Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

Robert R Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

SUMMARY OF CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

At the beginning of Chapter 24, we read where Jesus took His disciples over to the Mount of Olives for one last instruction session on what was about to happen and what was going to take place down the road. He continued His private discussion with them here in this chapter.

He begins by saying, “At that time.” Obviously, He was talking about the future. He then told the parable of ten bridesmaids who had been invited to participate in a wedding. The time came for them to go to where the wedding was to take place and to patiently wait for the arrival of the groom. Since it was the custom, in those days, for the groom to come at night to steal the bride away, they took their oil lamps to make sure that when they heard the announcement of his arrival, they would be able to have the light they needed to go out and meet him. Unfortunately, only five of them were alert enough to take along some extra oil so they would be ready in case the wait for the groom took longer than they thought it would. As a result, only the five wise bridesmaids made it into the wedding festival.

Then our Lord told the parable about an estate owner who left to go abroad on a lengthy trip. So he called in his servants that were in charge of his business, gave each of them a different amount of money so they could manage his estate while he was gone. The servant with the most responsibility was given five bags of silver, the next servant received two bags, and the last servant got one. It took a long time before the property owner returned. When he did, he called in his servants to give an account of how the business went while he was gone. The servant who got five bags of silver had been able to make the business grow and earn an additional five bags. In other words, the estate owner not only got back what he gave the servant, but his business was now even more prosperous than when he left. The second servant had been able to do the same with his two bags of silver. But the servant who received one bag went and hid it so that it was safe until the owner returned. As a result, the first and second servants were promoted while the last servant was thrown off the estate in shame and embarrassment.

After this, Jesus then tells His disciples that when He returns with heaven’s angels to sit upon His throne, all of those He left behind will be called before Him. And just like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, with the sheep on his right and the goats on his left, so He will separate the ones He left behind, with those who were diligent and faithful on His right and those who were lazy and unproductive on His left. To those on His right He will say, “Come , you who are blessed by my Father, receive your inheritance, the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began.” And to those on His left, He will say: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

But the Master will not do this without any explanation. To those on His right, He will tell them how they fed Him when He was hungry. How when He was thirsty they gave Him something to drink, when He was homeless they took Him in, when He was cold they gave Him warm clothes to wear, when He was sick they nursed Him back to health, and when He was in prison they went to visit Him. This sounded strange to them, so they ask, “When did this happen? We never saw you like that!” Then the Master pointed to all their fellow believers standing around and said, “When you did that for them, you were doing it for Me.“

Then those on His left who were ordered to depart desperately asked for an explanation of why they were being ejected from His presence. Again, He repeated what He said to those on His right about His being hungry, thirsty, homeless, cold, sick and in prison. But to them, He said, “When you refused to do anything for your fellow believers who were suffering under these conditions, you were refusing to do it for Me.”

So the lesson to His disciples was clear. The time of His return was unpredictable, like that of the groom, but they needed to be prepared and ready when He did come. And while He was gone, they had work to do to make what He started to grow and prosper, each one according to the gifts given them, so that when He returned they could claim their part of the kingdom as an inheritance. And finally, their mission, while He was away, was to do all they could to support each other and reach out to those who needed help. After all, He died for them too; His blood was also shed for them, so they needed to hear the Good News of His first coming so they could be ready for His return.

Now, we will walk through Chapter twenty-six in the coming days. This will be a painful journey with our Lord. We will see how the disciples were tested for their loyalty, and watch as our Lord Jesus undergoes the most agonizing trial of His life. I hope and pray that you will come along to discover things you may not have known before about our Lord’s passion.

God bless all of you faithful readers. May He send you blessings for your dedication and love of His Word. We will begin Chapter twenty-six tomorrow.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Part XI

Verse 45: “The king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.’”

In other words, this is a case of God’s quid pro quo that is as old as Abraham.¹ Solomon passed on this same truth.² This is the natural reaction of some people who complain that they shouldn’t be punished for something they didn’t do. But we all have learned that often times neglect to do anything brings on a greater catastrophe than trying to do something even if it turns out to be wrong. So our Lord does not mince words in what He says next:

Verse 46: “Then these evil people will go away to be punished forever. But the godly people will go and enjoy eternal life.”

One’s eternal destiny based on their obedience or disobedience was made clear to Daniel: “There are many who are dead and buried. Some of them will wake up and live forever, but others will wake up to shame and disgrace forever.”³ The destination of the disobedient being hellfire was not new to Jewish thought. In a Targum on Isaiah, we find this quote on: “The sinners in Zion are afraid; terror has seized the wicked, who, when they were committing theft in their ways said: Who of us will dwell in Zion, in which the brightness of His Shekinah is like devouring fire? Who of us will journey to Jerusalem, where the wicked will be judged, to be thrown into everlasting fire?”⁴

The sad part is, that this lake of fire was originally prepared for the devil and his cohorts. So it is no wonder that the same punishment meant for Satan will be carried out on all those who work for him and serve his purposes. There are several theories explaining what some feel God was really saying when He said let us make man in our image, and they were created a little lower than the angels,⁵ One conjecture is that after God created man to resemble Him, Satan became jealous that this new creation was made in the image of God, and influenced other angels to join him in the rebellion that caused his, and their, fall to earth. They say it was especially humiliating when the devil found out that many in this new creation were destined to become children, not angels, of God.⁶

That’s why his first attempt after his fall was to get mankind to join him in his rebellion. Not only that but Satan and his angels’ connection to hell are also spoken of in Jewish literature. They say: “The fire which the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the second day of the week will never be extinguished.”⁷ So when put together, the Jews taught that the fallen angels fell on the second day of creation, and it was on the same day that God created hell just for them.

At the same time, they taught that heaven, the place for the saints to dwell forever in joy, was prepared on the first day of creation. So these things have been awaiting the day of judgment ever since. And again in the Targum on Isaiah we read, “For hell is made ready from eternity on account of their sins; yea, the eternal King hath prepared it deep and wide: a fiery pyre as of abundance of fuel burns in it: the Word of the Lord, like an overwhelming torrent of brimstone, will kindle it.”⁸ So this idea was not new, and Jesus.

There is no question that Jesus meant this as a revelation of the last days and His second coming, followed by the judgment. Here people will be judged on their willingness to follow the commandments of the Lord by being a light on the hill and the salt of the earth. The supposition of whatever they did for the most insignificant of the world they were, in fact, doing for Him, can be extended even beyond the deeds mentioned here by Christ. The reason being, of course, is that after Jesus finished with His list of hunger, thirst, loneliness, clothes, illness and prison, He then said, “Whatever” you did for them, you did for Me (see verse 41 above.)

