Matthew 26:31-35

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31 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' 32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." 33 Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble." 34 Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." 35 Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples. ~ Matthew 26:31-35

Today, we return to our study of the gospel according to Matthew where the Lord Jesus has just celebrated His last Passover meal with His disciples in the Upper Room. It was Thursday evening and Judas had departed from the Lord Jesus and the others just after the Lord Jesus had washed their feet. At this point in the narrative, the Lord Jesus and His disciples  are now in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Human history began in the Garden of Eden where human sin and failure began. In the garden of Eden, Adam was overcome by sin while in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus overcame sin. In the Garden of Eden, Adam ran from God while in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus embraced the Father's will to be the Savior of sinful man. In an amazing twist, human history will culminate in the garden of the New Jerusalem where righteousness will reign.

In v.31-32 of today's passage we read, "31 Then Jesus said to them, 'All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: "I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered." 32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.'"

During the Passover meal, the Lord Jesus announced one of the disciples would betray Him. Then, after the meal while on the Mount of Olives, He told the remaining eleven that all of them would fail to remain with Him. The disciples did not understand it at that time, but, they were being introduced to the only success that endures, the success of the Lord Jesus on their behalf.

In Zechariah 13:7 is found a prophecy of these events. The Lord Jesus knew the disciples had not grasped what was about to transpire. But, their failure was central to the formation of their walk with Him. We should never be surprised that God strategically uses our weaknesses in the formation of our spiritual development. God does not cause or delight in our sufferings or our weaknesses. He delights in using our weaknesses to bring us to the place that we fully trust Him. And, that is a lifetime process.

In v.33 of today's passage we read, "Peter answered and said to Him, 'Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.'"

Peter, the spokesperson for all of the disciples, is always listed first in the list of the apostles. And now, for the second time Peter has resisted the plan of God. I am sure he thought he was being spiritual, but he knew nothing of the strength of his flesh. Only hours after being told that he would be a ruler in Christ's kingdom, Peter is told that he would go from the heights of confidence to the pits of failure. He didn't anticipate the fact that he would weep bitterly after locking his eyesight with the Lord Jesus. Peter had no idea that his leadership skills were about to be increased through the intensity of his acute pain. 

Peter, like you and me, falsely thought spiritual maturity was something he produced. Previous to hearing the Lord's prediction of His death and resurrection, Peter rebuked Him. Confident Peter was convinced that he could do anything for the Lord. In fact, this is what led him to grab his sword and proceed to cut off the ear of Malchus in the garden. When the Lord Jesus predicted the failure of all the disciples, Peter declared that he was different than the rest. But, as we know, Peter not only abandoned the Lord Jesus, he blatantly disowned Him three times.

In v.34 of today's passage we read, "Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.'"

Like you and me, Peter believed in the Lord Jesus as His Savior, but his theology was under construction. We also, like Peter, fail. Sometimes miserably. We do well to recognize that the Lord Jesus is always at work in our lives using all things together to bring about His design in and through our lives. God looks at failure differently than we look at it. Like Peter, we’ve all professed dogged allegiance to the Lord in moments of confidence in ourselves. We forget that self is our biggest enemy. Sometimes God must allow us to fail in order to remind us that we are most spiritual when we are convinced that we desperately need Him. I find much comfort in the fact that God expects more failure from us than we expect from ourselves.

Through it all, the Lord Jesus refines us and teaches us that our failure isn’t final. He is the Master at taking our failure and improving our perspective of Him. This is how God hones our theology which is the most important thing about us. In the Garden of Eden our view of God was severely damaged but God takes our failure and makes it a part of our healing. The healing comes on the heels of being forced to run to Him. The intensity of our journey to Him is fueled by our exhaustion from trying to succeed on our own resources. Following the Lord through our failures is an art that teaches us to listen to Him and to trust and to depend upon Him more fully.

God is not the God of second chances, He is the God who is greater than all of our attempts to accomplish anything on our own. My long-time friend, Jason Britton always reminds me of the words of John MacArthur who said, "The road to spiritual maturity is paved with an ever increasing understanding of our own wickedness." God broke Peter's pride and self-reliance that night through the agony of his failure. Even though Peter failed, his failure was used of the Lord to make him the leader he became. It was Napolean who once said, "Leaders are dealers of hope." We do not have hope unless we have tested the faithfulness of God. And, it is through our most intense trials that we gain this kind of confidence in Him.

Matthew 26:26-30

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26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." 27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom." 30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ~ Matthew 26:26-30

Today, we return to our verse by verse study of the gospel according to Matthew. In today's passage we find the Lord Jesus with His disciples in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. It was Thursday evening and they were enjoying their final Passover meal with the Lord before He would be crucified. With the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, He fulfilled the Passover, and now, believers in the Lord Jesus celebrate God's provision of forgiveness by celebrating the Lord's Supper where we gather around two symbols both pointing us to the Lord Jesus, the bread and the wine.

In v.26 of today's passage we read, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.'"

At the Passover meal, the head of the family would typically explain the meal as it related to the Exodus story. On this occasion, the Lord Jesus explained the Exodus story in light of His death on the cross and how all sacrifices point us to the day when He took sin and death and defeated them. The Lord Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and broke it. He did this in order to commemorate the sacrifice He made of Himself on the cross at Calvary.

Many wonder why the Lord had to die. Sin can only be forgiven when a just payment is made, and the payment is death. The only acceptable death could only be made by a sinless and blameless substitute since all of mankind has been corrupted by sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is that substitute and the Lord's Supper is simply a reminder of what He accomplished for us on His cross. The bread and the wine are object lessons of His body and His blood which were given for us. The two elements are meant to enable us to understand what He did for us on His cross. Only when justice has been satisfied can we be delivered from the judgment of our sin. When the Lord Jesus died the debt that we could not pay, He paid by satisfying the righteous requirements of the God of the Bible. God made Him sin who never committed one sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

In v.27-28 of today's passage we read, "27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

The cup throughout the Scriptures, is representative of the wrath of God. And, now, it is the reminder of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus on the behalf of each believer. On the night before the Lord Jesus would be crucified, He pulled back the curtain revealing the point and the culmination of all of those Passover lambs down through the centuries. All of those sacrifices pointed to Him and the work that He was about to accomplish on His cross. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 the Apostle Paul tells us when we eat the bread and drink the wine, we remember the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross to pay the penalty created by our sin. The Apostle Paul also said that when we do this, we proclaim the death of the Lord Jesus until He returns to take us home to be with Him forever.

