Matthew 24:21-24; 25:1-30 / The Parable of the Virgins and Talents
A Running Start to the Kingdom
Well, it is good to be back with you. I’ve been kind of a podcast stalker all summer, and I have really enjoyed the Facebook comments, by the way. People saying, “Hey, you know, you might want to hurry up and get back, you know, you may lose your job.” They’re taking shots at me because the teaching was so good. Was the summer teaching series not fantastic? I was really encouraged by that. We have a veteran team. Frankly, I really enjoyed turning on a podcast, opening my Bible, and hearing some really good teaching.
We’re going to dive into that same concept in our time together in terms of the parables. They had so much fun that I thought, “Well, I want to play too.” So we’re going to be in Matthew 25, and we’re going to talk a little bit about some of the parables that Jesus brings out here in what’s commonly called the Olivet Discourse.
Now, by way of introduction, if you’re going to get to chapter 25, you’ve kind of got to get a running start from about chapter 21. One of the things that’s fun about parables is that they are like pitching in baseball. I played baseball, but I was really terrible. I was the fat guy who was a catcher, okay? So nobody scored if there was a play at home plate, but I couldn’t hit a curveball to save my life. But one of the things I learned when I pitched a little bit was that, being a bigger guy, if I just threw one high and tight one time, that little skinny guy was going to fall on his back and never want to hit anything again.
Parables are a high-and-tight shot from the Lord. They’re not enough to put you down, but they certainly scare you a little bit. What we’re going to look at together is no different. It’s a little bit of what they call “chin music,” where it makes you go, “Whoa. Is He talking to me?” I hope you ask that question: Is He talking to you? Remember, one of the keys with parables is that we identify with the character. If we enter in and ask that question, the parables are doing in us what Jesus intended them to do—causing us to think.
The Already and the Not Yet
We’ve talked a lot in this series about the kingdom. You’ve heard things like the “already/not yet” kingdom. I thought I would slow down a little bit and explain what that really means. As you read the text, you recognize that there is an establishment of the kingdom now, but there is also something still coming.
As you look at what the Psalmist says about our Lord being the King forever, or Jeremiah 10 where the Lord is the true God, the living God, the everlasting King—He is King from eternity past to eternity future.
Jeremiah 10:10 (NASB)
But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.
That can still feel very ethereal. That’s not the “not yet” part of the kingdom per se. The not yet takes the spiritual side of Him being King forever and makes it very practical. When you read Revelation 11:15, it says the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.
Revelation 11:15 (NASB)
Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.’
You see a picture in Revelation 19, not of some pie-in-the-sky, Casper-the-ghost feeling of a king, but of Jesus setting up shop in Jerusalem on the throne to physically reign. You see it again in Revelation 21.
Revelation 21:3 (NASB)
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ’Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
That’s the not yet. We are looking forward to the literal return of Christ. When? The book of Revelation says He comes quickly (en tachei). It means soon—the idea that there is nothing left that needs to occur before Jesus returns. It’s an imminent return.
That is our hope. Paul called it the “blessed hope.” The reason it’s a hope for us is that this stench we live in, called the flesh, will one day be set aside. The mortal will put on immortal, the perishable will put on imperishable. If you’ve grown sick and tired of sin, there will come a day where we lay it aside. The lion will lay down with the lamb. There will be no more tears, no more sin, no more pain, no more cancer. We will simply be in His presence. That’s the not yet.
What about the already? Is Jesus Christ reigning currently? Of course He is. Hebrews 8 says we have a High Priest who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.
Hebrews 8:1 (NASB)
Now the main point in what has been said [is this]: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
Colossians 3 tells us that if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1 (NASB)
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
He is seated at the throne, reigning—affirmed by His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but humbled Himself and took the form of a servant. Therefore, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above all names.
Philippians 2:5-9 (NASB)
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
Jesus is reigning. He is on the throne. The New Testament was written with the hope and assumption of the imminent return of Christ. In Acts 1:6, the disciples ask, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” They were ready right then. What they didn’t see in that moment was the church age—the gap between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks of Daniel. In Romans 11, Paul explains that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.
Romans 11:25 (NASB)
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery– so that you will not be wise in your own estimation– that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
In this “already” stage, He is reigning, but we have work to do. It’s a focus on the church age. Though we are under the authority of the King, we live in light of the hope of what is to come.
Setting the Stage in Jerusalem
That is the framework for Matthew 25. In Matthew 21, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey—the Triumphal Entry. The people cry out, “Hosanna!” which means “God save us!” They were likely zealots waving palm branches, crying out for God to save them from the oppression of Rome, rather than from their sins. But Jesus rides in, and His entire ministry shifts. His face is set toward Jerusalem for the Passion of Christ.
