ST MATTHEW
CHAPTER 25
Jesus gives the parables of the ten virgins, the talents, and the sheep and the goats.
[ These 2 parables work in parallel with each other - the 10 virgins are waiting fo the Lord, the talents parable has the servants working for the Lord. The 10 Virgins speaks of the mind and preparation of the virgins, the talents show the hands of his disciples. There are questions that remain, and the answers are found here in Matthew 25. Those questions include: How do we prepare? Who will be prepared? Why will some be saved and others not? Who will be the “faithful and wise servant”? What should the righteous be “so doing”? Who will be the ruler over all his goods? These questions set the stage for the parables that follow, which answer the questions about who will be, or won’t be, saved. The Ten Virgins, The Servants, and the Sheep and the Goats— exist to answer the big question raised in Chapter 24: Who will be saved? In the last part of Chapter 25, in answer to the question, Christ reveals what the oil of preparation is that was needed, that could not be shared, and could not be bought at the last minute. He also explains what the increase of talents necessary to separate the faithful from the unfaithful are. The answer to “WHO shall be saved?” is what separates the sheep from the goats at the judgment. What separates the wise from the foolish, the faithful from the unfaithful, the sheep from the goats, is works of character. Character cannot be shared or purchased or changed by last minute belief or deathbed repentance. A character that can stand in the presence of God is something that must be worked on throughout the time we have on earth, and improved upon (by way of repentance) for the better. It is character that places the sheep on the right hand of God and goats on the left. This Parable is about the Redemption of All Souls from the foundation of the world All God's Children and what his servants are doing at the time of his coming whether you are a sheep or a goat. ]
1 THEN shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto [ Jesus giving his Sermon on the Mount of Olives and they're asking him when are you going to come again and this is his reply(Matt 24:42). JST Matt 25:1 renders it as "And the, at that day, before the son of man comes, the kingdom of ..." sugesting then that these 3 parables found here in chapter 25 are to be part of the discussion that happened back in chapter 24. So here we have 3 parables that all connect to what the Savior would have us do to prepare for his second coming. If you recall he set this up back in Matt 24:42 when in instructed them to be on the watch for his retuen. The parables are: The 10 virgins; the parable of the talents; and the parable of the sheep and the goats. One thing to understand is that Christ was not just making this parable up, but was basing it on the customs and traditions of the time. ] ten virgins, [ The number ten was the common minimum for a social gathering amoung the Jews, it was a number of signifigance. It was the number of persons that it took to form a synagogue, the company that was sent to comfort the mourners. John Lightfoot 1602-1675 A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica. A virgin denotes a sense of purity. ] which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. [ The group of ten was seperated into 2 groups. "fronimoi" or prudent -they took care to make a proper provision beforehand, and left nothing to be done in the last moment. "mwroi", which might be translated careless, is generally rendered foolish, What makes some wise and some foolish? It is what they do with the information that they have.The wise ones use their time to prepare while they wait (watch Matt 24:42), the foolish ones simply go about their merry ways. Note they are not good and evil, but are rather wise and foolish. ]
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: [ So not only did they have oil in their lamps but they carried an additional supply of oil in seperate vessels. Why did they not take oil with them? Did they think that the brindegrrom would come quickly? Did they think they were better prepared than they were? ]
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels [ The oil represents spiritual preparation Exodus 30:23-25; Ps. 45:7; Hebr. 1:9; Zech. 4:1-14, 1 Sam. 16:13. This is in reference to John 24:3 where the apostles asked Jesus when the Day of the Lord would come. He did not answer a day but told them to prepare and be ready. ] with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, [ He was quite sometime longer than was expected. So why does Jesus use this parable? Because this Parable is rooted in those ancient Hebrew wedding customs. We see the customs as early as Isaacs marriage to Rebecca. Did Rebecca know who the groom was ahead of time? No she didn't. Who selected her to be the bride? One of Isaac's servants. Who was in charge of putting on the wedding and hosting it? It was Isaac's parents. The father's servant goes out to get the bride he is the one that chooses her. He gives Rebecca all these gifts before the wedding like usually you open your gifts after right, but he gives her all these gifts beforehand and she just hops on a camel and goes hundreds of miles to to meet her husband. She leaves without knowing how far away it really is, she just goes. What happens when you are waiting for something or someone and it is delayed and delayed, and delayed? You loose interest, start to doubt, wonder if they are really coming, wondering what might have happened to them, wonder if they changed their plans... Have you ever wanted a blessing, prayed for something and then had to wait patiently for months, and months or years and years? Patience on the Lord is a virtue. But they also knew that it was going to happen, and they knew it. ] they all slumbered and slept. [ "enustaxan kai ekaqeudon", they became drowsy and fell asleep. Note that there is no distinction here between the wise and unwise - they both slept. They lost focus, they drifted off, they were complaciant. ]
6 And at midnight there was a cry made,[ Typical Jewish wedding always begin at night, usually at the rising of the evening star. However; in this case there was a delay, ikt did not start at the usual time that everyone had planned for. ], Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