The Passover was a meal that centered around four cups of wine. The first was the opening glass. It was the cup of blessing where the host blessed the Lord and welcomed the people who had been invited. The second was called the cup of judgment. It spoke about the plagues that God brought upon Egypt and delivering His people out of Egypt. It was, at that point, that the Lord Jesus dipped His finger in the wine and sprinkle the cloth and the meal in front of Him to speak about the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifice.

The unleavened bread was broken and then dipped into bitter herbs. Holding up the bread, the Lord Jesus said, "Blessed art thou, Lord God, King of the universe." Then, He passed to His disciples the dipped bread. After that, they enjoyed the meal together. After the meal there were two other cups of wine. The third was the cup of redemption. With it, the Lord Jesus spoke of the death of the firstborn and the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. Before He gave the cup to the disciples, He held it up and said, "Blessed art thou, Lord God, King of the universe, who gives us the fruit of the vine."

The fourth and final cup was a cup of praise. and with that cup the Lord Jesus said, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." This is why the Lord Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, which is designed to be led by His Spirit who focuses us on His death, burial and resurrection. He knows well the tendency of the human heart to drift from the reminder of His intense love for us. It is His undying love that keeps our hearts close to Him. During the Lord's Supper, believers enjoy interaction with the Lord in our hearts and through His word, while focusing on His work on the cross.

In Revelation 3:20 we read, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." This was a verse written to believers, to those who had trusted in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. The word "sup" is used four times in the New Testament. In that culture, this word referred to the main meal of the day. And, in Middle Eastern fashion, it was a significant occasion for having intimate fellowship with the closest of friends. The Lord Supper is meant to be such: to sup or to experience intimate fellowship with our closest friend. 

The death of the Lord Jesus brought to the end the legal requirements of all the ceremonial law including all of the dietary laws and all of the Sabbath laws. In fact, immediately after the Lord's resurrection, the church started to meet on the first day of the week. His substitution brought to the end the Old Testament ceremonies, and rituals. The moral law has not changed because God doesn’t change. Of course, the moral law is sanctification teaching, not justification teaching. Obeying the moral law does not get us into heaven, it gets heaven into us, now. Following God's moral law garners for us His wisdom, and the more we walk in His wisdom, the more we will experience His sanctification.

In v.29-30 of today's passage we read, "29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom." 30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

After the Lord shared the fourth cup with the disciples, He said these words indicating this was the last Passover He would share with them on this earth. And, with these words, the Lord Jesus promised we will celebrate the Passover with Him during the Millennium. The Lord Jesus willingly embraced His cross to die as God’s sacrificial lamb. The innocent substitute dying for His rebellious creation, bearing the full wrath of God for all of our rebellion. 

On that evening the Lord Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant and inaugurated the New. He took all who would ever believe, from the Passover to the Lord’s Table. He ended a millennia of the sacrificing of countless lambs for the forgiveness of sin. And, in order for those trapped in sin to be delivered from judgment, the requirement of death was met through His perfect sacrifice. At the cross, life overcame death. This is why He HAD to die.

The message of the Passover is: God delivers the sinful  through the death of the innocent substitute. But, no person has ever been delivered from divine judgment by the death of any animal. The repeated sacrifice of animals was simply a continual reminder that God does deliver by the death of an innocent substitute. And some of the people waited for that perfect sacrifice that would be satisfactory only to God. This was the point of all those Old Testament sacrifices. 

At the perfect time the long awaited day came when God offered His Son as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. The Lord Jesus is that perfect substitute for all sinners who would invite Him to be their Savior. He became God's satisfying sacrifice when God poured out His wrath upon Him on our behalf.

Matthew 26:20-25

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20 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. 21 Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." 22 And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?" 23 He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." 25 Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?" He said to him, "You have said it." ~ Matthew 26:20-25

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 26 where the Lord Jesus and His disciples have prepared to eat the final legitimate Passover meal together. From this point on, all believers in the Lord Jesus will remember His death on the cross through the Lord's Supper. Before today's account we have been learning lessons about worship from Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. True worship is defined by that which  defines us most. The type of worship that Mary displayed at Simon's house was the result of a heart transformed by going deeper into an intimate and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In the Old Testament God had prophesied the Lord Jesus would be handed over to the Jews to be crucified as the Lamb of God. Before time began, God determined that the Lamb, the One foreshadowed in the Old Testament by all those sacrifices, would be slain for you and me on the Passover and at the place of the skull. In fact, most biblical scholars believe the Lord Jesus was crucified where Abraham put his son, Isaac, on the altar.

In v.20-21 of today's passage we read, "20 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. 21 Now as they were eating, He said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.'"

Due to rebellious man's sin we have all been condemned in our sinfulness. From our conception, there was no hope to be found for us. God had to do something. So, He prepared a plan of salvation, a way for us to be reconciled back to Him through someone in His inner circle. The Lord Jesus agreed before He created this world to be the One to reconcile sinful man back to the holy God of the Bible. In like manner, someone from the inner circle of the Lord Jesus would offer his services to betray the Lord Jesus. This was prophesied in Zechariah 11:12-13. It was not determined by God that Judas would betray the Lord. No, Judas made that decision for a mere 30 pieces of silver, according to Exodus 21:32. Interestingly was the amount of a common slave. The Lord Jesus was always aware of the powers of darkness. He knew that the devil was positioning Judas to betray Him. And yet, according to John 13:2, He loved the disciples, even Judas, til the end.

In v.22 of today's passage we read, "And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, 'Lord, is it I?'"

In response to the warning of the Lord that one of them would betray Him, the disciples were extremely bothered by these words of the Lord Jesus. They were bothered because they knew they were capable of betraying Him. Even though I have trusted in the Lord Jesus as my Savior, it does not mean that I am in the clear regarding sin. We all could do the worst things and like the disciples we do well to admit it. The other eleven disciples did not know that Judas had already made the deal with the Jewish religious leaders to betray the Lord. Soon, Judas would be revealed as the one who betrayed Him. His betrayal would set forth a series of events that would culminate in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. 

In v.23-24 of today's passage we read, "23 He answered and said, 'He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.'"

In those days, meals were served in community bowls from which everyone ate. So, all of the disciples would have dipped their hands in the bowls. This caused all of them to further consider if they were the one who would betray the Lord Jesus. Even though Judas would be revealed as the one who betrayed the Lord Jesus, in the end, the other eleven abandoned Him. When the disciples asked, "Lord is it I?" At that point Judas knew that he was the one, but he didn’t admit to it. God’s plan to provide sinful man His salvation would not be stopped. Even though God allowed Judas’ sin to accomplish part of His plan, Judas could have been forgiven of his betrayal. We do know Judas committed suicide but we do not know if his brokenness led him to confession and repentance. It is possible that we may see him in heaven but only if he acknowledged the Lord Jesus as his Savior.

