Latter-day Saint Seminar Volume 3, Number 22 October 1, 1999 ________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents ________________________________________________________________________ GD22 - Matthew 25 Article 1 - Comments, by Alan D. Eastman adeastm@ppco.com ________________________________________________________________________ Comments, by Alan D. Eastman ________________________________________________________________________ New Testament Lesson 22 - Matthew 25 "Inherit the Kingdom Prepared for You" OVERVIEW: This lesson features three parables of the Second Coming: the Ten Virgins (v 1-13); the Talents (v 14-30); and the Sheep and the Goats (v 31-46). Each of them is a commentary on an important aspect of preparation for the events described in Chapter 24. The Ten Virgins and the Talents are true parables, while the Sheep and the Goats is a simple simile. RESOURCES: 1) "New Testament Video Presentations," #4, Segment 5 on Marriage; 2) Clay lamp (if you have one available) 3) Picture of painting of the 10 Virgins (I really like the version by Gayla Prince Larson, available at LDS bookstores) TIME: Passion Week, the 3rd day before Passover (Tuesday); this was the last day of Jesus' public preaching PLACE: The Mount of Olives AUDIENCE: The disciples, in private (see Matt 24:3) SETTING: Jesus has just finished talking of the signs of the Second Coming. This chapter is a continuation of that sermon, meant to expand and reinforce what he has just said by putting it in striking terms the disciples could easily remember. Comments on Chapter 25 The Ten Virgins v 1 - The IV emphasizes the timing of this parable's application by referring specifically to the days just before the Second Coming: KJV IV Then And then, at that day, before the Son of Man comes shall the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps, and who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. went forth to meet the bridegroom. The reference to the bridegroom and wedding feast draws upon the marriage customs of the time. The friends of the groom would wait near their homes; the groom led a procession to which each group of friends would attach itself. When all the groom's friends formed part of the procession, they would go to the home of the bride, then accompany her to the house where the wedding feast would be held. Upon arriving there, the gates of the home would be closed. The presumption was that no one but invited guests would be in the procession, and that all the guests would participate, so the door was not opened to latecomers. The imagery of Christ as Bridegroom to the Church is often found in the New Testament. (e.g., Eph. 5:22) During the procession, the guests would hold aloft either oil lamps or torches made from oil-soaked rags on large sticks, to light the way and announce the joy of the occasion. v 2-4 - Note that the division here is not good/evil but wise/foolish. All ten were invited guests; that is, followers of the Bridegroom, and thus members of the church. All of them had lamps, and all initially had oil for their lamps; only the wise had provided themselves with extra oil, just in case. v 5-6 - The Bridegroom tarried on his business, about which we are told nothing. Obviously, the virgins did not know when he would appear to start the procession. At midnight, seemingly the most unlikely hour for a celebration, he called for the start of the procession. Note that both the wise and furnish had fallen asleep; none knew the time of the Bridegroom's coming, so they went about their business more or less as normal, except for their preparations. v 7 - The virgins 'arose and trimmed their lamps.' The oil lamps of the time were shallow vessels of clay, with a spout into which a wick was placed. As the oil burned, the wick would burn, and required frequent trimming if the light was to stay bright. v 8-9 - The phrase 'our lamps are gone out' is perhaps better translated 'our lamps are about to go out.' The foolish virgins could see that their oil would not be sufficient for the procession, and asked the wise for some of their oil. The wise virgins refuse, sending the foolish to a merchant; at that hour of night, it is highly unlikely that any merchant would be awake. It is interesting that the five/five split of foolish and wise echos the language in Matt. 24:40-41: exactly half will be taken of those in the field and at the mill. v 10-12 - The wise virgins join the wedding procession, and enter into the house, where the door is closed behind them. In Jewish cities, indeed in European cities until the advent of gas street lights, anyone in the street after dark was assumed to be (and often was) a thief, waiting in the dark to waylay the unwary. The IV makes a very significant change in v 12: rather than the Bridegroom saying 'I know you not' (KJV), He says 'Ye know me not.' Those who do not