Criteria for Judgment or Blessing
After revealing the general outline of events concerning
Israel at the time of the end leading up to His return to judge Israel and the
rest of the world, Jesus rounds out His gospel of the kingdom with a crucial
examination of the criteria for judgment and entrance into the kingdom at His
return. He does this with two parables
and a final graphic illustration of the judgment at His return.
The Ten Virgins
The parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-12) is quite unlike any modern wedding. And there is a surprising feature, that even
makes it different from the weddings in Bible times. This feature will help us to understand the
meaning. It’s not the ten virgins waiting
for a bridegroom to come so they can all go to the wedding feast. That is just
a picture of shared anticipation in one of the most joyous events in the
community. And although they are
important, it is not the lamps or the long wait, either. It is, rather, the cruciality of being ready. The wedding was normally quite carefully
timed. But not this one.
Jewish Marriages in Jesus’ Day
Marriages in those days were legal and binding from the time
of the betrothal ceremony—like Mary and Joseph’s betrothal. This ceremony was followed by an engagement
period in which the bridegroom prepared a home for the couple to live in. At the end of this period, a marriage feast
was held in which the community was invited to attend. The feast usually began after sunset and was
kicked off by a torchlight procession of the marriageable maidens through the
town following the newly arrived bridegroom to the new home where the feast
would be held.
Setting Up the Lamps
The “torches” were actually oil lamps larger than household
lamps. The special term used here in
Matthew is the same word used to describe the “lanterns” carried by the
soldiers who would later arrest Jesus in the garden at night. They had shallow bowls which were hung from
the end of a staff by a hook. A wick
laid in a groove on top ran down into the bowl filled with olive oil. These would not be filled and hung until the
time for their use to prevent spilling the oil.
This is what is meant by the term usually translated “trimmed.” The Greek word literally means to “set in
order.” There’s a task to do— like
setting up your Coleman stove so it can be turned on. Set up your lanterns for
use because the bridegroom is coming now.
Wisdom and Foolishness
In this parable, there were ten virgins gathered in one
location waiting for the bridegroom to arrive but five are said to be wise and
five were foolish regarding their complete preparation. “Anticipation,” “hopefulness,” “sincerity,”
or “being a marriageable maiden” was not what Jesus meant by wise. These words describe all ten. Nor was it “wakefulness!” That describes none of them! The only
difference was that five had prepared for a late night by bringing oil for the
lamps and five had not.
The Unexpected Bridegroom
While most translations say that the bridegroom was
“delayed” perhaps it might be better to translate “came later than expected” or
“came at an unexpected time.” This is
not a delay because there was some obstacle.
It is a delay only in the sense that he didn’t come when they
expected. So, all of them were fast asleep when he came around midnight and
someone (perhaps accompanying the bridegroom) cried out, “The bridegroom
comes!”
Personal Preparation
The ten maidens woke up and began rigging their lanterns. This is when the five foolish girls realized
their poor preparation and tried to get some oil from the five wise girls. The Scripture relates that the wise had
brought flasks (not jugs) of oil – just enough to fill their lamps. The five
wise girls pointed the five foolish girls to the oil dealers and off they all
ran. Five joined the procession to the feast and five frantically sought
oil. After finding oil, they found the
feast already in progress but they were refused entry because (here’s the
shocker) “I don’t know you.”
Entrance Requires Preparation
The point is that entrance into the kingdom means preparing
ahead of time. It is crucial that we do
not delay our preparation. When Jesus returns, it will be too late to join
those who have prepared and are ready.
Parable of the Differing Talents
In the next section of the Olivet pericope (Matthew 25:13-30), we have a parable
similar to that found in Luke 19 but with a somewhat different emphasis. Here, there are differing amounts of money
that are entrusted to three servants: five talents (a huge fortune in buying
power), two talents, and one talent.
The lord returns and there is a reckoning of accounts. The first two servants double their
investments and the third has no gain whatsoever because he has buried it in
the ground. The first two servants are
commended for their faithfulness while the third is condemned for his
wickedness.
The Wicked Servant’s Attitude
Notice that this third servant is very different in attitude
toward his lord. He believes his lord
is evil and dishonest. But this
turns out to be a projection of his own nature.
The lord asked why, if he was so afraid to invest the money and lose it,
didn’t he just put it in the bank where he would at least have guaranteed
interest. Why not, indeed? Those who bury or hide large sums of cash,
instead of banking it, are either crazy or dishonest. John Walvoord argues that this man was apparently
hedging his bets. He didn’t really
believe his lord would return, but just in case, he didn’t spend the
money. Yet, if the lord never returned,
he would have no trouble digging up the money later instead of trying to
reclaim the money from the bank where it would have been registered in the
lord’s name and thus pass to the heirs instead.