Not only will we be judged on what we did, but on what we didn’t do (see verse 45 above.) Furthermore, there is room to include things we did do, albeit wrong, such as jealousy, hatred, persecution, bias, etc. Beware that, in the end, you are not classified as a goat. Most of the disciples no doubt knew of the old Jewish saying in their verbal teachings: “Be it known to you that the world to come was made only for the righteous.”⁹

As Jesus and His disciples were leaving the Temple area,¹⁰ what He had to say about the buildings being reduced to rubble should have given them a clue that things may not turn out the way they anticipated when the Messiah came. And now that He had spent a great deal of time with them on the Mount of Olives explaining why they should be ready and not surprised for events yet to come, we can almost see the look of disbelief in their eyes. I can imagine one of them whispered to another, “This is not what I was expecting.” But our Lord’s drama concerning His passion was just beginning. Now, even more frightening things would be revealed. I can also envision that Jesus wondered if they were ready for what He was about to tell them.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Part X

To put this in perspective, Jesus is saying that good or bad the evidence will either convict or acquit the person being judged. For instance, let’s say you tell your son to go rake the leaves in the yard while you went to the store. When you got back, you called him and said: Why didn’t you do what I asked you to do? He may ask, how did you know. After all, you weren’t at home to see if he did or not. You can easily say: I know you didn’t rake the leaves because they are still all over the yard. So in other words, it is the leaves that have judged him, not you.

Another early church scholar sees a moral lesson in what Jesus said: “This can also be said of teachers who gave the food of learning to those hungry for righteousness, so they might be fed and grow healthy in good actions; who administered the drink of truth to those thirsty for the knowledge of God. Teaching in the Word, they certainly fed them and also gave to drink, baptizing in the Holy Spirit those who are strangers in the world. For all souls are truly strangers on this earth who can say, ‘For I am your passing guest, a sojourner, like all my fathers.’¹ Preaching the word of faith, they welcome souls from the spreading of error and make them fellow citizens and family members of the saints. They welcome Christ Himself and clothe, by teaching righteousness, those who are naked and even without a garment of righteousness. As is written: ‘Put on, then, compassion, faith, peace and kindness.’² That is to say, they clothe Christ and baptize them in Christ, as is written: ‘For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.‘³”⁴

Then Origen has a unique way of interpreting this part of the parable. He writes: “In the same way, we have woven a garment for the cold and shivering Christ. We have received the fabric of wisdom from God that we may impart knowledge to some and clothe them with ‘compassion, chastity, kindness, lowliness’ and the other virtues. All these virtues are the spiritual garments of those who have listened to the words of those who teach these virtues, according to him who says, “Put on, then, compassion, kindness, lowliness, gentleness” and so forth, more so Christ himself, who is all these things to the faithful, according to him who said, ‘Put on the Lord Jesus.’⁵ Therefore, when we have clothed with garments of this type ‘one of the least’ who believe in Christ, we have apparently clothed the Lord Himself, so that the word of God in the world will not go naked. But we must also welcome the Son of God who became a stranger and the members of His body who are strangers in the world, untainted by all mundane actions, even as He says about Himself and His disciples: ‘They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.’⁶ And Christ asks the Father to permit them to be with Him where He is.”⁷

And finally we have this ancient commentary: “Why then, my most beloved? Does our Lord hunger and thirst? Is He Himself the one who made everything in heaven and on earth, who feeds angels in heaven and every nation and race on earth, who needs nothing of an earthly character, as He is unfailing in His own nature, is this one naked? It is incredible to believe such a thing. Yet what must be confessed is easy to believe. For the Lord hungers not in His own nature but in His saints; the Lord thirsts not in His own nature but in His poor. The Lord who clothes everyone is not naked in His own nature but in His servants. The Lord who is able to heal all sicknesses and has already destroyed death itself is not diseased in His own nature but in His servants. Our Lord, the one who can liberate every person, is not in prison in His own nature but in His saints. Therefore, you see, my most beloved, that the saints are not alone. They suffer all these things because of the Lord. In the same way, because of the saints the Lord suffers all these things with them.”⁸

Put together, these expressions may be taken as holding the view that acts of love, graciousness, and mercy were done by believers to fellow believers. For how else could Christ claim that it was done to Him if He does not live in the heart of the person receiving such compassion. Since His most often verbalized commandment was to love one another, then it would seem to be that this is upon which when a believer stands before God he or she will be judged as being compliant. This does not eliminate the love and compassion all believers should show like the good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable.

Verse 41: “Then the king will say to the evil people on his left, ‘Get away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever—the fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels.”

We must make special note that in this parable, Jesus is having the king say that God is the one who will punish them. We also notice that this punishment is the unquenchable fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Therefore, this fire was not originally prepared for Adam and Eve, and their descendants. The Jewish concept of Gehenna where the fire burned is something the disciples could easily relate to. Gehenna was often used as a metaphor for the type of punishment that only the worst of sinners would have to endure. So instead of having their conscience at peace because they did the right thing, their minds will be in torment knowing how wrong they were and cannot undo their wrong to make it right.

Verses 42-43: “You must go away because when I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me nothing to drink. When I had no place to stay, you did not welcome me into your home. When I was without clothes, you gave me nothing to wear. When I was sick and in prison, you did not care for me.”

Now, Jesus says, the words of the king for those who stood on his left were not comforting. In fact, they were condemning. But even more than that, it ties together all that Jesus has tried to illustrate with these parables, from the foolish women to the worthless servant, to the goats. It’s like saying, you tried to pretend that you were part of what the Kingdom of God is all about, but you came up short on account of being uncommitted and uncaring about the mission given you. So since you showed that you weren’t with me now I’m telling you, that I’m not with you.⁹

This not only goes for individuals, but for churches as well who profess to be one with Jesus Christ. The remarkable thing is that they are banished from His presence. While training to become a grief counselor and bereavement facilitator, I learned that the difference between grief and disappointment in our loss is that we grieve over losses that can never be recovered, and in some cases, never replaced. This can cause agony and mental torment beyond belief.

Here in our text, Jesus brings up attitudes and actions in these people’s past that have now come back to judge them. What is lost, is that the opportunity to redress these failures is now gone forever. This is why they were told to go away. This is why people need to approach the Lord and inquire if they are guilty of such lack of compassion while it is still time to repent and change.

Verse 44: “Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you without a place to stay? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see any of this and not help you?’”

This defensive answer seems to correlate with what King Saul told Samuel when he was confronted about not following instructions concerning the Amalekites.¹⁰ Also, the people of Judah said they were not aware they didn’t carry out the LORD’S instructions to the fullest.¹¹ God told Israel, it was a matter of respect.¹² Also, it’s a case of getting the message wrong,¹³ as well as misunderstanding that what you do to others is also done to God.¹⁴

One early church writer framed it this way: “Oh, the invariable disobedience of sinners! Who does not realize that every evil we do is done not because we are corruptible but because we have a bad intention? Plainly then the corruptible flesh of sinners will die, but wickedness will live on. Did they not hear the Lord saying to the righteous, ‘As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me?’¹⁵ Certainly, they should have understood that what they fail to do to people, they fail to do to Christ. But those who hear, remain adamant; those who understand, pretend they do not understand. They stand in judgment, and yet they keep on sinning. This also applies to bad teachers … who did not clothe the naked, either by teaching justice or by baptizing in Christ; who did not welcome strangers in the world through the word or introduce them into the house of the church through faith; who did not heal the sick by their words; who did not lead out, through penance, those who were sitting in the prison of ungodliness. If it is ungodly not to offer material things to bodies, which cannot live forever even if they accept these things, can you imagine how ungodly it is not to administer spiritual things to souls that are in danger and could live forever if only these things were administered to them? Since the soul is more precious than the body, it is all the more sinful not to give spiritual alms to troubled souls rather than material alms to bodies.”¹⁶

The question that comes up at this point is how can we tie punishment with the devil to followers of Christ who have not obeyed His words nor sought His will? Some find such a connection in what was said about this punishment. That it was prepared for the devil and his angels. This was because they rebelled against God, and as a result were cast out of heaven. Look at the Israelites that were freed from Egyptian bondage, but in the wilderness made a golden calf which they then worshiped as a symbol of God, rather than God Himself. As a result, everyone over the age of 21 was not allowed into the Promised Land. No doubt, because of their penchant not to walk by faith but by sight God ordered Moses to construct the Ark of the Covenant so they could see that God was with them. This is explained later when Jesus would say to Thomas: “You believe because you see me. Great blessings belong to the people who believe without seeing me!”17  Some people may object and ask how can a loving, caring God do something like this? The truth is, it isn’t God doing anything, it is the evidence that justifies the sentence for what people have done to themselves.

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”¹ These words are attributed to Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909), grand-nephew of Nathan Hale (1755-1776), the American Revolutionary War hero executed by the British for espionage. In 1903 he became Chaplain of the United States Senate.

Too often we fret and express regret over all the things we were unable to do, or that should have been done by somebody. Especially when things go wrong or goals are not met by our church, community, city, or country. But God did not design this world so that every problem would be left up to one individual solve or all needs be provided for by one source. Just like the workings of a fine clock, each part, no matter how big or small, is only required to do its job so that it can keep the correct time.

So don’t get caught up in the distress of what should have or could have been done, just ask yourself, “Did I do what I was able to do?” That’s all that matters to God, family, and neighbors. Because when we stand before Him on judgment day, He will not ask us about what we couldn’t have done, but about what we could have done. – Dr. Robert R Seyda

Here is a young lady’s story I read recently that may make you smile.

Consumed by my loss, I didn’t notice the hardness of the pew where I sat. I was at the funeral of my dearest friend – my mother. She finally had lost her long battle with cancer. The hurt was so intense, I found it hard to breathe at times. Always supportive, Mother clapped loudest at my school plays, held a box of tissues while listening to my first heartbreak, comforted me at my father’s death, encouraged me in college, and prayed for me my entire life. When mother’s illness was diagnosed, my sister had a new baby and my brother had recently married his childhood sweetheart, so it fell on me, the 27-year-old middle child without entanglements, to take care of her.

I counted it an honor. “What now, Lord?” I asked sitting in church. My life stretched out before me as an empty abyss. My brother sat stoically with his face toward the cross while clutching his wife’s hand. My sister sat slumped against her husband’s shoulder, his arms around her as she cradled their child. All so deeply grieving, no one noticed I sat alone. My place had been with our mother, preparing her meals, helping her walk, taking her to the doctor, seeing to her medication, reading the Bible together.

Now she was with the Lord. My work was finished, and I was alone. I heard the door at the back of the church open and slam shut. Quick footsteps hurried along the carpeted floor. An exasperated young man looked around briefly and then sat next to me. He folded his hands and placed them on his lap. His eyes were brimming with tears. He began to sniffle. “I’m late,” he explained, though no explanation was necessary.

After several eulogies, he leaned over and commented, “Why do they keep calling her Mary when her name is ‘Margaret?’” “Because that was her real name, Margaret. No one ever called her ‘Mary,’” I whispered. I began to wonder why this person didn’t sit on the other side of the church.

He interrupted my grieving again with his tears and fidgeting. Who was this stranger anyway, I asked myself? “No, that’s not correct,” he insisted, as several people glanced over at us whispering, “Her name is Mary, Mary Peters,” I whispered back. “That isn’t who this is,” he stuttered?” “Isn’t this the Lutheran church?” “No,” I whispered, “the Lutheran church is across the street.” “Oh, dear Lord,” he sighed. “I believe I’m at the wrong funeral.”

The solemnness of the occasion mixed with the realization of the man’s mistake bubbled up inside me and came out as laughter. I cupped my hands over my face, hoping it would be interpreted as sobs. The creaking pew gave me away. Sharp looks from other mourners only made the situation seem more hilarious. I peeked at the bewildered, misguided man seated beside me.

He was snickering, too, as he glanced around, deciding it was too late for an uneventful exit. I imagined Mother laughing. At the final “Amen,” we darted out a door and into the parking lot. “I do believe we’ll be the talk of the town,” he smiled. He told me his name was Rick and since he had missed his aunt’s funeral, asked me out for a cup of coffee. That afternoon began a lifelong journey for me with this man who attended the wrong funeral but was in the right place.

A year after our meeting, we were married at a country church where he was the assistant pastor. This time we both arrived at the same church, right on time. In my time of sorrow, God gave me laughter. In place of loneliness, God gave me love. This past June we celebrated our twenty-second wedding anniversary. Whenever anyone asks us how we met, Rick tells them, “Her mother and my Aunt Mary introduced us, and it’s truly a match made in heaven.”

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Part IX

Verse 34: “Then the king will say to the godly people on His right, ‘Come, my Father has great blessings for you. The kingdom He promised is now yours. It has been prepared for you since the world was made.’”

Chrysostom makes a special point here that merits attention. He says: “He did not say ‘take’ but ‘inherit’ as one’s own, as your Father’s, as yours, as due to you from the first. ‘For before you were,’ He says, ‘these things had been prepared and made ready for you, because I knew you would be such as you are.’”¹ The point here is that heaven and its blessings cannot be deserved, earned, bargained for, or won as a reward. They are a gift and were put in God’s treasure chest before the world was formed.

Another early church writer says: “Why will the king not address first those on his left? Because God is always more willing to praise than to denounce. For He gives good things to those who are good according to His intentions because He is good; but to those who are bad, He reluctantly gives bad things against His intentions because He is a judge. Whatever humanity does against his nature, he does rather hesitantly. If indeed Christ delighted in the punishment of sinners, He never would have delivered Himself up for them. You who sowed one seed on earth will deservedly have a hundredfold in heaven. Indeed, the kingdom of heaven has not been created according to what human righteousness deserves but according to what God’s power can prepare.”²

Again I remind myself, that in the telling of such parables it is best not to get too involved in each and every aspect of the story so as to cover up or distort the original purpose and point. A day of reckoning is coming, says Jesus and everyone will be judged on the basis of what they did with what God gave them to understand. Furthermore, the reward that the righteous will receive has been in storage since God created the heavens and the earth. And the punishment for those who rejected the truth was already announced to the serpent for what he did to deceive Adam and Eve.

