Matthew 25:14–46

Here our Lord is pictured as leaving this world and going to a far country. This is a remarkable way to present Him. In Matthew His home is thought of as on the earth, for He is the Messiah who came to His own. His own did not receive Him. As the rejected Messiah He leaves His home. He goes as the suffering but glorified Son of Man to the far country, which is clearly heaven. And while He is away there, He has servants. He has entrusted some of His goods to them, and with these they are to labour.

In both parables the Lord is absent. In the first, the possibility of His return at any moment is in view. In the second, His long absence is regarded as possible. "For it will be like a man going on a journey" (v. 14). "Now after a long time the master of those servants came" (v. 19).

The question is the faithfulness of the servants when they are left, to all appearance, to themselves — and left for a long time. Their heart is put to the proof. Is it truly the Master's? Do they identify themselves with His interests when there is no sign of His return?... It is not simply the fact of being ready in grace. It is the activity which confidence in the Lord inspires — the activity of service in love, by people who have made the interests of Christ their own.

The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully admit the responsibility that money brings, but that is not the point here.

It is plain that what the Lord entrusted to His servants for work in His absence means gifts of a spiritual kind... They are not just "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning." They are a gift from the Lord suited to the ability of each as the vessel... The reception of a gift was the ground for exercising it in dependence on the Giver, and for His glory.

The Lord Himself called the servants and gave them the talents. Each servant is responsible to the Lord Himself for fulfilling his calling... It is a serious and solemn thing for anyone to interfere with Christ's claims on the service of His servant. To touch this is to set aside responsibility to Christ. It overthrows the basic principle of Christian ministry.

So we may distinguish between the gifts that may be given to us and the abilities we have. Always remember that the Lord adjusts the relation between the two. Our abilities cover our natural powers as well as our spiritual ones. If these are not very large, five talents, or even two, might be only a burden to us. If that is so, the Lord knows it and He gives us only one. Whether the gift given is large or small, the great thing is to use it with diligence.

Matthew presents the sovereignty and the wisdom of the giver, who varies His gifts according to the ability of His servants. In Luke it is more the responsibility of the servants, who each receive the same sum.

As He is sovereign, so confidence in Him is what separates the "good and faithful" servants from the wicked and slothful one... When we know Christ — and the unprofitable servant claimed to — such unbelief is deep wickedness. When confidence in Him is missing, everything goes wrong. It may show itself in being afraid to use what He had given for profit. Had he truly known the Lord, he would have served Him gladly.

Here our Lord is pictured as leaving this world and going to a far country. In Matthew He is at home on the earth, because He is the Messiah who came to His own, even if His own did not receive Him. As the rejected Messiah He leaves His home and goes, the suffering but glorified Son of Man, to the far country, which is clearly heaven. And while He is gone there He has His servants to whom He has committed certain of His goods; and with these they are to work... It is trading, or going out to others. This is a characteristic of Christianity.

The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully admit the responsibility that money brings, but that is not the point here.

It is plain that the substance which the Lord entrusted to His servants for work in His absence means gifts of a spiritual kind... These gifts differ from each man's natural ability, and are suited to it. They are not merely "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning", but a gift from the Lord fitted to the ability of each man as the vessel.

Natural ability is recognised as given by God. In grace God gives spiritual gifts, but He does so "to each according to his ability" (Matthew 25:15). It is true, as one has said, that "no ability is in itself a gift; but the spiritual gift does not set aside natural ability". In giving Paul his gift, God recognised his natural ability, so that he can present doctrine in an orderly way. Peter was probably better fitted by natural ability to deal with everyday practice. So God gives him a gift that matches it, and his ministry is almost wholly practical.

The Lord knows what use He means to make of a man. He knows the kind of gift He means to put into the vessel. So He shapes the vessel and forms the man to match... If God designs a man to be a public speaker, He gives him lungs. He gives him a voice. He gives him a body suited to the work He designs him to do. The gift is from God; but there is always the most distinct reference to the ability of the man.

If the Lord calls someone to service, He also gives according to the ability of each. The character of the gift put at our disposal is suited, in the Giver's wisdom, both to the object and the vessel. There is sovereignty, and all is wisely ordered. How could it be otherwise, seeing that it is the Lord who calls?... It is entirely a question between Christ and His own servants.

The parable of the pounds speaks of the opportunity; the parable of the talents speaks of the ability. All have an opportunity, but all do not have equal ability. The master knew that, and shows it in the parable of the talents... No one was expected to do more than he could, but each was expected to do all he could. The one who had five and the one who had only two both did this, and both received equal praise from their lord.

One may receive five talents, another two, a third only one. But the man with one talent needs to trade with it just as much as the man entrusted with five.

The Lord on His going away leaves talents with His own servants. Note that these are not natural gifts, however responsible we may be for using those. They are what Christ gave to His own servants when He went away. The Lord gave spiritual gifts on His departing. What were the talents given, and given to servants, for? To serve with.

The talents are different from each man's own ability, which was natural, and they suit it. They are not just "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning." Each is a gift from the Lord, fitted to the ability of the man as the vessel that holds it... The reception of a gift was the ground of exercising it in dependence on the Giver, and for His glory.

The question is whether the servants stay faithful when they are left, to all appearance, to themselves — and left for a long time. This tests their heart, to see whether it is truly the Master's. Will they take up His interests as their own when there is no sign of His return?... The point is not simply being ready in grace. It is the activity that confidence in the Lord inspires: the activity of service, in love, by people who have made the interests of Christ their own.

He did not know the blessedness of the grace that is in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ; they trusted His heart, and were therefore good and faithful servants. So I find that the responsibility of service rests on knowing the heart of Christ... He trusts His servant and expects him to act. If you have five talents, trade with them; if a cup of cold water, trade with it.

The Lord Himself called the servants, and gave them the talents, and the servant is responsible to the Lord Himself for the fulfilment of his calling. The use of a gift, inside the house of God or outside it, depends on Christ only, the true Head of the church. It does not depend on the will of a ruler, a priest, or the people. It is still subject to the directions of the word, and it must always be used in love and for blessing.

The deposit itself increases by wise use of it. The sphere of service grows larger as we serve, and the parable insists on this. The five talents grow to ten, the two to four. Capacity grows with experience too, as we know well. How little any of us are really limited to being ordinary in spiritual things! We imagine we are, and we suffer badly for the imagining.

One may receive five talents, another two, a third only one. But the man with one talent needs to trade with it just as much as the man who received five.

There was a difference in their gifts. But each showed the same devotedness in doubling what his master put in his care, and their reward was the same.

On His departure the Lord leaves talents with His own servants. Note that this is not natural gifts, however responsible we may be for the use of them; it is what Christ gave to His own servants when He went away. The Lord gave spiritual gifts when He departed. What were the talents given for, and given to servants for? To serve with... The gift is different from natural capacity, which the parable recognises here. The vessel was fitted and prepared, and the gift put into it.

The Lord Himself called the servants and gave them the talents. Each servant answers to the Lord Himself for carrying out his calling. The use of a gift, inside or outside the house, is subject to the directions of the word, and it must always be in love and for blessing. But it does not depend in any way on the will of ruler, priest, or people. It depends on Christ only, the true Head of the church.

The third one comes: what marked him was a lack of trust in his master's character... He did not know the blessedness of the grace in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ; they trusted His heart, and so were good and faithful servants... He trusts us, whether it is only a cup of cold water or the gift of an apostle; He trusts His servant and expects him to act. If you have five talents, trade with them; if a cup of cold water, trade with it.

Reward is not handed out according to the number of talents a man has, but according to his FAITHFULNESS. The man with one talent, who hid it in the earth, gets two adjectives: "WICKED AND SLOTHFUL." The man with five talents and the man with two talents were EQUALLY diligent in doubling their stock in trade. They get two adjectives: "GOOD AND FAITHFUL"... The reward for each "good and faithful" servant has exactly the same wording.

The servant who had five talents has gained five. The one who has gained only two has doubled his capital just as much as the other. His lord receives him with the same approval into his joy. It would even be possible for the one with the smaller trust to win the higher approval. And it is something for the Lord to find one of His own willing to serve with the same cheerfulness in a humbler position as in a higher one.

Here, though the gift is different, the reward is the same. In Luke, where the trust is the same, the reward is different, because there are different measures of gain (ch. 19:16-18)... The reward is an incentive, but it is not the motive of service: the motive the Lord rewards is love toward Himself.

Suppose we have only one talent — every day's believing use of it will carry us some way toward two. We are not shut in by the limits of God's first gift. We may shut ourselves in, and by hiding our talent in the earth lose both what we have and the capacity for gaining more.

The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully admit that money carries responsibility, but that is not the point here.

