Her art to point both pagans and hypocriticals to hypocrites to Christ at the same time.
! She comes with a trigger warning.
! She always comes with shock.
But that's the point.
I think I like her, and I think she's also misunderstood for precisely the same reason.
It's because she was picking up the same thing as the biblical prophets and Jesus.
And I'm going to share a quote from her, the reason I tell you that story.
It's because she was asked one time, why does she write such graphic and absurd stories?
She said, when you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do,
you can relax a little and use a more normal means of talking to it.
You can assume.
When you have to assume that it does not, that they do not share your same beliefs,
then you have to make your vision apparent by shock.
To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind, you draw large and startling figures.
And I think she was a close reader of scripture, because this is exactly what the prophets were doing,
and this is exactly what Jesus is doing in these parables that we will be looking at.
So here's my challenge to you.
Do not let our cultural familiarity with these parables blind us to the shock Jesus originally intended.
We are so familiar with these stories.
Let us not forget that they were shocking then, and they should shock us back into belief today.
Let us not be the hard of hearing.
Let us not be the almost blind, as O'Connor says.
But let us hear these words of Jesus anew, and let these words shock us back into a better understanding of the truth.
So that's my challenge to you in the next four weeks.
Take these parables, read them, let them shape you, let them draw you closer to Christ.
So, to our parable, the parable of the talents.
I will read it, and then we'll do a closer reading, and then we'll sum up.
So, read with me.
Verse 14, chapter 25 of Matthew.
For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.
To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one.
To each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.
So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more.
But he who received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.
Now, after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying,
Master, you delivered to me five talents.
Here, I have made five talents more.
His master said to him,
Well done, good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a little.
I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy of your master.
And he who had the two talents came forward, saying,
Master, you delivered to me two talents.
Here I have made two talents more.
His master said to him,
Well done, good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a little.
I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy of your master.
He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying,
Master, I knew you to be a hard man,
reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.
So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.
Here you have what is yours.
But his master answered him,
You wicked and slothful servant.
You knew that I reap where I have not sown
and gather where I scattered no seed.
Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers.
And at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest.
So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.
For to everyone who has will more be given,
and he will have an abundance.
But from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away
and cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.
In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
So the reason I open up with,
we're going to talk about eschatology,
is because if you want to study eschatology,
the study of last things,
what will be in the future,
the best books to read,
and write this down if you want,
there's three.
It's Revelation, Daniel, and these two chapters, and Matthew.
Good books are good.
But as an aside,
you can read good books.
They're great.
But do not neglect the scripture.
We have the spirit,
and we have his word.
And we should do well
if we have questions about
what is to come,
then we should go to the source.
And so,
obviously,
Revelation and Daniel are good resources.
I can, like,
commend you to read it over and over
with the cross-references.
That's where you should begin.
But in Matthew 24 and 25
is a concentrated
vision of what is to come
when Jesus is asked that same question.
So,
if you look with me
in the beginning of chapter 24,
for context,
we'll start in verse 3.
As he sat on the Mount of Olives,
Jesus,
the disciples came to him privately,
saying,
Tell us when will these things be,
and what will be the sign of your coming
and of the close of the age?
And Jesus answered them,
and he goes on.
And he has several things to say,
a lot, comparatively,
two whole chapters.
And,
and particularly,
he ends it,
at the very end,
with our parable today.
But,
I want to,
I want you to notice that
this is the third
of a series of three
parables
that almost have the same point.
So,
look with me at the very end
of chapter 24.
From 20,
from verse 45
to the end of the chapter,
that's a small parable
that actually is not
titled in your
English Bibles.
But we can count that as one.
It has a lot of similarities
to the one we have
today,
the talents.
And then the second parable
in the series
is the parable
of the ten virgins.
And,
obviously,
ours today,
the parable
of the talents.
Now,
I'm pointing this out
because they have similar points,
and they're all answering
the question,
what does it mean
to be ready
for the Lord?
What does it mean
to be ready for the Lord?
Now,
we could take
three Sundays
and these three parables
and exegete,
and they would be
very profitable.
