Are You Prepared? | Matthew 25:14-30

Scripture

• Matthew 25:14–30

About this sermon

One of the things that has stood out to my mind as I’ve moved throughout this Olivet Discourse, from one section of teaching to the next, is the truth that our Lord is the Master teacher. He gives us everything we need to live lives that honor Him — He leaves nothing out that is necessary. Every necessary nuance or emphasis is addressed. In the earlier section He exhorted His disciples to be alert — to be ready. But He didn’t stop there. He described what that “awake” life consists of; what it is characterized by — faithfulness and wisdom. The alert life embraces the identity of a slave, a steward, and our aim is to be faithful. Now we see, as our Lord exhorts us to be PREPARED while PREPARATION IS POSSIBLE. We heard that in our verses this morning. But, again, He makes clear that the exhortation is not enough. He NOW GOES ON TO describe the character of that preparedness, and the activity that belongs to that preparedness. HE MAKES A CRUCIAL POINT THAT ADDRESSES A COMMON MISUNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE READY FOR HIS RETURN. We can put it in the form of a question. Is a watchful life, a prepared life — a life that is always ready for Christ’s return — a life of PASSIVE waiting? Is it a life of INACTIVITY? Is it a life PARALYZED BY FEAR? Does a commitment to readiness produce a life of WASTEFULNESS — a life that is afraid to invest? Does the alert person, the prepared person, say something like, “Jesus could return today, so I will do nothing but sit here and look to the skies.” Is that the attitude? I like what John MacArthur said about this section, and I won’t quote but I’ll summarize. He said that this section, taken as a whole, demonstrates a crucial balance that belongs to genuine Christian living. It is not a life of watching without working. But it is also not a life of working without watching. It is watching while we work, and working while we watch. Our Lord, again, teaches us through a parable. The parable of the talents. It is a story about a man who entrust his slaves with his possessions. That master trusted, through the slave’s knowledge of him, that they would do something productive with what he entrusted to them. We will consider it under four main headings. • A PARABLE ABOUT THE PREPARED LIFE (vs.14) Commentators have noted how the introduction to this parable is very abrupt. There really isn’t one. Verse 13 sort of serves like a bridge that connects this section with the previous one. Why? Because He is still describing the very kind of life that He’s been calling for throughout the Olivet Discourse. Each additional element further explains what it means to be waiting and watching for His return. It’s just one more aspect of it. It represents an additional insight about it. • A PARABLE ABOUT INVESTMENT (vs.14b-18) Take note of the elements of the story. • THE ELEMENTS OF THE STORY • A MASTER WHO GOES AWAY He went away on a journey, which includes the promise of return. • A STEWARDSHIP THAT HE ENTRUSTS TO HIS SLAVES These are significant trusts. A talent amounted to something more than 15 years of a laborer’s wages. After a long discussion about why it is really impossible to fix a specific value on what is described in the parable, D.A. Carson gives this helpful word. D.A. Carson — “It may be more sensible to compare the talent with modern currency in terms of earning power. If a talent was worth six thousand denarii, then it would take a day laborer twenty years to earn so much—perhaps three hundred thousand dollars. If the weight was of gold (cf. the TNIV’s “bag of gold”), then the value was much greater yet.” So, we can safely say, that at the very least, we are talking about A LARGE VALUE wrapped up in what was entrusted to these slaves. Even the final slave, who was given one talent, was given at least 15 years’ worth of money.