prepare for the Bridegroom give testimony by their actions that they do not really know Him; otherwise, they would be ready, whatever the hour of His coming. v 13 - Here Jesus drives home the point of the parable: be prepared always, because we do not know the time of His coming. (cf Matt. 24:36) General comments and questions - The oil for the lamps has widely been identified as faith, while the light itself is often likened to the light of testimony. President Kimball (Faith Preceeds the Miracle, p. 256) notes that the oil of faith is accumulated drop by drop as we follow in the Master's footsteps. It is significant that all ten virgins had oil in their lamps, and that the lamps were indeed burning, before the coming of the Bridegroom - but only half of them had enough oil to last through the night. It is this staying power which is identified in the scriptures as 'enduring to the end.' Was it selfish for the wise virgins not to share their oil with the others? In the final analysis, no, since, had they shared, none could have stayed the course. In life, there is a point where testimony cannot be shared; each person is required to furnish his own. In the darkest passages, there are no oil merchants; only that testimony which has been added to the reservoir during the light of day is available to illuminate the night. The Talents Remember that the original definition *and the definition obviously appropriate to the scriptural passages* has to do with MONEY, not abilities or gifts. The master in the parable entrusted his property and goods to the servants. It's not an impossible stretch from there to talk about 'talents' as we usually use the word, but let's be careful to keep to the scriptures when we teach the scriptures. Another thing: remember from lesson 20 that the IV changes the text of Mark 11:24: KJV IV --- -- ...what things soever ye desire, ...whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, when ye pray, believe that ye shall receive them believe that ye shall receive and ye shall have them. and ye shall have whatsoever ye ask. It is necessary to ask, not just believe. The Savior encourages us to ask for what we want. A little later in the New Testament, Paul tells us to 'covet earnestly the best gifts,; (I Cor 12:31). IMHO, the parable of the talents teaches that the Lord will give us gifts adapted to our capacity, as the lord in the parable gave to his servants. Perhaps one of the things we need to ask is for guidance to find which gifts we have been given, and then guidance in utilizing those gifts to best advantage. Consider the wording of the lord's reward was exactly the same for the 5 and 10-talent servants. Thus, the reward depends not on the absolute magnitude of the accomplishment, but on the magnitude of the accomplishment *relative to the starting materials.* An obvious consequence is that the lowliest hymnbook arranger has exactly the same chance to achieve eternal life as the president of the church! Compare the parable of the workers in the field at this point (remember, the fellow who showed up at 4pm got the same pay as the buy who had been out there working since 8 am!). The Lord's reward is the same for all: everything He has. Since His reward is infinite, how can he possibly give any more to the early-morning worker than to the latecomer, to the prophet than to the newest convert? Is this fair to those who worked the whole day? If you are given everything, how could you possibly ask for more? This is a zero-sum game in human economics, but in the Lord's eyes, there are no such limitations. v 14-15 - This parable starts out with a man calling together his bondservants and entrusting them with his goods; he then goes on a journey to 'a far country,' from which he will return at some unspecified future date. Each is given an amount 'according to his several ability.' That the men were servants is significant. Because of their status, they could not own property. The man must have trusted them completely, to so entrust his goods for an indefinite period of time. Remember that a talent is a monetary unit, not (as we often consider the word) an ability or knack. In Old Testament times, the talent had been a measure of weight equal to about 75.6 pounds. By the New Testament period, the term had come to signify the amount of money equal to that weight of gold, or about $330,000 in today's value. 