps a personal experience will illustrate this. I called on man in the hospital once, a Christian of many years' standing. I found him unable to talk, sitting up in bed, his body wasted away to a skeleton. He was unable to move a muscle, even to lift his arms or turn his head. The best he could do in the way of talking was to utter a few guttural sounds. I asked him if he would like me to read the Scripture to him and he nodded his head. As I read, I watched his eyes. As the marvelous words from passages in Isaiah began to sink into his ears, there came a flame into his eyes, a light such as never shone on land or sea. Before we finished, I could see in that emaciated body the glory of a flame burning, unquenchable, inexhaustible, fed by the oil of the Spirit, a flame that could never be put out.

I swear to you I never heard of Ray Stedmen except perhaps somewhere in a text I forgot, yet the Spirit (via Google) lead to to read this passage and find exactly what i would have written, thiough in shorter and less precise form.  I reprint the ending here:

Perhaps you are saying, "I'll get along as long as I have my friends and my church." But what if they are taken away? What if you are shipped out to some remote post somewhere, surrounded by 20th century pagans who have committed themselves to seek nothing but the satisfaction of their immediate lusts? What will happen to you then? What if you are transferred to another city and you cannot find a church that ministers to your needs? What if you are confined to bed with a long-term illness, and you must lie there day after unyielding day with little opportunity to speak with others about the things of faith? Or, what is even more likely, what if imperceptibly, despite the eagerness you show now and the earnestness with which you read Scrpture or go to church, you begin to drift and gradually are drawn back into the great cold indifference of the deluded masses?

If something like that happens it will do no good to say to another, "Give me of your oil." That cannot be done. Every impartation of the Spirit's power to an individual is marked "Nontransferable." He cannot share it with anyone else. It has been said that there are only two ways to take a thing seriously: either to renounce it or to risk everything upon it. Is this not what Jesus meant when he said, "Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25)?

There are some who want a third choice, who are continually seeking to make a partial commitment, who try to find a compromise arrangement with God in which they may subscribe to the truth of Scripture but refuse to let it change their activities or their attitudes. That third alternative simply does not exist. That is what Jesus is saying here. That is why he says plainly to the foolish maidens, "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you." The end shows them for what they are. The door is shut, both to the unbeliever who never tried to get in and to the foolish person who never took God seriously.

Prayer

Lord, how many of us are burning the candle of our life on the shallow reservoir of Scriptural knowledge but have never struck deeper? How many of us, Lord, are holding you at arm's length concerning specific matters and yet priding ourselves upon our orthodoxy and our Christian faith? Save us from this folly. Bring us into that wonderful experience of finding a flame that can never be put out. In your name, Amen.

This is a test for you alone to perform on yourself.  Ask the Lord to fill you with His Spirit.  Feel that Spirit rise ion you and complete what your reading and your hopes have only touched on.  Then do nothing to "quench the Spirit".  And I think that is what Jesus refers to here:

  

https://www.gotquestions.org/grieve-quench-Holy-Spirit.html

Question: "What does it mean to grieve / quench the Holy Spirit?"

Answer: When the word “quench” is used in Scripture, it is speaking of suppressing fire. When believers put on the shield of faith, as part of their armor of God (Ephesians 6:16), they are extinguishing the power of the fiery darts from Satan. Christ described hell as a place where the fire would not be “quenched” (Mark 9:44, 46, 48). Likewise, the Holy Spirit is a fire dwelling in each believer. He wants to express Himself in our actions and attitudes. When believers do not allow the Spirit to be seen in our actions, when we do what we know is wrong, we suppress or quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). We do not allow the Spirit to reveal Himself the way that He wants to.

(Read again.  We can quench the fire of the Spirit in our lives but we CANNOT quench the fire of Hell.  We have the power to seek and keep salvation burning.  We cannot rescue ourselves or others from the fire of damnation.  We can bail out the boat we ride in or we can let the water sink it and never see the boat float again. W.)

