JUNE 1st, 2025 PASTOR DON PIEPER
Kingdom Parables MATTHEW 25:1-13;14-46
“WAIT! HE DID WHAT NOW?!”
If you knew you only had a few days left..., what would you do? What's on your bucket list?
Most of us have places we want to visit, meals we'd consume, people we'd want to see. One person
posted theirs: 1) Go to the library and ask for a book on how to read; 2) approach people at the mall, show them your ID, and ask, “Have you seen this man/woman?”; 3) walk into Sea World with a jar of bait and a fishing pole; and 4) call someone on the phone and tell them you can't talk right now.
Jesus repeatedly told his disciples that he would soon be put to death. So what did Jesus do? What was on hisbucket list? Well, let's see. He led a parade, he washed his disciples' feet, he gave his followers a gift to remember him by, and he made an amazing promise, promising that the Father “will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit...” (John 14:16)
And now, with time fast running out, we find Jesus telling stories. Wait! He did what now? His life is being threatened but instead of defending himself against his adversaries he sits around telling stories? But these are not just any kind of story. These provocative word pictures depict what happens when Jesus becomes the center of our lives and relationships, and what happens when he isn't.
So it is, knowing that his earthly ministry is almost at an end, that Jesus returns to storytelling mode..., leaving us not one, but a trilogy of distinct yet interconnecting parables.
The first one picks up the theme from his discouse in the previous chapter, where Jesus warns: “Keep watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come... So you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:42, 44)
To illustrate that point and to go beyond it as well, Jesus begins his trilogy of stories with the parable of the ten virgins. “At that time the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” (Matthew 25:1)
At that time? At what time? The parable's reference to time recalls Jesus teaching from the previous chapter about being watchful and ready for “the day when your Lord will come”. It's a time when Jesus' return is imminent, but not quite here yet. “The bridegroom was a long time in coming.” (Matthew 25:5)
The focus is on living in a state of readiness. There's a profoundly personal element to his story. Each of the bridesmaids is responsible for themselves. The implication being that we don't wind up in the presence of God riding on the coattails of our family or friends... The setting is that of a wedding reception where ten bridemaids are waiting for the groom to arrive. As in Melanie's wedding last weekend, the bride's family were responsible for organizing the ceremony and providing a meal.
Afterwards the bridesmaids would lead the couple and their guests in a procession to the groom's home where the festivities would then commence. The procession clearly takes place at night as lamps or torches or needed. The bridesmaids are responsible for maintaining enough oil in their lamps to keep the flame burning brightly. [As the old VBS song goes: Give me oil in my lamp...]
The wise, prepared bridemaids have purchased additional oil to keep their lanterns going but the foolish ones have not. So it is, that when the bridegroom finally arrives only half of the bridesmaids are prepared to meet him at the bride's home and lead him in the procession to his home. The others, we are told, are left outside in the dark as the story ends and the party begins.
-2-
The story contains both good news and not so good news. The good news is that all are invited to be a part of that grand procession that culminates in a great party, a feast of the ages. It is a metaphor that Jesus has used before to describe what the kingdom of heaven looks like. Probably the most well known of those other stories is that of the Prodigal Son, in which the Father celebrates the return of his lost son. “'Let's have a feast and celebrate! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' So they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:23-24)
The parable of the ten bridesmaids picks up that theme. The kingdom of heaven will be like a great and glorious feast in which the faithful enter in and celebrate. As we saw last week, a wedding reception is one of Jesus' favorite images for the Kingdom of heaven. The good news, as we saw, is that everyone's invited. The bad news, as revealed in this parable as well, is that though all are invited not all will enter in. Some will turn out to be less than faithful and will be caught unprepared when the Groom, returns. As with the older son in the Prodigal parable, some will be found standing out in the darkness. Their being “locked out” will be the result of their own actions – or lack thereof!