8 And the foolish [ Greek - "Moros" which means imprudent, without forethought. ] said unto the wise, [ Greek - "Phronimos" which means mindful of one's interests, prudent, intelligent. ] , Give us of your oil; [ Oil is made through pressure whether in the ground or from a olive, so too will the oil that we have be tested, or put under pressure. Any relationship worth anything will be tested to see how real it is. Oil has been described as the one thing that you cannot do for someone else or that they cannot do for you. For example a temple recommend is yours, your personla prayers are your personal prayers and would do another not much good, you cannot pay tithing ofr someone else and be within God's law. So the oil then becomes our covenant relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. If you take the hebrew word for covenant it is "_Berith_" which means to cut. Ot was used in times of old to change the relationship. For example certain sheep or cattle were cut from the herd, and the ownership pf them was changed from opne owner to another. So the oil then becomes that nature of the relation that you have in the covenant (in this case with Heavenly Father and the Savior). So that relationship defines our readiness. Which the Savior says in John 17:3 is eternal life. ] for our lamps are gone out.[ "sbennuntai", are going out. What once burned brightly was beginning to fade from light to darkiness. Does this not provide a feeling of loss of hope and dispair. When what we thought we had begins to flee away. So at this point we have the foolish virgins doing 4 out of the 5 things: They went, they were there; They brought their lamps; The trimmed their lamps; they were virgins. ].
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. [ We can see from the previous verse that they were good people and yet the Savior shut the door on them. That is pretty harsh we might say. But if we reflect back on what the oil is then we can easily see that we are the one's who must endeavor to develop the relationship with God under our covenant with him. See D&C 45:56-57. Character cannot be shared or purchased or changed by last minute belief or deathbed repentance. A character that can stand in the presence of God is something that must be worked on throughout the time we have on earth, and improved upon (by way of repentance) for the better. It is character that places the sheep on the right hand of God and goats on the left. ]
11 Afterward [ At this point what is done is done, there is nothing that can be done even if it was wanted. Life is like that sometimes, when the door shuts of one aspect of time it is over. ] came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
13 Watch therefore, [ This advice is the complete opposite of what they were doing remember they were caught slumbering, they had relaxed, they had become complacient. So here we have the Savior giving us the moral for the story. ], for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the son of man [ Title for Christ - The "son of God" and the "son of Man" are synonymous... In the pure Adamic language, the name Elohim, the Father, is "Man of Holiness" (signifying that God is a Holy Man), and the name of Christ, the son, is short for "son of Man of Holiness" (Mormon Doctine p671; Moses 6:57. ] cometh.
14 ¶ For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. [ The master is going to be gone for a long time, so he puts his servants in charge of his houshold. He gives each charge according to their abilities and the leaves on his journey. So we must first take note that the master is the one doing the giving out of talents. When he distributes them he uses wisdom as he does so. I find this parable very interesting when you compare it to D&C 76. We are all born into life in the terrestial world. It does not take too long in life to find ourselves making mistakes and becoming telestial. But the Lord has provided a plan and that plan requires work on our part. We are to invest in the plan of salvation, to grow ourselves to become more like him. To invest so to speak in becoming like him. Yes we will make mistakes but that is not what he is most concerned about, it is our growth, our ability to submit to his will, and in doing so we will be able to enjoy the life that he has. To have eternal life, this is what God wants for us, this is what he expects for us to do. The Lord does not expect us to just waste our life away and stay in the same terrestial nature in which we where born, he wants us to share everything that he has. Isn't it interesting that the Savior links talents with charity in Ether 12:35. As in D&C 76 were are all born into mortality into the Terrestrial kingdom(the talent that we are given from the start) and the master, our Heavenly Father leaves us alone here on earth for a period to see what we will do with our talents. While here we sin and such and no longer become worthy of the Terrestial kingdom in which we were born into, we become Telestial bodies worthy of the telestial kingdom(and if we do nothing on our own, or if we burry our talents in the ground and they do us nor God any good). However; there ar profitable servants who grow their talents, these are those who become submissive to the will of God, they use their talents and energy to become like him, and in doing so gain the Celestial Kingdom(profitable servants, remember he cannot just will just to have eternal life, we must do our part in the process). ]
15 And unto one he gave five talents, [ How much is a talent worth? a large or a small amount? “A talent is 750 ounces of silver,” Excerpt From: James E. Talmage. “Jesus the Christ. So each is no small sum of money. (750 * $18 = $13,500) ] to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; [ Elder Talmage elaborates: “The talents bestowed upon each were the gift of his Lord, who knew well whether that servant was capable of using to better advantage one, two or five. Let no one conclude that good work of relatively small scope is less necessary or acceptable than like service of wider range. “Many a man who has succeeded well in business with small capital would have failed in the administration of vast sums; so also in spiritual achievements "there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."[1171] Of the man endowed with many talents greater returns were expected; of the one-talented man relatively little was required, yet in that little he failed.”
