Year 6, Day 199: Matthew 25

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Matthew 25 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible to study.  I think it is also one of the scariest chapters in the Bible.  It is all challenge.  As with most things that deal with challenge, the reason that it is challenging is because it causes us to wrestle with our character.

For example, take the parable of the ten virgins.  Some take the time to prepare and are received well.  Others don’t prepare, trusting in the mercy of the master of the house, and they are cast out.  Clearly Jesus’ message is clear.  We need to be ready.  We need to be preparing for what lies ahead.  We don’t want to be caught off guard.  The character question that this raises is whether or not we are doing what God desires in order to prepare ourselves.  Are we really doing our part in response to His invitation?

Then, we take the parable of the talents.  Three servants get talents.  They go out and risk.  They make more.  They use their talents to increase the master’s kingdom.  They are praised and celebrated because they are willing to take chances and extend themselves outside of their comfort zone.  The third servant, however, doesn’t.  He plays it safe.  He buries the master’s talent and returns it to him unchanged.  This servant is chastised and even removed from the household!  The message is clear.  God doesn’t want us to simply preserve what He has given to us.  He wants us to go out, take risks in faith, and be a part of growing His kingdom.

The third story is a particularly nasty – but good – one.  This parable tells of the sorting of the people.  But here’s the thing: everyone who is there thinks they’ve done well!  Everyone who is sorted is convinced they’ve been obedient.  The ones who are received well are very humble about what they’ve done.  They know it hasn’t been enough to earn them the kingdom; they are merely grateful to receive it.  The other group can’t believe they are being rejected because they are sure of what they’ve done!  Their lack of genuine humble hospitality is their downfall.  There is a character question here, too.  Not only is it important to use what God gives us to extent the kingdom of grace, love, and mercy, but we need to do so humbly and without arrogant self-assurance.

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