He gave to each according to his own ability. The gifts are distinguished from each man's ability, which was natural, and are suited to it. They are not merely "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning," but a gift from the Lord fitted to the ability of each as the vessel. ... Receiving a gift was the ground for using it in dependence on the Giver, and for His glory.

What the third servant lacked was exactly this true knowledge of the Master. In his eyes He was a harsh man. And mark this well. When someone does not truly know God as Christ reveals Him, that person always forms a completely false idea of Him. The heart always betrays itself by the idea it forms of God. Unbelief always turns the true God into a picture from which the heart recoils. Knowledge of the rights of God, as well as of His love, is missing. If God really were what unbelief imagines, and people accepted His authority, they would act to match that idea. But when His love is unknown, His authority is despised.

The teaching usually drawn from his case is positively unscriptural. It is taught that he was a believer and servant of Christ who failed to use his talent. It is taught that all Christian believers who act the same way must share his fate. On this idea, final salvation does not depend on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It depends on the believer's faithfulness and on the use he makes of what he received. ... There is no need to try to reconcile this with the gospel of grace, because the one who received the one talent and hid it does not represent a true believer at all.

The contrast is not between true servants who are more or less faithful. It is between servants who were true, though their measure of ability differed, and the one who was no true servant at all. He claimed to know that his master was a hard man, taking more than his due, someone to be afraid of. His lord took him up on the ground of the knowledge he claimed to have, and showed that his plea only made his guilt worse. If his master had been a hard man, there was all the more reason to use the talent diligently.

The man hid his talent in the earth instead of using it for his Master. For some people the "earth" may be a greater snare than the "world." A Christian man may have no appetite for the world's concert halls or theatres. Yet he may let his business affairs so absorb his heart and life that every moment goes to the things of earth. He can then find neither time nor interest for the things of the Lord.

It is worth noticing that the man who hides his lord's money in the ground is not the one who received five talents, or even the man who received two. And we understand well how natural this is — that the one with the smallest gift should be the one who makes no use of it. ... It is the little gift that tends to be despised as little, to the great harm of the people and the cause of Christ. In this way the mass of Christians almost drop out of responsibility and drop into inactivity. They hand their talent over to those they think better qualified than themselves. But those people cannot do the work now loaded onto them, so it stays undone. And this is the largest part of all the Church's work!

In fact, all this would be like a man who goes to a distant country. He trusts his goods to his servants according to their ability. Then, after a long interval, he returns. So the question is whether the servants stay faithful while they are left, to outward appearance, to themselves, and for a long time. Their heart is put to the proof. Is it truly the Master's? Do they identify themselves with His interests when there is no sign of His return? Or do they forget Him, as Israel did at Sinai when they believed it was all over with Moses? But note this: it is not simply a matter of being ready in grace. It is the activity that confidence in the Lord inspires.

It shows that the Lord meant to keep the church waiting and expecting Him. Even so, there are clear signs that the Bridegroom's delay was intended.

It is plain that the substance which the Lord entrusted to His servants for work in His absence means gifts of a spiritual kind. For He delivered to each according to his respective ability. They are different from each servant's own ability, which was natural, and they suit it. They are not just "sanctified capacity" or "theological learning." They are a gift from the Lord fitted to the ability of each servant as the vessel... The reception of a gift was the ground of exercising it in dependence on the Giver, and for His glory.

Every professing Christian takes the place of being a servant of Christ. The Lord will treat him as one in the day of reckoning. He is surely coming, even if it be "after a long time."

The Lord's servants should keep their Lord's return before them. On that day He will look into all that they have done... This corresponds with 1 Corinthians 3. There we have some commended and rewarded, and others who have missed the reward; and a third class of servants who are destroyed because they are evil. Service does not affect the salvation of our souls, since that rests on the accomplished work of Christ. But it will greatly affect our reward at the Lord's return, and our place in His kingdom during His thousand-year reign.

Here it is the Lord working through a variety of gifts. He is sovereign. So confidence in Him is what separates the "good and faithful" servants from the wicked and slothful one... Zeal that flowed from that confidence was followed by blessing and fruit... When confidence in Him is lacking, all is wrong. It may show itself in fear to use what He had given for profit. Had he truly known the Lord, he would have served Him gladly, especially as he had a gift of power.

When the day of reckoning comes, in Luke we find a definite reward that matches the work. In Matthew the word is, "I will make you ruler over many things; enter into the joy of your lord." They are not told what they are to have, or how many things they are to rule over. The master is sovereign both in His gifts and His rewards. The crowning point of all is, "Enter into the joy of your lord."

You get more of the sovereignty of God here than in the parallel parable in Luke, where it is more the responsibility of man. Here the Lord gives to every man according to his ability: to one five talents, to another two. Everyone will be responsible for his wealth, but that is not a talent. The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money!

Here in our parable there are talents committed to each. Not merely the gift of an evangelist, pastor, or teacher, but anything, I take it, which we might use for Christ. Abilities, time, money, and so on. And, as many have noticed, the praise is not "good and successful," but "Well done, good and faithful servant."

This parable teaches another great principle: the gift itself can grow and increase. The two traded with the talents and doubled them. Use any gift, no matter how small, and that gift will increase. There will be gain, and that gain must be gain first of all for the Lord Himself. It will be for Him, as these servants laid before Him what they had received and what they had gained.

Their lord was dealing in grace and wisdom. He says to both alike, "Enter into the joy of your lord." Then comes the third. What marked him was a lack of trust in his master's character... He did not know the blessedness of the grace in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ; they trusted His heart, and were therefore good and faithful servants. So I find that responsibility in service rests on knowing the heart of Christ... He trusts us, whether it is only a cup of cold water or the gift of an apostle. He trusts His servant and expects him to act. If you have five talents, trade with them. If you have a cup of cold water, trade with that.

The Lord's servants should keep their Lord's return in view. On that day He will look into everything they have done. "After a long time the lord of those servants comes, and reckons with them" (verse 19)... Service does not affect the salvation of our souls, since that rests on the finished work of Christ. But it will greatly affect our reward at the Lord's return, and our place in His kingdom.

So we find that the parable of our Lord in Matthew 25:14-30 gives the reward in the same words to both servants. One put two talents to work and made two more. The other made five more from five. There was a difference in their gifts. But each showed the same devotedness in doubling what his master put in his care, and their reward was the same.

There will be a full, clear, and definite reward for responsibility carried out, for service given, and for work done. Everyone will receive his reward. But above and beyond all shines this precious word, "Enter into the joy of your lord." No reward can match this... One smile from Him will touch the heart far more deeply and powerfully than the brightest crown ever set on the head.

And here in our parable there are talents committed to each. Not merely the gift of an evangelist, pastor, or teacher; but anything, I take it, which we might employ for Christ. Abilities, time, money, and so on. And, as has often been noticed, the praise is not "good and successful," but "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Am I a faithful servant? Am I a wise steward? It is not a question of success. The Lord never asks me to be successful. The point is, am I wise, and am I faithful? To be truly successful I must be faithful and wise. Many servants have stopped short of the truth, because they were afraid it might spoil their success.

He does not speak a higher and better word of approval to the one who had the five talents and brought Him five other talents. Both hear the same word of approval. It is therefore not a question of how much we have received of the Lord, but how we use what He has given to us. Faithful service will bring approval, even in the smallest matter, and even if there is only one talent.

In chapter 24 it was the "faithful and wise" servant, because, where it is a question of the household, wisdom is needed. But here it is "good and faithful servant." Both are called "faithful." Yet when a servant uses the gifts the Lord sends out into the world with the message of grace, the goodness of God is what stands out. What is the source of all grace in the servant of the Lord? It is the appreciation of God's goodness. This comes out by contrast in the case of the slothful servant.

This confidence in Christ is the source of all true service. It is a complete and blessed confidence in the grace of Christ, and in His heart toward us, who deserve nothing. He has trusted us, and the heart trusts Him, and the servant goes on to serve Him and trade with his talents.

It is true that the two who traded showed nothing more than faithfulness. Why hand goods to them, if not for them to increase them? But the Lord keeps account of it. What He had entrusted was only a little thing in His eyes. Yet they had known Him and had been faithful. There was one heart between Him and them. Now, at His return, they must enter into His joy: one heart in service, and one heart in joy. Also, "many things" were entrusted to them in His kingdom at the hour of His glory.

The results will have their answer in the kingdom. He that has been faithful in that which is little, will be entrusted with much there. We must distinguish between our place in the Father's house, which is all of grace, and the place we shall occupy in the kingdom.

Amazing! The saints enter into God's own joy: they have not only the joy which God bestows, but the joy which God enjoys.