Excerpt From: James E. Talmage. “Jesus the Christ / A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to Holy / Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern.” iBooks. " Jesus the Christ ] and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. [ What does this servant do with his gifts? he doubled them - not a bad return. Is it easier to double a lot of talents or harder to doubt a lot of talents? no right answer here as for some doubling many talents would be much harder than doubling just one, while for others the exact opposite is true. So this is not to suppose that one person id better than another but that one person has different characteristics than another. So we see the master recognizes that from the start. Our Father in Heaven knew that about us when he gave us our talents. ]
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. [What happens with servant #2? He doubles his talents. ]
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. [What does the third servant do with his talents? he tried to protect the talent, did nothing to improve upon it.]
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. [ What does it mean to reckon with them? there was an accounting for their activities, all of this was based upon what was given. ]
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; [ Why do you think that it is fair for the reward to be the same for both servants? Both were obedient, they were both obedient in the exact same manner. The reward was the same for the one that doubled the five talents as the one that doubled the 2 talents. This is because they both understood the plan, they were diligent in doing the work required by the master. From this we should make sure that we do not judge ourselves in the light of saying that others seem to have so many more talents than we do. That is not the object - this example clearly points out for us that it is not the number of talents that you have, but it is certainly what you do with those talents that you do have. Or it is not where you serve but rather how you serve that makes the difference. ] thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, [ What does this suggest about contestent number 3? He does not really know God and the atributes of God - his tender mercies, the reason why he is here on earth. ] reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: [ IV "scattered" - Fields are plowed then scattered with seeds or planted. What is he suggesting about God here? That God does nothing to bring about his plan it just happens. God does not need to make decisions because whatever he wants will just happen. ]
25 And I was afraid,
[Why was he afraid? Because he does not understand the nature of God, he never sought him out - So he thinks God is a hard or an angry God - see previous verse. So because of this view of God he chooses not to exercise his talents because he is afraid of making a mistake. If you are afraid of God like this man you will be spiritually unproductive. How well do we really understand that God is a God of love? We should not be so myopic to believe that our heavenly father possess any of the same weakineses that we ourselves have or those of our earthly parents. He is like the Father is the Parable of the Prodical son - The father is waiting, he is there ready and runs to meet the son when he returns. What would have been good council for this servant? The same council that Nephi gave to Lamen and Lemuel - have ye inquired of the Lord. ] and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. [ There is nothing to suggest that the servant feels anything butthat he has done a good job for his master. He does not try to hide, he is not delayed in coming to meet the master so I think that The servant feels that he has done well for his master, as he has not lost or squandered the talents entrusted to him. The thing that is most interesting to me here is that he trys to make sure right from the get go that if he has made any kind of a mistake it is entirely on the Lord and not him. Suggesting arrogance maybe? Why is the Lord not happy with that response? Because he clearly does not understand his purpose]
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, [Suggesting what? if you were to lazy to try to build the money yourself you should have at the very least have invested it to gain some interest. but no you were to lazy to do even that. ] and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.[ "sun tokw", with its produce-not usury; for that is unlawful interest, more than the money can properly produce. ].
