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Matthew 25:14-30 A parable of salvation
A parable takes a non-personal
real life situation and uses it as an illustration to teach a specific
spiritual truth.
The illustration itself is only a teaching aid and not designed to identify or
correlate with any other place a similar illustration or symbol may occur.
Every parable has one major spiritual truth to relate and each detail in the
illustration works together to highlight that spiritual truth without drawing
significant attention to itself.
IN GENERAL, the spiritual truth that is being communicated in this parable is that God
makes available to the human race, His divine resources for representing the
kingdom of light in the midst of the world of darkness. God’s desire is to use
every member of the human race to further the promotion of the light (1 Tim.
2:4). But this requires a salvation
relationship with God
first. And that requires the humility attitude that recognizes the creature’s
responsibility to the Creator and his accountability to the Creator’s
viewpoint and policy.SPECIFICALLY, it is the nation of Israel that was
given the commission to represent the Messianic promise to the rest of the
world. That is, to bring the message of salvation through the sacrificial
death of the Savior. Of course, FIRST, each individual is personally
responsible for his own salvation decision of accepting or rejecting God's
policy for entrance into the kingdom of God.
In the parable there are 3 major factors.
1. THE SLAVES: This refers to those who have been given the responsibility to
accept the Messianic promise, and to represent that Messianic truth to the
world. It could have a GENERAL application as indicated above, but the context
seems to suggest the SPECIFIC application to the national priesthood of
Israel. The minor detail of THREE different amounts has no significance to the
primary application. It is simply part of the illustration from a real life
situation. It COULD refer to the different AMOUNT of knowledge that one has
received, but this is an idea from silence and does not add to or detract from
the primary issue of accountability to the salvation message that one has
received. However, if one wants to find such an application, there is no harm.
2. THE RESPONSIBILITY: In such a case, then everyone receives a different quantity of information based on God’s knowledge
as to what that person needs and is capable of doing. However, there is a bare
minimum that is provided, and God expects the bare minimum response, which
would be total trust in the
Messiah as God’s source for relationship with Him.
A. The slave who received 5 units enters into relationship with God and on
that basis makes a 100% return on God’s divine resources.
B. The slave who received 2 units, likewise entered into relationship with God
and had a 100% return.
C. The slave who received 1 unit, produced nothing. This one received policy
information for entrance into relationship with God, but because he had no
creature humility, he rejected his accountability to God and the
responsibility that God had placed upon him simply by giving him physical life
at birth.
In all three cases, the bare minimum response is to accept the authority,
viewpoint and policy of God as represented in the Messianic promise in order
to enter into relationship with God.
3. THE CONSEQUENCES:
At the return of Jesus and “during” that time period known as the Day of the
Lord, God will call into account the responsibility that each one has. The one
who rejected his accountability to God and failed to trust in Christ as
savior, is assigned a place in the outer darkness while the other two are
given the SAME reward of entering “into the joy of your master.”
This represents the “status” of relationship with God that is indicated by
using the divine provisions. The destiny of each one is their salvation which
was acquired here on earth by trusting in Jesus as the Messiah.
The fact that the two productive slaves started with two different units and
yet produced the “same” (100% return) indicates the same requirement from God
(acceptance of the Messiah). Had the wicked slave not been wicked and trusted
in the Messiah, he would have produced a 100% return on his one unit of divine
provision and would have secured his entrance into “the joy of his master.”
At verse 29, Jesus makes application to the unbeliever of the nation of Israel
who has been given the divine commission to represent the Messianic promise to
the rest of the world. However, when the nation fails, God temporarily sets
her aside and assigns the divine commission to the new priestly body, the
church (Mat. 21:33-35). Any individual then, of the nation who follows in that
unbelief and rejection of Jesus as the Messiah is assigned to the outer
darkness. Any individual of the nation of Israel, who accepts Jesus as the
Messiah, is made a part of the new priestly body, is given “new” information
and will have an abundance.
“For to everyone who has shall {more} be given, and he shall have an
abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be
taken away.
This is the same thing He taught at Mat. 13:10-12.
V. 10, the parables are spoken to those with the positive volition to receive
them; those who are truly hungry for relationship with God.
The religious leaders and the multitudes who have been duped by them, are in
that category. Just as Isaiah said,
“You will keep on hearing but not understand.
You will keep on seeing but not perceive.
For the heart of this people has become dull,
And with their ears, they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes
With the result that they do not see with their eyes,
Nor hear with their ears,
Nor understand with their heart and return,
And I heal them,” Mat. 13:14-15
At verse 11, Jesus says to the disciples, “To you it has been given to know
the mysteries of the kingdom of
the heavens.”
They are positive to the things of God and have recognized in Jesus, the
fulfillment of the Old Testament Messianic promises. They represent the
first fruits of the nation of Israel, who will be taken out of the nation of
Israel and joined into the new priestly body of the church which will
represent the Messianic message of redemption from sin.
To them, that is the ones who have rejected Jesus as the Messiah, it has not
been given, for the reasons explained in verses 14-15.
But at verse 12, we are given the explanation of the transition from the old
priestly body to the new one.
1. For whoever has: This refers to the one who has access to Messianic truth
and embraces it.
2. Shall more be given: This refers to the truth relevant to the “new priestly
body,” the church. We can call it “church age truth,” or “mystery doctrine,”
(Rom. 16:25-26) but it refers to that information that teaches us how we are
to now relate to the
Godhead in view of Messiah’s arrival and victory on the cross.
3. And he shall have an abundance: The abundance refers to the possession of
BOTH “old body” truth and “new body” truth as illustrated by the household
manager at Mat. 13:52, And He said to them,
“Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the
kingdom of heaven is like
a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and
old.”
This one has the advantage of melding together the spiritual truths of the
Old Testament with the spiritual truths of the
New Testament and thus possessing everything he needs for life and
proper worship through the full knowledge of Him, Who called us by His own
glory and integrity, (2 Pet. 1:3).
4. But whoever does not have: This refers to the one who has access to
Messianic truth and does not embrace it.
5. Even what he has will be taken from him: He will be removed from the place
of representing the Messiah. The nation of Israel is removed from that place
of her national commission as given at Ex. 19:3-5, and every individual who
remains identified with her through the same expression of unbelief, will
“fill up the sins of their forefathers” (Mat. 23:32).
The nation’s “house” (priestly commission as represented in the temple” will
be left to them desolate (Mat. 23:38) and “the kingdom of God will be taken
away from (them) and be given to a nation (the spiritual nation of the church
- 1 Pet. 2:9) producing the fruit of it,” (Mat. 21:43).
At Mat. 13:16, we find the promise of true inner happiness for those who
become a disciple of the kingdom through faith in the Messiah.
“But HAPPY (Greek word, makarios, always means happy) are your eyes, because
they see; and your ears because they hear.”
Thus, the believer in Jesus as the Messiah, will “enter into the JOY of your
master,” and the one who rejects Jesus, will be cast into “the outer darkness,
where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” (Mat. 25:30)
See Topic: gnashing of teeth and outer darkness
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