We should not be surprised to find that someone could follow the Lord Jesus and hear His teachings and witness His miracles and then betray Him. But, this is what Judas did. When he decided the Lord Jesus was not going to overthrow the Romans and set up His political kingdom then and there, Judas went to the Jewish religious leaders to betray the Lord Jesus. And, he was motivated by money. In fact, Judas agreed to betray the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. According to Exodus 21, the price of a slave. According to Luke's gospel when Judas made this decision, it was on the heels of Satan entering him. God didn't make Judas betray the Lord Jesus, but He knew that Judas would make that choice. God makes no one sin, otherwise He would be guilty of sin. No, God knew in advance what Judas would do and He told us in advance of the deed that would be done. 

In v.25 of today's passage we read, "Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, 'Rabbi, is it I?' He said to him, 'You have said it.'"

Judas' address to the Lord Jesus reveals why he betrayed Him. Instead of calling the Lord Jesus "Lord," as the others did, Judas called Him "Rabbi." For Judas, the Lord Jesus existed for him, instead of Judas existing for the Lord Jesus. It is clear Judas was never a Christian in the first place. It is the earlier words of the Lord Jesus in John 6:64-65 that grants us further understanding. "'But there are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, 'For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.'"

In the Upper Room, according to Luke's gospel, the disciples argued among themselves who was the greatest. Then, without a word the Lord Jesus arose, took off His outer clothing, and, kneeled in front of each disciple in turn, including Judas. He washed their feet and dried them with a towel. The disciples were shocked, stunned, and embarrassed. They didn't know what to make of this. Only absolute humility can generate absolute love. Love's nature is to be selfless and giving. Christ's love and His humility are inseparable. He could not have been so consumed with a passion for serving others, even His betrayer, if He had been primarily concerned with Himself. No, He loved them all til the end, even Judas.

Matthew 26:17-19

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17 Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" 18 And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.'" 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. ~ Matthew 26:17-19

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 26 where a clear contrast has been established between those who are defined by the God of the Bible and those who are not. As we return to the narrative, we find ourselves entering back into Thursday. Preparations are being made for this last Passover meal because the Lord Jesus changed it into the Lord’s Supper. In fact, now, God desires for us to remember the Passover by remembering the death of His Son on the cross at Calvary.

In v.17 of today's passage we read, "Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, 'Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?'"

On the first day of the feast of the Unleavened Bread, the Jews celebrated the Passover where they gathered to share a celebration meal of the Exodus when the nation of Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt. During the tenth plague in Egypt, those who trusted the LORD applied the blood of the sacrificial lamb to the doorposts of their home. As a result, the death angel passed over their house and their firstborns were spared from death. 

The time of Israel's slavery in Egypt was so hard, yet it was the will of God for them. As with all things, good and bad, there is always to be found the purposes of God for our lives and the lives of those whom we love. Sometimes, we find it difficult to imagine that God causes or allows certain things in our lives. But, we can rest assured that His will is the best for us and it will come to meaningful fruition as we learn to bend our will to His. 

No one would have guessed that for the Jews to be in Egypt for 400 years meant they would grow to be a powerful people in numbers. During those 400 years, God grew Israel to be a people of 2 million. God clearly uses the trials that come into our lives to tune our hearts and souls to be able to recognize and follow Him and to do His will. Without tests, there are no testimonies.  

Since they were in Jerusalem, the disciples inquired of the Lord Jesus regarding where to eat the Passover. The way the Lord Jesus arranged for the Passover feast clearly reveals He knew there were plots to thwart God's plan. This is why He set up the Passover meal at an unknown place. No names were given, and the unnamed man who carried the pitcher of water gave the disciples the guest room. And that’s where they had their last Passover. It happened this way so that the Lord Jesus could celebrate the Passover to fulfill all righteousness.

In v.18 of today's passage we read, "And He said, 'Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ''The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.'""

Since it was the task of the women to carry the water from the well, a man carrying a pitcher of water was unusual. And, of course, that was how the Lord Jesus lead the disciples to look for the upper room. With the Lord, there is always more to the story. Rarely does He work in the main headlines of the day. He is to be found in the subscripts of all of the stories. Those thirsty for Him have heard His words found in John 7 where He said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" 

We do not know what the next moment of our lives will bring. But, we have come to know the One who has invited us to follow Him through the ebbs and flows of life. As we follow Him through prayer and scripture reading, we learn to see Him with our hearts. This is not an easy habit to form but as we trust Him accordingly, He will direct our way. As He leads and we follow, we will realize that out of our hearts will flow rivers of living water. This water satisfies and fuels us on in our personal relationship with Him.

In v.19 of today's passage we read, "So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover."

It all happened as the Lord Jesus had told the disciples. When they arrived in Jerusalem, the disciples immediately saw the unnamed man carrying a jar of water. They followed him and made preparations in a large upper room in a man's house in Jerusalem. Through all of this the Lord Jesus very subtly illustrated the beauty of His will and His culture. He gave the disciples reassurance by showing them His omniscience, for He knew in advance that there would be a room and an obedient messenger who led them to the room. As a result of the obedience of the disciples, they enjoyed the will of God. This all aided the deepening of their relationship with Him. The more they saw Him in control, the more they trusted Him. This is the way it works. It was no accident. Such is the process of knowing God, His power, and realizing His will in and through our lives daily.

The death of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross was also no accident. It was not a bad ending to a noble effort by a good man. His death on the cross was not the end of His life, it was the beginning of ours because His death brought an end to sin and death for us. It was at His cross that He dealt a death blow to the penalty, power and eventually the presence of sin. And, when we receive His free gift of salvation, God sees us through the lens of His Son. The goal of His life was to bridge the gap between us and God, something we could not do for ourselves. 

As is always the case, the Lord had a plan and afterwards, He was betrayed and arrested in accordance with His plan. After He finally accomplished everything during the last supper, the Lord Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. It was there that He was arrested and He was led away to be executed. Only in that little window could He be arrested, tried, and executed, but not before He fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf. Then He would die at the very hour all Passover lambs were slaughtered since Israel's time in Egypt. It is truly stunning to see all of these details come together under His control.

Many find the cross to be foolish, but it reveals the incredible wisdom of God. While it reveals the ugliness of sin, it reveals the beauty of God’s love. It punishes sin and offers forgiveness at the same time for all who are humble enough to admit we need help. Justice and grace were wed that Friday in Jerusalem at His cross. I trust you have seen the beauty of this narrative for yourself.

