This is an excerpt from my book “40 Moments From Christ’s Final Days.” Click here to get it from Amazon using my affiliate link.
Find this moment in: Mt. 25:1–30
After revealing how terrible the Tribulation will be, Jesus calls for faithfulness, alertness, and even excitement for the Messiah’s return.
Therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:42)
During the seven years Jesus described, people can easily lose sight of their priorities. They could give in to despair, trust the empty promises of false prophets and saviors, or just be ignorant and unaware of what it all means. Jesus calls for them to pay attention, do God’s will, and always look forward to His coming. To cement this in their minds, Jesus told two parables.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins is in Matthew 25:1-13. This somewhat odd story is rooted in the Jewish culture of the time. Engaged people were called “brides” and “bridegrooms.” After paying a bride price and entering a long engagement, the bridegroom would arrive to take his bride back to his hometown for the wedding feast. Sometimes, a marriage celebration could also occur in the bride’s hometown, where guests of honor would be invited.[1]
Ephesians 5:25-27 and Revelation 19:7 portray the relationship of Jesus and the church as an engagement between a bride and bridegroom. The wedding ceremony will be when Jesus takes the church to Heaven. When He returns to the world, His wife will accompany Him. In this parable, Israel is called to be the faithful ones who are ever-prepared for the married couple’s arrival. They are invited to enjoy the marriage of Christ and His church at the end of the Tribulation, but only if they remain watchful and faithful. Those who aren’t prepared when we arrive will be cast out with the rest of Christ’s enemies.
The Parable of the Talents has the same insistence on faithfulness while Jesus is away. In this parable, three trusted slaves were each given five, three, and one talent of silver before their master went away on business. A talent wasn’t just a valuable silver coin but a chunk of silver weighing over 55 pounds that could support a family for 20 years. This incredible treasure showed how much the owner trusted these men.
During the master’s absence, two slaves doubled their talents and gave back ten and four talents upon his return. The slave with a single talent immediately buried this treasure in a hole. Within the context of why Jesus is telling this parable, this slave likely didn’t understand or care about his master’s purpose in leaving him a treasure until he returned. He didn’t throw the treasure away, but he also didn’t value it.
While the Ten Virgins called for faithful anticipation at the end of this age, the Parable of the Talents reminds people in the past, present, and future that true salvation will be reflected in how we live. Israel must remember that Jesus has left them with the incredible gift of salvation, resulting in a life-changing call to follow God’s will. They can’t have an attitude of “I’ll do it later” as though they could anticipate Christ’s return. As we saw in Christ’s warning and His two parables, His people must never get so wrapped up in this life that they stop looking forward to the coming of Christ.
Stop and think: Although Jesus aimed these parables at Israel, we must also be faithful in this life as we look forward to the return of Jesus. How does looking forward to an eternity with Jesus impact how you live today?
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[1] Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (p. 468). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.