Yes, his wickedness was in his love of money, his
covetousness, etc. but, most of all, in his unbelief that the lord would ever
return. He did not believe his lord. The
problem wasn’t really just timidity, laziness, or fear, but self-centered wickedness
and unbelief. He didn’t believe or trust
this lord at all. Jesus distinguishes all
of these servants with the key word “faithful” not “how much.”
The Illustration of Separating Sheep and Goats
The final section (Matthew
25:31-46) uses an illustration from shepherding to explain the criteria for
the judgment He will do when He returns at the end of the Telos. In the preceding
parables, we have seen the criteria of judgment involves preparedness and
faithfulness as demonstrations of relationship and trust. The servants and the virgins had not bought or
earned their entrance but they knew and believed Him when He said He was
returning. Here, Jesus explains that there are two radically different outcomes
possible for this judgment.
With this illustration Jesus also completes His answer to
the disciples regarding the timing of future events for their nation (Israel)—especially
judgment—and the arrival of the kingdom. He has not revealed the mystery of the rapture
that Paul unfolded some years later after the establishment of the church (I
Corinthians 15). (So, the tendency of
some Bible teachers to connect this section with the rapture is usually
misplaced although there are a number of important parallel principles that
demand serious thought. More on that in
our application.)
There are also some who strive (in vain) to read into this
the events of 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. But all pretense at literal interpretation
flies out the window since Jesus did NOT return in judgment in 70 AD! (He specifically warns us about those who
claim He has!) What we have is a vivid
description of the fulfillment of Psalm 2.
The Son has returned to rule the world with a rod of iron. David anticipates this day saying of those
world rulers who “rage” and “devise a vain thing,” “Kiss the Son . . . lest you
perish in the way.” Change your tune and
submit to Him now. Don’t wait!
Who is Judged?
So, this judgment in Matthew 24 is in the time frame after
the tribulation when the Son of Man comes in His glory with all of His angels
and Jesus sits on His glorious throne to settle accounts with “all the nations.” All LIVING persons will come before the King
to see who shall enter His kingdom. This
is NOT the same event as the great white throne seen in Revelation 20. There the DEAD are resurrected to face judgment.
Here in Matthew 25, the LIVING are judged to see who will continue living in God’s world.
The blessed ones are compared to sheep and the others as
goats whom in the illustration the shepherd eventually separates for their
different purposes even though they might well pasture together during the
day. Likewise, the King of kings
separates all the LIVING who manage to survive the tribulation period. The “blessed” ones are called sheep and are
told to enter His kingdom. The others
are called goats and are told to depart into “everlasting fire” “prepared for
the devil and his angels.” (The wicked
who die during the tribulation (or before) await the great white throne for
their final judgment. These wicked apparently are executed and will ultimately
depart into the everlasting fire after this same final judgment).
What is the Criteria for Judgment?
Now what is the criteria for being separated out with the
sheep or the goats? There are some who
do their worst to say that although salvation is not by works still we have to
do some good works to be born again. But
John’s gospel (John 3:16; 5:24; etc.) is very clear on this point as is Paul in
Ephesians 2. The only thing we “do” is
believe in Jesus to become a child of God—to be “saved.” The Philippian jailer in Acts 16 asked Paul,
“What must I DO to be saved?” Answer:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” This
belief, is not just an agreement with the fact of Jesus deity. It is belief or trust in His promise to be MY
Savior—not just the Savior of the world.
But as Ephesians 2:10 goes on to say (after telling us that
our works don’t save us), we are His workmanship, created to DO good
works. Jesus works in us after we
are His children to prompt us to do good works. Wild, huh?
And this is how the king proves that His judgment is righteous—by our
works! The works don’t save us but they
identify us. There are different degrees
of works of course. 1 Corinthians 3 even
presents the hypothetical case of someone who only had the foundation of belief
in Christ – all their works burned up.
They suffered “loss” but were saved “so as by fire.” (We might add, good riddance to sinful
self-centered works!)
But here the key question will be how you treated God’s
persecuted children during that dangerous time of tribulation and whether you
will be one of the blessed ones who enter the kingdom age. There is a terrible price to pay if you are
caught helping a child of God during those last 3½ years—only another child of
God would have the courage to help under those circumstances.
What Does This Mean Right Now?
By way of application for us today—in what way do our works
identify US as God’s children? This is
not a discussion of perfection but what identifies you and me as God’s children
today? I know God knows our heart and
some of us haven’t done much and others have done a lot but would Jesus
recognize you as one of His sheep if you were alive standing in line before Him
at the end of the tribulation? And we
haven’t really been persecuted for our faith, either! So, this should be relatively easier to
judge. By the way, when the rapture does come, I believe before the tribulation,
only the followers of Jesus—those who believe in Him—will be rescued.
The next evening in the upper room Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I
have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself,
that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to
where I am going.” Thomas said to him,
“Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John
14:1-6 ESV)
With this final discussion, Jesus has completed His
presentation of Himself to the nation as their Messiah. Now it is almost time to present Himself to
His Father as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
© 2018 Eric Thimell
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