Verse 35-36: “It is yours because when I was hungry, you gave me food to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you welcomed me into your home. When I was without clothes, you gave me something to wear. When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you came to visit me.”

It must be understood that these people on the right did not gain the Kingdom of God by their efforts or labor. This was not a payday. This was recognition day. Everything mentioned here that these people did were part of their kingdom way of living. It was not something that should be considered as going out of one’s way. Their invitation into the kingdom was a gift based on a promise, not on their own qualifications.

The generosity of the people lauded by Jesus in this parable can also be seen in the Jewish Messianic writings concerning what Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 9:7: “Solomon said, by a spirit of prophecy from before the Lord; the Lord of the world will say to all the righteous in the presence of everyone, go taste, with joy, your bread which is returned to you, for your bread which you gave to the poor and needy, who were hungry; and drink with a good heart the wine which is laid up for you in paradise, instead of your wine, which you have mixed for the poor and needy, who were thirsty; for, lo! now are your efforts accepted before the Lord.”³

This same theme is found in Jewish verbal teachings: “This is how we learn about the resurrection from the Torah? — From the verse, Your watchmen will lift up their voices; in harmony, they will sing together.⁴ Not ‘sang,’ but ‘will sing’ is written: thus resurrection is derived from the Torah. Rabbi Judah said in Rab’s name: Whoever keeps the guidelines on how to conduct one’s life from his disciple is the same as robbing him of his ancestral heritage, as it is written, Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob: it is an inheritance destined for all Israel from the six days of Creation.”⁵

The idea of helping others was already placed in the minds of God’s people when they entered the Promised Land, “If someone among you is needy, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which ADONAI your God is giving you, you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from giving to your needy brother. No, you must open your hand to him and lend him enough to meet his need and enable him to obtain what he wants.”⁶

I like the way one Jewish Rabbi rendered it: “Do not harden your heart or make a fist out of your hand.”⁷ One of the earliest Bible patriarchs expressed this sentiment, “I have never refused to help the poor. I always gave widows what they needed. I have never been selfish with my food. I shared what I had with orphans.”⁸ Even the Psalmist stated, “A light shines in the dark for those who are good, for those who are merciful, kind, and fair.”⁹ This may have inspired what Jesus said earlier: “In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.”¹⁰ Also, Solomon tells us, “Some people give freely and gain more; others refuse to give and end up with less.”¹¹ And one more thing Solomon said that we are to remember: “Whoever takes advantage of the poor insults their Maker, but whoever is kind to them honors Him.”¹²

Verses 37-39: “Then the godly people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you with no place to stay and welcome you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?’”

After listing the things that the king said to the faithful that he appreciated so much, there appears to have been a disconnect because they couldn’t remember having done any such things for the king. But his answer would help them understand. Such a question is natural, when those being addressed by the king cannot remember ever seeing him hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, and in prison. Furthermore, some of them may have been in a quandary because it would not have been part of their nature to take the time or effort to care for him were he to become hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, and in prison. So I’m sure that everyone listening to the king was waiting for an explanation.

Verse 40: “Then the king will answer, ‘The truth is, anything you did for any of my people here, you also did for me.’”

This seems like a logical response, and it opens the door for the Lord to teach a principle of God’s Kingdom that few realized until He explains it here. And that is, when we do His will for others, it’s the same as doing it for Him. But it also proffers another principle: “Wisdom teaches you to respect the Lord. You must be humbled before you can be honored.”¹³ This also allows for another principle to function, “Don’t brag about yourself before the king and pretend you are someone important. It is much better for the king to invite you to take a more important position than to embarrass you in front of his officials.”¹⁴ To put it another way, it is alright to brag on God, but let God be the One to brag on you.

Early church scholars had various ways of interpreting what the king said here to those who were faithful and saw their ministry to others as having a direct impact on him. For instance, Chrysostom said: “Then, in order that you may see in another way also the justice of the sentence, he first praises those who have done right. Note that the judgment is in effect made by their fellow servants. This has happened before when the virgins are judged by the virgins and in the case of the drunken and gluttonous servant who was judged by the faithful servant. It happened once again in the case of the man who buried his talent, [who was judged] by the actions of those who produced more. … This is said to bring them to the point of answering, “When did we see you hungry?”¹⁵

This is another way of saying that on Judgment Day, those who’ve done right and those who’ve done wrong will not be judged according to the Law. The Law is over, it is finished. Instead, the books will be opened and all that they’ve done with what God gave them will be used as the standard for divine justice.¹⁶ Not only will those things done for God directly be used as evidence, but those things done for God to others will count equally. That’s why so many today who think that just by going to church each Sunday, reading their Bible now and then, saying their prayers before they eat or go to sleep is what will get them through heaven’s gates are in for a rude awakening.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Part VIII

Verse 31: “The Son of Man will come again with divine greatness, and all His angels will come with Him. He will sit as king on His great and glorious throne.”

Now Jesus ties His own return to the parables He just gave. The event He mentions does not appear to be related to what is called the Rapture when He comes back to awaken those sleeping and transform those still living to meet Him in the air. At first, this may seem to be a reference to what is referred to as the setting up of His “Millennial Reign.”¹ However, as He goes on we see that it will be what is known as “Judgment Day.”²

Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man in Verse 31. He does this to reflect His descent from heaven; taking upon Himself the form of mankind; fulfilling His assignment as a suffering servant; being obedient to His Father, and even dying and enduring the curse of the cross. However, in this verse the Son of Man returns, changed from the ridiculed, beaten, suffering Savior, into the triumphant KING of Kings and LORD of Lords.

What Jesus shares here sounds very familiar to what Daniel saw: “In my vision at night I looked, and there in front of me was someone who looked like a human being. He was coming on the clouds in the sky. He came up to the Ancient King, and the King’s servants brought him before the King. The one who looked like a human being was given authority, glory, and complete ruling power. People from every nation and language group will serve Him. His rule will last forever. His kingdom will continue forever. It will never be destroyed.”³

Since Matthew chose the parable of the servants and their money and placed the apologue of Christ’s second coming right after it in the text, one might wonder what one has to do with the other. In other words, could the investment of money in the first story be representative of our giving to those in need in this second story? At the same time, could it also be that the money in the first parable is analogous of our tithes and offerings to the church while helping the hungry and thirsty in the second story be indicative of our ministry to the world? In any case, let us never become like the Pharisees who tithed to the very last penny and tiny sprig of mint, but forget the weightier matters of justice and mercy (See Matthew 23:23).

As we have seen before, the early church fathers were not as keen on interpreting these parables as a reference to the return of Christ to catch away the believers, both those asleep in the grave and those living. For instance, Jerome says: “Jesus rightly promises that the glory of the triumphant one [would follow] after two days in which He would celebrate the Passover and be consigned to the cross, mocked by humanity and given wine and gall to drink. Thus He will offset with the promised reward the blameworthy actions to follow. Clearly, He who is to be seen in majesty is the Son of man.”⁴

At the same time, Chrysostom offers this explanation: “He does not say that the coming kingdom is compared to this or that, as He has been speaking previously, but now openly shows Himself to be the Son of man, who ‘shall come in His glory.’ If He has up to now appeared in a condition of dishonor, now He appears in a different role. He reproaches. He confronts. He sits upon His throne of glory. And He continually mentions glory. For His cross was drawing near, a thing that seemed to be a matter of reproach. So He lifts His hearers up and brings before their sight the judgment seat, with all the world gathered around Him.”⁵

What Chrysostom is saying may mean that after our Lord’s death and resurrection, then everyone who will hear this story accompanied by the message of salvation, will be judged immediately on whether or not they receive what they have heard and believe in Him as the Messiah. In other words, the judgment will be that if they believe they will be saved and have eternal life, and if they don’t believe they will be condemned to eternal punishment. Then later, when they stand before the judgment seat of Christ, their guilty status will be promulgated and their punishment will follow. The key to this is that there will not be a trial and any possibility that they may still be acquitted after they die. That determination must be made before death.

Verses 32-33: “All the people of the world will be gathered before Him. Then He will separate everyone into two groups. It will be like a shepherd separating his sheep from his goats. He puts the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”

This clearly is speaking of the period at the end of the great tribulation. It will be the day of judgment. And what we find in Scripture says: “When the time for judgment comes, the wicked will be found guilty. Sinners have no place among those who do what is right.”⁶ This bears witness with what our Lord describes here. This separation on the right and left was only illustrated by Jesus in the story of how the shepherd segregates his sheep from his goats. In this case, the “right” and “left” were given no spiritual meaning such as “right” and “wrong.”

However, one famed Jewish commentator states that when God said let us make man in our image: “From here we learn the humility of the Holy One, blessed be He. Since man was created in the likeness of the angels, and they would envy him, He consulted them. And when He judges kings, He consults with His Heavenly household, for so we find regarding Ahab, that Micah said to him:⁷ ‘I saw the Lord seated on His throne, and all the host of heaven were standing by Him, on His right, and on His left.’ Now do “left” or “right” apply to the Lord? No! The passage means that angels were standing on the right to defend, and angels were standing on the left to prosecute.”⁸

From this came the tradition that being on the right hand or the left hand of the Lord is important. They that are on the right hand, are such as have done well, and are scheduled for “acquittal;” and they that are on the left hand are criminals and bound for “condemnation.” To go along with this idea of the significance of the “right” from the “left,” we find in Jewish writings the following scene: “The Sanhedrin courts were always seated in the form of a semicircular on the threshing floor, so that they could see one another, because a full circle would necessitate that the litigants would have their backs to some of the judges; two judicial scribes stood before them, one to the right, the other to the left, writing down the arguments of those who would acquit and those who would convict.”⁹ One Rabbi in his commentary concurs, “Whenever a Sanhedrin functions, two legal scribes should stand before them: one at the right and one at the left. One writes the arguments of those who seek to hold the defendant liable, and one writes the arguments of those who seek to exonerate him.” It would seem that the disciples already had this image in their minds so they could apply it to the sheep and goats. In fact, it does conform to the picture that Jesus now paints about what will happen at the judgment seat.

Early church fathers expressed their understanding on the judgment. Epiphanius made this point: “How can He be the Son of man when He is God and will come to judge all nations? He is the Son of man because He appeared on earth as a man and was persecuted as a man. Therefore this person who they said was a man will raise all nations from the dead and judge every person according to their works. Every race on earth will see Him, both those who rejected Him and those who despised Him as a man. They will see Him then, but not everyone in the same way: some will see Him in punishment and others in heavenly bliss.¹⁰ All nations will be gathered together by the angels from the foundation of the world, beginning first with Adam and Eve down to the last person on earth—whoever experienced human birth.”¹¹

Also, we have the anonymous work of one early church layman who gives his view: “So then, people on earth are intermingled, and not only intermingled in that the righteous live side by side with the wicked, but they are also indistinguishable. Between the righteous and the wicked, there is no apparent difference. Even as in wintertime you cannot tell the healthy trees apart from the withered trees but in beautiful springtime, you can tell the difference, so too each person according to his faith and his works will be exposed. The wicked will not have any leaves or show any fruit, but the righteous will be clothed with the leaves of eternal life and adorned with the fruit of glory. In this way, they will be separated by the heavenly shepherd and Lord. The earthly shepherd separates animals by their type of body, whereas Christ separates people by their type of soul. The sheep signify righteous people by reason of their gentleness, because they harm no one, and by reason of their patience, because when they are harmed by others, they bear it without resistance. He refers to sinners as goats, however, because these vices characterize goats: unpredictability toward other animals, pride, and hostility.”¹²

I would beg to differ with this scholar on his premise that before judgment day no one will be able to tell the difference here on earth between the righteous and the wicked. In fact, there must be a difference between those who live freely in the light and those still bound in darkness. A new creature in Christ Jesus must certainly stand out when compared to those bearing the image of the fallen Adam. It would go against everything Jesus said about how His followers can be distinguished from those who are still part of the unconverted world. And one of the major identifiers that Jesus announce was that they would know them because of the way they love God and love one another.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Part VII

The excuse of the last servant reminds me of the little boy who took an object off the shelf of his father’s bookcase to play with. When the father confronted him, the boy dug it out from under his blanket with the excuse, “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to play with it.” The father then asked, “Then why did you hide it?” The little lad replied, “Because I didn’t what you to see that I took it.” Very self-incriminating, isn’t it! This servant was guilty of what Eliphaz said to Job back in Abraham’s day, “What you say clearly shows your sin…you are trying to hide your sin by using clever words.”¹ What Jesus was really trying to get across to His followers was that when He returned, rationalizing their mistakes would not be enough to deflect their disenfranchisement. Why? Because this lazy servant had an option available that he did not consider or take the time to explore.

Verse 27: “So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back. And I would also get the interest that my money earned.”

Our Lord’s disciples were no doubt acquainted with Jewish laws on charging and paying interest. I can imagine that as Jesus finished this parable, His disciple Matthew, the accountant, shook his head in agreement. Everyone knew about the money changers that came to every village and set up their tables with collection boxes.

Maimonides, in his commentary on this subject, states: “How would the money changers collect the shekels? In each and every city, they positioned two chests before them. The bottoms of the chests were wide, and the tops narrow like a ram’s horn, so that the money could be deposited in them, but could not be removed from them easily. Why did they have two chests? One to deposit the half-shekels for the present year, and one to deposit the half-shekels for the previous year, for the collectors would demand payment from the people who did not give in the previous year.”² The law pertaining to this says: “When you loan something to another Israelite, you must not charge interest. Don’t charge interest on money, on food or on anything that may earn interest. You may charge interest to a foreigner. But you must not charge interest to another Israelite. If you follow these rules, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do in the land where you are going to live.”³

A well respected Rabbi points out, that the wise sages of the past view the temptation of charging a fellow Jew interest akin to the temptation that the original serpent used to seduce Eve, which is then compared to the snake in the Garden of Eden described in Hebrew as ‘biting’, hence the word ‘bitten’ that represents the damage inflicted by being charged interest.” And, say the sages, “It does not matter whether the interest payment consists of money or food or some other consideration.”⁴ In any case, the estate owner gave the unprofitable servant an example of an option he should have used.