To understand what it means to grieve the Spirit, we must first understand that this indicates the Spirit possesses personality. Only a person can be grieved; therefore, the Spirit must be a divine person in order to have this emotion. Once we understand this, we can better understand how He is grieved, mainly because we too are grieved. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that we should not grieve the Spirit. We grieve the Spirit by living like the pagans (4:17-19), by lying (4:25), by being angry (4:26-27), by stealing (4:28), by cursing (4:29), by being bitter (4:31), by being unforgiving (4:32), and by being sexually immoral (5:3-5). To grieve the Spirit is to act out in a sinful manner, whether it is in thought only or in both thought and deed.

Both quenching and grieving the Spirit are similar in their effects. Both hinder a godly lifestyle. Both happen when a believer sins against God and follows his or her own worldly desires. The only correct road to follow is the road that leads the believer closer to God and purity, and farther away from the world and sin. Just as we do not like to be grieved, and just as we do not seek to quench what is good—so we should not grieve or quench the Holy Spirit by refusing to follow His leading.

Jesus' message is clear.  We are all at risk of missing the Rapture.  We can be left to the good graces of the Antichrist and the False Prophet or we can turn from all the seductions to the source of the flame in our lives.  We can feed the New Man of Jesus in us or the Old Man of Adam.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSbdvAtR92U&list=RDu3X19x5Zt8M&index=6

While all these analyses are true, , please note that it seems, at one time, the foolish actually HAD that knowledge.  They seem more to be as some of those described in this parable:

Mt 13:3 And he gave them teaching in the form of a story, saying, A man went out to put seed in the earth;

 4 And while he did so, some seeds were dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took them for food:

 5 And some of the seed went among the stones, where it had not much earth, and straight away it came up because the earth was not deep:

 6 And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had no root it became dry and dead.

 7 And some seeds went among thorns, and the thorns came up and they had no room for growth:

 8 And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much.

 9 He who has ears, let him give ear.

 10 And the disciples came and said to him, Why do you say things to them in the form of stories?

 11 And he said to them in answer, To you is given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

 12 Because whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have more; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

 13 For this reason I put things into the form of stories; because they see without seeing, and give ear without hearing, and the sense is not clear to them.

 14 And for them the words of Isaiah have come true, Though you give ear, you will not get knowledge; and seeing, you will see, but the sense will not be clear to you:

 15 For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well.

 16 But a blessing be on your eyes, because they see; and on your ears, because they are open.

 17 For truly, I say to you that prophets and upright men had a desire to see the things which you see, and saw them not; and to have knowledge of the words which have come to your ears, and they had it not.

 18 Give ear, then, to the story of the man who put the seed in the earth.

 19 When the word of the kingdom comes to anyone, and the sense of it is not clear to him, then the Evil One comes, and quickly takes away that which was put in his heart. He is the seed dropped by the wayside.

 20 And that which went on the stones, this is he who, hearing the word, straight away takes it with joy;

 21 But having no root in himself, he goes on for a time; and when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, he quickly becomes full of doubts.

 22 And that which was dropped among the thorns, this is he who has the word; and the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, put a stop to the growth of the word and it gives no fruit.

 23 And the seed which was put in good earth, this is he who gives ear to the word, and gets the sense of it; who gives fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much.

 (BBE)

If we pay attention to this parable we see the first evil servant was like the seed that was burned and returned to the world and that the second was the seed with weak roots, growing up but stunted because it got little food. 

But that third group that He mentioned in Matt. 13 and in 25  begs discussion next time because they seem to be a group both convinced of Jesus purpose and yet deceived by that purpose.  

                          JESUS ON THE REWARDS AND THE RESURRECTION


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3WeqqTKqhU



Reminds me of Paul and of running the race:



1Co 9:23 And I do all things for the cause of the good news, so that I may have a part in it.
 24 Do you not see that in a running competition all take part, but only one gets the reward? So let your minds be fixed on the reward.
 25 And every man who takes part in the sports has self-control in all things. Now they do it to get a crown which is of this world, but we for an eternal crown.
 26 So then I am running, not uncertainly; so I am fighting, not as one who gives blows in the air:
 27 But I give blows to my body, and keep it under control, for fear that, after having given the good news to others, I myself might not have God's approval.
 (BBE)

And he would say at the end:

2Ti 4:6 For I am even now being offered, and my end is near.
 7 I have made a good fight, I have come to the end of my journey, I have kept the faith:
 8 From now on, the crown of righteousness is made ready for me, which the Lord, the upright judge, Will give to me at that day: and not only to me, but to all those who have had love for his revelation.
 (BBE)It deals with 


Clearly, there IS a race against time for our lives are short and meant to end at a time most of us do not know.  Clearly, there are rewards for running the race well.