True, there will be the ten cities and the five cities. There will be full, clear, and definite reward for responsibility met, service given, and work done. Every servant will receive his reward. But above and beyond it all shines this precious word, "Enter into the joy of your master." No reward can match this... One smile from Him will touch the heart far more than the brightest crown that could ever be placed on his head.

We must be careful here. The talents — the five and the two — are not things like property, or mental powers such as a good memory, a sharp mind, or a strong body. That all these are blessings and gifts of God none would doubt. The talents are His goods, delivered into the hands of the servants when He went away. Still, God does take natural ability into account when He hands out the gifts. He gives each servant a gift matched to his own ability. His own divine wisdom shows in the giving of these talents. No true servant of Christ goes without a gift.

The deposit itself grows when we use it wisely. The area of service grows larger as we serve, and this point is worth insisting on. The five talents grow to ten, the two to four. Capacity must also grow with experience, as we know so well. In spiritual things, hardly any of us are shut up to mediocrity, though we are prone to imagine we are — and we suffer badly from that imagination too.

It becomes clear that it is not the amount entrusted to us that secures the reward, but the faithfulness shown with it. The servant who had five talents has gained five more. But the one who gained only two has doubled his capital just as much as the other. His lord welcomes him with the same approval into his own joy. The one with the smaller trust could even win the higher approval. It means something to the Lord to find one of His own willing to serve as gladly in a humble place as in a high one.

Rewards are not measured out according to gift, but on the ground of devotedness. So the one whose two talents earned two more receives the same reward as the one whose five talents earned five more. Each received a different amount, but each showed equal diligence: each doubled the trust his master gave him. The amount given to each depends on the sovereignty of the Giver; devotedness is the exercise of the recipient.

When He comes back, He reckons with them. The one who had received five talents made five more; the one who had received two had also gained two. But their lord was dealing in grace and wisdom. He says to both alike, "Enter into the joy of your master." Then comes the third servant. What marked him was a lack of trust in his master's character. He did not know the blessedness of the grace in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ; they trusted His heart, and were therefore good and faithful servants. He trusts us, whether it is only a cup of cold water or the gift of an apostle; He trusts His servant and expects him to act.

"Enter into the joy of your master." How amazing! The saints enter into God's own joy: they have not only the joy which God gives, but the joy which God enjoys.

There will be full, clear, and definite reward for responsibility carried out, service given, and work done. Everyone will receive a reward. But above and beyond all shines this precious word, "Enter into the joy of your master." No reward can possibly come up to this. One smile from Him will touch the heart more deeply and powerfully than the brightest crown anyone could place on the head.

The outcome makes something else clear. The reward does not rest on the amount entrusted to us, but on the faithfulness we show with it. The servant who had five talents has gained five talents. The one who gained only two has doubled his capital just as much as the other did. His lord receives him with the same approval into his own joy. The one with the smaller trust could even win the higher approval. And it means much to the Lord to find one of His own willing to serve with the same cheerfulness in a humble place as in a high one.

He does not speak a higher and better word of approval to the one who had the five talents and brought Him five more. Both hear the same word of approval. So it is not a question of how much we have received from the Lord, but of how we use what He has given us. Faithful service, even in the smallest matter, even if it is only one talent, will bring approval.

In chapter 24 it was the "faithful and wise" servant, because the care of the household calls for wisdom. But here it is "good and faithful servant." Both are called "faithful." Yet these gifts are the ones the Lord sends out into the world with the message of grace, and the goodness of God is what marks their use. What is the source of all grace in the servant of the Lord? It is the appreciation of God's goodness. This comes out by contrast in the case of the lazy servant... he did not believe in the goodness of the Lord: he had no confidence in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

The points marked as the result of the Lord's return are two. First, there is a large reward given in government — ruler over many things. Second, there is real personal association with Christ in blessing. He does not bless us as subjects He rules over. The word is, "Enter into the joy of your Lord."

"Enter into the joy of your Lord." Amazing! The saints enter into God's own joy: they have not only the joy which God gives, but the joy which God enjoys.

There will be full, clear, and definite reward for responsibility discharged, service rendered, and work done. All will be rewarded. But above and beyond all shines this precious word, "Enter into the joy of your Lord." No reward can match this... One smile from Him will touch the heart far more deeply and powerfully than the brightest crown ever placed on the head.

How gracious of Him to reward anyone! Whatever fruit we have borne, whatever good we have done, has really been the action of His own indwelling Spirit. As Augustine said, "God crowns not our merits, but His own gifts. Because He makes them ours, He rewards them, just as if they were our own virtues."

The reward is an incentive, but it is not the motive of service: the motive the Lord rewards is love toward Himself.

People see God as someone who claims, receives and demands, like the servant in the gospels who said, "I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed." Blind by nature, we think of Him as always looking to gather something. I know I did before I was converted. I remember it well. I thought the eye of God was on me, and that I could not give Him what He wanted.

Is the Lord a harsh Man, a hard Master, reaping where He has never sown, and demanding where He has never given? Who among us who know Him would describe Him that way? No, we have other things to say about Him. We have proved Him to be the exact opposite... Our service has been poor and faulty. Often we have thought more about ourselves in it than about the Master we serve. But this has not changed Him. His tender pity has not failed. Our very blunders have become occasions to display a grace that is as constant as it is free.

What the third servant lacked was exactly this true knowledge of the Master. In his eyes He was a harsh man. And note this well. When someone does not truly know God as Christ reveals Him, that person always has a completely false idea of Him. The heart always gives itself away by the idea it forms of God. Unbelief turns the true God into a picture the heart shrinks back from... If God really were what unbelief imagines, and people recognised His authority, they would act on it. But when His love is unknown, His authority is despised.

The man who had received the one talent hid it in the ground instead of using it for his master's benefit. He did this because he had no real knowledge of his lord. He claimed to know that his master was a hard man, demanding more than he was owed, someone to fear. His lord answered him on the basis of the knowledge he claimed to have. He showed that this excuse only made his guilt worse. If his master had been a hard man, that was all the more reason to work hard with the talent given to him.

Observe that the servant had gained these ten talents for his Lord, yet the Lord had allowed him to keep them... How contrary was this to the wicked servant's claim that his Lord was "a hard man!"

There is no need of attempting to reconcile it, for the one who had received the one talent and who hid it does not represent a true believer at all.

This man is nothing but an accuser of his Lord. Yet the Lord would have us judge by him the legalistic spirit that can appear even in a believer. That spirit leaves a person unable to use openly and fully whatever he has, in the service of the One who gave it. If we hate the terrible blasphemy this man speaks, let us also hate the unfaithful and cowardly refusal of our responsibilities... "Faith works through love", and love is the free spirit of service.

When Christ went away, He called His own servants and gave them according to their ability. When He comes back, He reckons with them... Then comes the third: what marked him was a lack of trust in the character of his master. It was not a question of not having oil in his lamp, but he says, "I knew you that you are a hard man"... He did not know the blessedness of the grace that is in Christ's heart. The others had the mind of Christ. They trusted His heart, and so they were good and faithful servants. So I find that the responsibility of service rests on knowing the heart of Christ.

What the third servant lacked was exactly this true knowledge of the Master. In his eyes He was a harsh man. And mark this well: when a person does not truly know God as Christ reveals Him, his idea of God is always entirely false. The heart always betrays itself by the idea it forms of God. Unbelief always paints the true God as a picture the heart shrinks from... If God were what unbelief imagines, and a person accepted His authority, he would act on it. But when His love is unknown, people despise His authority.

In either case the third servant wronged the Lord. He judged Him by his own hard and wicked heart. He did not believe in His grace, and so he did not seek His pleasure or His glory. Selfish fear like his shuts out love... A bad conscience, never cleansed, led him to accuse the Lord of what completely denies and misrepresents Him. He is full of grace and truth.

The servant who had received the one talent comes last to give account. He excuses himself from any responsibility. He claims to know that the Lord was hard and demanding. On that ground he says he was afraid, and so he hid the talent in the earth. He only claims to be a Christian. Though he is responsible to act for the Lord, he does nothing, because he is afraid of people. The Lord's answer is solemn and to the point, calling the man a wicked and slothful servant. If he believed the Lord was hard, why did he not at least invest the money to earn interest? His excuse contradicted itself. Who indeed will have any valid excuse for treating the Lord's goods with indifference?

This comes out by contrast in the case of the slothful servant. An unconverted man might have a gift from the Lord. The slothful servant clearly never knew God. The proof is that he did not believe in the goodness of the Lord. He had no confidence in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. In this the evil servant showed what he was.

There is a special use for the man with one talent. If he uses his talent well, he is the backbone of all effort. Men with one talent number in the tens of thousands. Solomon would never have built the temple at Jerusalem without 70,000 men who carried loads and 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains. (See 1 Kings 5:15.) You can count the men with five talents on the fingers of one hand. The men with two talents are not a large group.