But I only have
one week with you,
so I'm going to choose
the third one.
So,
why this parable
besides that?
I'm going to say
something personal
and something textual.
So,
personally,
this,
there's some text
in the Bible
that haunts you.
And this one,
particularly,
has haunted me.
And I believe
haunted is the best word,
maybe there's another word,
but the best one
I could think of
because it sticks with me.
As you go through
your Bible reading plan,
there's always some
portion of Scripture
that you can't
just leave
there.
It always follows you.
And I hope that
this parable
also does the same
thing for you today
in a good way.
That it will
go with you
and you dwell on it.
Dwell on these words
that Jesus
has given us.
And it's probably
because
they were in my
marriage vows,
which is kind of
a big deal,
and we'll get to that
later.
But it always
follows me
and always
haunts me.
And I hope it
does the same
for you.
And contextually,
it's interesting
that this is the
last parable
that Matthew
records for Jesus
in the Gospel
of Matthew,
and it's
connected to
the first parable.
So,
turn with me
to chapter 13.
Chapter 13
of Matthew
is the first
parable
that Matthew
records.
And a structure,
the normal structure
of a parable
is that there's
a story,
there's a point,
we could say,
and then
there's a result.
And we'll see
that in ours.
But the point,
the four at the
very end,
is repeated
word for word
in ours,
but it was first
recorded in
chapter 13
in the first
parable.
The parable
of the sower,
we won't read
that,
but someone
asks him,
his disciples,
ask him,
why do you
speak to them
in parables?
In verse 11,
chapter 13,
and Jesus
answered them,
to you it has
been given
to know the
secrets of the
kingdom of heaven,
but to them
it has not
been given.
For,
here it is,
for to the
one who has,
more will be
given,
and he will
have an abundance,
but from the
one who has
not,
even what he
has will be
taken away.
Sounds familiar.
Now,
I would love
to dive deep
in how Jesus
is using that
there,
but I just
want to point
that out.
There are
bookends,
and I just
want you to
see,
one,
it's beautiful,
but there's
also something
pointed by
he begins
his parables
with this,
and he ends
with this.
And we'll get
there at the
end,
in verse 29.
So,
there are two
different readings
we can have
this.
A quick reading
of this parable,
and you can be
forgiven if you
have only read
it this way,
because I have
for a long
time.
Maybe that's
why it bothered
me so much,
is that I
think it's
more than
punishment and
reward.
A flat or a
quick reading of
this parable would
be, it'd be
punishment,
reward,
and God
rewards the
faithful and
punishes the
wicked, which is
definitely there.
But I think I'm
going to challenge
us to have
maybe a closer
reading of this
parable.
And I submit
to you that
maybe a closer
reading would
reveal that the
point of this is
more on how to
answer the question
how to be ready
for the day of
the Lord.
It is by daily
faithfulness.
Daily faithfulness.
Faithfulness is
the key difference
between the
differences between
the faithful servant
and the wicked
servant.
And so I submit
to you that the
point that he
is driving at
through this
parable is daily
faithfulness in
the light of
being ready for
the day of the
Lord.
So some details
before we deeply
dive into reading
it together is
that just to keep
you on track
in the characters,
it's always good to
write down the
characters of a
parable if you're
confused.
There is one
master and there
are three servants.
One master,
three servants.
And the servants
are divided into a
five-talent servant
who makes five,
he doubles,
five talents more.
So there's a five-talent
servant.
There's a two-talent
servant who doubles
two talents more.
And then there's a one-talent
servant who hid his
talent.
So he just has one.
So five, two, and one.
It's always good to write
down the details of the
parable to help you read
it.
So let's read.
So I actually want to
begin us a verse above.
So if you look at
chapter 25, verse 13,
the very end of the
parable of the ten
virgins, he says,
Watch therefore, for
you know neither the
day nor the hour.
I think this explains the
for and the it in verse
14.
So if we read verse 14,
For it will be like a
man going on a journey
who called his servants
and entrusted to them his
property or possessions.
What is the for?
The for links it to the
previous parable in the
ten virgins, like we just
read, Watch therefore,
for you know neither the
day nor the hour.