'according to his several ability' (v 15) is translated in the New English Bible 'each according to his capacity,' which better renders what is intended. Each one was given as much as he could handle, no less. The amounts given were not small at all; indeed, even one talent was far more than any servant could expect to make in his entire lifetime. v 16-19 - Each servant does what he will with the money given him; eventually the lord of the servants returns and asks for an accounting. The waiting period is very similar to that in the parable of the Ten Virgins: its duration is unknown, and its end is to some extent unforeseen. v 20-23 - The servants given two and five talents have each doubled what they were given. Their increase being equal, their lord rewards them equally: 'well done, good and faithful servant..." Note that, for their lord to make them ruler over many things, he would have to set his servants free. The parallel with the Savior making us free is too obvious to say much more. v 24 - 'strawed' is given in the IV and most contemporary translations as 'scattered.' v 25-30 - The slothful servant describes his inaction, and receives his reward. We will return to v 28-29 momentarily. General comments and questions - This parable appears at first glance to be identical to the parable of the pounds (Luke 19:11-27), but there are some significant differences, as shown in the table below (see Talmage, Jesus the Christ, Chapter 32): Luke (pounds) Matthew (talents) Taught to the multitude Taught to the disciples In public In private Each gets one pound Each gets according to his ability Reward based on size of Equal rewards for equal result diligence, EVEN THOUGH the size of the results differ one from another Unfaithfulness, negligence Unfaithfulness, negligence punished punished Note that, in private,the Lord tells his disciples that men do indeed have different capacities. However, the rewards are the same for equally diligent application. Thus, the Lord is truly no respecter of persons. The faithful fulfilling of any calling, great or small, is equally important in His sight. It is not only the great who receive the reward 'well done,' but simply those who do the best possible with what they are given. Why was the eleventh talent given to the servant with ten talents already? Simply put, he had proven his ability to cope with the management, had stretched his abilities, and was ready to receive yet more. Was this fair? (Might be an interesting question for class discussion.) The Sheep and the Goats Strictly speaking, this is not a parable: Jesus simply likens the judgment of the nations to the shepherd who divides his sheep from his goats, perhaps at the time when the sheep were to be sheared. In the ancient world, sheep were worth more than goats because they gave not only meat and milk, but wool as well. The Savior then elaborates on the distinction between those on his left hand and his right. In the Semitic world, there is a huge difference between left and right: the right hand is associated with favor and distinction, the left with disfavor and frank disapproval. Even today, it is the height of discourtesy to use the left hand when eating in most Middle Eastern countries. Perhaps some of this is a result of the custom (obviated now by modern plumbing) of using the left hand for tasks of personal hygiene. What then is the difference between the sheep and the goats? The 'blessed of my Father' have helped the Savior by helping others. Which others? The hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick, the rejected - in short, those whom the Savior himself succored. Note that the Master regards treatment of others as equivalent to treatment of His own person. v 34 - The IV inserts, before the start of this verse, 'And he shall sit upon his throne, and his twelve apostles with him.' Since the Savior was alone with the apostles at the time of this discourse, He was starting to prepare them for the more important role they would assume after his departure. It is not hard to imagine their shock at this statement, given their performance over the next few days. v 35 - '...inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.' Biblical Greek had no punctuation, so several different readings are possible. Most scholars feel that Jesus was referring to 'these-my-brethren,' rather than 'these, my brethren.' The consequence is that Jesus seems to be referring only to his brethren of the Church, rather than to all people. However, this reading is contradictory to the Savior's attention to everyone, not just the 'institutionally righteous' scribes and Pharisees. ________________________________________________________________________ Next Assignment: Luke 21:1-38, John 13-15 ________________________________________________________________________ A note to readers: LDS Seminar Digest [LDSS-D] is a summary of posts made to LDS Seminar, an open forum for discussion on upcoming Gospel Doctrine lessons. LDS Seminar [LDSS] posts are open to exegesis, textual analysis, historical issues, and life applications. Submissions to LDSS will not be edited for content, but not all submissions will be automatically included in LDSS-D. LDSS-D is a one way list, subscribers cannot post to LDSS-D. If you wish to post you must join LDSS. 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