From eternity past, God’s plan was the redemption of man through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Paul writes in Ephesians 1 that God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, predestining us to adoption as sons.
Ephesians 1:4-5 (NASB)
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
The crucifixion was not a Hail Mary because things weren’t working out; it was the plan of God from the very beginning. When Jesus rides into Jerusalem, it is in fulfillment of everything the Old Testament pointed toward.
In Matthew 23, Jesus weeps over the city: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together… Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!”
Matthew 23:37-38 (NASB)
’Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ’Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!
Then in verse 39, He quotes Psalm 118: “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” That Psalm is quoted regarding the return of the Messiah. He is saying, “I’m taking off for a while. You won’t see Me again until I establish My fulfilled kingdom physically on earth.”
Matthew 23:39 (NASB)
’For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’’
Naturally, the disciples grow very curious. In Matthew 24, as they leave the temple, Mark tells us it’s Peter, James, John, and Andrew having a small group Bible study with Jesus. They point out the temple buildings. If you’ve ever seen the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, it is magnificent. But Jesus tells them, “Not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
Matthew 24:2 (NASB)
And He said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.’
In AD 70, roughly forty years later, Rome came in under Titus and destroyed that temple completely.
They walk across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives and ask Him three brilliant questions: “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Matthew 24:3 (NASB)
As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen, and what [will be] the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’
The Urgency of the Return
Jesus responds with the Olivet Discourse, giving them road signs of what is to come. When you were a kid and your parents gave you a chore list and said, “When I come back, this better be done or else,” you were very concerned about the exact time they were coming back.
I remember growing up on about five and a half acres. We had cows, and Dad would give the chore list to my brother, who was seven years older. My brother would say, “Yes, sir,” and as soon as Dad left, he’d laugh and hand the list to me. Sometimes I got it done. Sometimes we procrastinated. If you missed it when Dad came home, that was a bad deal.
One time, my brother realized he could smack me with a Wiffle ball bat and leave a welt. Whack, welt. I was a chubby kid; there was no way I was outrunning him. He said, “Mom’s not coming home until later, so I’m going to light the kid up now. He’ll be fine by the time she gets home.” Then he looked out the window. Sure enough, our driveway was a half-mile long, and here came Mom down the driveway. Mom came in hotter than a hornet, saw me, found out what happened, grabbed the Wiffle ball bat, and commenced to beat him with it. Justice! But knowing when they were coming home was critical.
Jesus doesn’t give a calendar date. Instead, He says, “Learn to discern the times.” In Matthew 24:36-39, He says His coming will be just like the days of Noah. People were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, completely unannounced, until the flood came and took them all away.
Matthew 24:37-39 (NASB)
’For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. ’For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. There is no advance warning. Therefore, be like the sensible slave who puts his house in order.
Matthew 24:40-44 (NASB)
’Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ’Two women [will be] grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. ’Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ’But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ’For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think [He will].
What happens if you miss it? Is it like being grounded? Look at Matthew 24:51. The master will “cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is not a slap on the wrist. If you are not ready when He comes, it is game over.
Matthew 24:51 (NASB)
and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins: Be Ready
That brings us directly into Matthew 25 and the parable of the ten virgins.
Matthew 25:1-13 (NASB)
’Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ’Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. ’For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. ’Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and [began] to sleep. ’But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet [him].’ ’Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ’The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ’But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you [too]; go instead to the dealers and buy [some] for yourselves.’ ’And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. ’Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ ’But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ ’Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
Ten virgins take their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five are foolish, and five are prudent. The foolish take lamps but no extra oil, while the prudent take flasks of oil along with their lamps. The bridegroom delays, and they all fall asleep. At midnight, the cry goes out: “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” They all wake up and trim their lamps. The foolish say, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.” The prudent say, “No, go buy your own.” While they are away buying oil, the bridegroom comes. Those who are ready go inside to the wedding feast, and the door is shut.
Notice that all ten were hanging out waiting for him. You can be among them without being one of them. You can be around the things of God without truly belonging to God.
In Jewish wedding traditions, the groom would go to the bride’s father, pay the bride price, and make a covenant. Then he would return to his father’s house to build an addition for his bride. The bride waited, not knowing the day or the hour, because only the father could decide when the home was ready. When the father gave the word, the groom would go claim his bride and bring her home. That is the exact metaphor Jesus uses for our salvation. In His Father’s house are many rooms, and He has gone to prepare a place for us.
When the foolish virgins returned and knocked, saying, “Lord, open up for us,” the bridegroom replied, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.”