But what is the it?
The it is the kingdom of
God or the kingdom of
heaven, used
interchangeably in Matthew.
The for and the it is
linked to the kingdom of
God.
Verse 15, read with me.
To the one he gave five
talents, to another two,
to another, to another two,
to another one, to each
according to his ability or
capacity.
Then he went away.
So what is a talent?
Talent comes up here for the
first time.
It's a very large sum of
money, which is interesting.
It's almost inconceivable.
One talent equal to roughly
what a laborer might hope in
to earn in half a lifetime.
One talent.
Think about how much you make.
Think about when you're
middle age, what you think you
make, and that's one talent.
That's a lot of time.
That's a lot of wealth.
But think about five
talents.
This is an enormous,
almost inconceivable
amount.
So that helps.
This points to something
greater than what he's
actually.
It's not about the
talents.
It's about something else.
So verse 16, he who had
received the five talents, went
at once, and traded or
conducted business with them,
and he made or they gained
five talents more.
Went at once highlights his
eagerness for the work.
Notice the five-talent servant
went at once his eagerness to
do the work of his master.
And traded is to engage in
activity that involves effort,
and it involves work, obviously,
but if we stop and meditate on
this, it involves risk.
Trading involves risk.
And this servant was eager to do
the master's work, and he was
eager to jump in the work,
knowing the risk.
Now this is contra to the third
servant, and we'll get to him.
Verse 17, so similarly,
the one who received or had the
two talents gained two others,
but he who had received the one
talent went, going away, and dug
up the ground and hid his
master's money.
Now after a long time, the master
of those servants came, or comes,
and settled, or settles, accounts
with them.
I highlight the long time is a
reference to 24, 48, when
Pastor, in the previous chapter,
verse 48 says, but if that wicked
servant, this is the first parable in
the three series of parables, but if
that wicked servant says to himself,
my master is delayed, and that was
the wicked servant.
That was his first question, if you
go back and read.
The delay is a long time, so even
after a long time, these servants
worked.
So I highlight also those servants
came.
When you see came, it can actually
be rendered comes, because it's in
the present tense.
I only highlight that because in
English, it makes more sense to say
it came, past tense.
But I think Jesus is making this
intentional.
This is present because this
anticipates the master's return.
This shows that not only the third
servant, but all the servants, all
three servants, anticipated their
master's return, even after a long
time.
This is a key moment of the parable,
gospel.
And this is where the theme of daily
faithfulness comes in.
Because they were anticipating the
master's return, they knew he would
come back, even if it was a long time.
They still did the work.
Some.
The two first servants, they did the
work and with risk.
How much more should we reflect on
that today?
Verse 20.
And he who had received the five
talents came forward, bringing five
talents more, saying, Master, you
delivered or handed over to me five
talents.
Here, I have made five talents more.
His master said to him, Well done,
good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a little.
I will set you over much.
over a few things you are faithful.
Over many things I will set you.
There's another way you can render
it.
Enter into the joy of your master.
And he also who had the two talents
came forward, saying, Master, you
delivered or handed over to me two
talents.
Here, I have made you two talents more.
His master said to him, Well done,
good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a little.
I will set you over much.
Or it can be rendered over a few
things you are faithful.
Over many things I will set you.
Enter into the joy of your master.
There's a couple of things I want you
to notice here.
We'll camp out here for a little bit.
Notice that the master's response to
the five talents servant is the same
as to the ten talent servant.
The one who ended up having, or the
five talent servant, sorry, originally,
is the same response as the two talent
servant.
That was a mistype.
And over a little or over a few
things is
is
is at the front of this
because it is there by emphasis.
So over a few things,
over a little,
you have,
they have set you over much.
See, it's contrast.
Jesus loves contrast.
And what's repeated twice,
I want you to
see is that
enter into
the joy of your master.
Enter into the joy of your master.
Here,
faithfulness,
daily faithfulness,
leads to joy
in the Lord.
You see
the work,
you see the risk,
you see
yes reward,
but
it is
joy
in the master.
So,
let's ask.
Faithfulness,
faith.