To run one must train, in the Word, the Bible; in prayer, in time with the Lord: in practice, in acting out the faith with good works and with the message of the Gospel: in time with others to nurture the connection with the church, the Body.

Now we arrive at one of the toughest stretches in Scripture for someone like me who believes in eternal security.  It deals with an extensive set of warnings for the Church that are related to the Rapture event  Warnings He did not feel were needed  in the "Jewish" segment of the promises of His return.  My interpretation of these does not always agree with other commentators.

Another reason, I placed Matt 24 and 25  in the midst of a pause from the battles that were a pause from the judgements because some of these warnings are meant for the saints to avoid the Tribulation.  You have thus far seen only the tip of the iceberg of judgements and disasters that sweep through the Tribulation.  While we might think of the Tribulation saints as Noahs preserved from harm by a spiritual ark, we need to realize these passages show us a different story for the saints left behind at the beginning of the Great Trouble.



Mt 24:42 Be watching, then! for you have no knowledge on what day your Lord will come.
 43 But be certain of this, that if the master of the house had had knowledge of the time when the thief was coming, he would have been watching, and would not have let his house be broken into.
 44 Be ready then; for at a time which you have no thought of the Son of man will come.
 45 Who is the true and wise servant, whom his lord has put over those in his house, to give them their food at the right time?
 46 A blessing on that servant, who will be doing so when his lord comes.
 47 Truly, I say to you, he will put him over all he has.
 48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, My lord is a long time in coming;
 49 And is cruel to the other servants, taking his pleasure with those who are overcome with wine;
 50 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he is not looking for him, and in an hour of which he has no knowledge,
 51 And will have him cut in two, and will give him a part in the fate of the false ones: there will be weeping and cries of sorrow.
 (BBE)


First, don't miss the symbolic meaning here.  The fallen flesh cannot enter heaven.  Our "new" flesh can be refreshed in the continued acts of obedience and service.  These feed our connection with Jesus, ur relationship.  The old flesh and following its' desires starves the "new man".

But, of curse, the actuality of the text the fact the Resurrection WILL occur vastly outweighs the symbolism. 


Start with Matt Henry.   Extensive but amended here.    Despite my disagreements, it sums up much and enlightens.



 Mt 24:32-51  

2. The reasons to induce us to this watchfulness and diligent preparation for that day; which are two.

(1.) Because the time of our Lord's coming is very uncertain. This is the reason immediately annexed to the double exhortation (Mt 24:42,44); and it is illustrated by a comparison, Mt 24:43. Let us consider then,

[1.] That we know not what hour he will come, Mt 24:42. We know not the day of our death, Ge 27:2... may never boast of a year's continuance (Jas 4:13), no, nor of tomorrow's return, as if it were ours,

Pr 27:1 Do not make a noise about tomorrow, for you are not certain what a day's outcome may be.
 (BBE)

Lu 12:16 And he said to them, in a story, The land of a certain man of great wealth was very fertile:
 17 And he said to himself, What is to be done? for I have no place in which to put all my fruit.
 18 And he said, This I will do: I will take down my store-houses and make greater ones, and there I will put all my grain and my goods.
 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have a great amount of goods in store, enough for a number of years; be at rest, take food and wine and be happy.
 20 But God said to him, You foolish one, tonight I will take your soul from you, and who then will be the owner of all the things which you have got together?
 21 So that is what comes to the man who gets wealth for himself, and has not wealth in the eyes of God.
 (BBE)

[2.] That he may come at such an hour as we think not, Mt 24:44...
...

[3.] That the children of this world are thus wise in their generation, that, when they know of a danger approaching, they will keep awake, and stand on their guard against it.

