Category: The Parables

The Sheep and the Goats

Understanding the Red Letters   Part 17

Continuing on in Matthew chapter 25, we come to a picture of the final judgment.  First, Jesus speaks to the sheep on His right.  “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me’ “ (Mathew 25:34-36).

The righteous will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick or in prison?”  “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ “ (Matthew 25:40).

To those on His left, the goats, the King will say, “You didn’t do any of these things for Me.”  The goats protest, “When did we see you that way?”  “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’  These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life“ (Matthew 25:45-46).

If we did not have the rest of the gospel, it would be easy to conclude from this one story that our entrance into heaven, our entrance into “the kingdom” is totally based on our good works toward our fellow man.  But as we have been showing throughout this series, our welcome into heaven is completely based on our faith in Christ.  So how does this parable fit in to our salvation understanding?

The key to the story, in my opinion, is the question that the righteous ask, “Lord, when did we see you this way?”  The righteous were doing righteous acts toward Jesus without even knowing it.  They obviously did not have this checklist on what was required to get into heaven since they didn’t even know they were doing it.  Or said another way, I don’t think this can be a checklist for getting into heaven, because the righteous did not even know they were achieving it.

Why didn’t the righteous know how serving their fellow man related to serving Jesus?  Because serving others is what the righteous do.  It is what they do because it is who they are.  Do we serve our fellow man perfectly?  No, living into our new identity and serving by Christ living His life through us is a maturing process that we learn how to do.  But serving others is not an entrance requirement to get into heaven.  It is what we do as we live into our new identity in Christ.

Never forget the one requirement to enter heaven; believe the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  When you believe this message, you receive the Son.  “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:11-13).

Serving others is part of our new identity DNA.  But as a requirement to enter the kingdom?  That just doesn’t fit the rest of the gospel.

The Parable of the Talents

Understanding the Red Letters   Part 16

The next parable in Matthew chapter 25 (vs 14-30) is often called the parable of the talents.  And the use of the word “talent” in most Bible translations is a bit unfortunate.  The “talent” referred to in the story is simply an amount of money.  But it is nearly impossible to read the passage and not see it as God giving us various talents, giftedness, and abilities.  And it becomes a parable about how we use those abilities to serve Him.  It has nothing to do with that.  So let’s set that aside, and stick with amounts of money.  In the interest of space, here is a quick summary of the story.

A man is about to go on a journey.  He calls his servant and gives him $5000 to invest.  To another servant, he gives $2000.  And to his third servant, he gives $1000.  Upon the master’s return, servants one and two have doubled the master’s money and are rewarded.  Servant three hid the money and returns the original $1000 to his master.

The gist of the last servant’s excuse for not investing the money was, “I know you are hard to please so I didn’t want to take any chances with the money.  So I hid it away and here it is safe and sound.”  The master is furious with the last servant.  The parable ends with this punishment doled out to servant number three, “And cast out this worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).

This sounds terrifyingly bad for the $1000 servant.  What are we to make of his punishment?  And what about the symbolism of who these servants represent?  Is this a picture of three Jesus followers given different amounts to manage?  Is a big punishment waiting for you if you do not make enough use of what God has given you?  And how do you know if you have done enough?

Like the story of the ten virgins, I believe this parable is talking about our salvation.  And the key to this understanding is to start at the end of the parable, verse 30, and work backward.  Similar to the “I never knew you” of the ten virgin story, what appears to be the punishment of hell in this story signifies that servant three is not a believer.  We have it clearly throughout the rest of the gospels that no believer can somehow land in hell because they didn’t live up to a standard.

The iron clad promise from Jesus of heaven and eternal life is based on one thing as far as our part goes; did we believe His gospel message?  If we did, then eternal life in heaven is ours.  Going to hell is never based on our works.  It is the destination for those who refuse to believe the gospel.  So, if we start with that knowledge and see servant three as an unbeliever since his destiny is hell, what are we to make of this parable and the other servants?

The other servants are the saved.  The gospel message has been offered to us in various ways.  Some have more opportunities to hear and receive the gospel.  In this fallen world, some have more barriers to hearing and believing the gospel message.  I think that is what is meant by the various amounts of money given.