Let us focus on the man who had one talent given to him. He hid his lord's money in the earth and did nothing with it. The way his lord addresses him matters. The accusing finger points to the exact spot with two adjectives: "You wicked and slothful servant." He was wicked — his heart was away from his lord, and he misrepresented his character. He was slothful — he was lazy.

What the third servant lacked was true knowledge of the Master. In his eyes He was a harsh man. And mark this well: without true knowledge of God as Christ reveals Him, a person always has a completely false idea of Him. The heart always betrays itself by the idea it forms of God. Unbelief always makes of the true God a picture the heart shrinks from. Knowledge of God's rights and of His love is missing. If God really were what unbelief imagines, and people acknowledged His authority, they would act on it. But when His love is unknown, His authority is despised.

The third servant wronged the Lord. He judged Him by his own hard and wicked heart. He did not believe in His grace, and so did not seek His pleasure or His glory. Selfish fear like his shuts out love... By his own account he was without excuse in hiding the talent in the earth... To give way to fear was to distrust his Lord, and this is fatal. It is unbelief in His goodness. This servant had no sense of grace. A bad conscience, never cleansed, led him to charge the Lord with words that deny and misrepresent Him completely. He is full of grace and truth.

Many teach that he was a believer and servant of Christ who did not use his talent, and that all Christian believers who act the same way must share his fate... According to this teaching, final salvation does not depend on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It depends on the believer's faithfulness and on the use he makes of what he has received... How can we reconcile the teaching of the gospel of grace with the case of the unprofitable servant in this parable? There is no need to try. The one who received the one talent and hid it does not represent a true believer at all.

The man before us is simply an accuser of his Lord. But in this way He teaches us to judge the legal spirit. Even in a believer, that spirit leaves someone unable to use freely and fully whatever he has in the service of the One who gave it. If we hate the terrible blasphemy this man speaks, let us also hate the unfaithful and cowardly refusal of our responsibilities. Such a refusal means holding treacherous thoughts like his, however well disguised.

What did the wicked and slothful servants do in these cases? They did not waste what they had received. They kept it most carefully and returned it to the owner. Is that such a great fault? Surely it was no more than a little blameworthy carelessness? But what does the Lord say? "Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." How solemn this is.

Reward is not given according to the number of talents a man has, but according to his FAITHFULNESS... Two adjectives describe the man with one talent, who hid it in the earth: "wicked and slothful." The man with five talents and the man with two were EQUALLY diligent in doubling their stock, and two adjectives describe them: "good and faithful." What a contrast! No doubt if the man with the one talent had been diligent, he would have received the same description. Each "good and faithful" servant receives the reward in exactly the same words.

A public banker who pays interest on money deposited and lends it out again at a profit. Matt. 25:27. A related word is translated "bank" in Luke 19:23.

This word does not in Scripture mean, as it does now, excessive interest, but simply interest of any kind... The only mention of usury in the New Testament is in the parables of the Talents and the Pounds. There the master blamed the servant for not putting the gifts to use, so that he might have received his own back with interest, or increase.

The Lord's answer is solemn and to the point, calling the man a wicked and slothful servant. If he really believed the Lord was hard, why did he not at least invest the money where it would earn interest? His excuse was completely inconsistent. Who indeed will have any valid excuse for treating the Lord's goods with indifference?

Accordingly the judgment here is absolute condemnation. He is condemned out of his own mouth, for if his master were what he thought him, he should have given his money to the bankers, so that he might have received his own with interest.

On his own showing he was inexcusable in hiding the talent in the earth. "You wicked and slothful servant! ... Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest." To yield to fear was to distrust his Lord; and this is fatal. It is unbelief in His goodness. This servant had no sense of grace. A bad conscience, never cleansed, led him to charge the Lord with what completely denies and misrepresents Him. He is full of grace and truth.

But out of the man's own mouth he shall be judged. "I feared you," he said, "because you are a hard man." He clearly did not know his Lord at all. Would anyone who knows Him speak of Him like that? Those who know Him regret their unfaithfulness, yet they testify to His patience, His tenderness of heart, and His readiness to forgive. It is this knowledge of Him that moves them to faithful service. The man was a servant in name and by profession only.

The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully accept the responsibility that money brings, but that is not the point here.

Notice the difference between the spiritual gift and the person's natural ability. We need to see it, because in English we have taken the word "talent" from the one and applied it to the other. But no amount of developing natural ability can turn it into a gift from Christ. Being given the gift makes me responsible to Him for using it, without waiting for human permission or anything else. One day the Lord will settle accounts with His servants. That is where we find the spring and power for using the gift: simple confidence in the Lord who gave it.

How striking the contrast between the two servants! One knows, and loves, and trusts, and serves his lord. The other misrepresents him, fears, distrusts, and does nothing. The one enters into the joy of his lord, the other is cast out into outer darkness... And when does all this come out? When the Master returns!

Suppose we have only one talent — every day's believing use of it will carry us some way towards two. We are not shut in by the limits of God's first gift. We may shut ourselves in, and by hiding our talent in the earth lose both what we have and the capacity for gaining more.

Every one will be responsible for his wealth, but this is not a talent. The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money! I fully admit the responsibility of wealth, but it is not the point here.

Notice the difference between the spiritual gift and the natural ability of the person who holds it. The difference matters all the more because we in English have taken the word "talent" from the one and applied it to the other... But no amount of training natural ability could ever turn it into a gift from Christ.

He did not believe in His grace, and so did not seek His pleasure or His glory. Such selfish fear as his shuts love out... To give in to fear was to distrust his Lord; and this is fatal. It is unbelief in His goodness. This servant had no sense of grace. A bad conscience, never cleansed, led him to accuse the Lord of what completely denies and misrepresents Him. He is full of grace and truth.

The talent is taken from him and given to the servant who had ten talents. Notice that this servant had gained those ten talents for his Lord. Yet the Lord had allowed him to keep them; for it says he has ten talents. How contrary this was to the wicked servant's claim that his Lord was "a hard man"!

Suppose we have only one talent — every day's believing use of it will carry us some way towards two. We are not shut in by the limits of God's first gift. We may shut ourselves in. If we hide our talent in the earth, we lose both what we have and the power to gain more. For the rule is, "to everyone who has" — in the way of increase — "will more be given; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

People teach that he was a believer and servant of Christ who did not use his talent. They teach that all Christian believers who act the same way must share his fate... According to this teaching, final salvation does not depend on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It depends on the faithfulness of the believer and on the use he makes of what he received... There is no need to try to reconcile the gospel of grace with this servant's case, because the one who received the one talent and hid it does not represent a true believer at all.

Where the Lord speaks of the talents, the one who had one talent is a servant of the Lord Jesus. Yet it is taken from him and given to the one who had ten. The talent he had was the light he had; men are responsible for the light they have.

This parable (Matt. 25:14-30) is about the servant. You get more of the sovereignty of God here. In the parallel parable in Luke, it is more the responsibility of man. Here the Lord gives to every man according to his own ability: to one five talents, to another two, and so on. Everyone will be responsible for his wealth, but that is not a talent. The talents are what Christ gave when He was going away. He gave gifts — apostles, prophets, and so on. He did not give money!

The man with one talent needs to trade with it just as much as the man with five. See also Luke 19:12-27. In Matthew the talents mean ability given, and that differs with each person. In Luke the pounds mean opportunities, and all have those alike in their measure.

Suppose we have only one talent — every day's believing use of it will carry us some way towards two. We are not shut inside the limits of God's first gift. We may shut ourselves in; and by hiding our talent in the earth, lose both what we have and the capacity for gaining more. For the rule is, "to everyone who has" — in the way of increase — "will more be given… But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

What one measures out to others will be more than repaid. This is as true of ministry of the Word as of practical conduct. Heaven's law is scattering for increase. You do not lose what you give to others; you gain the more. Every bit of truth gained leads on to fresh truth. Every sphere of usefulness found prepares for more.

Nothing is more dangerous, in the things of God, than to stop short in the path of learning His ways. What stops souls is the sense that the truth is too practical, and they fear the consequences. The truth of God is not something to know only, but to live. So the soul shrinks back, because of the serious results it brings right now.

If you are not making progress, you are going backward. If you are not entering into what God has given you in His word, you are losing what you already have… Thanks be to the grace of God, the loss is not absolute and final. But we are stripped of the enjoyment of what is ours.

Could the Lord ever send someone He had redeemed by His blood into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth? Out of the man's own mouth he is judged. "I feared you," he said, "because you are a hard man." He clearly did not know his Lord at all. Would anyone who knows Him speak like that? Those who know Him grieve over their unfaithfulness. Yet they testify to His patience, His tender heart and His readiness to forgive. Knowing Him like this is what drives them to faithful service. The man was a servant in name and profession only.