...

 Therefore be ready, be ye also ready; as ready at all times as the good man of the house would be at the hour when he expected the thief: we must put on the armour of God, that we may not only stand in that evil day, but, as more than conquerors, may divide the spoil. 

(2.) Because the issue of our Lord's coming will be very happy and comfortable to those that shall be found ready, but very dismal and dreadful to those that shall not, Mt 24:45, &c.
...

[1.] Concerning the good servant; he shows here what he is--a ruler of the household; what, being so, he should be--faithful and wise; and what, if he be so, he shall be eternally--blessed. Here are good instructions and encouragements to the ministers of Christ.

 First, We have here his place and office. He is one whom his Lord has made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season. Note,

1. The church of Christ is his household, or family, standing in relation to him as the Father and Master of it. It is the household of God, a family named from Christ, Eph 3:15.

2. Gospel ministers are appointed rulers in this household; not at princes (Christ has entered a caveat against that), but as stewards, or other subordinate officers; not as lords, but as guides; not to prescribe new ways, but to show and lead in the ways that Christ has appointed: that is the signification of the hgoumenoi, which we translate, having rule over you (Heb 13:17); as overseers, not to cut out new work, but to direct in, and quicken to, the work which Christ has ordered; that is the signification of episkopoi--bishops. They are rulers by Christ; what power they have is derived from him, and none may take it from them, or abridge it to them; he is one whom the Lord has made ruler; Christ has the making of ministers. They are rulers under Christ, and act in subordination to him; and rulers for Christ, for the advancement of his kingdom.

3. The work of gospel ministers is to give to Christ's household their meat in due season, as stewards, and therefore they have the keys delivered to them.

...

 Secondly, His right discharge of this office. The good servant, if thus preferred, will be a good steward; for,

1. He is faithful; stewards must be so, 1Co 4:2. He that is trusted, must be trusty; and the greater the trust is, the more is expected from them. It is a great good thing that is committed to ministers (2Ti 1:14); and they must be faithful, as Moses was, Heb 3:2. Christ counts those ministers, and those only, that are faithful, 1Ti 1:12. A faithful minister of Jesus Christ is one that sincerely designs his master's honour, not his own; delivers the whole counsel of God, not his own fancies and conceits; follows Christ's institutions and adheres to them; regards the meanest, reproves the greatest, and doth not respect persons.

2. He is wise to understand his duty and the proper season of it;

3. He is doing; so doing as his office requires. The ministry is a good work, and they whose office it is, have always something to do; they must not indulge themselves in ease, nor leave the work undone, or carelessly turn it off to others, but be doing, and doing to the purpose--

4. He is found doing when his Master comes; which intimates,

(1.) Constancy at his work.

"What, would you have my Master find me idle?"

(2.) Perseverance in his work till the Lord come. Hold fast till then, Re 2:25. Continue in these things, 1Ti 4:16; 6:14. Endure to the end.

 Thirdly, The recompence of reward intended him for this, in three things.

1. He shall be taken notice of. .

2. He shall be blessed? Blessed is that servant; and Christ's pronouncing him blessed makes him so. All the dead that die n the Lord are blessed, Re 14:13. But there is a peculiar blessedness secured to them that approve themselves faithful stewards, and are found so doing. Next to the honour of those ... suffering for Christ as the martyrs, is the honour of those that die in the field of service, ploughing, and sowing, and reaping, for Christ.

3. He shall be preferred (Mt 24:47); He shall make him ruler over all his goods. The allusion is to the way of great men, who, if the stewards of their house conduct themselves well in that place, commonly prefer them to be the managers of their estates; thus Joseph was preferred in the house of Potiphar, Ge 39:4,6. But the greatest honour which the kindest master ever did to his most tried servants in this world, is nothing to that weight of glory which the Lord Jesus will confer upon his faithful watchful servants in the world to come. What is here said by a similitude, is the same that is said more plainly, Joh 11:26, Him will my Father honour...