It's a really big,
it's actually a small word,
but it's a really big
Bible word.
It is everywhere.
It is everywhere in Paul,
and
sometimes
it's,
we would do well
to stop,
to think,
what is
this faith?
I think we
use it so much.
Let's stop and
think about what faith is.
So if you were asked,
what is faith?
By your child,
or even an unbeliever,
what would you say?
It would be a hard
question to answer.
But,
I want to
share with you
something that
has helped me
in this,
is that
the Heidelberg Catechism
is something that
I read in college,
and
actually,
very college of me,
printed it out
and put it on my
dorm room door,
like on the outside.
I guess I thought
it was Martin Luther
or something,
but
I don't remember
which
question or answer
I put on there.
I wish I did,
but this one
has always stuck with me.
There's a few questions
and answers that have
really stuck with me
with the Heidelberg Catechism,
and I
encourage you to read it.
But in question 21,
Catechism is a question
and there's a prescribed answer.
And the question 21 comes,
what is true faith?
So what is true faith?
And I guess
when I first read this,
I didn't expect this answer.
True faith
is not only
a sure knowledge
by which I hold as true
all that God
has revealed
to us in Scripture.
It is also
a wholehearted
trust.
And I'll read the whole thing.
With which the Holy Spirit
creates in me
by the gospel
that God
has freely granted
not only to others,
but to me also.
Forgiveness of sins,
eternal righteousness,
and salvation.
These are gifts
of sheer grace
granted
solely
by Christ's
merit.
So,
I'll point you to
the first two lines.
True faith
is like a two-sided coin.
One side.
You have to have both.
One side
is a sure knowledge
by which I hold as true
all that God
has revealed to us
in Scripture.
Sure knowledge
through Scripture.
But it is also
a wholehearted
trust.
A wholehearted
trust.
True faith
is one coin,
two sides.
You have to have both.
Sure knowledge
and wholehearted
trust.
I hope that helps you
understand
what faith is.
And faith
is everywhere
in the New Testament.
And I encourage you
to hang on to that
when you see that
and think about that.
the one coin,
the two-sided coin
of sure knowledge
and wholehearted
trust.
So,
I'm going to stop
here,
pause here,
and
because of
the line,
well done,
good and faithful
servant.
this came up
in my marriage
vows.
And I just want to
share this with you
because
maybe many of you
actually have been
married by
Nathan,
our pastor,
and he,
if I understand it
right,
he wrote these
vows.
And they're very good.
And I will not read
the whole thing to you.
But I will read you
the first four
of what he gets
the man
to affirm.
There are four
questions.
And so,
for Father's Day,
I know fathers,
but if you're a father,
you're probably
married.
So,
as an aside,
I want to speak to
specifically husbands
because this is
something that we
should dwell on
and be reminded of.
So,
Nathan's
marriage vows
that he has
required
most of us
to
take
is
very good.
But the fourth
question is
specifically the one
we want to
keep up with.
I'm going to read
the first four
to keep context.
So,
the first question,
husband,
do you affirm
before God
that your marriage
is appointed by God
and is ultimately
for God
by serving
as a representation
of Christ's love
for his bride,
the church?
Ask yourselves
this side of marriage,
these questions.
do you promise
to love Christ
above your wife
and your wife
above all others?
Third,
do you,
husband,
recognize that
you have been
given a divine
call to unconditionally
love your wife
by pastoring her,
providing for her,
and protecting her,
and that you are
to lay down
your life for her
just as Jesus Christ
died for the church?
The fourth question,
do you commit
to love your wife
by seeking
her spiritual growth
in Christ
that she may
one day appear
before God
clothed in Christ
and have it said
of her,
well done,
my good
and faithful
servant.
That fourth question
always gets me.
I think about that
every time I read
this parable.
I think it's a good
question for us husbands
to ask ourselves
regularly.
I'll read it one more time.
Do you commit
to love your wife?
Are you committing
to love your wife
by seeking
her spiritual growth
in Christ
that she may
one day appear
before God
clothed in Christ
and have it said
of her,
well done,
my good
and faithful
servant.
what can you
change
in your daily
life
to seek
her spiritual
growth?
