· What would you say to your family if you knew you were going to die in a few days? What message would you want to tell them to make sure they were prepared and ready for life without you?
· Jesus is nearing the end of His life on earth and there was a heightened sense of urgency in His teaching that we find towards the end of Matthew. He wants His disciples to be prepared for His departure and to know how to live until He returns.
· Jesus was on a mission to seek and save the lost for the Father
· He knows that His time is about to come to a close and He is wanting to make sure His disciples know what it looks like to truly be in the Kingdom – what it looks like to be true disciples.
· He wants His followers to be ready for life after His departure and to be ready for when He returns again.
Main Idea: True disciples
are ready, living as faithful stewards
·
The parable of the 10 virgins is meant to
illustrate to His disciples the urgency and importance of being ready. They
need to be ready and watchful. They need to be alert and looking for His return.· His true disciples are to live in a way that is ready and eagerly waiting for His return
· The parable of the 10 virgins is really a simple parable meant to tell His disciples that they need to be ready, because they don’t know when He will return.
1. True
Disciples live ready
·
Being prepared for the bridegroom’s return –
being ready - made all the difference· The five virgins who were ready for the bridegroom’s return were prepared because they really knew the bridegroom.
· But the 5 virgins who were not ready were shut out of the wedding feast and even though they said, “Lord, lord, open to us.”, the bridegroom answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'
· Their fate was sealed – it was too late, they had missed their opportunity and they were not ready.
· The point is that you need to know the bridegroom and be ready for His return.
· No one else can get ready for you. Whether you are ready or not, is completely up to you.
· The consequences for not being ready are breathtaking! Whether you are ready or not means everything!
· In light of his promise and the fact that He will surely return, Jesus wants everyone who hears or reads Matthew’s gospel to be ready.
· Stewards look for the master’s return in how they live
· Jesus is telling His disciples that they need to be ready and then He tells them the parables of the talents to instruct them how to make sure they are ready
· He is going to return one day and He will one day usher in the fulfillment of the kingdom.
· He will bring justice and peace and joy for everyone who is in His kingdom and we need to be ready for His return.
· We are to live “ready” by being faithful stewards; faithful servants of our master.
· We are not to live as if He will never return because, although he has been gone a long time, He will return and he will call people to account for what they have been given.
· The parable of the talents explains what it looks like to live ready for Christ’s return.
2. The Master has given each servant something
·
How many talents each servant received is not
critically important – but it is important to note that each was given talents
according to his ability.· The Master knew just what they needed and knew what they could handle and gave each of them just the right amount for them.
· He entrusted each of his servants as stewards of his property – they were stewards of what he gave them and he expected each of them to use the talents and work them for the master while he was away.
· Jesus has given each person something. He has given everyone talents, in the form of life and breath at the very least. He has given intellect and abilities; he has given skills and knowledge.
· Christ has entrusted us with life, time, opportunities, jobs, relationships, talents, money and various gifts. All that we have is from Him
· You’ve been given the life you have, the house you have, the clothes you have, the relationships you have, the job you hold, the money you have and all of your possessions.
· None of them belong to us though and none of them are meant to be used for our glory or our own selfish purposes
· Everything that we have is intended to be used for the Master and His business
· Some have received the lordship of the Master and are living for Him, while others have not and the life that they have been given is being squandered
· The servants in the story didn’t begrudge what they were given – the servant with two talents didn’t complain and ask why he didn’t get five – he immediately did something with what he was given
3. Being ready is being a faithful steward
·
As Christians, we have been radically changed.
Our work, all of our relationships, all of our time, our energy, everything has
changed now. · In the parable, each of the faithful servants went to work right away – they engaged in the business of their master right away
· They showed by their actions that they did everything as unto their master, knowing he would come back, they lived for him as faithful stewards
· They were not living for themselves but they were living for Him
· When someone comes to Christ, they begin to see all of this in a whole new light – it is like they have received new vision – it is like they’ve received new life.
· There are two different kinds of responses to the talents that the servants in the parable were given.
· The servants who were given two and five talents went at once. This is similar to the way that the disciples responded to the call of Jesus – they immediately left everything and followed Him
· This is the kind of response we are called to – we aren’t to wait, we are to immediately do something with the talents, the life, we’ve been given.
· Christ died that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him, who for their sake died and rose again
· The second kind of response is from the servant that received the one talent.
· He didn’t do anything with it really – he didn’t use it, he didn’t try to honor his master with it, he didn’t engage in any business for his master – instead, he squandered the opportunity to do something meaningful, to honor his master’s generosity and he hid it – he buried it underground
· He revealed that he wasn’t really living for the master through His actions.
4. Not all are true disciples and really ready
·
For those in the church – those who look like
they are in the kingdom – you don’t want to be a mere copy – you don’t want to
be thrown out as worthless because you’re a fake.· The wicked servant didn’t really know the master – he is like someone who isn’t really a true disciple
· He is given something but what he does or what he doesn’t do reveals that something is different about him. He is not really the same as the other servants in the group even though he seems to be a servant of the master and something is missing with him
· He looked like he was a servant of the master but he didn’t really act like it
· He acted like he knew the master but he really didn’t
· He had a wrong idea of who the master was and instead of acknowledging that what he has was given to him and being grateful like the other two servants, he blames the master for his failure
· The master was a kind and gracious master –he gave them all talents to begin with – they didn’t do anything to deserve the master’s favor
· He couldn’t claim that what the master gave to them and what he expected from them was unfair because he gave to each one according to his ability
· The wicked servant proves that He doesn’t really know the master because he says the master is a hard man and then he accuses the master of in effect being a thief – when he accuses the master of reaping where he doesn’t sow and gathering where he hasn’t scattered, he is saying that the master isn’t fair and that he is dishonest and a thief too – he is unreasonable
· He effectively blames his irresponsible behavior on the master – he says, it is really your fault because I was scared of you – so I buried it and now you can have it back. By doing this, he showed that he really didn’t know the master – he really wasn’t grateful to the master
· The wicked servant acts as if he has no responsibility to his master and he completely neglects what he has been given by the master
· He shows he doesn’t really love the master and he is really selfish and self interested. He is not a true disciple
· A true disciple has left all and lays down his life for his master
· The wicked servant didn’t really have a relationship with the master – he wasn’t devoted to the master, and so, everything that he does have – all of the responsibility and resources – the opportunities, the talents, it will all be taken away from him
· In the end, some who might have an appearance of readiness, will be shown to not be ready.