A translation of Matthew from Hebrew reads here: “…you should have put my money on the table into the hand of these bankers, where it would have been not only safe, as if buried in the ground, where you hid it, but also would have made some increase, and would have been returned with interest.”⁵ The Greek word trapezitēs. used only here in the New Testament, refers to “ledgers or tablets” kept by bankers. The fact that these money changers could make loans to the non-Jews and charge interest signifies where the increase of the estate owner’s deposit would have come from. So when the ax falls, not only is the lackadaisical servant separated from his money but parted from the master’s employment. A similar fate befell Israel because of her noncommittal ways.⁶

Early church scholars looked at this final condemnation and had several things to say as to what it meant in their minds. For instance, Gregory taught: “The servant was trapped by his own words when his master confirms, ‘Yes, I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered. I expect something of you that I have not given. I expect much more than merely what I gave you to trade with.”⁷

Then Chrysostom shares this: “You ought to have invested my money with the banker. You ought to have spoken to someone and received his advice and been admonished. Are bankers bad people? That is not for you to say. What could be more gentle than this? Those who give money at interest keep close accounts on its repayment. But you have not done anything with it. You ought to have given it to someone else to work with and required them to report to you. I require it back with increase, that is, with some good works to boot. You ought to have done the easy part and left with someone else the part that is more difficult.”⁸

Had this been all there was to the master’s scolding of the unproductive servant, he may have been tempted to ask for a second chance. Now that he had learned his lesson, and seen how beneficial the labor was of the other servants, he’d be able to copy their model of investment and become a more productive member of the staff. But the master was not finished yet. He was back now and had no plans of going away again and putting them in charge of his estate. He would be in charge from now on.

Verse 28: So the master told his other servants, “Take the one bag of money from that servant and give it to the servant who has ten bags.”

As we have seen, although the amounts varied, the responsibility for what was done with it was the same for each servant; even though one servant had more than the other, they all had money. There is one thing that God has given all His children, and that is the Gold of the Gospel. No matter what land we live in, and regardless of the name over the church door, we all have the Gospel. Some have more understanding of it than others, but still, all have it. When basing the rest of the parable upon this same premise it becomes self-explanatory.

Verse 29: “Everyone who uses what they have will get more. They will have much more than they need. But people who do not use what they have will have everything taken away from them.”

One non-canonical Gospel has an interesting comment on this by saying, that after Jesus said: “Whoever has something in hand will be given more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little they have,” He then looked at His disciples and called them “passersby.” They were shocked and asked Jesus why He said that about them. The Master replied: “You don’t understand who I am from what I say to you. Rather, you have become like the Judeans, for they love the tree but hate its fruit, or they love the fruit but hate the tree.”⁹ In other words, they didn’t mind what He was saying, they just didn’t like the way it was packaged. Sounds like some sitting in church pews today.

What Jesus says here has been used time and time again as an explanation for why some people get promoted and some do not. It is called the “merit system.” Plainly put, the merit system is defined as follows: “A system or policy whereby people are promoted or rewarded on the basis of ability and achievement rather than because of seniority, quotas, patronage, or the like.”

Early church writer Origen gives his understanding of what it meant in his day: “Whatever someone has from natural creation when he has exercised it, he receives that very thing also from the grace of God. In this way, he may have abundance and be stronger in what he has. Concerning not only wisdom but also every good quality, we should reflect on the words of Solomon: ‘And if there is anyone perfect among the children of men, if your wisdom is taken away from him, he will be counted as nothing.’¹⁰”¹¹

Chrysostom sees it in a spiritual light: “One who is given a gift of preaching or teaching is given it so others may profit from it. If one does not use this gift, he will lose it. But one who uses the gift diligently will gain even more of the gift in abundance, even as the inactive recipient will lose what he received. The penalty is not, however, limited to this. The punishment, in addition, is intolerable, and the sentence is filled with heavy accusation.”¹²

Then Gregory also gives his assessment of what this merit system means: “Whoever does not have love loses even the gifts he appeared to have received. Hence it is necessary, my friends, that in everything you do, you be vigilant about guarding love. True love is to love your friend in God and your enemy for the sake of God. Whoever does not have this loses every good that he possesses; he is deprived of the talent he received, and according to the Lord’s sentence he is cast into external darkness. External darkness comes as a punishment to one who has fallen voluntarily into internal darkness through his own sin. The one who freely enjoyed pleasurable darkness in this world will be constrained to suffer punishing darkness in the next.”¹³

What I see here is our Lord saying that we should not stand around waiting to be promoted or for the Holy Spirit to give us more authority in God’s kingdom before we get involved. Some believe that if God likes them enough, that out of His generosity and favor He will give them all the support and aid they will need in promoting the message of salvation to a lost and dying world before asking them to go out. But the point here is clear. Take what you already have, use it to the best of your ability, and if God thinks He can trust you with more, you won’t have to ask, He’ll give it to you on His terms, not yours.

Verse 30: Then the master said, “Throw that useless servant outside into the darkness, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

I doubt that this unproductive servant expected this to be his reprimand. He may have thought perhaps he would only be demoted, or maybe fired, but not thrown out into the street where the beggars sat and made their living by calling out in agony for alms.

Rabbi Judah puts it in a different perspective when likening some people to this useless servant. He says: “Three things shorten a man’s days and years: To be given a scroll of the Law to read from and to refuse; to be given a cup of benediction to say grace over and to refuse and to assume airs of authority. ‘To be given a scroll of the Law to read from and to refuse’, as it is written: For that is the purpose of your life!¹⁴ ‘To be given a cup of benediction to say grace over and to refuse’, as it is written: I will bless those who bless you.¹⁵”¹⁶

The paramount thing to remember is this: the wicked and lazy servant was punished for one reason, not that he hid his money, but that he made no effort to increase the giver’s investment. The same can be said for what we do with our understanding of the Gospel. It’s not enough to study it until we can repeat it from memory; if we have not invested it into the lives of those who’ve never heard it, we not only waste our own time, but we are wasting the Gold of God’s Word. Let a word to the wise be sufficient.