Matthew 26:14-16

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14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. ~ Matthew 26:14-16

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 26 where we have just observed the worship of Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. Of course, it was six days before that Mary worshipped Him in that way. True worship is defined by that which defines us most. The type of worship that Mary displayed at Simon's house was the result of a heart transformed by entering into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

God is sovereign and everything happens within His divine framework. Everything in life is controlled by our Father who is in heaven. Everything the Lord Jesus did was what God wanted Him to do. The Apostle Paul tells us that in the fullness of time, the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to be the propitiation or the satisfying sacrifice for all of mankind. And, His death was planned by God before the foundation of the world. It was the divine plan of God that He would die for the sin of the world.

In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, 'What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?' And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver."

In just one verse the scene makes a dramatic shift from an incredible display of adoration and worship back to the ugly realities of living in this fallen world. It was the Passover and the Lord Jesus would be handed over to the Jews to be crucified as the Lamb of God. This was prophesied in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 among other Old Testament passages, and it was during the Passover that He was slain in Jerusalem. We are told in Revelation 13:8 that it was from the foundation of the world that it was determined that the Lord Jesus would pay the penalty for man's sin. God is omniscient which means He knows everything. That does not mean He makes all things happen as they do. He allowed man to sin. Could He have prevented it? Absolutely, but if He had, we would all be robots with no will of our own. And, without a will, there is no choice. And, without choice, there is no love. 

The Passover goes all the way back to Egypt when the enslaved Jews experienced the forgiveness of God as the death angel passed over their homes which had the blood stains of the sacrificed lamb over the door frame. God had long planned for the Lord Jesus to be THE Passover Lamb. It was the will of God for the Lord Jesus to be crucified on that particular Friday. God had to do something to remedy man's sin problem. So, He prepared a plan of salvation, a way for us to be reconciled back to Him through someone in His inner circle. While Mary used her money to honor the Lord Jesus, Judas used the Lord Jesus to get money. Mary anointed the Lord Jesus for His burial while the religious leaders and Judas arranged for His burial. The Lord Jesus recognized Mary for favoring Him over the poor while Judas seemed to favor the poor over the anointing of the Lord Jesus. 

Interestingly, the name "Judas" is a form of the name "Judah" which means "thank you." Judas didn't live up to His name. In fact, his family name was Iscariot which reveals he was from the village of Kerioth, 23 miles south of Jerusalem. I find it striking that Judas was the only non-Galilean among the twelve disciples. Judas Iscariot is always mentioned last whenever there's a listing of the twelve disciples in the New Testament. When Judas bargained with the leaders of Israel for the betrayal of the Lord Jesus, they considered the cost of the death of the Lord Jesus to be that of a slave. According to Exodus 21:32 the purchase price of a slave was 30 pieces of silver. It was the Lord Jesus who humbled Himself and offered Himself up as a slave to be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. He was the only perfect one who could pay the worthy price for our forgiveness in the eyes of God.

In v.16 of today's passage we read, "So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him."

In Psalm 41:9 we read, "Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me." Only a friend could have betrayed the Lord Jesus. According to John 13:18, some 900 years after the writing of Psalm 41:9, it was confirmed that one within the inner circle of the Lord Jesus would betray Him. In fact, Judas shared bread with the Lord Jesus the evening he betrayed Him. This all happened in fulfillment of Psalm 41:9.

Matthew 26:6-13

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6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. 8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor." 10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." ~ Matthew 26:6-13

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 26 where the Apostle Matthew does what he has done frequently throughout his account of the gospel; he brings together certain events which occurred at various times during the Lord Jesus last week on this earth and deliberately place them side by side to make clear the gospel message and its veracity. Emphasized in today's passage is Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who six days before His crucifixion, poured costly perfume over His head. In so doing, Mary pictured the Paschal Lamb of the Old Testament which spoke annually to the people of their coming Messiah.

In v.6-7 of today's passage we read, "6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table."

Simon the ex-leper was one of the people whom the Lord Jesus had healed earlier. While gathered at his house, according to the other gospel writers, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus poured a hand-carved Indian bottle full of spikenard upon the head of the Lord Jesus. She did this just six days before He would be sacrificed on the cross. According to the other gospel accounts, she anointed the head of the Lord Jesus first, and the perfume ran down along his body until it covered his feet. This was a picture of the Old Testament sacrificial lamb who was anointed just six days before it was sacrificed at Passover. Mary spared no expense, a reflection of her deep devotion to the Lord Jesus. She did this great act of worship out of her gratitude for the raising of her brother from the dead. 

In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, 'Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.'"

Surprisingly, the disciples of the Lord Jesus did not recognize what was happening so they complained about Mary's actions. The perfume was worth about a year’s wages and the disciples reasoned it could be used to help the poor. They thought helping the poor was a more worthy cause than her worship of God. According to John's Gospel, it was Judas who raised this objection first, influencing the other disciples. Judas illustrates a very important principle here: "A man sees in his eyes that which is in his heart." There will always be people who place a monetary value on things. They know the price of everything but the value of nothing. They think money is the answer. It is not! Our worship of the Lord Jesus as God is the answer to all of our needs and desires. All of this underscores: what we love, we worship. 

True worship is defined by the priority we place on who God is in our lives and where God is on our list of priorities. True worship is expressed through the choices we make, allowing God to define us. When we encounter Him, He marks us, and He makes us more hungry for Him. Worship is a heart transformed by God expressing itself regardless of the cost. Our hearts grow in our worship of God at the expense of our pain. Simon had lost all of his feeling due to his leprosy. Mary and Martha had lost their brother to death. Lazarus had gotten sick and died. This is what it looks like to have a personal relationship with God! Our pain fuels our worship of our Him!

In v.10-12 of today's passage we read, "10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, 'Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.'"

In response to the complaint of the disciples, the Lord Jesus reminded them that in our most vulnerable of moments our hearts are potentially drawn closest to Him. Mary's worship, fueled by the resurrection of her brother enabled her to see the importance of this preparation for His burial. The recording of this act of worship was not shared by Matthew or Mark in its chronological order. Due to that, many miss the fact that it happened six days before the Lord Jesus was crucified. This anointing happened on the Saturday before the Friday when the Lord Jesus was crucified.  

There is a clear connection between our pain and our worship of the Lord Jesus. The pain Mary had experienced at the death of her brother was unbearable. In His book, The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis penned one of his most famous lines ever. He wrote: "Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

Locating and listening to God through the pain in our heart is a major step to getting to the place of real worship. Instinctively, we avoid pain. In order for us to really know reality, we must entertain our pain and let it do its work deep within us. Our pain is designed is to prepare our hearts to experience God. So often we run from our pain, not realizing that it aids us in our pursuit of our Heavenly Father. It is through our brokenness that we see God’s true strength as He meets us right where we are in the moment. God uses our pain in order to clearly write the lessons of His grace on our hearts and set our affections upon Him. This is where our worship is truly formed.