Husband,
maybe making
time each day
for her to read
or meditate
on scripture,
forcing that time,
making that space
for her,
maybe making
the effort
to ask her
intentional questions
about what
she is thinking,
not what you're
thinking,
but what is
she thinking,
which is
extremely difficult.
I understand
that.
And not
immediately
attempting
to problem
solve.
Are you
laying your
life down
in that way?
Let's,
let's,
husbands,
let's,
let's think
about how
one day
we will present
our wives
and we
hope
that we can
present her
in a way
that is said
of her,
well done,
my good
and faithful
servant.
that haunts
me,
I hope
it haunts
you,
husband.
So happy
Father's Day.
Verse 24.
He also,
who had,
he who,
he also,
who had
received the
one talent
came forward
saying,
Master,
I knew you
to be a hard
or harsh
man,
reaping where
you did not
sow and
gathering where
you scattered
no seed.
so I
was afraid
and I
went and
hid your
talent in
the ground.
Here you
have what
is yours.
Verse 26.
But he,
but his
master
answered him.
Notice
that he
repeats his
own,
the servant's
own,
own words.
You wicked,
evil,
and slothful,
or lazy
servant,
condemning
words.
You knew,
or you did
not know,
did you know
that I reap
where I have
not sown
and gathered
where I
scattered
no seed?
That's slothful
or lazy,
shrinking from
something,
holding back,
lazy,
idle,
passive.
These are
condemning
descriptions.
You wicked
and you
slothful
servant.
He goes
on.
The master
in verse 27.
Then you
ought to
have invested
my money
with the
bankers,
and at
my coming
I should
have received
or recovered
what was
my own
with interest.
So take
the talent
from him
and give
it to him
who has
the ten
talents.
Notice
the master
points to
the servant's
foolishness
in his
logic
of the
master's
character.
master's
character.
The master
is just
repeating
his own
words
to point
out his
foolishness.
God
makes
demands
on his
people
and this
involves
risk.
Notice
banking
back then
and today
we kind of
forget about
banking being
risky
today in
our context,
banking
would have
also been
a risk
then.
This
servant
tried to
play it
safe
for his
own benefit
because he
did not
want to
feel
uncomfortable.
He wanted
to play it
safe.
Now let's
stop and
think about
what that
mean,
what that
might mean
in the
larger context.
What's
Jesus
trying to
say by
pointing
this out?
Risk,
as one
commentator I
read
recently
said,
risk is
at the
heart of
discipleship.
Risk is
at the
heart of
discipleship.
And we
think of
discipleship,
let's just
think.
That may
mean sitting
down one-on-one
with another
guy.
But
really,
when we're
thinking about
daily
faithfulness,
your daily
life,
what risks
are you
taking for
the Lord
in the
areas that
the Lord
has given
you?
Think about
your circles
that the
Lord has
placed you
in.
Not what
you want
to be
in,
but where
are you
right now?
Are you
in a
marriage
that you're
playing it
safe in?
Or are
you taking
risks for
the Lord
of calling
out sin,
sin,
and
sacrificially
loving your
wife as
Christ loved
the church?
And that's
risky.
But think
about parenting,
maybe.
Many of us
are in
parenting
area of
our life,
deep in
it.
Are you
playing it
safe with
your kids?
things for
the Lord
in the
way you
discipline
them,
raise them
up in
the Lord?
Are you
opening up
scripture,
which is
risky because
it takes
effort and
it takes
sacrificial
love for
that?
That's
risk.
Think about
the church
body,
another
that we're
all in.
are you
playing it
safe here
amongst
each other,
sliding in
and out,
or are you
one another?
It is a
risky
thing to
do.
Risk is
at the
heart of
discipleship.
I challenge
you to
think about
all the
other areas
of your
life and
ask that
question.
Are you
playing it
safe?
Are you
the third
servant
with a
shovel in
hand,
burying
and keeping
it safe?
Or are
you the
one of
the first
servants
where you're
taking risks
and working
for the
Lord?
Ask
yourself
that.