It is taught that he, as a believer and servant of Christ, did not use his talent, and that all Christian believers who act the same way must share his fate. On that view, final salvation depends not on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, but on the faithfulness of the believer. There is no need to reconcile that with the gospel of grace, for the one who received the one talent and hid it does not represent a true believer at all.

The similar parable in Luke 19 separates the servants by their degrees of zeal and faithfulness, and rewards them accordingly. The servant with one pound suffers loss, but he is not thrown into outer darkness. It is worth noting that in both cases the failure is with the man entrusted with the least. If we search our own hearts, we shall find that when we are only capable of small things our tendency is to do nothing.

From verse 45 to Matthew 25:30, we come to the parables that apply only to Christendom, and not to the Jewish remnant... So here we get a very clear picture of profession, true and false. Wherever we touch what is truly Christian, God deals with the heart and the conscience.

People often teach that he was a believer and servant of Christ who did not use his talent, and that every Christian who acts the same way must share his fate... On this teaching, final salvation does not depend on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It depends on the believer's faithfulness, and on the use he makes of what he has received... How can we square the teaching of the gospel of grace with the case of the unprofitable servant in this parable? There is no need to try. The man who received the one talent and hid it does not stand for a true believer at all.

If the unworthy servant did not do his master's will, his master would judge him — not as someone who was no servant at all, but as a hypocrite, going by the position he was found in — though he was not really a servant, for a servant he never was. He was not told, "You are no servant." He was told, "Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness... and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites." So he was taken up and condemned on the ground of what he claimed to be.

This man did not know grace. He was afraid. He judged Christ to be a harsh man. His best plan was to get off free on the day of reckoning. The bondage of the law filled his heart, not the freedom of the truth... But this man was no servant. He served himself, and not Christ. And so do all who do not begin by knowing that Christ has first served them, and that their own service is to be the service of grateful love.

In the similar parable in Luke 19... the servant with one pound suffers loss, but his master does not throw him into outer darkness. It is worth noting that in both parables the man who fails is the one entrusted with the least. If we search our own hearts, we will admit that when we can only do small things, we tend to do nothing at all. The Lord will surely honour the servant of small ability who does the small things with eagerness and faithfulness.

Inside the banquet hall there is joy and light. Outside it is night, and the people there have no share in the joy inside... For this is the banquet hall where the wedding feast is held, and where people enjoy fellowship with God, who is light and in whom there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). The unbelievers are shut out of this realm of light and love... In this outer darkness not a single ray of light shines, and there is no hope or expectation left.

Being cast into outer darkness is this man's terrible end in eternal punishment. Weeping shows remorse. But gnashing of teeth shows there is no repentance — only the bitterness of stubborn rebellion, held back so that it cannot break out into action.

Here are proofs enough of the time and circumstances our Lord is speaking about. He is taking His seat upon His own throne as the Son of Man... The Lord Jesus is not even yet seated upon His own throne. When on earth He had no throne. When He went to heaven, He sat down on His Father's throne. Revelation 3:21 says: "The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne." When that promise is fulfilled, He must have left His Father's throne and sat down on His own throne. It is a future thing.

This will not be a passing act. He will then sit on the throne of His glory, the glory of the Son of Man, for He is now spoken of as coming to earth as Son of Man. Not until then will He sit on the throne of the Son of Man's glory, though divine glory is always His.

It is as Son of Man that the Lord Jesus will sit on the throne. No doubt He will show His divine knowledge in judging. But, as He plainly says, the Father gives Him authority to execute judgment, because He is Son of Man. As Son of God He gives life; as Son of Man He will judge. How solemn! Had He been only Son of God, who would have dared to despise Him?... It was His grace, then, in becoming man to save men, which exposed Him to contempt in His path of lowly obedience and suffering in love.

Carrying out judgment is one of the functions of the angels. Matthew 25 opens its account of the judgment of the living nations with the Son of Man coming to His throne of glory, and "all the angels with him."

The course of events now picks up again at the point where it broke off in Matthew 24:31. Up to that point the teaching had concerned the Jew in particular. Then came general instructions for those left waiting for the events announced beforehand... From verse 31 the Gentiles come in view. For when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him — that is, back to this world — it is an earthly scene.

There can be no question about this throne. It can have nothing to do with the earth, because the text itself tells us that the earth and heaven fled away. I learn at once the positive contrast between Matthew and Revelation. Only in Revelation do we hear a word about heaven and earth fleeing away. Only in Matthew do we find very plain signs that the Lord is taking His throne to govern the earth and the men living on it. Those gathered before Him here are "all the nations." That term is never used of the dead or the risen. It is used only of men here below, and in fact only of the Gentiles as distinct from the Jews.

When Christ appears, all the saints, conformed to His risen image, will appear with Him in glory. He will "be glorified in his saints, and marveled at among all who have believed." He will also come with all His holy angels around Him. It is evident that He can come with only those who are with Him.

On the contrary, Matthew shows the Son of Man come to the earth and all the nations gathered before Him. Here they are all living, and only living people can be called "nations." At the great white throne only the wicked dead are present, for the righteous dead had been raised long before, at the first resurrection.

This is a careful, divine sorting — not a mere act of vengeance that deals with whole masses and sweeps them all into one common ruin. He separates them one from another. At the great white throne the dead stand for judgment, and there is no need to separate them there. But here we have a mixed company. You never find such a mixture in heaven or hell, only on the earth. So every clause proves that our Lord is speaking of a judgment of the living on the earth.

It is interesting that sheep and goats are always found mixed together in the flocks of Palestinian shepherds, and the separation of the sheep from the goats would be a vivid way of presenting what will take place in the last days.

The Lord simply compares the separation He makes that day between the righteous and the wicked to a shepherd dividing his sheep from the goats. Then the righteous are called "sheep" and the wicked "goats." After that the figure is not kept up. It is dropped at once, and this language never comes back.

The King addresses both the sheep and the goats in respect to this third class. Indeed the very ground of judgment is the treatment of the King's brethren. It would be plainly absurd to say that the sheep are the very people He means. If that were so, the language would be completely different. Instead of saying, "Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these My brethren," we would hear the King say, "Inasmuch as you have done it to one another," or "among yourselves."

He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him at His throne of judgment, and He will judge them by the way they treated the messengers of the kingdom, who had gone out to preach it to them. These messengers are the brethren (v. 40); those who received them are the sheep; those who neglected their message are the goats… I do not doubt that these brethren are Jews, as the disciples were — people who will be in a similar position as to their testimony. The Gentiles who received this message will be accepted, as though they had treated Christ in the same way. His Father had prepared the enjoyment of the kingdom for them, and they will enter it while still on earth.

But those Gentile sheep at the consummation of the age are not the church… The church will be glorified on high. Remnants from both Israel and the nations are about to be blessed on the earth in that day. The sheep of Matt. 25:32 are by no means all the sheep of God.

"All" may refer only to those nations directly connected with Israel, for the Lord speaks of "My brethren"… However, it may mean every nation.

This is a careful and divine sorting. It is not a mere act of vengeance that deals with masses and could sweep them all into common ruin. He separates them one from another. At the great white throne, where the dead stand for judgment, there is no need to separate them. But here there is a mixed company. You never find such a mixture in heaven or hell, but only on the earth. So every clause proves that our Lord speaks of a judgment of the living on the earth. It follows that the people meant by "the sheep" and "the goats" are the righteous and the ungodly among the nations then living on the earth, when our Lord comes to judge as Son of Man.

Sheep and goats are always mixed together in the flocks of Palestinian shepherds. So separating the sheep from the goats would be a vivid way of showing what will take place in the last days.

One thought connected with the goat is this. By its independence, self-will, hardness and the dark colour of its hair, it naturally suggests sin. Our Lord shows this in the parable of the judgment of the nations. There the sheep stand for the blessed, and the goats for those who are under the curse.

He will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep stand at the right hand of His approval, the goats at the left hand of His refusal. He knows how to express His approval to the sheep, and how to welcome them into the earthly kingdom. That kingdom was prepared for them from the foundation of the world. This is a contrast to the portion of the church, God's heavenly people. God chose them in Christ "before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4).

Almost everyone in the professing Church believes that "the sheep" represent all the people of God, from the beginning to the end of time. And "the goats" stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if this is so, what are we to make of the third group mentioned here, whom He calls "these My brothers"? The King speaks to both the sheep and the goats about this third group. Indeed the very ground of judgment is how they treated the King's brothers.