In v.13 of today's passage we read, "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

And here, more than 2,000 years removed in time, thousands of miles removed in geography, we are still reminded of Mary's act of worship. Here we are in another culture, another language honoring this woman who sacrificed so greatly. True worship always is produced by a heart that has been to some degree transformed. This transformation of heart always includes a measure of pain. Perhaps, the greater the pain, the greater our worship. We miss out on such depth because we elude pain so often. Simon, the Leper lost his physical feeling due to his leprosy. Mary and Martha hurt so badly due to the loss of their brother to death. Lazarus got sick and died. Mary reminds us that worship isn’t a place to forget our pain, it’s a place to bring it. But even more, worship tunes our hearts to God in such a way that it helps us to know Him more deeply.

Matthew 26:1-5

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1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, 2 "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." 3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. 5 But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people." ~ Matthew 26:1-5

Today, we transition into Matthew 26 where we will witness the climax of redemptive history, and the greatest event in the history of the world. It was "the Passover week" which is immediately followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread. While often referred to as such, Passover isn’t a week or even a day, but a meal held on the 14th day of the month of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar.     

The meal for Passover is "the Seder," which is a memorial to what God did for His people in their Exodus from Egypt. The Seder is to be eaten on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, after the sun sets. The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins at sundown on the 14th of Nisan and lasts until the 21st, where leaven is removed from the meal and only unleavened bread is eaten, symbolizing the haste of the Jews departure from Egypt. The Passover points us to the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God who took away our sin. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 5:7 we read, "Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us." The bread of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread also points us to the sinless One who said, "I am the Bread of Life."

In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, 2 'You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.'"

The public teaching ministry of the Lord Jesus had come to its end. He has turned His attention fully to the cross. The fulfillment of all the Passover sacrifices that had ever been celebrated over all the years back to the Exodus was at hand. The Lord Jesus considered it joy to obey His Father so that you and I could know our sins forgiven. This was the fourth time the Lord Jesus told His disciples about His suffering and death that would happen in Jerusalem. This was the first time He gave to the disciples a specific time frame, "after two days."

Once again, the Lord Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man which is a messianic title from Daniel 7. As the Son of Man, His disciples knew that He was telling them that He would conquer all enemies. He referred to Himself as the Son of Man because He was about to enter God’s presence who would then give to Him all of the authority, glory and sovereign power to fully rule over even sin and death for all who would believe in Him. Everyone who has ever believed in Him as their Savior will worship Him out of a changed heart. 

Earlier the Lord Jesus had said, "Every one that exalts himself shall be humbled; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted." Putting the cross before the throne was a conscious decision for the Lord Jesus. As a result of humbling Himself before His Father even before time began, the Lord Jesus reached the means to the ultimate will of the Father for Him. He now was face to face with the cross, the tool that was used for Him to be the satisfying sacrifice for every sin ever committed. All along, the Lord Jesus kept His eyes on the Eternal One and fulfilled the unthinkable for you and for me. This is why we so cherish that old cross where He openly demonstrated His love for us all.

In v.3-5 of today's passage we read, "3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. 5 But they said, 'Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.'"

As the Lord Jesus spoke these words on that Wednesday night, the Sanhedrin had called a special meeting in the house of Caiaphas. They met in order to plot the death of the Lord Jesus. Their plan was to wait at least eight days but God’s plan would come to fruition in two days. The religious leaders were so enraged, they leaped at the opportunity to kill Him, but as the Scriptures reveal, this was the unfolding of God's plan to redeem hopeless man. It was the fulfillment of the divine design. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the apex of redemptive history and the ratification of the New Covenant.

For the Lord Jesus the cross was no surprise but for the disciples it was shocking. It should have been in view for the disciples given the centuries of the Passover lambs that were slaughtered but they failed to see that far in advance. The cross of the Lord Jesus is explicitly prophesied in detail in the Old Testament, even down to the very things that happened to Him while He hung on the cross. Even the actions of those around Him even before He was nailed to the tree. Even the words He and others spoke while He hung there on the cross were predicted. His crucifixion was truly the unfolding of an amazing tapestry.

God is sovereign and everything happens within His divine framework. Everything in life is either caused or allowed by our Father who is in heaven. During His thirty-three years on this earth, everything the Lord Jesus did was what God wanted Him to do. The Apostle Paul tells us that "in the fullness of time, the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to be the propitiation or the satisfying sacrifice for all of mankind." The death of His Son was planned by the Father before the foundation of the world. It was the divine plan of God that He would die for the sin of the world.

The Lord Jesus was handed over to the Jews to be crucified. The Passover takes us on a journey going all the way back to Egypt when the enslaved Jews experienced the forgiveness of God as the death angel passed over their homes with blood stains over their door frame. The Lord Jesus has always been the sacrifice through whom we have been made acceptable to God. Most biblical scholars believe the Lord Jesus was crucified at the very same place where Abraham intended to drive a knife through his son Isaac. And, as the door into heaven, all we have to do is to pass through Him. It was the will of God for the Lord Jesus to be crucified on that particular Friday, even though the Jews wanted to wait until the Passover had come and gone. Christ died to satisfy the justice of God on our behalf.

Matthew 25:41-46

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41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me." 44 Then they also will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?" 45 Then He will answer them, saying, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. ~ Matthew 25:41-46

Today, we complete our study of Matthew 25 which is a part of what is known as the Olivet Discourse. As the name suggests this teaching was given by the Lord Jesus while on the Mount of Olives. The previous chapter, Matthew 24, provides for us a framework regarding the end times. In that chapter the Lord Jesus laid out the events of the last days in considerable detail. The next thing to happen on God's end times calendar is what we refer to as the Rapture of the Church. A good interpretive principle to remember while studying the Bible is the separation between the nation of Israel and the Church. 

After the Rapture of the Church when God will take believers in the Lord Jesus out of this world to be with Him in heaven, the seven year Tribulation will begin. The purpose of the Tribulation will be to provide the nation of Israel one last time to come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. After the Tribulation is over, the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will happen. He will return to this earth to set up the 1000 year millennium. During that time God will fulfill all of the promises He has made to Israel down through the ages.

In v.41-43 of today's passage we read, "41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'"

In our previous study we began explaining the parable of the sheep and the goats. Whereas the sheep represent those who believe in the Lord Jesus as their Savior, the goats represent those who have yet to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. In v.41 the Lord Jesus will speak to those on His left, the goats, the judgement they chose when they rejected the truth. Due to this, nobody should ever be sent to Hell, but they will be sent there. At the beginning of the Millennium, it will be the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who will tell the goats to depart from Him. He will do this because they will yet be in their sin which curses one from God's presence. For those whose sins are not forgiven, unfortunately, they will spend their eternity in hell away from God. 