Chrysostom makes a very salient point in his sermon on this text. He says: “Do you see how sins of omission also are met with extreme rejection? It is not only the covetous, the active doer of evil things and the adulterer, but also the one who fails to do good. Let us listen carefully then to these words. As we have the opportunity, let us work to cooperate with our salvation. Let us get oil for our lamps. Let us use our talents for His work. For if we are backward and spend our time in hesitancy here, no one will pity us any more hereafter, though we should wail ten thousand times.… Remember the virgins who again entreated and came to him and knocked, all in vain and without effect.”¹⁷

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Part VI

This theme of applauding those who do good work for the Master’s in a faithful way was part of the Jewish Zohar, under the section on abbreviations. It says, “Lishma¹ – for the Creator’s sake. Man’s selfless intention to act only to please and bring joy to the Creator.”² In the same book, this was also clearly stated, “…behold what great joys the Holy One has prepared for the just and upright in the world to come. How favored are those who come in with a pure heart and mind, blessed also are they who in the world remain steadfast and firm and unmoved as pillars of right and truth.”³ Sounds something like what the apostle Paul would write. Of course, Paul was Jewish, so that shouldn’t be a surprise. But now the Lord turns to the one who shirked his duties and responsibilities.

We have the impressions of early church scholars on this parable. Origen writes: “We earnestly believe that we are incapable of explaining such things, unlike those who infer from the perceptible events of the Scriptures more inspired meanings. These are spiritual meanings that Solomon calls ‘divine’ and which Jeremiah calls ‘faculties of the heart⁴ and which Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews calls ‘faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.’⁵ The persons in the first group are those who in addition to the ‘five talents’ gained five more, trading with them and capitalizing on their ability. Successfully negotiating and zealously teaching, they traded and acquired five more talents. Indeed, no one readily benefits from another’s ability unless he has that ability, to begin with. A wise man grows in wisdom, a trustworthy man in trust.”⁶

I agree with this scholar and theologian who arrived at his conclusion after having traveled and lived in the Middle East. We must keep in mind that a story from one culture may not be as easily explained to those raised in another. The whole idea of a business man going off for a long time and leaving his supervisors and employees behind to run the estate after he has established a budgetary fund for them to use at their discretion is foreign to most western thinking. But when we concentrate on the main idea of responsibility and accountability, then we can find the same moral in many such stories.

But Origen has more to say about these servants giving their report. About the servant who was given five talents of silver and brought those back with five more, Origen says: “Note this: What each man knows, he can teach to another, up to the level of as much as he knows. This he can teach to another and no more. Therefore whatever someone has in himself, by teaching this to another, he gains it in the other, making that person have what he too has. Consequently, he who had received the “five talents” is said not to have gained more than the five which he had and “he who had received the two talents” not more than the two which he had.”⁷

In my study of church history, and after talking to one of my most respected mentors, Dr. Charles W. Conn, I was made aware of this factor in church growth and development. Martin Luther took those who joined him in the reformation as far as his own theological understanding of salvation by grace, not works, and his personal experience had taken him. Also, John Wesley took those who followed his teachings on sanctification as the second work of this same grace to the same level as his own cognizance and experience. Then, those in the early Pentecostal movement has taken those who joined them in accepting the baptism in the Holy Spirit as empowerment from on high to do the work in their calling, as far as their own understanding allowed. But each of these eras brought new challenges for God’s people, so what is the next step? In the Scriptures, it is clear that His second coming now comes into view.

When we look at the record of these movements, after several decades and centuries members seldom moved any further in their theological understanding of God’s words, especially that of the Fruit of the Spirit, the Gifts of the Spirit, and the Ministries of the Holy Spirit, and so the movement leveled off. In time, they began to decrease in membership and enthusiasm. The young people no longer found anything challenging or exciting in the repeated use of old hymns and the formal worship that had become stagnant. In some cases, the age of the congregants kept getting older and older until finally the doors were closed because of the lack of attendance and financial support.

That is why the term “revival” is so important. It means to resuscitate the glow of the Spirit, the joy of worship, the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit in gifts and ministry. I’ve often thought of those churches that have become so steeped in tradition that they have no interest in evangelism and growing in the word and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as potted plants instead of trees planted by the rivers of living water. They want all the attention they can get but produce no fruit. They are more for display than for dynamics.

Verses 24-25: “Then the servant who got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, I knew you were a very hard man. You harvest what you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not put any seed. So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is the one bag of money you gave me.’”

Now comes the pitiful servant who did not understand the phrases: “No risk, no reward; or “No pain, no gain.” The excuse he gave on why he did not attempt to invest what was given to him because his master was a “very tough man,” is self-defeating. He knew that his master would accept no excuses, alibis, or apologies. If this servant had suffered a fall that paralyzed him or a heart attack that left him too weak to function, then the master would have had understood and showed compassion. But no such thing happened.

Another reason for his lack of productivity was that he knew that his master, “harvested where he did not plant.” In Middle East terms, this is indicative of leasing out land with an agreement that the tenant share in the harvest. The term: “gathered crops where you did not plant seed,” is a repeat of this same tactic, except when put together, the first suggested that the tenant paid for leasing the land through rent, while the second tenant paid for leasing the land in-kind. That means, if it was an apple orchard, then a portion of the apple crop was to be brought to the owner who could then turn around and sell them without bearing any of the cost of planting, nurturing, watering or harvesting the crop.

Origen gives his thoughts on these excuses: “How are we to understand the phrase that our Lord truly reaps where he did not sow and gathers where he did not sift? In this way, it seems to me: The righteous man ‘sows in the Spirit,’ from which he will also ‘reap eternal life.’⁸ Everything that is sown and reaped for eternal life by the righteous man, God reaps. The righteous man belongs to God, who reaps where not he but the righteous man has sown. So we may say that the righteous man has ‘scattered and given to the poor.’⁹ The Lord, however, gathers to Himself whatever the righteous man has ‘scattered and given to the poor.’ Reaping what he has not sown and gathering where he has not winnowed, he counts as having been done to himself whatever the faithful have sown or winnowed for the poor. He says to those who have done good to their neighbors: ‘Come you, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom which was prepared for you. I was hungry and you gave me to eat.’¹⁰”¹¹

However, these excuses did not please the master. What had this servant done to receive the one bag of money in the first place? Wasn’t it given to him out of faith and trust in his ability to use it to enlarge his portion of the business so that it earned a return on his investment? I feel strong enough to say that had he invested it but there was a crop failure or some other catastrophe, the master would have accepted that as part of the risk. Therefore, the real misfortune was his failure to even try.

Verse 26: The master answered, ‘You are a useless and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvested what I did not plant and that I gathered crops where I did not put any seed.”

The list of excuses given by this dysfunctional servant is still with us today. First, leaders today are hearing this cop-out: “Your expectations were too high for a person with my limited abilities.” Then the second excuse: “Your demands were more than I could cope with because of the impediments involved.” The third apology: “I’m not used to working on this level of expertise because of my lack of opportunity for training.” And the fourth alibi: “I figured it was best not to try and mess it up than trying and getting it all wrong,” is the lamest.