The first two servants took what they received – the opportunity to hear and receive the gospel – and did exactly that; they believed.  “Investing” was receiving and believing the gospel.  Servant three “buried” the message.  Servant three rejected the gospel.  Servant three represents the lost who never believe.

I don’t believe that this is a story from Jesus to scare us into working harder.  These parables in Matthew chapter 25 are in the context of being ready for His return.  If you have believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ, you are ready for His return.  Your lamp is full of oil and your investment has produced the desired result – you believe the gospel.  You are ready for the master to come for us.

The Ten Virgins and the Bridegroom

Understanding the Red Letters   Part 15

There are three parables in Matthew chapter 25 that have been used in varying degrees to bring guilt and fear to believers.  What is Jesus talking about in these “warning” parables?  Let’s begin with the ten virgins.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps” (Matthew 25:1-4).

When Jesus starts a parable with “The kingdom of heaven is like”, He is speaking new covenant.  Jesus is preparing us for a story of what is coming in the new covenant.  In this story, we the human race are the virgins and Jesus is the bridegroom.  Five of the virgins will be ready for His appearing and five will not.

“As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.  But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’  Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’  But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’  And while they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:5-10).

Because we know the rest of the gospel, we know that being ready for the bridegroom depends on one thing; believing the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  If you have believed the gospel, you are the wise virgin.  Your lamp is full of oil.

In the sense of this parable, there are not wise and foolish virgins in the family of God.  There are not some believers who have oil and some who are out of oil.  We do not move between the wise and foolish group based on how hard we are working in our Christian walk, or what spiritual disciplines we are following, or keeping a certain standard of behavior.

I believe the message is simply this:  The wise virgins are the saved.  The foolish virgins represent the lost.  The virgins with oil are believers.  The virgins without oil are the lost.  How do we know that the foolish virgins are a picture of the lost?

“Afterward the other virgins (the foolish five who had to purchase more oil) came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’  But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you’ “ (Matthew 25:11-12).

Remember our discussion from Matthew 7 and the phrase from Jesus, “I never knew you”?  Because of Jesus’ promise of eternal life based on your belief in His gospel, it is an automatic of that belief that Jesus knows you and you know Him.  As a beloved child of God, it is impossible for Jesus to not know you!

The last line in the passage is the key to the parable.  The bridegroom did not “know” the foolish virgins.  The foolish virgins are the lost.  If you have believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ, you never have to worry about not being ready for the bridegroom.  You never have to worry about running out of oil.  You are safe in your unbreakable union with Jesus.

One last thought that may or may not be an application from this parable.  We cannot give our oil to another.  We can’t give our salvation to another.  We can share, spread, and preach the gospel message, but everyone must choose for themselves.

Parenting with the Parables – The Lost Son

Remember the context of Jesus’ first coming?  His contemporaries viewed the coming kingdom as a national deliverance from foreign oppression and personal deliverance for the righteous.  Jesus turned that idea on its head and proclaimed deliverance for the needy; the sick, the oppressed, the sinner.  The Jewish leaders expected judgment for the sinners, not redemption.  When Jesus ate with those considered “sinners,” it meant acceptance and recognition in their culture.  This coupled with His announcement that the kingdom had come to sinners led to many a protest from the religious leaders.

One of these protests is found in Luke chapter 15, “Now all the tax-gatherers and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him.  And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’  And He told them this parable, saying,…” (Lk 15:1-3).  Jesus then goes on to tell three parables to illustrate that the very thing He was being accused of is exactly why Jesus came; to rescue the lost.

The last in this series of parables is the story of the lost son, sometimes referred to as the parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15:11-32).  To summarize the story, a wealthy landowner had two sons.  The younger son requested his share of the inheritance from his father so he could set out on his own.  The father agreed and the younger son took the money and headed off to a far away country.  After squandering his inheritance on loose living, the son ended up working on a hog farm in a time of famine and was in the process of starving to death.  When the son came to his senses, he said, “My father’s servants are treated so much better than this.  I will go to my father.  I will throw myself on his mercy.  I will offer to become a servant and work off the money I wasted.”  So the son returned home.