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.[ Is there any relation here with talents and attitude? Consider Laman and Lemuel, who did leave Jerusalem, who did go back for the plates, who did help build the ship, who did do a number of obedient things—but they did these things begrudgingly and half-heartedly. They didn’t allow their experiences to change them for the better. Instead, they always murmured and had rotten attitudes in every set of circumstances they found themselves in. Was this Servant approaching the task as we do our church callings at times with the attitude of - "Do I Have To?". I’ve learned that such seemingly insignificant thoughts are an important indicator of my attitude. Sure, we can all reach out and minister to others, we can accept and uphold our Church callings, and we can attend our Church meetings. While doing them half-heartedly, In doing so the attitude to which we approach them makes a big difference. It is the difference between what Nephi learned in the process and what Lamam and Lemuel learned. Our attitude can and does limit God’s ability to use us? And to change us. ].
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. [ See D&C 60:2-3 ]
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [ What is the weeping and gnashing suggested here? the definition of Hell: ”It’s the last day you have on earth, when the person you became will meet the person you could have become.” ]
31 ¶ When the son of
man [ Title for Christ - The "son of God" and the "son of Man" are synonymous... In the pure Adamic language, the name Elohim, the Father, is "Man of Holiness" (signifying that God is a Holy Man), and the name of Christ, the son, is short for "son of Man of Holiness" (Mormon Doctine p671; Moses 6:57 ] shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he [ The Lord. ] shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: [ Why do shepherds divide sheep from goats? Practical Reasons (in real life farming):
1) Because each have different needs:
Sheep prefer grazing on grass.
Goats prefer browsing (eating shrubs, leaves, and twigs).
Keeping them separate helps manage their diets more effectively.
2) They have different behaviors:
Goats are more curious, independent, and often more aggressive. So they tend to stray more making it harder to keep the flock together.
Sheep are more docile and flock-oriented.
Separation prevents conflict and stress in mixed herds.
3) To better manage disease:
Some diseases affect goats and sheep differently. Separating them helps reduce cross-contamination and spread of disease. ]
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,[The right hand signifies, among the rabbins, approbation and eminence: the left hand, rejection, and disapprobation. ], Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit [ What kind of inheritance? See Romans 8:16-17 as Joint Heirs with Christ ] the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: [ Notice that the works of verse 35 are in the home, and in verse 36, are outside the home. Or the sacrament. ] I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:[ Stranger in Greek was "Zenos" which means foreigner. "sunhgagete me", ye entertained me, you provided for me in my hour of need. In ancient times a stranger was one who did not have a connection to the lineage and thus the covenant made to the fathers(Abraham specifically), they did not have access to the promises made to Abraham as a result of their lineage. These strangers may never have heard of Christ nor the covenant that God made with Abraham. Being a stranger and then taken in is in essense the ordinance of Baptism. Were we are adopted into the House of Israel. This is how God fulfills his promise that all of the earth will be blessed throught the seed of Abraham - Isaac and Jacob. ]:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: [ Temple symbolism here is that Adam and Eve were naked in the garden after they had partaken of the tree of knowledge of Good and evil. At this point The Father asked the Son to make a coat of skin to cover their nakedness. Interesting that it was Christ who would need to sacrifice an animal to make a coat of skin, and that he would later be sacrificed as the last and final sacrifice. He would later sacrifice himself to cover for the sins of all man. So when we take his name upon us our nakedness, the sins and troubles that come forth as a result of living on the earth are literally covered by him. So in temple symbolism this would be the initiatory ordinance. ] I was sick, [ The Greek for sick is "easia" which in English it means weakness. So we are to visit those who are weak in knowledge and strengthen them or endow them with power God's power or Knowledge from on high. One can go from a state of weakness(lack of knowledge) to a position of strength(as we are endowed with power) in the temple when we are "endowed with power from on high". The endowment will teach us how to overcome the temptations of the adversary, and as we do we gain power in that we become above those temptations, and the adversary who is tempting us instead of becomeing victums to those temptations. ] and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. [ He was outside of the home, in the world. Temple symbolism - Those who are on the otherside are in spirit prison and are awaiting their ordinances to be done by us. ]
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? [ The “sheep” question, “When saw we thee?” The answer in verse 40 seems to suggest that these deeds are part of their character; that their love of mankind and of God is so natural, so instinctive, that they don’t really register these acts as extraordinary. ] or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
[ If we will look at others in this light then we see others as the Savior sees them. ]
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
[ Joseph taught that if we are going to dwell with God we will have to be like God (TPJS p 216).
That’s why Amulek says in Alma 34:34 that the character that is developed in this world will be the same one taken with you to the next world. Do you think you can change your character during the last 30 minutes of your life? Repentance is the process of changing character, and that “process of changing character” takes time because we must cultivate the ability to choose good in the presence of evil. ]