The primary difference between the sheep and the goats is that the sheep have come to the place where they admit their sinfulness and that they realize their need for the Lord Jesus to be their Savior. As a result of believing in the Lord Jesus as their Savior, God's Spirit will have come into their lives making their once dead spirit alive to God. As evidenced in these verses, the very presence of God's Spirit in a person yields a heart that causes them to show compassion to people who are in need.

In v.44 of today's passage we read, "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'"

In response to the judgement the Lord Jesus will render on those not "born again," the goats will question Him with amazing astonishment. Nothing reveals more sharply the radical difference between God's judgment and man's judgement than this story of the sheep and the goats. Even "good deeds" are shown to be what they are in the searching light of His truth. Good deeds that are not born out of a heart indwelt by the Lord Jesus Christ are not truly "good" deeds. They are carefully planned deeds born out of the hope that they will earn favor with God. Unless our sin is forgiven by God, we have no hope beyond this world and we could never do enough to merit His favor. This is why the Lord Jesus came to die on the cross so that our sin could be forgiven.

In v.45-46 of today's passage we read, "45 Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels who before time rebelled against God in heaven. These angels who were once holy in the presence of God, chose unholiness. Since there is no remedy for their fallenness, God prepared a place for them in the place of everlasting fire. When mankind chose to identify with the rebellion of the devil, he sealed his fate with the devil in hell for eternity. That is, until the Lord Jesus died on the cross. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross He broke the chains for man to enter into a personal relationship with God. But, man feels most safe in his sin with himself at the helm of his life. For those who chose the way of the devil and death God had no choice but to let them go their own way. So, by choice, man assigned himself to a place not even intended for him.

There is only one way to avoid the natural judgement of the truth. It is to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. Those who have not come to the end of themselves and have not received the Lord Jesus into their hearts, they will not be able to access the presence of God in the end. Due to the fact that they lack the very presence of God in their lives, they will not know eternal life. But, those made perfect in the eyes of God because the righteousness of Christ has been applied to their believing souls, they will not only spend their eternity separate from sin and death, they will know the kind of life that God intended for man from the very beginning. 

Matthew 25:31-40

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31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me." 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." ~ Matthew 25:31-40

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 25 which is part of the Olivet Discourse and it is the Lord Jesus' description of the end times and how it should increase our concern for the salvation of the unsaved. Today's passage has provided a great deal of difficulty and misunderstanding to many throughout the ages. This section of scripture focuses our attention on the judgment of the sheep and the goats.

At the end of time, there will be several judgments of God on sin. In 1 Peter 4:17 Peter wrote, "The time has come when judgment must begin at the house of God." It has always been that God begins His judgment with those who are in the family of God. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden sin has been judged. In fact, God's judgement of sin is going on right now in this world. His judgment of sin will culminate at the end of time as we know it when He will judge between the sheep and the goats. For the goats there is no forgiveness of sin because they have resisted their need for the Savior. For the sheep there is forgiveness of sin because God's judgment of sin took place at the cross of Christ. And, the sheep have trusted in Him for such.

In v.31-33 of today's passage we read, "31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left."

At the Rapture of the Church which could happen at any moment, the Lord Jesus will return to gather believers to be with Himself in heaven. At that moment, the dead in Christ shall be raised from their graves including the early apostles right on down to our present day. The Rapture is clearly different than the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus because He will return to the earth and His feet will come down at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. At the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, we who will be caught up at the Rapture will return with Him and His angels at His Second Coming. At that moment the whole world shall suddenly see the Lord in the air. That will be different than the Rapture when only those raptured will see Him. When the Lord returns at His Second Coming, He will establish His one thousand year reign on the earth. We read about this in Revelation 11 with the sounding of the last of the seventh trumpets. According to Zechariah 12, the Lord Jesus will return in great victory and power at the Mount of Olives where every eye will see the One whom they pierced so many years before at the cross. 

Once the Lord Jesus establishes His kingdom, He will sit on His throne of glory. Zechariah tells us that all of the nations will be gathered before Him as He will sit on His throne and He will separate them one from another. Goats are animals that look very much like sheep but they are not. The Lord Jesus used the goat to illustrate those who lack a personal relationship with Him. They will appear to be "born of His Spirit" but they will not be. This will the difference between them and the sheep. 

In v.34-36 of today's passage we read, "34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'"

All of those Old Testament passages that promise of a day when the earth will be filled with the righteousness of God from sea to sea will finally be realized. The lion will lie down with the lamb and the little child shall lead the wild animal. During that time nothing shall hurt anyone or destroy anything. There will no longer be war and the people on earth will live in peace. This will be the millennium.

Ultimately the sheep and the goats will be judged on the basis of whether they had a personal relationship with the Lord or not. The translation of one's relationship with the Lord is always seen in how we treat others. The sheep and the goats will be judged on how they treated the brethren or the people of Israel during the Tribulation. The book of the Revelation tells us that after the Church is raptured, God will then begin to work again in and through the nation of Israel. During the seven year Tribulation 144,000 saved Jews will preach the Gospel throughout the earth the gospel. This could not possibly be the Church because the Church will not be on the earth during the tribulation period. The sheep will be those who believe the message of the cross through the 144,000 messengers of Israel during the Tribulation.

In v.37-40 of today's passage we read, "37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" 

The sheep will not be aware of the fact that they were helping the Lord when they helped Israel. This is what happens once we have given our hearts to the Lord. Once we give to Him our hearts, He gives to us His heart. The "born-again" lose sight of themselves as time goes forward. The goats, on the other hand, will be those who will lack a personal relationship with the Lord and they will neglect helping the people of Israel during the Tribulation. In fact, they will treat them with disdain as anti-semitism will flourish as it has never flourished before. When we ignore the needy, we ignore the Lord.

The ultimate mark of the believer in Christ is not his creed, or his faith, or his Bible knowledge, but the concern which he shows to those who are in need. The evidence that we are believers in the Lord Jesus is seen best when we help someone in need. Striking is the fact that the Lord Jesus identified Himself with those in need. From before the foundation of the world He agreed to come to this earth and to redeem us. Once we entered into a personal relationship with the Lord, we took on His DNA which includes in it His heart for the broken. When we minister to the needy, we minister to Him. When we minister to the needy, we demonstrate He has given to us His heart.