Meanwhile back at the family farm, Jesus paints a picture of a lovesick father waiting and yearning for his lost son.  When the son returns, the father sees him from afar, is overwhelmed with compassion, runs to embrace him, kisses him, and announces a feast in his honor.  He will have nothing to do with his son’s plan to pay off the debt, but instead proclaims to all who will hear, “Rejoice with me.  My son who was as good as dead has come back to life.  My son who was lost has been found.” (Lk 15:23-24).

Let’s stop the narrative right here and say, “Wait just a minute.”  Are we to believe that after squandering his father’s money and inflicting the emotional pain of leaving without a trace, that all is forgiven?  What about working off the debt?  What about some probationary period to make sure the son’s change of heart is genuine?  And is Jesus’ parable really suggesting that the attitude of this father – celebrating his son’s return with forgiveness and no thought of repayment – is a picture of how God, the Father, accepts us?

That, my friends, is the absolute unadulterated beauty of the Christian message!  When we change our minds about Jesus Christ and embrace His message, all is forgiven.  There is no probationary period.  There is no “good works” requirement of being better than my neighbor, giving to charity, or performing any acts of penance.  To our calculating and cynical minds this is too good to be true.  That is the uniqueness of the Christian message.  And this free gift is being offered to you right now.

When you strip away the media caricature of Christianity, when you strip away the uninformed biases we have heard all of our lives about Christianity, at the heart of the Christian message is the story of a lovesick Father rejoicing in and accepting without reservation the person who embraces His message of good news.  And the good news is this:  Jesus Christ died for your sin problem and offers to set you free from its penalty and its power.

Yes, it is almost too good to be true, but we believe by faith that this “beautiful unfairness of grace” is indeed completely true.  And the lesson for our children is two-fold.  It is to rejoice and be grateful in the grace that was given to them free of charge.  It is to approach God as their Abba Father without fear; completely loved, forgiven, and accepted.  And it is a call to extend that grace to others.  When our families are saturated with this grace; fear, worry, and disharmony will diminish, and joy, cooperation, and love will increase.

Parenting with the Parables – The Unmerciful Servant

In the gospels, Jesus referred to His ministry as “new wine” (Mk 2:22); not just an add-on to the old covenant, but something totally brand new.  In fact, I would say it is beyond brand new to the point of being completely revolutionary.  And one of its revolutions was the overturning of the Old Testament consequence model in favor of God’s new covenant model of love, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Remember, the disciples would have been steeped in the Old Testament eye-for-an-eye model prior to meeting Jesus.  So Peter was actually being quite generous in Matthew 18:21 when he asked Jesus if he should forgive his brother up to seven times.  But Jesus trumped Peter’s attempt at generosity by teaching that our forgiveness should be unlimited and illustrates this point with a story.

As with most parables, the story begins with “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a …” (Mt 18:23).  Jesus then tells the story of the unmerciful servant who after being forgiven an insurmountable debt by the king, goes out and demands payment of a tiny debt by a fellow servant to the point of putting the second fellow into debtor’s prison.  Of course, when the king hears of this he is incensed and the first servant is rightly punished.

Jesus’ point?  We should always forgive our brother just like the king – our heavenly Father – has forgiven us.  We can also learn from the parable that the offense against us is small potatoes compared to the great moral trespass we have committed toward God and of which we have been completely forgiven.

In parenting with the parables, we used this story to demonstrate to our children the value of forgiveness.  We taught our kids how to ask, extend, and receive forgiveness.  We taught them how forgiveness is a key part of love and acceptance and how these qualities all flow together.  Forgiveness is a healing antidote to sibling rivalry.  Like the attitude of generosity that we have previously written about here, it moves us away from being prisoners of a fairness and consequence model and opens our family up to the new world of love, acceptance, and forgiveness brought to us by Jesus.

It also prepares our children for the adult world.  We live in such a victim mentality culture these days.  Someone else is at fault for my dysfunction, my situation, my circumstances, my loss; and they must somehow be made to pay for my distress.  Forgiveness, on the other hand, not only flies in the face of this mentality, but models the attributes of Christ who not only forgave his literal killers, but us His spiritual killers as well.  Our sins sent Christ to the cross and in the most generous forgiveness possible, He has pronounced us “not guilty” when we accept His sacrifice in our place.

Love, acceptance, and forgiveness brings a generosity of life to our families that is a wonderful thing.  And it is a joy-filled experience to be part of.  May it be the experience in your family today.