[2.] Concerning the evil servant. Here we have, 

 His description given (Mt 24:48-49); where we have the wretch drawn in his own colours. The vilest of creatures is a wicked man, the vilest of men is a wicked Christian, and the vilest of them a wicked minister... Wickedness in the prophets of Jerusalem is a horrible thing indeed,

Jer 23:13 And I have seen ways without sense in the prophets of Samaria; they became prophets of the Baal, causing my people Israel to go wrong.
 14 And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a shocking thing; they are untrue to their wives, walking in deceit, and they make strong the hands of evil-doers, so that a man may not be turned back from his evil-doing: they have all become like Sodom to me, and its people like Gomorrah.
 15 So this is what the Lord of armies has said about the prophets: See, I will give them a bitter plant for their food, and bitter water for their drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem unclean behaviour has gone out into all the land.
 16 This is what the Lord of armies has said: Do not give ear to the words which the prophets say to you: they give you teaching of no value: it is from themselves that their vision comes, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.
 17 They keep on saying to those who have no respect for the word of the Lord, You will have peace; and to everyone who goes on his way in the pride of his heart, they say, No evil will come to you.
 (BBE)



Here is,

1. The cause of his wickedness; and that is, a practical disbelief of Christ's second coming; He hath said in his heart, My Lord delays his coming; and therefore he begins to think he will never come, but has quite forsaken his church. Observe,

(1.) Christ knows that they say in their hearts, who with their lips cry, Lord, Lord, as this servant here.

(2.) The delay of Christ's coming, though it is a gracious instance of his patience, is greatly abused by wicked people, whose hearts are thereby hardened in their wicked ways...

Eze 12:16 But a small number of them I will keep from the sword, from the need of food, and from disease, so that they may make clear all their disgusting ways among the nations where they come; and they will be certain that I am the Lord.
 17 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
 18 Son of man, take your food with shaking fear, and your water with trouble and care;
 19 And say to the people of the land, This is what the Lord has said about the people of Jerusalem and the land of Israel: They will take their food with care and their drink with wonder, so that all the wealth of their land may be taken from it because of the violent ways of the people living in it.
 20 And the peopled towns will be made waste, and the land will become a wonder; and you will be certain that I am the Lord.
 21 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
 22 Son of man, what is this saying which you have about the land of Israel, The time is long and every vision comes to nothing?
 23 For this cause say to them, This is what the Lord has said: I have made this saying come to an end, and it will no longer be used as a common saying in Israel; but say to them, The days are near, and the effect of every vision.
 24 For there will be no more false visions or smooth use of secret arts in Israel.
 25 For I am the Lord; I will say the word and what I say I will do; it will not be put off: for in your days, O uncontrolled people, I will say the word and do it, says the Lord.
 26 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
 27 Son of man, see, the children of Israel say, The vision which he sees is for the days which are a long way off, and his words are of times still far away.
 28 Say to them then, This is what the Lord has said: Not one of my words will be put off any longer, but what I say I will do, says the Lord.
 (BBE)


They that walk by sense, are ready to say of the unseen Jesus, as the people did of Moses when he tarried in the mount upon their errand, We wot not what is become of him, and therefore up, make us gods, the world a god, the belly a god, anything but him that should be. 

2. The particulars of his wickedness; and they are sins of the first magnitude; he is a slave to his passions and his appetites. 

(1.) Persecution is here charged upon him. He begins to smite his fellow servants.


(2.) Profaneness and immorality; He begins to eat and drink with the drunken...


 Secondly, His doom read, Mt 24:50-51...
1. The surprise that will accompany his doom (Mt 24:50); The Lord of that servant will come. Note,

(1.) Our putting off the thoughts of Christ's coming will not put off His coming. Whatever fancy he deludes himself with, his Lord will come. The unbelief of man shall not make that great promise, or threatening (call it which you will), of no effect.

(2.) The coming of Christ will be a most dreadful surprise to secure and careless sinners, especially to wicked ministers; He shall come in a day when he looketh not for him. Note, Those that have slighted the warnings of the word, and silenced those of their own consciences concerning the judgment to come, cannot expect any other warnings; these will be adjudged sufficient legal notice given, whether taken or no; and no unfairness can be charged on Christ, if he come suddenly, without giving other notice. Behold, he has told us before. 