We live in a time of imminence. Christ could return at any moment, or He could take you home today. People say, “I’ll deal with that later.” The arrogance and foolishness of “later”! Our life is a vapor. You are one bad doctor’s appointment away from eternity. How many times have I sat in a living room with a grieving family after an accident, illness, or suicide, and they look at me with tears and ask, “Is my loved one in heaven?” I tell them, “If they placed their faith in Jesus Christ, they are in the presence of God.” But that “if” is terrifying. Do not base your eternal destination on an “if.”
Jesus concludes in verse 13: “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”
Matthew 25:13 (NASB)
’Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
The Parable of the Talents: Know the Master
That leads directly into verse 14 and the Parable of the Talents.
Matthew 25:14-30 (NASB)
’For [it is] just like a man [about] to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. ’To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. ’Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. ’In the same manner the one who [had received] the two [talents] gained two more. ’But he who received the one [talent] went away, and dug [a hole] in the ground and hid his master’s money. ’Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ’The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ ’His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ’Also the one who [had received] the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ ’His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ’And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ’Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no [seed]. ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ ’But his master answered and said to him, ’You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no [seed]. ’Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my [money] back with interest. ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ ’For to everyone who has, [more] shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ’Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey, who calls his slaves and entrusts his possessions to them. To one he gives five talents, to another two, and to another one—each according to his own ability. A talent was a large unit of measurement and wealth. It is not about how much they were given; it is about what they did with what they were entrusted. The master knows them well enough to give according to their ability, and then he departs.
Immediately, the five-talent man puts his money to work and gains five more—a 100 percent return. The two-talent man does the same and gains two more. But the one who received one talent goes away, digs a hole in the ground, and hides his master’s money.
After a long time, the master returns to settle accounts. It is easy to be faithful for a short time; it is hard to be faithful over a long time. The five-talent servant comes forward and presents his gain. The master says, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
Then the two-talent servant comes forward with his two additional talents. The master gives him the exact same commendation word for word: “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
He doesn’t say, “Why couldn’t you produce five like the other guy?” The issue is never what you were given; the issue is what you do with what you have. The commendation is identical.
Then the one-talent servant comes forward and offers an excuse: “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.”
The master rebukes him sharply: “You wicked, lazy slave!” He points out that if the servant truly believed that, he should have at least deposited the money with the bankers to earn interest. The talent is taken from him and given to the one with ten. The master declares, “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Authentic Faith Versus Mere Proximity
I wish the Bible did not teach a literal hell, but it does. Love wins exclusively through the person and work of Jesus Christ. You can be around the things of God, perform religious deeds, and still hear Him say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
The first two servants demonstrated genuine faith by their fruit. Jesus said in John 15:8, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
John 15:8 (NASB)
’My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and [so] prove to be My disciples.
Your works do not save you, but if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, the proof will be in the pudding. The third servant was not merely unfruitful—he was faithless. He had no relationship with the master. This is not a believer losing rewards as described in 1 Corinthians 3; this is a man exposed as wicked and cast into outer darkness.
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 (NASB)
Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is [to be] revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
It reminds me of Matthew 7:22-23, where Jesus says, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”
Matthew 7:22-23 (NASB)
’Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
It is not about doing religious things; it is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
John 14:6 (NASB)
Jesus said to him, ’I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
It is easy to fall into a routine. People often say, “I know God; I grew up in church.” Or, “I was baptized as a kid.” Or, “I’ve been in a small group forever.” That is not what I am asking. Do you personally know the Lord? Do you have the righteousness of Jesus Christ credited to your account? The third servant had proximity to the master’s resources, and the foolish virgins hung out with the prepared ones, but neither was ready.
The Final Challenge
Jesus is returning, and He will return unannounced. He won’t send an email or post an update. When He returns, the door will be shut.
Do not put the religious cart before the horse. Place your faith in Jesus Christ because you are a sinner in need of a Savior. There is no remedy for the human heart apart from the person and work of Jesus Christ alone—not Christ plus baptism, not Christ plus church attendance, but Christ alone.
If I ever have to sit in a living room with your family, I want to be able to say with full confidence, “Yes, they are in the presence of God because their faith was in Jesus.” If there is an “if” in your life today, settle it right now.
Let’s pray.
Father, we are grateful that though we were dead in our transgressions and sins, You made us alive together in Christ. By Your grace, Jesus has made all things new, washing our sins white as snow and removing them as far as the east is from the west.
Lord, protect us from ever thinking that our standing with You is based on our works rather than who You are in us. We ask ourselves today: Are we ready for Your return? Are we ready for You to take us home? If anyone here is unsure, I pray they would surrender their life to You right now, that every doubt would disappear, and that they would know the full assurance of eternity with You through Jesus Christ. We thank You and praise You in Jesus’ name. Amen.