Matthew 25:20-30

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20 So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, "Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them." 21 His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, "Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them." 23 His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." 24 Then he who had received the one talent came and said, "Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours." 26 But his lord answered and said to him, "You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." ~ Matthew 25:20-30

Today, we continue our study of Matthew 25 where the Lord Jesus is teaching His disciples the parable of the talents. As we pointed out in our last study a talent is equal to about $300,000 in today's world. The Lord Jesus taught using parables in order to get us from the familiar to the unfamiliar. In this teaching the Lord Jesus accentuated how believers should be occupied in the work of the Lord on this earth until He returns. The most overlooked part of this parable is the fact that all of the servants of God were not created equal in regard to the talents we have been given. The unity we all share is that we are in the family of God. But, the diversity is seen in the call He has issued on all of our lives. In this parable the Lord Jesus explained the nature of His grace and the different responses people make to it. These responses are our focus for today.

In v.20-23 of today's passage we read, "20 So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' 21 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' 23 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'"

When the master returned, he learned what each servant had done with the money he had given them. The master expected each servant to have invested His money in some way. One day, we will all give an account to what we have done with what has been given to us. God expects a return on what He has given us. Understanding that He has included us in on the building of His kingdom in this world at this time is key. The return that He is looking for is not temporal, but eternal. This parable is not about earning one's salvation but about how we faithfully do God's will for our lives while we are on this earth. The first step in being successful at the call of God in our lives is understanding that everything belongs to Him. He doesn’t expect us to do more than we can, but He expects us to be faithful with what He has given us. 

Faithfulness is the key principle here. Being faithful is more than just about responsibility, it’s more about relationship. It reveals how we see God. The first two servants clearly trusted their master. They lived as servants. They were servants because they knew the heart of their master. They loved him. Life for them was not about themselves or about what they could get from the Lord. Instead, life was about bringing joy to the heart of the one loved them. They wanted to give something back to him because in their eyes he was deserving. 

The phrase "enter into the joy of your Lord" is key to understand this parable. Once we have come to the place that we have determined the Lord to be our Lord, we have shown that we have gained a proper understanding of His true identity. Once this happens, we will desire to bring joy to His heart by operating in a way that is in keeping with who we should be. It is then that we will be motivated by His joy not an incorrect understanding of who He is. Loved people love people. In Nehemiah 8:10 we read, "The joy of the Lord is my strength." Having accessed God's love, we love Him in return. We best love Him by loving others. The fact that we are in Christ we cannot improve our identity before Him. Out of this perfect status that we have in Christ, we respond to God's commands properly.

In v.24-25 of today's passage we read, "24 Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'"

As a result of not doing what he should have, the third servant accused the master of being hard and unfair. In doing so, he revealed why he didn't invest his master's money. Fear motivated him because he lacked a proper understanding of his master. He viewed his master as a hard man. It was out of his fear of his master that he hid the money in the ground. The servant knew deep down that he was given that money to trade with and that he could make his master a profit. The master wouldn’t have given it to him if he wasn’t able to do it. But, the servant failed at being faithful. He never really embraced being the servant of the master in the first place.

In v.26-30 of today's passage we read, "26 But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

The unfaithful servant in this parable didn’t so much waste the master’s money when he did not invest it, he wasted an opportunity. As a result, he was judged "wicked and lazy." Then the master pointed out the error in his logic. This man did not obey his master and as a result lost even the money that his master had given him. This servant was unfaithful because his heart had not been gripped by his master's grace. He saw his master incorrectly, as a hard man who was demanding and unfair. As a result, this servant had no love for his master. In fact, he feared him and was afraid to displease him.  

As believers in the Lord Jesus we are either motivated by fear or by faith. The one talent of the third servant was given to the servant with ten talents. The Lord enjoys blessing those who respond favorably to His love with faithfulness. But those who do nothing in service, showing a complete lack of faith in the master’s goodness, they will lose everything. This will be so because they never entered into a personal relationship with the God of grace. As a result, they will be cast out into the outer darkness instead of entering the joy of their master. The fate of the unfaithful servant was sealed when he invited an unbiblical understanding of his master to enter his heart.

A. W. Tozer once said, "Nothing twists and deforms our soul like a low concept of God." If we have a low concept of God, we're going be ill-equipped to be motivated to be servants who do His work in this world. If we have a high concept of God, we are going to live the life the Lord Jesus died to give us. All that we have is a gift from God. And, if we understand this, we will live our lives out of such grace. And, when we live out of God's grace, we are freed to be free. This is the point of this parable. Those like the third servant, not recognizing God's grace, they think God to be harsh, demanding, unjust and unfair. As a result, they will never be moved by God's grace and in the end they will be found to be His enemies. God's grace always melts the heart of the most hardened. Grace is our only hope for a meaningful future. And, when it grips us, we will be amazed by the gracious One who gives us all that we need and more.

Matthew 25:14-19

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14 For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ~ Matthew 25:14-19

Today, we return to our study of Matthew 25 where the Lord Jesus has been teaching His disciples about eschatology which is the study of the End Times. Whereas Matthew 24 is about the facts of the end and when in reference to that the will return, Matthew 25 is the application of the teaching. In order to help the disciples to understand the Lord Jesus yet again told them a parable. Parables are always designed to capture us in the familiar and then move us to the unfamiliar. The desire of the Lord Jesus is always to convey spiritual truth to us. He does this by using analogies, illustrations, parables and stories. All of them have one primary goal that we would go deeper in our relationship with Him.

The story in today's text was very familiar to the people who heard Him that day. Once again the disciples were not on the same page with the Lord Jesus. They expected that He was going to set up His kingdom immediately. Notice though, as is always the case with the Lord, He finds a way to correct their bad theology by telling them this story. And, with the correction, he gave them a challenge. The emphasis the Lord Jesus was delivering through this story was the issue of faithfulness or what are we doing with that which the Lord has given us regarding the furtherance of His kingdom in this world.

In v.14-15 of today's passage we read, "14 For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey."

In this parable a wealthy master traveled to another country and left his servants to manage his kingdom. While he was gone, he gave his servants a certain amount of money each and expected that they would do his business while he was gone. The Lord Jesus told this parable to explain that His kingdom would come, but that His servants were expected to be faithful to do the job assigned to them while He was gone. 

In v.16-18 of today's passage we read, "16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money."  

Although the first servant received five times as much as the last, each received a significant sum of money. While commentators differ on the exact amount of each, most agree that it would take an ordinary laborer almost twenty years to earn just one talent. To put this into our economy today, using a minimal hourly wage, a talent would be the equivalent of about $300,000. 

Like the preceding two parables, the return of the master was a certainty, but the timing of his return was unknown. After a long absence, the master returned to discover what each servant had done with his property. The first two did business with their master’s money and doubled it. Although the first slave earned more than the second, each had done remarkably well with what he had been given. They had performed according to their potential, and they had been faithful to do what the master has required of them. 