This sitting of the court is not the final judgement of the dead. It is the King's inquiry into one matter. How have the Gentiles treated those whom He graciously calls "My brothers"? These are the Jewish preachers of the gospel of the kingdom during the sorrows of the last days. Some will treat them well and receive their message, and they will be spared to enjoy the blessings of Christ's reign. Others will treat them with scorn and cruelty, and so bring solemn judgement on themselves.

It is indeed no parable. It is a very simple statement of the separation of the living on the earth, when the Lord comes to it and sets up His throne there. He compares that separation to a shepherd separating his sheep from the goats. So it is part of that judgment of the living already spoken of, and it comes more than a thousand years before the judgment of the dead at the great white throne.

This is directly connected with His kingdom... It is the only time our Lord uses the title of King for Himself: "Then the King will say to those on His right" (vv. 34-40). This shows that the kingdom has been founded — it marks the start of His thousand-year reign... There is no ground at all for confusing it with the great white throne (Rev. 20). And there is no ground for drawing from it the popular idea of a general judgment — believers and unbelievers together. It is, in fact, a judgment of living nations. There is no scriptural precedent for calling the dead "the nations."

The Lord Jesus spoke of "the Father" and "My Father." In John 17 He had said, "I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known." Then, after His resurrection, He sends the message, "I am ascending" (not "to our") "to My Father and your Father." There is a very pointed guard there. So they are blessed of His Father here.

"Inherit life eternal." Inherit stands for "take possession of," as in Matt. 25:34 (Dalman). So in Luke 18:18. In the Synoptic Gospels it is regarded as in reserve.

They are called to inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. When God laid the foundations of the earth, He was looking onward to this blessed time. Satan's getting power over man was only a terrible interruption, but not one whose consequences the Lord could not overcome and purge out: He means to do it; and to make this world the scene of far greater blessedness than its present misery is through Satan's work.

The sheep He pronounces blessed of His Father, and invites them to inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. They shall enjoy all the blessings of His millennial reign. They are not a heavenly company, but an earthly one; and their portion is not said to have been arranged before the foundation of the world, as ours is (Eph. 1:4), but from its foundation. This distinction is of great importance.

There are three classes here — the sheep, the goats, and the "brothers" of the King. The way the nations had treated the King's "brothers" becomes the ground of their sorting. This fact is the key to the whole scene. Who then are the King's "brothers"? Very clearly they must be Jews — His kinsmen by natural descent, but also His true servants... they have gone out as His messengers among the nations. The principle on which they are sent out is the one the Lord used when He sent out the twelve apostles: "Whoever receives you receives Me."

So all rests on Christ, though His grace makes the most of what to others might seem trivial. In the one class there was faith working by love; in the other, utter unconcern. That laid bare their fitness or unfitness for inheriting the kingdom. With all saints it is the same: works are the evidence, faith in the Word the instrument, Christ's work the ground, and God's grace the source.

It is worth noticing how Scripture guards against the repulsive doctrine of reprobation. Look, for example, at Matthew 25:34... Now contrast the words to those on His left hand: "Depart from Me, you cursed" — He does not say "of My Father" — "into the eternal fire prepared" — not for you, but — "for the devil and his angels."

Now the "King" — a title used only here — begins the formal judgment of His throne, and all the nations must appear before it... The Lord and the apostles pressed hard the coming judgment of living people on earth, in the middle of their busy, selfish, greedy and sinful life.

Notice, too, that there are three groups — the sheep, the goats, and the brothers of the King. That fact alone settles how we read the whole scene. It shows clearly that this is the judgment of the living nations, after the Son of Man appears in His glory and takes His throne.

In the closing years of the Jewish age, a remnant of Jews will preach this Gospel. They are "brothers" of our Lord by natural descent. They will move among the nations of the world and give their startling testimony. They will preach the Gospel that announces the King and His Kingdom are near. How will the nations receive them?

Those who announced the news of the coming King did so against the greatest difficulties... The people around them wanted neither God's King nor God's righteousness. So hunger and thirst, exile, nakedness and prison lay ahead of these preachers. The King identifies Himself with these servants, just as He did with another persecuted group when He stopped their persecutor, Saul of Tarsus.

The sheep make no claim to have shown any regard to the King Himself. But He takes as done to Himself everything they did for His messengers, whom He owned as His brothers. The goats, on the other hand, claim they never failed the great King. But by the same rule, the indifference they showed toward His messengers counts in the King's heart as indifference toward Him... He always thinks of His own as if they were Himself.

People commonly think our Lord means acts of charity — hospitals and prison work, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked through church work or charities. They think that if a person does these things and stays faithful in them, the King will approve of them in the judgment. Many a soul builds on this foundation of sand. All this is completely wrong.

So everything rests on Christ, though His grace makes the most of what others might think small. Faith working by love in the one group, and complete unconcern in the other, showed plainly who was fit and who was unfit to inherit the kingdom. With all God's people, works are the evidence, faith in the Word is the instrument, Christ's work is the ground, and God's grace is the source.

This godly man was not ashamed of Paul or his chain. He was in Rome, and he searched hard for him, and did not rest until he found him. The Lord used him to bring refreshment to the imprisoned Apostle... And the Lord saw this good service, and valued it as done to Himself.

A careful look at our Lord's words shows that He does not speak about resurrection. He says: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations" (vv. 31, 32). The reference is therefore to His appearing and kingdom, and to His judgment of the living, not of the dead. We do not speak of "the nations" in respect of the dead: this term describes the living.

Notice especially that there is no reference to resurrection here for either "the righteous" or "the accursed." On both sides they were Gentiles living in their natural bodies, for they are expressly said to be "all the nations" when they were gathered before the glorious throne of the Son of Man.

Notice what they answer: "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?" Could a Christian say such a thing in heaven, where we will know even as we are known? … However blessed this scene may be, it is still the Lord as Son of Man judging all nations. He blesses the righteous from among them. Up to that moment they did not know that in showing acts of love and kindness towards Christ's messengers, they had done so much towards Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first that Paul learned on the road to Damascus. That truth startled his soul: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

The sheep showed them love, care, sympathy in their sorrows. So these brothers of the King must have gone through tribulation before the King appears. The conclusion is obvious. In that day, the ground on which He will deal with the nations will be this — "How did you behave towards My messengers?" … Those who honour the message treat the messengers well. They care for them and identify themselves with them. The Lord remembers this, and counts what was done to His messengers as done to Himself.

Some had shown more than kindness, self-denial, or moral excellence in any marked degree. They had shown love in various ways to the servants who preached in the King's name. Those servants preached the same truth which He had preached at the start of His public ministry. But it was faith which worked in their love. If the King and His coming kingdom had been only a myth in their eyes, they would have at least ignored His messengers as impostors.

We may see Rahab's case as an early picture of this. She believed. At that time judgment was gathering over Jericho, a picture of the world. It is written of her, "And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?" She had faith and showed it by works. And so these nations believe the messengers and treat them with kindness. Grace covers them because they believed.

How great the confusion is among Christians about the meaning of these words! Often the interpretation given strikes at the very foundations of the gospel. People think our Lord means charitable acts: hospitals and prison work, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked through church work or charitable institutions. … If anyone does these things and is faithful in them, the King will approve of them in the judgment — and many a soul builds on this foundation of sand. All this is completely wrong. The works have an entirely different meaning.

John Newton had been writing about A B C Christians, and a young clergyman wrote to him and said he had been testing himself by it and found he was in the "C" class, the highest. John Newton wrote back and said there was one thing he had forgotten to mention — namely, that those in the "C" class did not know it. … So in Matthew 25, those who pleased Him were quite unconscious of what they had done. And the principle is the same for us.

He forgets nothing that is done for His sake, though they have no recollection of what He speaks of. Faith does what is right and thoughtful without expecting any recognition for it. As the hymn says, "Little things we had forgotten He will tell us were for Him."

The reference is therefore to His appearing and kingdom, and to His judgment of the living, and not of the dead. We do not speak of "the nations" in respect of the dead: this term describes the living. And notice too that there are three groups — the sheep, the goats, and the brethren of the King. That fact alone settles how we read the whole scene.

Who are "these my brethren?" We have had the sheep and goats — the righteous and the unrighteous Gentiles; but who are the King's brethren? Those whom the Lord will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom; men sent to announce that He is coming in His kingdom. The sheep showed them love, care, sympathy in their sorrows. So these brethren of the King must have gone through tribulation before the King appears. The conclusion is obvious that, in that day, the ground on which He will deal with the nations will be this — "How did you behave to My messengers?"

What some had shown was not just kindness, self-denial, or notable moral character. It was love, shown in many ways, to the servants who preached in the King's name the same truth which He had preached at the beginning of His public ministry. But it was faith which worked in their love. If the King and His coming kingdom had only been a myth in their eyes, they would have at least ignored His messengers as impostors. They believed the message to be of God and therefore treated its preachers with kindness.

We may look at Rahab as an early foreshadowing. She believed. At that time judgment was gathering over Jericho — a picture of the world. "By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies." She had faith and showed it by works. The preachers going about are persecuted and hated by others — suffering, hungry, some thrown into prison. And so these nations believe the messengers and treat them with kindness. Grace covers them because they believed.

They had shown such kindness to poor Jewish preachers of the gospel of the kingdom, but had not thought of their deeds at all as done to the Lord Himself.

Could a Christian say such a thing in heaven, where we will know even as we are known? But these godly Gentiles are clearly still in their natural bodies, and the Lord is teaching them even after He appears in glory. However blessed this scene may be, it is still the Lord as Son of Man judging all nations and blessing the righteous from among them. Up to that moment they did not know that their acts of love and kindness towards Christ's messengers were so much done to Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first that Paul learned on the road to Damascus — the truth that startled his soul: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."

He speaks to them of showing Him many kindnesses in times of special need. For He forgets nothing that is done for His sake, though they have no recollection of what He speaks of. Faith does the things that are right and considerate without expecting any recognition. As the hymn reads, "Little things we had forgotten He will tell us were for Him."

Could anybody show me a single passage about a general resurrection? There is no such thought in Scripture. You get Matthew 25 quoted for it, that the goats and sheep represent the two classes; but He has come in His glory down here. He is not sitting on the great white throne: before this heaven and earth flee away. Here He is come and sits on His throne. When He does come and sits there, He gathers all the Gentiles, the nations, to judge them. It is the judgment of the living. You have three sets of people, not two; and you have nothing of resurrection. You have sheep, goats, and brethren.

We have had the sheep and goats — the righteous and the unrighteous Gentiles. But who are the King's brethren? They are the men the Lord will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom, sent to announce that He is coming in His kingdom. The sheep showed them love — care — sympathy in their sorrows. So these brethren of the King must have gone through tribulation before the King appears. The conclusion is obvious. In that day, He will deal with the nations on this ground — "How did you behave to My messengers?"

Could a Christian say such a thing in heaven, where we shall know even as we are known? … However blessed this scene may be, it is still the Lord as Son of Man judging all nations and blessing the righteous from among them. Up to that moment they did not know that their acts of love and kindness towards Christ's messengers were done towards Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first that Paul learned on the road to Damascus — the truth that startled his soul: "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting."

God knows the true state of every heart quite apart from works. Yet public judgment is always according to works, since works show plainly and without fail what that state is. So everyone watching can see that God's judgments are right. These messengers, whom the King calls "My brethren," had gone out as His representatives. People treated them according to the view they took of the Son of Man whom they represented. Those who believed in Him stood with His messengers and cared for them in their rejection and suffering. Those who did not believe in Him paid them no attention at all. Those who had faith declared it by their works. Those who had no faith equally declared it by their works.

In Matthew 25, those who pleased Him were quite unconscious of what they had done. And the principle is the same for us.

He speaks to them of showing Him many kindnesses in times of special need. For He forgets nothing that is done for His sake, though they have no recollection of what He speaks of. Faith does what is right and considerate without expecting any recognition for it.

It is commonly supposed that the judgment spoken of in this chapter is the last judgment — the general judgment. This is a mistake. It is the judgment of the nations living on the earth, and not of the dead. There is no question of resurrection here. It is the judgment of the nations… People think it is the judgment of the dead because of this sentence: "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." But that only means the judgment of the living will be final, just as the judgment of the dead is final.

Almost everyone in the Christian world believes that "the sheep" stand for all God's people, from the beginning of time to the end. They believe "the goats" stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if that is so, what are we to make of the third party referred to here, under the title of "these My brethren"? The King addresses both the sheep and the goats about this third class. Indeed, the very ground of judgment is the treatment of the King's brethren. It would be an obvious absurdity to say the sheep were themselves the people referred to. If that were so, the wording would be quite different. Instead of "as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers," we would hear the King say, "as you did it to one another."

The "brethren," I have no doubt, will be the remnant who will have preached the gospel of the kingdom among the Gentiles. The welcome given to those messengers decides the outcome for those who now appear in judgment. Just as surely, I believe they are Jews who will carry this testimony, and whom Jesus calls His brethren at that time.

The pressure against His messengers will be enormous. If any receive them well, it will be from faith. I grant that the measure of their faith is small. They do not yet know that honouring His brothers is honouring Him.

The true state of every heart is known to God quite apart from works. Yet public judgment always goes by works. Works show exactly what that state is. So everyone can see that God judges rightly… Those who had faith declared it by their works. Those who had no faith equally declared it by their works.

They were, up to that moment, ignorant that in showing acts of love and kindness toward Christ's messengers, so much was done toward Christ Himself. Their last lesson was the first one Paul learned on the road to Damascus. The words that shook him were these: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." The Lord taught Paul that to persecute His people on earth is to persecute Christ in heaven. They and Christ are one.

Those who would strike a blow at Christ today strike at His saints. Those who would serve Christ today care for and serve His saints. What is done to even the least of His brethren, He will accept as done to Himself… Real devotion to Christ shows itself in service to His cause and His people, far more than in warm words.

We know this verse applies to others, not to us, but the principle still holds for everyone. The act here is done in secret. Where the heart is moved by love for Christ to show even the smallest kindness, the Lord will not forget it.

He separates them one from another. At the great white throne, where the dead stand to be judged, there is no need of separating them there. But here there is a mingled company. Such a mixture is never found in heaven or hell, but only on the earth. So every clause gives proof that our Lord speaks of a judgment of the living on the earth.

The remarkable thing about the latter is that their judgment, as here set out, rests only on what they had not done. It looks as if they had tried to take a middle course between being "for" and "against." They had not joined the followers of the beast. Those men rose in open rebellion against the King, and the sword killed them (Rev. 19:21). But neither had they identified themselves with His cause and with His servants. They had seen the servants persecuted and killed. They gave them neither help nor sympathy, and so showed the state of their hearts. Is not the lesson here that in divine things there can be no middle ground?

Notice, He does not say, Cursed by My Father, matching "Blessed by My Father." God hates putting away. So when the awful moment comes to pronounce the curse on these wicked nations, He says, "Depart from Me, you cursed." I believe this is the deepest sorrow to God. It throws the whole weight of destruction on those whose own sin it was. They rejected His love and holiness and glory when they rejected His Son.

In a word, then, it is plain that God has "prepared" a kingdom of glory, and "vessels of mercy" to inherit that kingdom. But He has not prepared "everlasting fire" for men. He prepared it for the "devil and his angels." And He has not fitted the "vessels of wrath" — they have fitted themselves.

Hell was not prepared for poor guilty man. He deserves it, but it was prepared for the devil and his angels. There was no hope of deliverance for these fallen angels — no redemption for them. They left God deliberately, and no one tempted them. Man was tempted by an enemy, and God feels for guilty man, drawn away by a rebel mightier than himself, even if not more guilty.

The awful future of the ungodly could hardly be stated more clearly than in the Scripture before us: "These will go away into eternal punishment." The same word covers both "punishment" and "life." The length of the one is the length of the other. Yet eternal fire was not prepared for men. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. But those who prefer the voice of the devil to the voice of God while on earth must share his doom for ever.

Somewhere in God's universe there will be a restricted area ("a lake"). God will shut evil up there and punish it for ever. No one there will be able to act in sin, though hatred in the heart towards God and His Son must remain. Neither new birth nor repentance is possible there. God will enforce complete subjection (Phil. 2:10-11). Satan and all those he deceived, whether angelic or human, will be found together.

"I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink" (Matthew 25:42). Christ does not say you took away My food, but you gave Me none.

He does not point to the evil they did. He points to the way they ignored Him, seen in the way they ignored the needs of His brethren. This is their serious sin of omission. Nothing is said about the active guilt of the rich man in Luke 16, though he lived in ease and luxury. But he ignored the poor man Lazarus, who was laid at his gate wanting only the crumbs from his table.

Who are "these My brethren"? We have had the sheep and the goats — the righteous and the unrighteous Gentiles. But who are the King's brethren? They are the men the Lord will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom, sent to announce that He is coming in His kingdom... The conclusion is obvious. In that day, He will deal with the nations on this ground — "How did you behave towards My messengers?"

"The goats," on the other hand, claim they never failed the great King. But by the same principle, the indifference they showed towards His messengers counts in the King's heart as indifference towards Him... He always thinks of His own as if they were Himself. "Why," He says to Saul, "do you persecute Me?"

