Last Intro to "the Signs of Christ's coming" (Matt. 25:14-30)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/3/2024 6:08 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  The Signs of Christ’s Coming—part 9”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 25:14-30

 

            Message of the verses:  “14 "For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 “But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 “The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 "Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ 29  "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

            I will end this introduction by quoting from John MacArthur’s commentary, and then, Lord willing we will begin to look more closely to these verses in the next SD.

 

            “Peter challenged mockers who had the opposite problem.  They were so convinced that the Lord would not come soon that they abandoned all moral restraint and lived in selfish profligacy (2 Pet. 3:3-4).  Peter reminded them that the people of Noah’s day responded in the same way to Noah’s prediction of the Flood, which came upon them suddenly and at a time they did not expect.  In the same way, the apostle declared Christ will appear suddenly in the end time, bringing the ‘judgment and destruction of ungodly men’ (vv. 5-7).

 

            “It should be noted that, despite some resemblances, the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas (Luke 19:11-27) are not variations of the same story.  The mina parable was given several days earlier and the two accounts have as mina differences as similarities.

            “Though the parable of the talents has relevance to every generation, the Lord was still speaking directly about the generation that will be living just before His return in glory (24:34), the exact time of which will not be known in advance but the imminence of which will be manifested by spectacular and unmistakable signs (24:3-29).

 

            “The parable of the talents illustrates four basic aspects of spiritual opportunity:  the responsibility we receive, the reaction we have, the reckoning we face, and the reward we gain.”

 

            Those listed in the last paragraph will be the outline that we follow beginning with “The Responsibility We Receive” which goes over verses 14-15 of Matthew chapter 25.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Lord will guide me and be with me in a special way as I teach on part of the 8^th chapter of Zechariah in Sunday school this morning. 

 

3/3/2024 8:03 AM