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INTRODUCTION <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jesus finishes His prophetic discourse with a series of three parables \u2013 the parable of the wicked slave (24:45-51), the parable of the ten virgins (25:1-13), and the parable of the talents (25:14-30). <\/span> Each of these is about expectation, and each describes how wise and faithful disciples respond to their master\u2019s delay. <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE TEXT <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. <\/span> Now five of them were wise, and five <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> were <\/span> <\/em> <\/span> foolish. <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> Those who <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> were <\/span> <\/em> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them . . . .\u201d (Matthew 25:1-30). <\/span> <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n HOUSEHOLD SERVANTS <\/span> <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we saw last week, the brief parable of the servants of the house is tied directly to Jesus\u2019 predictions about the destruction of the temple. <\/span> Jesus\u2019 \u201chouse\u201d is His temple, and the servants in the parable are implicitly priests. <\/span> Like priests, they have to provide food at the proper time (v. 45; cf. Numbers 28-29). <\/span> If Jesus\u2019 disciples fail to serve His people, His temple, and join the drunkards (Leviticus 10:9; Deuteronomy <\/span> 21:18 <\/span> -21; cf. 1 Corinthians 10), they will themselves become sacrifices, cut in two by the Master. <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE BRIDEGROOM COMES <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The parable of the virgins ends with a warning to \u201cbe on the alert\u201d (25:13), which echoes the warning that Jesus gave in 24:42. <\/span> This parable too is about the delay between Jesus\u2019 departure in the ascension and His \u201creturn\u201d a generation later for the wedding feast (25:1; cf. Revelation 19:1-10). <\/span> Again, the symbolism suggests a temple setting. <\/span> The temple was the \u201ctrysting place\u201d of Yahweh and <\/span> Israel <\/span> (cf. 2 Chronicles 3:1 with Ruth 3). <\/span> Like Passover, the coming of the Bridegroom happens at <\/span> midnight <\/span> (25:6; Exodus <\/span> 12:29 <\/span> ; cf. Esther 6; Acts <\/span> 16:25 <\/span> ; 27:27-44). <\/span> The virgins are attendants of the Bride, the ones who prepare her for the wedding and the coming of the Bridegroom. Perhaps they are meant to symbolize <\/span> Israel <\/span> , who was supposed to prepare the way for the coming of the full Bride, in which there is no Jew or Greek. <\/span> Like the servants in the previous parable, some of the virgins are prepared for the wedding and others are not; they arrive too late and are shut out (vv. 8-11). <\/span> The wise virgins keep the oil of the Spirit, and thus shines like lights in the dark world (cf. Matthew <\/span> 5:15 <\/span> -16). <\/span> \u201cBuying and selling\u201d is a liturgical image (Isaiah 55:1; Revelation <\/span> 3:18 <\/span> ), and the foolish virgins don\u2019t go to the \u201cmarket\u201d soon enough to have a supply of oil. <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TALENTS <\/span> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A talent is equivalent to 6000 denarii, or 20 years wages for a day laborer. <\/span> Household servants are like priests; but the servants in this parable handle money, and function more as kings (cf. 2 Samuel <\/span> 12:30 <\/span> ; 1 Kings <\/span> 9:14 <\/span> ; <\/span> 10:10 <\/span> , 14; etc.). <\/span> The question with this parable is about timing: Is Jesus still talking about the time between His departure and the \u201csettling of accounts\u201d in AD 70? <\/span> Or is He talking about the entire period between His ascension and the final judgment? <\/span> Two details hint that Jesus has changed theme. <\/span> First, as noted, 25:13 matches 24:42, and thus closes out the section about the \u201cday and hour\u201d that is coming within \u201cthis generation.\u201d <\/span> Second, the master in this parable is gone for a \u201clong time\u201d (v. 19). <\/span> Jesus thus appears to be talking about the whole age between the ascension and the final judgment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" INTRODUCTION Jesus finishes His prophetic discourse with a series of three parables \u2013 the parable of the wicked slave (24:45-51), the parable of the ten virgins (25:1-13), and the parable of the talents (25:14-30). Each of these is about expectation, and each describes how wise and faithful disciples respond to their master\u2019s delay. THE TEXT […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-nt-matthew"],"yoast_head":"\n