Year 9, Day 199: Matthew 25

Theological Commentary: Click Here

I have long held that this chapter is the scariest chapter in the Bible.  This chapter causes more fear within me than any chapter in Romans or Revelation.  This chapter is all about the characteristics of those who get to enter the kingdom versus those who hear Jesus says, “I never knew you.”  I know I’m not perfect.  I know I am sinful.  I know God is a forgiving God.  All that said, I don’t want to be the person who gets to hear God’s Son say, “I never knew you.”  I want to enter into the wedding feast rather than experience gnashing of teeth.

How do I alleviate the fear?  The first step to alleviating fear is to remember context.  Matthew 24 was all about Jesus telling us that since we cannot know His return, we should live in relationship with Him every day.  Today we get to see consequences for such a choice.

In the parable of the virgins, there are five virgins who do what is necessary and are prepared.  There are also five who do not.  The five who do find their way into the feast.  The five who do not find themselves spending so much time getting ready that they miss their entrance.  It isn’t that they were overly evil people.  It isn’t that they weren’t qualified.  The reality is that they didn’t make the grade because they simply didn’t do their job and weren’t ready.

In the parable of the talents, the pressure gets ratcheted up.  No longer is there a distinction between success and failure.  In the case of all three servants, nobody lost.  Two people gained and one person returned exactly what was given.  Nobody lost.  That’s part of the issue.  Maintaining the status quo isn’t good enough.

What’s the point here?  Context from yesterday is crucial here.  The servant who is sent away is sent away because he didn’t try.  He didn’t risk.  He didn’t use what was given to him.  His goal was avoiding failure when the master’s goal was attempting something.  He had the wrong goal and it cost Him.  God wants us to trust Him in that so long as we try, He can do wonders with our effort.

The final parable – the sheep and the goats – is perhaps the scariest.  This sorting is so scary because in both cases neither group really seems to be aware of what they were doing right or wrong.  Neither group knows they are aiding or refusing aid to Jesus.  Once more, however, the thread of effort comes through.  The sheep who are welcomed are received because they acted.  They helped.  They received.  They saw the lowest as a venue for love and grace.  The group that is rejected is because they did not do.  They did not look upon the least with pity or mercy or love.

Matthew 24 tells us to live every day like we mean it.  Today we see consequences for inaction.  If we aren’t prepared, if we don’t use what God gives us, if we don’t display His grace and love then we might just find ourselves outside with the gnashing of teeth rather than inside sitting at the feast with our Lord.

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