2. The severity of his doom, Mt 24:51. It is not more severe than righteous, but it is a doom that carries in it utter ruin, wrapped up in two dreadful words, death and damnation. 

(1.) Death. His Lord shall cut him asunder,

"he shall cut him off from the land of the living,"

from the congregation of the righteous, shall separate him unto evil; which is the definition of a curse (De 29:21), shall cut him down, as a tree that cumbers the ground; perhaps it alludes to the sentence often used in the law, That soul shall be cut off from his people; denoting an utter extirpation... The wicked servant divided himself between God and the world, Christ and Belial, his profession and his lusts, justly therefore will he thus be divided.

(2.) Damnation. He shall appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, and a miserable portion it will be, for there shall be weeping. Note,

[1.] There is a place and state of everlasting misery in the other world, where there is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth; which speaks the soul's tribulation and anguish under God's indignation and wrath...

[2.] The divine sentence will appoint this place and state as the portion of those who by their own sin were fitted for it...

[3.] Hell is the proper place of hypocrites. This wicked servant has his portion with the hypocrites. They are, as it were, the freeholders, other sinners are but as inmates with them, and have but a portion of their misery...

[4.] Wicked ministers will have their portion in the other world with the worst of sinners, even with the hypocrites, and justly, for they are the worst of hypocrites. The blood of Christ, which they have by their profaneness trampled under their feet, and the blood of souls, which they have by their unfaithfulness brought upon their heads, will bear hard upon them in that place of torment. Son, remember, will be as cutting a word to a minister if he perish as to any other sinner whatsoever. Let them therefore who preach to others, fear, lest they themselves should be cast-aways.

                                                                                                                                                                   



My own take:

While much of what Matt says holds true and applies to the lost and those who have been saved and turned away, I think it a reach to apply eternal damnation to THIS passage.  I see this as a rapture passage, as I mentioned before, and believe Jesus has set it apart as such by his description of the workers in the field and their surprise and by his "thief in the night" reference.  That implies a secret arrival, a coming without expectation while the Second Coming on Earth will be greatly expected after the seven years of Tribulation though we will not be certain of the exact time of the coming, it will be looked for by any surviving Christians.

What I see from my perspective living in a century that draws so close to the End is that Jesus comes for the saved, I see a clear reference to Jesus arriving and finding /Christians who have gone back to the ways of the world in drink and anger and violence.  He will  not take them with Him in the Rapture.  They will not see heaven that day.  The dream of eternity in Paradise will have slipped from their grasp.  They will be weeping and gnashing teeth  "and (Jesus) will give him a part in the fate of the false ones: there will be weeping and cries of sorrow."

We need to understand a couple thing that Matt Henry would have taken for common knowledge, but that we today, especially in  the USA, really give little consideration.

The writer of the Gospel, Matthew, was a tax collector, one of the lost, living a fallen life though he came from the Jewish populous.  The Jews then  believed they were born saved because they were born Jewish.  He fit the description of the evil servant perfectly, one who was "saved" then fell into the trap of the world.  Moreover, he found his King living before him and he felt the impact of that fact so deeply it is the theme of his Gospel.  Commentators all agree on that fact. Jesus the King.   So he dwells on Jesus the King and that is the emphasis of his message.

Matt Henry meanwhile:

Henry was born at Broad Oak, Iscoyd, a farmhouse on the  borders of Flintshire and Shropshire, Wales, United Kingdom. His father, Philip Henry, was a Church of England cleric and had just been ejected under the Act of Uniformity 1662. Unlike most of his fellow-sufferers, Philip possessed some private means, and was thus able to give his son a good education. Matthew went first to a school at Islington, at that time a village just outside London, and then to Gray's Inn, in the heart of the capital. He soon gave up his legal studies for theology, and in 1687 became minister of a Presbyterian congregation at Chester.^[1] While in Chester, Henry founded the Presbyterian Chapel in Trinity Street.^[2] He moved again in 1712 to Mare Street, Hackney. Two years later (22 June 1714), he died suddenly of apoplexy at the Queen's Aid House (41 High Street) in Nantwich, while on a journey from Chester to London.