The one servant who received one talent buried it in the ground so that he wouldn't have to face the possibility of failure. The practice of hiding valuables in the ground was quite common during biblical days. It was the safest and least profitable way of protecting possessions. This one talent man essentially put his money in a safe place so that nothing negative would happen to it. He didn’t believe that he could manage his one talent. His anxieties and fears defined him rather than the Lord. So, he ignored the truth that his master would expect him to do something profitable with his talent. Every decision we make is shaped by our willingness to take risks. Our courage to step beyond the familiar determines the trajectory of our lives. All too often, fear holds us back and we stay within the safe bounds of comfort, even when we know that real growth lies beyond it. Courage isn’t about the absence of risk or of fear, it’s about deciding that something matters more than anything else.

Our brains are wired for self-preservation over stepping out and risking the possible danger that awaits. But, this is truly where the adventure is to be discovered. Real living only happens when we decide to risk the control, certainty and comfort. Our unwillingness prevents us from knowing the life the Lord Jesus died to give us, a live full of adventure and intimacy with Him and with others. We take risks all of the time. The key is to get really good at identifying the risks that God is putting in front of us. The risks we take on God Himself are the ones that will turn our foundation to rock. Our spiritual life will live or die based on our ability to see and take risks on God.

In v.19 of today's passage we read, "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them."

It is the duty of servants to always bear in mind that the master will return and He will settle His accounts with us. Make no mistake about it, the message of this parable extends far beyond financial investments. The emphasis here is on faithfulness with what the Lord has given us. At the end of this parable hangs the question: While the master was gone and was not standing over the shoulder of the servants to make sure they would be faithful, would they remain faithful? God has equipped us so that we would invest in His purposes in this world and one day He will make His evaluation of our performance. This has nothing to do with getting into heaven. It has everything to do with the role we will play in heaven for eternity. D.L. Moody once said, "The world has yet to see what God can do through a man fully devoted to Him."

Before the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave his disciples three commands: Preach the gospel, make disciples,  and get power from the Holy Spirit so you can preach the gospel and make disciples. Like the disciples, all believers in Christ are tasked with sharing the gospel in our circles of influence. We are tasked with helping unbelievers come into a personal relationship with the Lord. We are also tasked by the Lord to help other believers grow in their walk Him, which is known as discipleship. We are tasked with doing this not in our own strength but with the power of the Holy Spirit helping us. 

Matthew 25:1-13

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1 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: "Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!" 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." 9 But the wise answered, saying, "No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves." 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us!" 12 But he answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you." 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. ~ Matthew 25:1-13

Today, we transition into Matthew 25 where the Lord Jesus continues to answer the question found in Matthew 24:1 which came from His disciples regarding the End Times. Today's teaching is a part of what is known as the Olivet Discourse which is the teaching of the Lord Jesus about His Second Coming. The Olivet Discourse happened on the Mount of Olives and it is covered in Mathew 24 and 25. In today's portion the Lord Jesus used the very common Jewish wedding to teach His disciples about readiness at the time of His Second Coming.

In v.1-6 of today's passage we read, "1 Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'"

A Jewish wedding is very different than a wedding today. Today, people date, they get engaged, they plan the wedding ceremony, they get married, and they go off on a honeymoon. Not so for the first century Jews. Their marriages were planned by their parents. Their engagement was done when the children were just little children. The father of the bride and the father of the groom drew up a contract. The bride and groom would find out some time before their marriage who they were contracted to marry. They did it this way so that the bride and groom would learn that love is a commitment, not a feeling. Real love is a commitment that sometimes produces feelings.

After the announcement who the bride and groom were the betrothal period commenced lasting a year before the actual wedding itself. About a year before the wedding feast, the young man and the young woman who were to be married entered into a contract and said vows to each other during the betrothal just like married vows. They would have no physical contact for a year. They would say the vows to each other and once they said the vows and they entered that phase of betrothal, they could not separate unless they filed a legal divorce.

The wedding involved everybody in their community. The groom and his groomsman went over to the bride's house. The bride and her bridesmaids would join a parade from her house through the longest route possible of that town back to the groom's house. Once they arrived at the groom's house, that's when the week long feast would begin. The honeymoon took place after the week long  feast. 

During the parade from the house of the bride to the house of the groom, torches were lit because it was most often done at night. The lamps were most necessary because they would light up the night skies so they could go from one end of town to the other. While the foolish bridesmaids were not ready and prepared for the arrival of the groom, the wise were prepared and they took their oil and their lamps and lined the procession. Since the bridegroom was delayed, the people slept. Then at midnight, a cry was heard. "Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!" 

In v.7-10 of today's passage we read, "7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise,;Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut."

The disciples expected the Lord Jesus to set up His Kingdom, immediately. They didn't understand that the Rapture would happen, and then the seven year Tribulation and then He would set up His millennial kingdom. The unprepared bride's maids had no oil for their lamps and the stores were closed. So, when the bridegroom came, the foolish who were unprepared did not enter into the wedding feast.

When the foolish virgins realized they could not buy oil at such an hour, they asked those prepared for the moment for some of their oil. We can't borrow someone else's relationship with the Lord and expect to spend our eternity in heaven. No, God requires that we have our own relationship with Him. God requires that we come to the place of brokenness and we see our need for the Savior. And we turn to Him and we trust in the gospel of the Lord Jesus. We come to the place where we trust in Christ as our Savior.

In v.11-13 of today's passage we read, "11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us!" 12 But he answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you." 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."

To be exposed to the truth of Scripture and to not respond positively to it from our hearts is to welcome a heart that is not responsive to God. It is possible to know the truth and to never enter into a personal relationship with the Lord. This was the problem with the foolish religious leaders of Israel. Many today turn to God when life has gone south for them. Once God delivers them from their problems they tend to forget Him. Many believe in the Bible but not in the God of the Bible. Our faith must go deeper than doctrine. Knowledge is worthless unless it leads to the surrender of self to the Almighty God who desires for the best there is.

It was the lack of oil which caused these foolish bride's maids to hear the Lord Jesus say, "I do not know you." If we have not been born of God's Spirit, we are not known by Him. Oil is frequently used as a symbol in the Bible of the Holy Spirit. Kings and priests were anointed with oil as a sign of their consecration. The supreme ministry of the Holy Spirit is to woo sinful man into a personal relationship with God the Father. Once we trust in the crucified Christ, it is at that moment that we are made alive to God. This happens once the Holy Spirit makes His home in our spirit. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our once dead spirit that makes us members of the family of God.