Matthew 25

1 – 5

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten girls who went to wait for the bridegroom. They took their lamps with them. Five of the girls were foolish and five were wise. The five foolish girls took their lamps, but they did not take more oil for the lamps to burn. The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars. The bridegroom was very late. All the girls became sleepy and went to sleep.

There are many churches which name the name of Jesus but they do not know Him. For them Jesus was a good man who shows us how to live a nice life and so He is just like other men in history who teach us some good things. These people are mixed in with God’s people everywhere but they do not have the oil of the Holy Spirit because they have never been born-again.

6 – 9

At midnight someone cried out, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’ Then all the girls woke up and got their lamps ready. But the foolish girls said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’

The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

Our lamp is our testimony. Our testimony means that we tell others that we have been born-again by the blood of Christ. Those who are not born-again have no oil and no testimony of how they were saved because they only talk about Jesus as a good man.

They have defeated [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. Revelation 12:11

10. “So the five foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.

The unbelievers hear that Jesus is coming but He is not here yet so they try to find a way to be ready. They are confused and do not know what to do. They have been told so many lies about what it means to be a Christian that they cannot make up their minds about the truth. They have a lamp with some words that they can speak but there is no oil in these words.

11 – 13

“Later the others came back. They called, ‘Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.’ But the bridegroom answered, ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you. So always be ready. You do not know the day or the time the Son of Man will come.

When we were born-again we knew in our spirit that God had saved us and filled us. Those who are not born-again have never known this so they cannot understand what we are talking about. They do not know the Lord this way and He does not know them.

14. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was going to another place for a visit. Before he left, he talked with his servants. The man told them to take care of his things while he was gone.

Jesus has told this story in different ways already. When God repeats Himself it means that what He is saying is very important! This story shows us how Jesus is trusting us with His work!

15. He decided how much each servant would be able to care for. He gave one servant five bags of money. He gave another servant two bags of money. And he gave a third servant one bag of money. Then the man left.

God has given us different gifts. We see that He will not give us more than we can do. If he gave too much to someone then it would be too heavy for them. He knows this and has not given you more than you can do!

16. The servant who got five bags went quickly to invest the money. The five bags of money earned five more.

The man who has many gifts does not waste time. Right away he starts using his gifts. When we are doing what we were created to do then everything falls into place. If we try to do something that is not right for us then it will be a hard way and we will feel very bad. The answer there is: do not try to do something you are not supposed to be doing! God gave you other Christians and you are not in this walk alone!

17. It was the same with the servant who had two bags of money. He invested the money and earned two more.

When we use our gifts to bring people to Christ they also are given some gifts in their lives. Sometimes they will learn from us how to use the same gift we have. We invest in people!

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

When we hide the gift that God has given us then we are also hiding Jesus from people!

19 – 21

After a long time the master came home. He asked the servants what they did with his money. The servant who got five bags of money brought five more bags to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of money. So I used your five bags to earn five more.’

The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with small things. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’

The treasure of God’s Word is not just for us to keep for ourselves but to share and watch it grow! We offer our gift on the altar to be used for the Lord. It is not right to use our gift for ourselves. We feel the Lord’s hand of happiness resting on us as we use our gift for Him!

22 – 23

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 well. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with small things. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’

Some of us have been given small things to do. This is a test to see if we think that we are so important that we should be given something big!

24. “Then the servant who got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, ‘Master, I knew that you were a hard man. You harvest things you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not sow any seed.

The devil tells us that God is too hard on us! We agree with the devil when we do not see what God is trying to do and so we are not working with God but against God.

25. So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is your bag of money you gave me.’

This man never wanted the gift that God gave him. He says, “Here is your gift back. I do not want it.” If God gave this man more than he could do then he would have a reason to say these things but God did not give Him too much to do and he could have asked for help!

26 – 27

The master answered, ‘You are a bad and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest things I did not plant, and that I gather crops where I did not sow any seed? So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back with interest.’

The bank is like other ministries who are using the things that God gave them. If you do not want to share God’s Word then at least help missionaries or others in the ministry so that God can get something out of His investment in you.

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

If we are too lazy to do the job that God has given us then He will give it to someone else. God’s work will be done with us or without us. If you do not use what God has taught you in the Bible then you may someday find that you cannot even remember what you have learned! With God’s gifts we see that we can use it or lose it!

29 – 30

Everyone who uses what he has will get more. He will have much more than he needs. But the one who does not use what he has will have everything taken away from him.’ Then the master said, ‘Throw that useless servant outside, into the darkness! There people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.’

If you have God’s Word and do not use it correctly then you may be destroyed. We should be afraid to play with the Words of God!

31 – 33

The Son of Man will come again in his great glory. All his angels will come with him. He will be King and sit on his great throne. All the people of the world will be gathered before him. Then he will separate them into two groups as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. The Son of Man will put the sheep, the good people, on his right and the goats, the bad people, on his left.

Right now we see unbelievers mixed in with true Christians in the same church. God allows this because the unbelievers can watch our lives and see that we have something that they do not have. We do not judge them because it is not our business but there is coming a day of judgment for them.

34 – 36

Then the King will say to the good people on his right, ‘Come. My Father has given you his blessing. Come and receive the kingdom God has prepared for you since the world was made. I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.

I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your house. I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

The Lord lives inside of his people. If we help them or hurt them we are doing it to the Lord. Look at this list and ask yourself, “Is there is someone in this list who needs a visit from me? Jesus is saying that this is what He would do if He were still on earth but He is sending you!

37 – 40

Then the good 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 alone and away from home and invite you into our house?

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?’ Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth. Anything you did for any of my people here, you also did for me.’

This shows us that when people hurt us it really means that they are hurting Jesus! Try not to take it as against yourself! Jesus is the One who carries sins on his back -not us!

Do not let the devil trick you into thinking that you have been hurt but you have to carry someone else’s sin against you on your back. If you do not listen to these words then you will always think of yourself as a victim!

The world hates Jesus and the spirit in them knows about the Spirit in you. There is a war going on and that is why they do these things to you because they do not even know what they are doing!

41. “Then the King will say to those on his left, ‘Go away from me. God has said that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever. That fire was made for the devil and his helpers.

We see here that hell was not made for humans but for devils. God never wanted any of us to go to hell. People who there do this by their own decision!

42 – 43

I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your house. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

The Lord shows us that because men have turned against God there is evil in the world. When we see this evil we can do something about it. What other reason are still left here on this earth? As with many other things, the Lord is always saying, “Do what you can!!!”

44 – 46

Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you alone and away from home? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?’

Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth. Anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you said that you will not do it for me.

These people will go off to be punished forever. But the good people will go to live forever.

Men give many excuses. They say that, “God helps those who help themselves.” This is not in the Bible! They say that if we help people then maybe later we will just have to help them again.

This is true, but how many chances would you like to be given when you have made a mistake?
The world is going down into a dark pit where men are becoming like animals. The evil men who started teaching that we all came from monkeys have said that the world is a place where only the strongest will survive.

They have said that will not do what God wants. Instead they are ready to kill each other just because they are stronger than someone else. Without God’s Words living inside of us every day we will not have the wisdom to see how to live in this kind of world.