But as we can see, the man’s employer saw it as a clear example of negligence brought on by a lack of real commitment. The servant who was given the most was liable for increased failure, if not more, than the servant who was given so little. This nonproductive servant was using the same excuse we find in Ezekiel: “The Lord isn’t fair!”¹² Then again, he may have had the same attitude as those in Malachi: “We did what the Lord All-Powerful told us, but we didn’t gain anything.”¹³ But in reality, his answer to his master was a weak and passive defense.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Part V

So, it did not surprise the disciples that the servants in this parable were left to take care of the estate. The question as to why the owner gave different amounts to each servant he chose can only be attributed to his reasons for doing so. However, based on standard practices followed by such professionals they usually gave more to the experienced and less to the novice. But the principle of being responsible is exactly the same. This was already a part of Jesus’ thought as we see when He said, “But what about the servant who does not know what his master wants? He also does things that deserve punishment. But he will get less punishment than the servant who knew what he should do. Whoever has been given much will be responsible for much. Much more will be expected from the one who has been given more.”¹

The disciples surely could have learned a lesson from the prophet Obadiah who was in charge of the king’s palace. We read: “Obadiah was a true follower of the Lord. One time, when Jezebel was killing all the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah hid 100 prophets in two caves. He put 50 prophets in one cave and 50 prophets in another cave. Then he brought them food and water.”² In this case, Obadiah did not wait to be told what to do, he gladly accepted the responsibility because of his position as a servant of the LORD. This is the difference between an experienced servant and a beginner.³

When we look at this owner’s estate as representative of the church and the servants as those to whom Jesus gave the great commission, then we can see that among the twelve He originally chose, eleven of them did take the gifts of instruction and wisdom He gave them and worked hard in order the make His kingdom grow. And, it is easy to see how some of them, such as Peter, James, and John were very successful, while the remaining eight, such as Philip, made a considerable contribution. But Judas Iscariot hid what Jesus gave him and ended up losing everything. While the apostle Paul was not necessarily the replacement for Judas Iscariot, he turned out the be the most successful of them all.

Verse 18: “But the servant who got one bag of money went away and dug a hole in the ground. Then he hid his master’s money in the hole.”

As we can see in our Lord’s parable, there’s always someone in the crowd who thinks they know better than the person in charge. In this case, a person who decided to leave things the way they were when they were put in charge. Unfortunately, there have been pastors who’ve accepted the duty of leading a church, and in the ensuing years of their tenure never made any positive changes? If any modifications were made, it was to lessen their work load and area of responsibility. As Solomon exhorted, “Someone who does careless work is as bad as someone who destroys things.”⁴

Not only that, but we find another description of such people who refuse to take on more than the minimal amount of responsibility, “A person who is lazy and wants to stay home says, ‘What if there is a lion out there? Really, there might be a lion in the street?’ Like a door on its hinges, a lazy man turns back and forth on his bed. Lazy people are too lazy to lift the food from their plate to their mouth. Lazy people think they are seven times smarter than the people who really have good sense.”⁵ Jesus had no interest in such people being put in charge as caretakers of His mission to expand God’s kingdom. So, He goes on to describe what happens when people are made accountable for the responsibility given them, no matter how big or how small.

Verse 19: “After a long time, the master came back home. He asked the servants what they did with his money.”

It is important to notice, that Jesus stated the master came home “after a long time.” This may have been a clear message not only to His disciples but also to all His followers in the ensuing centuries and generations. It was recorded, that after His ascension back into heaven many who followed Him thought that He would return in their lifetime. But the price He paid on the cross was way too high for His mission to end prematurely until all who hear the Good News of salvation are given the opportunity to believe and be saved. In fact, with more and more people joining the human family on earth each day, it is imperative that we concentrate on getting the word out and leave the timing of His return in the hands of the Father.

Another thing to make note of is that as soon as this master returned he called into account all those to whom he had given responsibility and authority to make his estate grow and expand. There was no great feast or lengthy celebration, giving each servant time to get things lined up and in order. In fact, taken in the context of what He said about the arrival of the groom in the previous parable, there is every possibility that the master showed up suddenly and unannounced. So, whatever was left undone could not be done in the short interval between his arrival and calling his servants in to account for their actions.

Early church scholars give their opinions on what they see in this day of reckoning. Origen writes: “Notice that the servants did not go to the master so they might be judged and receive their just rewards. Rather, the master came to them in due course. After a long time, he came and settled accounts with them on everything they had done, compensating them for the gains of their good works and the losses of their sins. Settling ‘accounts’ and scrutinizing everything, he dealt with each one individually. It behooves us, then, as those who by sinning have done evil and by doing good reaped a profit, to guard our hearts. In this way, when our Master comes to settle accounts with us, we may not be found to have done evil, even through idle words.”⁶

Chrysostom offers this thought in one of his sermons on this text: “To me, Jesus seems to say these things as a suggestion of the resurrection. But here it is no more a vineyard and husbandmen but all farmers. For it is not to rulers only or to Jews but to all that He addresses this discourse. And those who bring a return to Him confess frankly, both what is their own and what is their Master’s. And the one says, ‘Lord, you gave me five talents,’ and the other says, ‘two,’ indicating that from him they received the source of their gain, and they are very thankful and reckon all to him.”⁷

And Bishop Gregory preached this: “The Lord who dispensed the talents returns to demand an account because He who now generously bestows spiritual gifts may at the judgment inquire searchingly into what was achieved; He may take into account what everyone has received and add up the gain we bring back from his gifts.”⁸ This is an excellent way of looking at the gifts of the Holy Spirit that He bestows on those whom He sees fit for service.⁹

So, there is no doubt, that from the earliest of times the church understood that one day all believers would stand individually before the Lord to give an account of what they did with the talent, gifts, and power He gave them through the Holy Spirit to advance His kingdom by spreading the good news of salvation to those who are lost, and maintaining the faith of those who believe. It will be made known at that time how much of what He gave them they used to promote themselves, and how much they used to promote and expand the kingdom of God.

Verses 20-23: “The servant who got five bags brought that amount and five more bags of money to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of money. So I used them to earn five more.’ The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with that small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’ “Then the servant who got two bags of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of money to care for. So I used your two bags to earn two more.’ The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with a small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.’”

The disciples are now hearing about how those given responsibilities and authority in the kingdom will be held accountable to see who was faithful in carrying it out as a labor of love. We find this same principle in the story how King Hezekiah handled his obligations, “So King Hezekiah did those good things in all Judah. He did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. He had success in every work he began—the service of God’s Temple and in obeying the law and commands, and in following his God. Hezekiah did all these things with all his heart.”¹⁰

Jewish tradition tells us that it was not unusual for masters to applaud their servants on a job well done. We find the following in their writings: “Rabbi Jose said: If he was a good servant, they can say over him, O for a good and faithful individual, who worked for their living!”¹¹ As we can see from the parable, carrying out one’s responsibility is important. It is not what brings pleasure to oneself that counts, but what pleases the One who holds eternal life in His hands. So we can see that if a believer is given the charge to win their neighbor to Christ, they will not be judged wrongly for not winning the whole city.

1 Luke 12:48; cf. Mt. 13:12

2 I Kings 18:3-4