That theme is echoed in the second of Jesus' final trilogy of parables. As in the first one, the parable of talents ends with some participating in the generosity of their master but not all. As in the parable of the ten bridesmaids we're told of a servant who winds up in the end standing “out in the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:30)
How did he wind up there? Again, it boils down to one's personal decisions. Entrusted with his master's treasures, each must decide how to best make use of them. Some wisely invest it for the sake of furthering their master's business – growing the kingdom, one changed life at a time.
Those who do will be richly rewarded as we see with the first two servants: “'Well done, good and faithful servant!' the master replied. 'You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'” (Matthew 25:21)
In the third parable the focus shifts from the biotic to the cosmic, from the personal to the global as we're told that “all the nations will be gathered before (The Son of Man), and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from the goats.” (Matthew 25:32)
Jesus' favorite nickname for himself by the way, the Son of Man, comes from the prophecies of the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel. It signfifies God's chosen one who brings God's plan...to life.
Again, it is what we do with what has been entrusted to us that distinguishes the wise ones from the foolish, the faithful stewards from the lazy ones, the sheep from the goats.
As James puts it in his letter to the early church: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:14-17)
In a poignant scene in the film, The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne, bumps into his former girl friend as he's leaving a hotel, drunk and dripping wet. He's been living the life of a playboy as of late and she sadly recognizes how far short of his potential he is living. When he tells her he's still the same on the inside her words echo those of James: You may be...., but it's what you do that defines you.
-3-
Jesus final trilogy of parables draws an unmistakeable connection between faith and our actions. As Jesus put it: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40) Jesus leaves us with a compelling trilogy – and through it, a call for action!
In one we're reminded of the personal nature of his message. We're each responsible for our own response evident in the bridegroom's chilling words: “I tell you the truth, I don't know you.” (Matthew 25:12) It is by our actions that we are known. How do yours....point to Jesus?
In the second parable, we are urged to invest what has been entrusted to us in the work of our master. And in the grand finale, Jesus emphasizes that our faith, our love for God, is best expressed in our love for those around us, particularly those in need in which there is no immediate return. In many ways and in many circumstances such loving actions may look rather unremarkable...
Richard Stanford tells of such an experience riding the subway system in Atlanta. Waiting in the terminal with thousands of other commuters in seemed like any other day. A thousand people standing shoulder to shoulder, staring ahead, ignoring each other, tolerating each other at best.
Then suddenly a petite black women, dressed simply but courting a huge smile appeared at the bottom of the escalator and announced: “How y'all doing this morning?” She practically sang the words. People glanced at her. She grabbed a surprised businessman's hand, shook it, and looking him in the eye warmly greeted him, “Good morning! How ya doing this morning?” “Fine, thanks!”
She looked across the tracks at the crowd on my side of the platform. “How about y'all over there? How's by you? I just want to let y'all know that God sent me here to cheer you all up!” Soon strangers were engaging with one another, laughing with one another as she quietly slipped away. Dick found himself talking to another woman and offering to help her carry her groceries. She remarked, “I ride this train every day and you know what, you're the first person to ever talk to me!” I told her about the woman sent by God who modeled to us how to share our humanity instead of guarding it.
Jesus told these parables to further clarify what it means to be watchful and ready for his return and how to live until he comes. The time is short. The stakes are high. His closing words make that crystal clear: “(Some) will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
(Matthew 25:46)
Yes, the time is short. The stakes are high. But the rewards are simply out of this world! “(Those) who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet...” (Matthew 25:10)
And the master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!”
(Matthew 25:21)
“Then the King will say..., 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.'” (Matthew 25:34)
My friends, these are not just stories. These are glimpses of our Savior's heart. These are windows by which we catch a snapshot of eternity. This is a call to action! It is left to each of us to decide how we will make use of this interim time – the time in between the King's first coming and his second coming. To not respond is still a response. Jesus stories force the issue: How will you respond?
Live in such a way that those who know you but don't know God wil come to know God because of you!