Matthew 25 - March 30^th

This chapter of Matthew continues the line of thought from chapter 24 about the end times, specifically about his second coming. Let’s consider several aspects of this chapter.

The Ten Virgins

I believe that the message being conveyed in this parable is that we ought to be prepared for Christ's return because he can return at any hour. This parable comes right after what Jesus says in verses 45-50 of chapter 24. In those verses, he describes how no one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return, so we ought to live in such a way that we will not be ashamed once he arrives. Jesus continues this line of thought within this parable in which Jesus exhorts us to live as the wise virgins who were ready for the bridegroom’s coming because they lived in light of it rather than the unwise virgins who were unprepared for the bridegroom’s coming. Christians ought to live in anticipation of Christ's return; in fact, that ought to direct the whole course of our lives. We ought to be a people who are heavenly minded knowing that the end of this present age is at hand. We ought not to live like the people of Noah’s day who were so caught up with the present that they failed to see the future judgment, and we are not to live like the unwise virgins who failed to bring oil with them to light their lamp at the bridegroom’s coming. Christ is coming, and when he does, judgment is coming with him, and by the time the bridegroom comes, it will be too late. The world ought to know that there will be no chance of salvation once the floodwaters come; if you are not in the Ark, you will drown, and if you do not have oil to light your lamp, then there will be no time to buy any.

The Final Judgement

Goats look very similar to sheep; if you were to gaze upon the two animals grazing from a distance, you might even fail to distinguish one from another. However, goats are not sheep. Similarly, many profess to be Christians, they claim to be sheep, but they are nothing but goats. At the final judgment, Christ will separate the sheep from the goats. The true believers from every nation will be placed at his right (the place of honor), and the unbelievers will be placed on his left (the place of dishonor). And what is the distinction given between the two groups by our Lord? It is the way that they treated the people of God. Those who treated the people of God well will have, by their connection to Christ, treated Him well, and those who treated Christ’s people poorly will have, by their connection to Christ, treated Christ poorly. This is not to say that we are justified by our works, rather it is to say that one of the signs of a true lover of Christ is that they love the people of God. This is one of the main points of the epistle of 1 John. 1 John 3:14 says, “We know we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death."