5. The consequences of how we live are great
· Jesus is saying that it may be a long time but the master is still coming back and he will settle accounts with His disciples when He returns
· The one who received the five talents gives credit to the master for his gift and then shows his master what he has done with the talent
· He was diligent and faithful and the master commended him and rewarded him for it.
· The master commends him not for how many talents he earned but he commends him for his character and for being faithful.
· Because of his faithfulness, the master sets him over much – the master gives him even more responsibility and privilege
· Then the master says something remarkable. He invites the servant, this one who the master owned, (who was just a steward of the master’s resources), to enter into the joy of the master
· Then, the servant who was given two talents comes forward and gives his accounting of how he stewarded the master’s resources – what the master had given to him
· He too had been faithful and worked hard and earned a good return on his masters investment
· And then, notice that the master tells him the same thing that he did to the servant that was given 5 talents.
· He was rewarded the same. Although the talent that they were given was different and how much they earned for the master was different, they were rewarded the same and both of their rewards were based on how they carried out their roles as stewards
· They both knew the master’s wishes. They demonstrated that they really knew him and they knew he intended for them to do something with what they had been given.
· They were both grateful to the master as well and they both acknowledged that what they had was delivered to them by their master
· They both were faithful so that they could present their talents back to the master
· They were both commended for being good and faithful and then they both were set over much and they both got to enter into the joy of their master.
· But as for the wicked servant, the master calls his bluff – he doesn’t allow his excuses
· The master in effect says that if what you say was true and if you really believed it, then you would have lived differently
· If the master was indeed to harsh and an unfair thief who expected returns when he didn’t sow, the thief should have known to do something with his talents
· But it is obvious that the servant was a lazy and wicked – a deceitful steward
· The servant with one talent had no excuse – he was only given one talent and he did nothing with it, while the one with 5 talents had a lot more to manage and a lot more responsibility and yet did much more with his greater gift
· So the master takes the talent away and gives it to the one who had the ten talents
· In the same way, it is not about how many talents you’ve been given but how are you stewarding whatever amount you have been given
· The master is not unfair. He knows what is best for you and gives you just what you need
· He doesn’t expect you to make the same kinds of returns as those who have been given more talents – he doesn’t hold you to their standards.
· Each steward will have to give an account – and what will be important is whether they knew the master and then lived like it – whether they lived as faithful stewards.
· The consequences of what each of the servants did with what they were given were great
· The one who didn’t really know the master and didn’t live for his return was horrible – he was cast out as worthless refuse. He was thrown into the outer darkness – a place where there was no hope of finding refuge; a place of utter confusion, utter separation, utter hopelessness and suffering.
· For all who don’t know Jesus, who don’t know the master and don’t live as ready stewards, they will be cast into hell – they will be separated from the master. They will never know the joy of the master.
· Whether the servant believed that his master would return or not didn’t change the fact that the master was returning
· You may not believe that Jesus is returning but he will return nonetheless and you will give account and He won’t tolerate any excuses.
· The consequences are great for the wicked servant.
· And the consequences are great for those who are His true disciples and are ready for His return, living as faithful stewards
· They are commended by the master and they are given even more opportunity and blessings and they are invited to enter into the joy of their master
· Jesus was urgent for a reason – because he loves us and He asks us again through scripture – how are we living now?
· Are we living ready?
· True disciples are ready, living as faithful stewards
· Are you a true disciple and if so, are you living as a faithful steward with your time, your gifts, your money, your relationships, your skills – or do you think and act and live like any of those things belongs to you?
· Jesus Christ has bought us with His most precious blood and now all of our lives belong to Him.
· Then only way we can live ready for His return is because He has bought us with a price and made us His own.
· But because He has made us His own, He has enabled us to live for Him.
· Our motivation for living ready for His return is not to earn His righteousness but to express our gratitude for His great grace to us.
· The motivation for living for God like this is His great mercy and grace.
· The Master has given us life and all that we have. Jesus has rescued us from our sins and given us His righteousness. He has been so kind and gracious to us, given us talents that we did not deserve and enables us to live.
Philippians
3:7-15 But whatever gain I had, I
counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all
things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through
faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - 10 that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain
the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not
that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make
it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have
made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining
forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press
on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this
way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
Potential
Application Questions:1. If you knew Jesus was returning in the next month, would you change anything in your life or live differently at all? If so, how does this reveal where we should live differently now? (Since we are to always live ready for His return)
2. How is living for the Master’s return seen in the way we live and what we live for personally?
3. What has the Master given to you to steward until He returns? (various relationships, your church, gifts, talents, money, possessions)?
4. Do you view all that you have been given as the Master’s or do you view and act as if it belongs to you?
5. How are you doing with being a good and faithful steward of what He has given?
6. Do you see Jesus’ gift of salvation as great? How can you cultivate gratitude for what he has done for you and given to you?
7. How can we respond not out of guilt but out of a motivation to live for God because of His great grace in salvation and all the talents He has given on top of salvation?
