Page 146 - Eschatology - Masters revised

We have already seen that “weeping and gnashing of teeth” is an idiom for great remorse which can be
applied to either believers or unbelievers. The phrase, “throw him outside, into outer darkness” should
not be interpreted as having to mean that this man was thrown into hell. There is nothing in the context
of Matthew 22:1-14 about hell or eternal death. In Jesus’ day one of the ways an unfaithful servant was
disciplined was to tie him up and throw him out in the outside garden or yard area so as to deny him the
privileges of the festivities for the rest of the people inside the house during an evening of celebration.
Those listening to Jesus tell this parable would have understood the meaning of this phrase as one of
discipline for an unfaithful servant. According to Revelation 3:4-5 Jesus instructed the church as Sardis
that the overcomers (believers who were victorious to the end) would be dressed in white. Thus, the
meaning of the parable about the wedding guest who was not wearing wedding clothes could refer to
believers who gained entrance into the Millennium but were not overcomers to the end and thus were
not allowed to be a guest at the wedding feast.
This section ends with another challenge to be alert so as not to be surprised by the Second Coming of
Jesus Christ in verse 13

Parable of the Talents

Next, Jesus tells the parable of the talents in order to reveal the importance of being a faithful steward
for Jesus Christ in anticipation of eternal rewards. The primary application in this context is to believers
living during the Tribulation period who will need great motivation to live for Jesus during such a great
persecution. The secondary application would be directed toward Jesus’ disciples to whom He was
speaking. They too needed motivation to be faithful witnesses for Jesus in the face of martyr’s deaths.
And this challenge applies to us today as well.

The master gave each servant a valuable asset which they were to manage for him in his absence. (vv.
14-15)

Matthew 25:14–15 (NIV84)14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his
servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another
two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

Notice that in this parable the master gave differing responsibilities, according to their abilities. A talent
was a measurement of weight which equaled about 75 pounds of gold. At the time of writing this
paragraph, 75 lbs. of gold was worth about $2,050,800.00.

Then the master left for an extended period of time. Each servant had a choice as to how seriously he
took this responsibility. (vv. 16-18) The first servant doubled the master’s money. The second servant
doubled the master’s money. The third servant did not even try to carry out his responsibility to use the
master’s money to gain more.

Matthew 25:16–18 (NIV84)16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his
money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.
18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his
master’s money.

When the master returned, he evaluated the stewardship of each servant and gave each his
commendation and reward. (vv. 19-30)

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