Video

Matthew Chapter Twenty-Five

1. Jesus continues His prophetic message on the coming Kingdom Heaven with two parables and a description of Gentile judgment (Matt. 25:1-46).
2. The Parable of the Ten Virgins taught the importance of the fuel needed to produce light (Matt. 25:1-13).  The virgins represent Israel awaiting the arrival of their King with His bride. While the exhortation is to be on the alert (Matt. 24:42; 25:13), and the contrast is prudent versus foolish (25:2), the sole criteria for non-admittance is “I never knew you” (Matt. 25:12; cf. 7:23).
3. The Parable of the Talents taught the importance of the Divine good production that the Lord expects believers to produce through the grace that He provides (Matt. 25:14-30). Significantly different than the Parable of the Minas (Lk. 19:11-27) (TTB Day 305).
4. The Sheep & Goat Judgment taught the standard for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven—His righteousness (Matt. 25:31-46).
   1. Believers will enter into the Kingdom, but unbelievers will be cast into the fire. The standard in judgment divides the blessed (Mt. 25:34) & righteous (Mt. 25:37) from the accursed (Mt. 25:41). Behavior does not merit righteous standing. Behavior reflects righteous standing as an expression of grace (Rom. 4:5; Eph. 2:8-9).
   2. There is a private Jewish corollary for this public Gentile judgment found in Ezek. 20:33-38 (cf. 1st Pet. 4:17).
   3. It is important to note that the Wilderness Judgment of Israel (Ezek. 20) and the Sheep & Goat Judgment (Mt. 25) are not post-mortem lifework evaluations for eternal reward bestowment (e.g. the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne).