Day 11 - Matthew 25-26

Chapter 25 completes the Olivet Discourse of our Lord. In this section, Jesus gives two parables and one explanation of the final judgment. The first parable tells the story of 5 wise virgins and 5 foolish virgins. The wise have oil, but the foolish do not. The wise are accepted, but the foolish are rejected. What is going on here? It is not immediately clear, but here is what strikes me about this parable. Throughout the Scriptures, oil is consistently a picture of the Holy Spirit. If that imagery is used here, then the wise virgins are those who not only have the Spirit, but are walking in the Spirit. In other words, they are exhibiting readiness because they are bearing fruit of the Spirit's indwelling. The foolish are not just unready, they are fully and finally excluded. This is a serious warning. In effect, Jesus is saying be ready by not only having the Spirit but by living in the Spirit. The second parable is similar in that there are again two groups of people involved - true children of God and mere professors. The first group is faithful with what their master has entrusted to them (side note - a "talent" is not an "ability" as we understand the word, but rather it is a monetary unit of significant value). The second group is not faithful. The result of faithfulness is a welcomed entrance into the "joy" of the master. The result of unfaithfulness is eternal damnation. This is not teaching that we can work our way into favor with God. What it is teaching is that true believers are faithful and mere professor are not! The last paragraph of explanation gives a final characteristic of true believers - they serve others and so prove to be sheep. Goats do not serve others and so prove to be the goats that they are. Once again the true believers are welcomed into the Kingdom, and the mere professors are cast out into eternal damnation. As with the parable of the talents, the serving is not the path to salvation, but is one of the steps along the path that follows salvation. So, a true believer is characterized by walking in the Spirit, faithfulness and serving. If these do not characterize your life, then examine yourself to see if you truly are "in the faith."

Chapter 26 transitions back to the narrative of the final days of our Lord. There is so much in this chapter that is significant, but I will limit myself to a few observations.

The death of Jesus Christ occurred within 24 hours of the feast of the Passover. The Passover feast was a memorial feast to remind the Jews of their deliverance from slavery in the land of Egypt (Ex. 12). The Passover ritual included the slaying of a lamb that was without blemish, applying its blood to the doorposts of the house so that the angel from God would "pass over" that house and not require the blood of the firstborn. So, just hours after Jesus observed that memorial feast, He, the spotless Lamb of God, was slain so that His blood could be applied to my sin so that God would pass over me and not judge me for my sin! What a wonderful Savior!

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (26:41). How vividly this is displayed in the life of Peter! Shortly after declaring his loyalty to Christ to the death (vs35), he cannot even stay awake as Jesus prayed in the garden. Then, shortly after being ready to lop off the head of the servant of the High Priest in defense of Jesus, he will not even stand up to the accusation of servant girl that he even was associated with Jesus at all. How often do we find ourselves on that same roller-coaster! I am so glad that we have a patient, forgiving, gracious God and Savior!

The restraint of Jesus throughout His betrayal and "trial" is amazing. After a life of exhibiting incredible power and control over so many varied circumstances, He lays aside any right to exercise this power and submits to the sovereign plan of the Father and allows Himself to be arrested, illegally tried and unjustly convicted. As I read these verses (vs53, 68), I want Jesus to call down the legions of angels to conquer these weak men. I want Jesus to prophesy the names of the ones who were beating them. He could have! But He didn't. He didn't so that He would be unjustly convicted and subsequently put to death so that I might be able to taste the sweetness of forgiveness; so that I might enjoy the undeserved position of a son of God and joint-heir with Jesus Christ; so that I might revel in the glory of God for all eternity! How thankful I am for His restraint so that I might enjoy all the benefits of His salvation!