He was accustomed to human kings and the talk and walk of obedience or punishment.  He was also one who walked away from some level of privilege to serve God so his sensitivity to the topic stands out.  He sees the king as saying over and over, "Do this or I will execute you." 

So let that knowledge of kings and sacrifice echo behind Henry's comments

Jesus meanwhile has always taught the sinner with the warning of Hell.  It s not a threat so much as a caution that the danger exists and we will go there of we fail.  His is more the warning on a frozen pond, "Thin Ice Ahead,  Danger."  It is a very real deadly danger.  It will kill and if you fail this you have a fate of anguish ahead." 

On the other hand, the "evil" servant has CHOSEN to leave the service of God and return to the service of the world.  He puts his foot on the first small space of ice, finds it holds, goes on, the second section, it holds, goes on.  and on.  The ice crackles, makes noise that it ks not safe, but he still goes on so long he forgets it is thin ice and then, he plunges in and is lost. 

He has "returned to his vomit", "gone back to Egypt" has chosen the idols of power and their illusions of self control and the anaesthetic of liquor to numb the pain of not being with God any longer.  He has forgotten his salvation.  He has forgotten the most important lesson, one the belief in eternal security can be used to hide:  our salvation is not our own and is not for our purposes.

Repeat: our salvation is not our own.  If we could save ourselves, we could be Mormons or Muslims or Hindi and do all these good works to overpower the weight of sin in our lives.  We show we have forgotten that when we turn our gifts to our own purposes or when we decide we can live like Hell six days a week and get into heaven by being good the one day of the week.  As we proceed we will see this is one of  Jesus' prime messages,  He has given salvation.  He is the rescuer and we the drowning.  He already pulled us from the broken ice once.  He is the reason for EVERY season.

Repeat: our salvation is for HIS purposes.  That is what servanthood means.  He died for us so we might live and live abundantly...for Him.  I read the charter to one church we attended and it said the minister would receive 80% of the tithe for his salary.  My only comment to that was" "God only asks 10%."   It would be clearer if I had said, "God gave 100%

See clearly, we ARE servants, "bought at a price".

Among the false servants who have forgotten who they belong to, Matt Henry saw another clear reference to such men, ones who seek to turn the will of God to profit, a reference to the false prophets mentioned earlier in the Discourse.

We see a specimen of what I have come to call Elvis Christianity.  Worldly success seduces one from the way but the misunderstanding of eternal security becomes as much an anaesthetic as any beer or drug.  "It's okay, I was saved sixty years ago in a Billy Graham Crusade so I will be okay no matter how I live."  That lie seduced despite the very clear warning.


But the enlightening arrives suddenly, with no warning.  Left behind, these failed servants will realize what is ahead on  the Earth.  They face the Tribulation and incredible tortures and anguish.  Many  Christians in this fate  realize their way to heaven is now paved with pain. Either take the mark of the AC or be killed by starvation, thirst, torture and whatever else he decides.  The three and half years before that forced mark may give them time to prepare and run for cover but their names will be on record as being in  a church. Nothing here says they get a chance to go back to being Christ's own. That should terrify anyone who wants to live for the world today.  The Henry idea of Hell alone awaiting MAY well be true. Many may just jump at the chance to survive as long as possible and figure their fate is sealed.  But we know there is a massive revival coming in  the midst of the AC's rule. So they may yet be able to be redeemed again.

But. if re-redeemed,  it will  not be the same for them as for the ones who believed without seeing and had faith before the Rapture.  Their Thomas event will mar them.  The lost left behind will face a life without the Spirit to guide them as it did during this span of time.   (They may again be indwelt, I simply don't know about AFTER the Rapture.) They will know He is there from experience, not from faith.  I hope they will be as Thomas, saved but not blessed as the living church was.

But let's not miss the message:  He is coming.  Be ready to go at any time.  Dispose of all the worldly distractions and prepare for the final ride of this lifetime.

But something else goes along with that preparation.   And we discuss it next time.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlxFee1mRtE