It seems as if they had tried to take a middle course between the "for" and the "against"... Still, they had not joined themselves to His cause and to His servants either. They had seen those servants persecuted and even killed. They gave them no help and no sympathy, and so showed the state of their hearts. Is not the lesson here that, in divine things, there can be no middle ground?

In the one group there was faith working by love; in the other, complete unconcern. This laid bare whether they were fit or unfit to inherit the kingdom. In every case of the saints, works are the evidence, faith in the Word is the instrument, Christ's work is the ground, and God's grace is the source.

Almost the whole professing Church believes that "the sheep" stand for all the people of God, from the beginning of time to the end, and that "the goats" stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if that is so, what do we make of the third party mentioned here, called "these My brethren"?... It would be plainly absurd to say that the sheep were themselves the people He means.

Notice, He does not say, "Cursed by My Father," to match "Blessed by My Father." God hates putting away... Of the kingdom He said it was "prepared for you." He does not speak that way about the curse. Hell was not prepared for poor guilty man. He deserves it, but it was prepared for the devil and his angels.

The theme of each part of Matthew 25 is "omission." The foolish virgins failed to take oil with their lamps. The wicked servant failed to use the talent entrusted to him. Those condemned as "goats" failed to serve the Lord, because they failed to serve His brethren in their need... If people with little light will be treated so severely for neglect, what can we with our much light expect, if we do the same?

But even a brief look at the words our blessed Lord used will show that He does not mention the subject of resurrection... The reference is therefore to His appearing and kingdom, and to His judgment of the living, not of the dead. We do not speak of "the nations" in respect of the dead: this term describes the living. And notice, too, that there are three groups here — the sheep, the goats, and the brethren of the King. That fact by itself settles how the whole scene should be read.

Almost everyone in the professing Church believes that "the sheep" stand for all the people of God, from the beginning to the end of time. And "the goats," on the other hand, stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if this is so, what are we to make of the third party referred to here, under the title of "these My brethren"? The King addresses both the sheep and the goats about this third class. Indeed the very ground of judgment is the treatment of the King's brethren.

Such was His affection for His faithful servants, and so much did He value them, that He judged the people He sent the testimony to by the way they received these messengers. Whether they received them well or badly, He treated it as done to Himself. What an encouragement for His witnesses during that time of trouble, when their faith would be tested in service!

So the conclusion is clear. In that day He will deal with the nations on this ground — "How did you behave to My messengers?" The King's messengers will go out just before He appears in glory, preaching the gospel of the kingdom everywhere. When the King takes His throne, those among the nations who received that message are recognized as "sheep," and those who despised it perish as "goats." Those who honour the message treat the messengers well. They care for them and stand with them. The Lord remembers this, and He counts what they did to His messengers as done to Himself.

The remarkable thing about the goats is that their judgment here rests only on what they had not done. It seems as if they had tried to take a middle course between the "for" and the "against."... They had seen the servants persecuted and killed. They offered neither help nor sympathy, and that showed the state of their hearts. Is not the lesson here that, in divine things, there can be no middle ground.

"I was hungry, and you gave Me no food: I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink" (Matt. 25:42). Christ does not say you took away My food, but you gave Me none.

But notice: the display of glory around them does not shame them. Firm in defending themselves, the wicked answer, "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?" Oh, the daring spirit of self-righteousness! Does not even the solemnity of this awful court strike you with terror and break you down?

Thus everything rests on Christ, though His grace makes the most of what to others might seem trivial. One group had faith working by love. The other showed complete unconcern. That laid bare which of them was fit to inherit the kingdom and which was not. In all cases of saints, works are the evidence, faith in the Word the instrument, Christ's work the ground, and God's grace the source.

Almost everyone in the professing Church believes that "the sheep" stand for all the people of God, from the beginning of time to the end, and that "the goats" stand for all the wicked, from first to last. But if that is so, what are we to make of the third party mentioned here, called "these My brethren"? The King speaks to both the sheep and the goats about this third group. In fact, the very ground of judgment is how the King's brethren were treated. It would be plainly absurd to say that the sheep were themselves the people He means. If they were, the wording would be quite different. Instead of saying, "As you did it to one of the least of these My brethren," we would hear the King saying, "As you did it to one another."

There are three groups of people in this scene: the goats, the sheep, and His brethren. The judgment of the first two depends on how they treat the third. To do these things to one of His brethren is to do them to Himself. Not to do them to one of the least of these is not to do them to Himself. The "brethren," I have no doubt, will be the remnant who will have preached the gospel of the kingdom among the Gentiles. The welcome given to those messengers decides the fate of those who now stand in judgment.

Notice that the King does not charge the condemned with persecuting and imprisoning His servants, but only with ignoring them — treating them with neglect. It fits in with the great question of Hebrews 2, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" On that day all will see that if men treat Christ with neglect, by neglecting His servants, they came under eternal condemnation.

"I was hungry, and you gave Me no food: I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink" (Matt. 25:42). Christ does not say you took away My food, but you gave Me none.

"The sheep" make no claim to have paid any attention to the King Himself. But He counts as done to Himself everything they had done to His messengers, whom He owned as His brethren. "The goats," on the other hand, claim they never failed the great King. But by the same rule, the indifference they showed toward His messengers counts in the King's heart as indifference toward Him... He thinks always of His own as if they were Himself. "Why," says He to Saul, "are you persecuting Me?"

The remarkable thing about the goats is that their judgment here rests only on what they had not done. It would seem as if they had tried to take a middle course between the "for" and the "against"... They had seen the servants persecuted and killed, and gave them neither help nor sympathy. That showed the state of their hearts. Is not the lesson this: in the things of God there can be no middle ground?

So everything rests on Christ, though His grace makes the most of what others might think trivial. Faith working by love in the one group, and complete unconcern in the other, laid bare who was fit and who was unfit to inherit the kingdom. For every believer, works are the evidence, faith in the Word is the instrument, Christ's work is the ground, and God's grace is the source.

The theme of each part of Matthew 25 is plainly what was left undone. The foolish virgins failed to take oil with their lamps. The wicked servant failed to use the talent given to him. Those condemned as "goats" failed to serve the Lord, because they failed to serve His brethren in their need... If the nations with their little light face such severe judgment for neglect, what can we with our much light expect, if we do the same?

In the closing paragraph of Matthew 25 the end has come. The Son of Man is King. The disciples who endured to the end are saved. The nations come under judgment. The good and the evil are now fully separated, and the result of the judgment is eternal. Three times the word eternal occurs. The punishment of the wicked and the fire into which they go are eternal; the life into which the righteous pass is eternal. The opposite of life is not the ending of existence, as it would be if life merely meant existence... it is punishment, because eternal life means the whole realm of blessed and eternal realities in which the righteous will move for ever. The point here is not that the life is in them, but that they pass into it.

He separates them one from another. At the great white throne, where the dead stand to be judged, there is no need of separating them there. But here there is a mixed company. Such a mixture is never found in heaven or hell, but only on the earth. So every clause proves that our Lord is speaking of a judgment of the living on the earth... Here the judgment is calm but very solemn. Its results last for ever. It follows the distinction the Lord makes between one person and another.

Who are these brothers of the King? They are the men He will send out before He comes in the glory of the kingdom, sent to announce that He is coming. So the conclusion is obvious. In that day, the ground on which He will deal with the nations will be this — "How did you behave toward My messengers?" Just before He appears in glory, the King's messengers will go out preaching the gospel of the kingdom everywhere. When the King takes His throne, those among the nations who received that message are recognised as "sheep," and those who despised it perish as "goats."... The Lord remembers this, and counts what was done to His messengers as done to Himself.

Notice one thing. In Matthew 25 our Lord uses the same word for "everlasting life" and for "everlasting punishment." It is the word used for the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God (1 Timothy 1:17). Note also that the word translated "punishment" must be translated "torment" in 1 John 4:18: "fear has torment." Happy are those who agree with childlike simplicity to wholesome words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The explanation shows that the thought is not extinction. That idea is only a conclusion drawn from what fire does to weeds. The effect of the fire, like that of the outer darkness, is weeping and gnashing of teeth. So the effect is not a ceasing to exist, as they claim. It is suffering — suffering called everlasting (Matthew 25:46), in contrast with everlasting life.

Both the life and the punishment are eternal. No one seems anxious to prove that eternal life is not eternal. Multitudes labour to explain that eternal punishment is not eternal. Why? It is simply a case of the prisoner in the dock revolting against his sentence!... there is no reason to deny to "eternal" in the first half of the sentence what everyone grants it in the second. Scripturally both parts stand or fall together.

If the destruction in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is not really "everlasting," then the salvation in Hebrews 5:9 is not either. If the fire in Jude 7 is not "eternal," neither is the glory in 2 Timothy 2:10.