So,
we get
to the
point,
in the
center of
this
parable,
in verse
29.
For,
we know
that because
the for.
For,
and this
can be a
little confusing,
this is not
expected,
this is part
of the shock
value,
you don't
expect him
to say
this.
For,
to everyone
who has
will more
be given,
and he
will have
an abundance.
but,
from the
one who
has not,
even what
he has
will be
taken away.
Now,
this is a
bit hard
to understand,
but I
will give
you a
trick.
There,
this whole
thing is,
this whole
verse,
is,
there are
three verbs
here.
They're all
passive verbs,
meaning,
and they're like
passive,
and then future,
meaning,
all that
to say,
will be,
verb,
will be,
verb,
will be,
verb.
So,
will be
given.
The one
who has
will be
given,
the first,
will have
an abundance,
that's the
second,
and then
there's only
one,
with the one
who has
not.
The one
who has
not,
will be
taken away.
and the
four is
possibly
explanationary
aside by
Jesus,
so taking
us out
of the
parable,
taking us
out of
the story,
and
explaining.
God
gives,
through these
three verbs,
God gives
an abundance
to those
who serve
faithfully,
and God
takes away
from those
who serve
wickedly.
Now,
this reminds
me of two
things.
One,
you might have
seen that
evangelistic
track,
two ways
to live.
It's a
great
explainer
of the
gospel,
and we
see the
two ways
to live
in this
parable,
the wicked
and the
faithful.
But it
also reminds
me of
an early
document
that is
very
interesting.
It's called
the Didache.
You may
have heard
of it,
but it's
basically a
very early
church
manual,
church of
book order
for the
early church.
And it
has things
about,
like,
Lord's
Supper,
baptism,
all the
things.
But it
begins in
a very
interesting
way.
And it's
always stuck
out to me
too.
It begins,
early church
document,
early Christians,
think of this,
says,
there are
two ways,
one of life
and one of
death.
And there
is a great
difference between
these two ways.
Notice what
is not
there.
There is
no middle
way.
There is
wicked and
there is
faithful.
Even the
early Christians
saw this,
and I think
maybe they
were reading
this and
seeing that.
So think
about that
there are
maybe the
third way
could be
the third
servant.
So,
last verse.
Verse 30.
And here's
another shock.
You don't
see this
coming,
although it's
repeated.
And cast
the worthless
servant into
the outer
darkness.
In that
place,
they will be
weeping and
gnashing of
teeth.
Notice the
change of
description of
the wicked
servant.
A further
condemnation by
adding worthless
and useless.
He adds
condemnation by
adding a
description to
that third
servant.
The one
talent servant
was unready
to meet
his Lord.
At the end
of the day,
it ends
with the
one talent
servant,
the one
that refused
to take a
risk.
He was
unready
to meet
his Lord.
The one
talent servant
knew the
master would
return,
but chose
not to
make himself
ready.
It was a
choice.
He did
not choose
to live
by faith
in his
daily
life,
anticipating
the
master's
return.
Don't
forget that.
It's
connected to
the previous
two parables
and the
theme,
the second
coming,
the Lord.
It goes
back.
These
three
parables
have the
same
similar
conclusions.
What does
it mean to
be ready
for the
Lord?
Which is
really a
better question
when we
think about
eschatology.
not what
might
happen,
but what
does it
mean to
be ready
today?
I think
actually
concludes
in the
next verse
that's not
in our
parable,
which is
classic me,
right?
So,
ignore the
title between
verse 30 and
31.
We'll end
with 31,
because I think
this is a
better end.
I think it's
connected.
it says,
when the
Son of
Man comes
in His
glory,
and all
the angels
with Him,
then He
will sit
on the
glorious,
His glorious
throne.
This is
our hope,
this is our
encouragement,
that is the
foundation for
daily faithfulness
through the
work of
the Son,
past,
we can look
in the
future to
this,
when the
Son of
Man comes
in His
glory,
and all
the nations
with Him,
then He
will,
and that's a
promise,
He will
sit on His
glorious
throne.
And how
precious is
that truth.
Pray with
me.