Parables of the Ten Virgins/Sheep and the Goats
We are coming to the last in this series of sermons on Jesus’ Parables
Turn with me to Matt 25
This chapter contains three Parables of Judgment, the Parable of the Ten Virgins, the Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Separation of the sheep from the Goats
Unfortunately these three Parables have been misused by some to coerce Christians into behavioral reform by putting an emphasis on the “Good works” mentioned in these parables
And you could be forgiven because a superficial reading may give this impression
Before we look at them in more detail there are some common themes we need to keep in mind
First - is the point already mentioned in the earlier Parables - none is excluded before being included
Talents, Marriage Supper, and we will see it mentioned again here in the Ten Virgins, Sheep and the Goats
God’s desire is for all to be included, and those who are eventually excluded are those who refuse to play the game of “faith” and “grace”
Second - The Lord is absent in all these accounts
This corresponds to the time between the resurrection and the Second Advent
In order for the kingdom to advance Jesus had to leave as He was limited by the constraints of time and space – one place at a time
However by sending the Spirit, He is able to accomplish so much more as he is not limited by time and space and Christians everywhere can enjoy his presence
But this absence also introduces an interesting dynamic
It provides the mechanism to see how a Christian responds to an absent Lord
We see this dynamic at work in the lives of our children or workers when the boss isn’t around
We have already seen how the one servant responded to his absent Lord in the Parable of the Talents when he placed his talent (treasure) in the ground while the other two worked without supervision
but as we learnt earlier in the Parables of the Kingdom, although it may appear the Lord is absent He is working mysteriously behind the scenes
And one of the things he is doing is observing how we respond to His gift of Grace
Now on the surface this may sound punitive and give credence to the interpretation of observing our behavior or “Works”
But is this really what is being observed or is it something much deeper
When salvation by faith and Grace is preached correctly there is the tendency to think it is all too easy
If Jesus has done it al for us, why bother trying to be good, caring and loving etc when its all been done for us
Or to put it in Paul’s words, “why not sin so grace may abound?”
The fallacy of this type of thinking is to regard faith as simply a theoretical agreement to a wonderful concept
But faith in Jesus Christ is much more than just a beautiful theoretical concept in our heads
Expressing faith in Jesus’ saving work sets in motion a chain of events: repentance, baptism, being born of the Spirit, becoming a new creation, God living in us
John 14:23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
If Christ comes and lives in us something is going to happen to our lives
We begin to think differently, act differently, become more Christ-like
The lesson of the lazy steward who hid his talent in the ground in the Parable of the Talents drives this point home
He presumed faith was just a nice concept - that ought to give us pause to think
“You wicked lazy servant”
Doing nothing – is not a viable option, it is not genuine faith as James tells us (Jas 2:20)
but notice something else in this verse – the connection between “Love” and “obeying my teachings”
Let me explain it this way
Expressing Faith in Jesus Christ is very much like a Marriage commitment
That commitment should bring about a change of behavior - we no longer act like a single person, no more dating around, no more big drinking parties with the boys because I am now a married man – my status has changed
Ideally, the motivation for the change of behavior comes about because of the commitment to the relationship with another person, the husband or wife
If I were to continue to date around and binge drink with the boys, how would my wife regard my commitment to her?
To go back to Paul’s example about “sinning so God’s grace can abound even more” is like saying, “I should have adulterous relationships so Susan’s grace towards me can abound even more”
The new behavior flows from a commitment to a person
Ultimately God’s goal is reconciliation, reconciliation to Him and reconciliation to our fellowman
Jesus did what he did to restore relationships
That is why the words of Matt 25:12 to the foolish Virgins are critical to the interpretation - 11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' 12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
Matt 7 repeats this theme
Matt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
That’s why a focus on behavior misses the point. These guys were doing the behavior but their motivation was wrong, they were labeled “evildoers”!
The Father’s goal is to mould and shape us into the image of Jesus Christ (Gen 1:26; Rom 8:29).
Jesus at the resurrection wants to take us by the hand and present us to the Father as “Made in His image!”
And the Father will say, “Wow, great job! He is just like us!”
Everything that happens in the history of the world is working towards that goal
The kingdom of heaven is all about relationships and it begins with a faith/trust relationship with Jesus Christ
So faith is more than just a nice theoretical concept that happens in our heads…it is a living dynamic force at work in our lives based on a faith/trust relationship with Jesus Christ
Matt 25:1-13 The Ten Virgins
1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Notice all were included
2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.
What made some wise and some foolish is the fact some took an extra supply of oil
As scripture clearly tells us faith is the only thing that can save us, and if the only obvious difference between these two groups is the content of the jars, then the oil must represent “faith”
5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
We all know this feeling, the Lord delays his coming! There is a tendency to become complacent – this will test our faith
But eventually the day does come and He does return
6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
This is supposed to be a happy event – marriage, bridegroom, party
But there are some there who spoil the occasion
7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
Its interesting we are told to be the light of the world and these virgins had allowed their light to fade out
9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
While the master delays his coming there is time to grow in faith and develop that relationship with Jesus Christ
But when they least expect it the bridegroom does come
Then its too late to prove if one’s faith is genuine, it becomes obvious who has been living a faithful life…its not something that can be manufactured in a moment or borrowed from someone else
10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'
12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
There’s that fateful sentence
Notice he doesn’t say, “I never invited you,” “I never loved you,” “I never drew you to myself”
He only says, “I never knew you – because you never bothered to know me!”
13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Those that are let in are those who have lived their lives on the basis of a faith relationship with Jesus Christ
Those who are shut out are those who did not
The Sheep and the Goats Matt 25:31-46
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
This is supposed to be a happy event, but again some party poopers spoil the occasion, just like the brother in the story of the Prodigal
32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Notice again all are included
33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
This is the section of scripture sometimes misused to motivate Christians to perform “good works” as though their salvation depends on their “good works”
Scripture emphatically denies we can be saved by works
But as we discussed earlier, good works will flow from a faith relationship with Christ
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Notice these actions are consistent with the ministry of Jesus Christ when he walked this earth
What these sheep had done was allow Jesus to work his ministry through them
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
It is a subtle spiritual growth that happens over a period of time as the Spirit develops the nature of Christ in each of us
Sometimes it is so subtle that the sheep didn’t even recognise how they had changed
But they had engaged in the reconciling work of Jesus Christ by reaching out to those less fortunate
Brings back to mind the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man – reconciliation was the last thing on the rich man’s mind
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
Their faith was superficial, they too were lazy like the one talent servant and the five foolish virgins
It is not the good works of the blessed that saved them any more than it is the evil deeds of the cursed that damns them
What separated these two groups is their faith is lived out
The goats neglected to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ which would have changed their relationship to others
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Those with non-faith are given a place in the final scheme of things
Judgment only comes to the ones who refused to accept a good thing went it was handed to him on a platter
This is a consistent theme through many of Jesus’ parables – especially the man without the wedding garment
Let me make one further comment here and this relates to an emphasis on “good works”
One of the Devils most subtle and dangerous weapons is to get us to focus on our own “good works”
and the main reason it is so dangerous is because it moves our emphasis from Christ to ourselves
instead of Christ’s works it becomes “our” works – and this leads to judgmentalism and legalism
and it changes Christianity into religion
We saw this attitude at work in the older brother (Prodigal), the Pharisee (Pharisee and the Publican), the Workers in the Vineyard
This was the constant source of friction between Jesus and the Pharisees their emphasis was on the law, Jesus’ emphasis was on a relationship with Him, the Law-giver
True Christianity is a total rejection of the old man and living in total submission to the new man in Christ
Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Credit for anything we might happen to achieve goes back to the one we expressed faith in, Jesus Christ
So as these Parables show, the arrow is speeding towards its target
There will come a time when The Father will say, “Enough, let’s end it here”
In the case of these three parables, the curtain does come down on time, the bridegroom does return, the master does come back and the time of ministering to the king through the needy comes to an end
Either the relationship exists or it does not exist
Faith is something that must be done. If it is left undone, there is a price to pay
The party is going to happen and the party poopers who refuse to play the game of faith and grace will be excluded
Meanwhile the blessed so on in to celebrate the party with their King
