Latest / Journey Elgin / Sunday Message May 3, 2026- Parables of the Coming Kingdom
Transcript
- Phillip Thomas: Well, we are going to continue and ⁓ I I want to this is actually gonna work out well because we're gonna go through quite a few of the parables of Jesus over the next ⁓ few weeks. ⁓ but ⁓ last week and this week are are kind of companion pieces ⁓ of some of the parables of Jesus. And and this is right in Matthew, ⁓ right before Jesus ⁓ is going to be ⁓ arrested. ⁓ before before the last ⁓ supper. ⁓ if you remember, Jesus has an interaction with the ⁓ religious leaders. He overturns the tables, all of that kind of stuff. ⁓ and then ⁓ he has the parables that we talked about last week. ⁓ you know, all of the parables ⁓ were were basically talking about how the people missed him. re remember there was those ⁓ the he sent his The master sends his ⁓ servants to the ⁓ place and ⁓ to the ⁓ to his rent or to his property and they they take out the servants and then he finally sends his son to try to get them to to recognize and then they take out the son, right? So all of this is recognizing kind of and and it's specifically talking to the religious leaders for sure, that saying, Y'all need to wake up, right? ⁓ that that God Called the people of Israel, not because that they were a great group of people, but he called them to be used to bring in the Messiah and to be a light into the world. And here they were, the religious leaders are going to be missing what is the most important reason that God called them, is that the Messiah was going to be coming through them. So that was the first three parables that we talked about last week. ⁓ and then Jesus gets into the woes and and really is going after the the religious leaders ⁓ and just kind of how how much they have ⁓ missed it. ⁓ which there's a lot that we can learn from that because we can all be in the shoes of the religious leaders, right? ⁓ we need to be careful of that. ⁓ and and so you you see what what Jesus is doing, and of course the religious leaders are furious. by by this time. ⁓ they definitely want ⁓ to to get rid of Jesus. ⁓ but Jesus just keeps talking. Right. And and then you you kind of get the feeling that I mean this is a very intense conversation that's happening. And the the disciples are also kind of probably kind of amazed. It's like, whoa, what what is happening here? ⁓ because the thought was is that the religious leaders and stuff would be part of the new kingdom of God, right? Because of course they would be, right? They were the the holy ones, they were the spiritual leaders of the ⁓ of the nation. ⁓ so of course that they would be part of of all of this. Well they were not going to be. So the the disciples are kind of figuring this out and and all of a sudden the the language starts to actually transition into looking forward and to even end times. things and Jesus says some things and if you read in Matthew 24 ⁓ the disciples ask Jesus well when is the end going to come right and they they they would not have been thinking of that the way that we think of end times they're thinking of okay when is the kingdom going to be fulfilled ⁓ when are you coming back and establishing our earthly reign ⁓ right but Jesus starts to to broaden the picture a little bit ⁓ and one thing that's that's interesting, there's lots of debate, you know, because Jesus gets into the temple is going to be destroyed, ⁓ all of this is going to happen. ⁓ you you it it even at one point he says, All of this will be fulfilled in your lifetime. It's like, well, wait, what it what does that mean? So some people think, ⁓ was all of this fulfilled, you know, in that first century? Well, he was actually talking about the fig tree. Remember the fig tree that didn't bloom? Well, the fig tree was going to now start to bloom with the the new church, the the the new Israel, if you will, right? That that God is now working through ⁓ through the church. ⁓ so yes, they were going to see the beginning of that in their lifetime, but they weren't going to see the end because Jesus also says in Matthew twenty-four, there's a ⁓ passage that ⁓ it says, And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world. as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Right? Well, the the gospel message was not going to be proclaimed to all nations in the lifetime of the disciples, right? ⁓ so this is kind of fascinating. There are groups out there right now that their whole goal is is creating is fulfilling the Great Commission, right? And ⁓ and there there are those who who think think that by the year twenty thirty, every people group or around that time, every people group on the earth will have heard the gospel message, right? The and it will be the the Bible will be translated into their language. ⁓ so we're actually we are getting close I don't we're not gonna go down this rabbit hole too far, but we are getting close to where every people group in the world has actually had a chance to hear the gospel message. Right. ⁓ so so Jesus is kind of setting that up. The disciples are they're kind of wide eyed, you know, it's like, ⁓ my gosh, what what is happening here? And the the main focus that Jesus transitions to is just be ready and go and do what I have called you to do. Because he also says no one knows the exact time or the hour. So I don't want you just sitting there focused on looking for that time. When is it gonna come? No, get out there and do what I've called you to do. ⁓ and so then Jesus gets into three parables. And I think it's it's very important. ⁓ we're gonna read all of Matthew twenty five, and we're gonna go through pretty quick here. ⁓ but all of these parables fit together. and and they're all about kind of moving forward and looking forward to what ⁓ to that time until Jesus returns again. So the first one, the parable of the ten virgins, Matthew twenty five. Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, five were wise. It says, For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flask of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, Here is the bridegroom, come out to meet him. Then all these virgins, ⁓ those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom cr came and And those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, Lord, look Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered, Truly I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. All right, so what is this saying? Remember, parables are using current stories and situations that people would understand to portray a larger spiritual truth. Right. And ⁓ and so it's kind of fascinating. One of the ways that ⁓ weddings would be done there, it's kind of kind of different. ⁓ you know, is is that the the bridegroom ⁓ would eat it'll it'll either start at his house and then at some point he would ⁓ be ⁓ kind of caravanned if you will to the ⁓ to the bride's house or vice versa. But it was usually done at night, and it literally they would have torches or things lit up. That was part of the wedding ceremony. And the wedding ceremonies could go on for a long time. They could go on for for days, ⁓ sometimes. Yeah, I mean, you didn't have anything else to do. You didn't have Netflix, you didn't have any of this, you know, right? ⁓ so you so what else are you gonna do, right? So you just stretch that thing out, you know, and and so so it would be normal that the bridal party, right? The the way that we would think of it, that they were there. They had a role to escort the bridegroom. Okay. That was their their job. And so they would have ⁓ lamps and things like that. And of course they needed the oil to to to create the light. All right. So so people would have recognized that. So what is the point of this passage? It's interesting. So you You have the the the ten virgins. They are there. They they are part of it. ⁓ but five are prepared and five are not. Now, this is interesting because you you also have to remember the context that Jesus is talking about. He's talking about the religious leaders, all right, and he's talking about many of the Jewish people at that time that there are many of them that are not going. To be recognized because they do not recognize Christ. See, and and so the the the key thing that is the difference between the the wise and the foolish here is the possession of the oil. Well, what what was oil always a symbol of? Oil was a symbol of God's anointing. Right? In the old testament, we see Samuel going and he anoints David, right? He anoints the king. The ⁓ whenever in Psalm twenty-three, when it says, You anoint my head with oil, that was always a God's claiming you as his, right? He's a he's anointing you. ⁓ you are now his, you belong to him. Right. And then we see that same connection in the in the New Testament where we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, right? And so whenever we accept Christ. We are now anointed in the Holy Spirit, that now we are gods. It's something that's happening on the inside. And so what this parable is getting at is that there were those who had received salvation. They believed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, that he was the Son of God. They had given their lives to him. It was something that happened on the inside. There were the foolish ones who looked the same. Right. They they hung out in the same places. They did the same rituals. Right. They had the lamp. Right. They they both got sleepy. Right. This this wasn't a po ⁓ punishment for g getting tired, right? Right. They they were in it together. But the one thing that the foolish were missing is they did not have that inner transformation that comes through a belief in Jesus Christ. Right? It is no longer, Jesus is saying to them. It is no longer good enough for you just to be born Jewish. You have to believe in that Jesus is the Messiah, right? And because when that time comes, whether it's the true end of the age or when you come to the end of your life, you're going to be one of those, that bridal party, right? You're either going to have been transformed from the inside because you believe in who Jesus Christ is, or even if you've gone through the motions, even if you've gone to church and that you've kind of done all that stuff, if you haven't accepted and truly believed that no, Jesus Christ is the Messiah, right? It is important that idea of that anointing of the Holy Spirit, that anointing oil that changes us from the inside out. So as we are looking forward to to the end of the age, right, we need to prepare ourselves first on the inside that we that we are prepared in there, that we have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And ⁓ and that that is that is the first step. I I love these parables because they actually now move forward. So the first thing is what you do as an individual. On make sure you have that oil, if you will, that you've accepted Christ. Then it moves to the second parable, the parable of the talents. For it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and trusted them to his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, ⁓ one, ⁓ to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ⁓ he who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he and had And he made five more talents. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more, but he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled amounts with them, and he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, Master delivered me five talents here, I have made five talents more. This really repeats itself a whole lot. The five talents, five talents, five talents. ⁓ his master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into joy of your master. And he also who had two talents came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents. Here I have made two talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the ⁓ the joy of your master. He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, Master, I know you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you you have what is yours. But his master answered him, You wicked and slothful servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scatter no seed, 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. So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For to every one who has ⁓ will be given ⁓ will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away, and cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness in that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. All right. So what's going on here? ⁓ first, this would have been a normal thing. ⁓ you know, pretty much in that day and time there's not really what we would call a middle class. So you had the the owners and the peasants. Right. And so so ⁓ the the elite, the owners, it would be normal that they would probably they they would be the ones that the they had the ability to travel. They had the ability to go somewhere else. And they would entrust some of their servants to manage their business while they were were gone. This was a normal thing. ⁓ so again they would recognize the the situation ⁓ here. Also talking about a talent of money. There's different estimates, but if it was if it was a talent of gold, it doesn't specifically say that, but that's kind of the imp implication. That amount of money was worth about 20 years salary for of a normal peasant for a for ⁓ for for one of the ⁓ workers. Right. So for the guy who got five That's like a hundred years of his salary. Right? I mean, you know, so so you're we're talking large r sums of of responsibility here. Even the one talent was ⁓ was you know, cause a lot of times I as I read this as a kid, I was like, ⁓ that poor schlub only got one, right? Well, no, that it was still a huge amount ⁓ of of responsibility that was given. ⁓ and and so so Jesus The the master gives the the talents and it's their job to use that to increase the the the the master's ⁓ holdings. And so of course we see the first two ⁓ that they come back and and they they have increased and well good, well done, good and faithful servant. And then the last guy, he's just so scared that he just kind of hides it away, tries to come off as pious, right? He says, Well, I just I just know how serious you are and and you you would not want me to lose any of this talent. So so rather than rather than risking losing some of the money, ⁓ I just I just you know hit it and ev so everything will be fine. ⁓ and of course it's a pretty harsh response, isn't it? It's like, ⁓ yeah, well, you really missed the mark here, now out with the weep weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Right? Well, what's The point here, all right. ⁓ the point is once you have received that ⁓ that anointing oil of the Holy Spirit, right, well then that should start actually changing the way that you live your life, right? So we receive Christ, and now we need to live in response to that. So God has given, will give us responsibilities, responsibilities for us to live our life for Him, right? And it will be different. Some people, he's not gonna call everyone to be a Billy Graham. He's not gonna call everyone to be an Apostle Paul. In fact, that's very few. Most of us, he calls us to just start living out our faith, what we have received through Jesus Christ, with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, right? That anointing oil, whenever we have received that, well, we start actually applying that to our lives. The the way that we engage with our family, the way we engage in our work, all of those things we start to actually live in response to the faith that we have received in Jesus Christ. Right? ⁓ the amounts here really don't matter. Right? It's that no, I'm now taking what I've received in Christ, and now I'm going to actually apply it. The reason that Jesus was so harsh on the last servant. Is he someone who he knew what what was there for him to be received? He knew or he had the opportunity to accept that Jesus is the Messiah, but he chose not to actually apply that to his life. He didn't fully accept it, right? He just hid it away. This is kind of like, I mean, how many how many people have gone through the motions of church? ⁓ depending on the tradition that you grew up in, you know, a lot of churches have very specific traditions of confirmation, ⁓ catechism in the Catholic church. ⁓ this is across Catholic, Protestant, whatever. There are, you know, ⁓ coming walking down the aisle at the Baptist church, right? Whenever you're singing just as I am at the end of the service and saying saying, Yes, I want to be baptized, right? Going through those processes. Nothing wrong with any of those processes. In fact there's a a lot of good that comes from those. But there are a lot of people that go through that, but they've never truly made that personal. Right? And they go through all I I can remember this in high school, especially ⁓ you know, when ⁓ you kind of have some of the the revival style ⁓ you know, services and ⁓ and there would be friends of mine who in that service were kind of convicted, you know, I haven't really been living my life the way that that ⁓ God would want me to, right? And they go down to the altar and and say, I'm sorry, and everything like that. And then the next Friday night they're out doing the exact same thing. Like, right? There was no actual change, right? There was no applying what we have believed in Christ to our actual life. Right? That's what that third servant did. Is he he'd been given the opportunity, but he didn't use it. He hid it. And so if we if we have not accepted Christ and like that first parable, and then we actually start applying it to our lives, that we start, okay, how how can I live out my faith? You see the progression that we're seeing here. And ⁓ so Jesus is specifically saying, listen, just because you're Jewish, just because you know the Torah, right, just because you're Mom and dad, and you can trace your lineage back to King David. Listen, that doesn't matter. It matters that you believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, and then you start living your life in response to that. And then we get to the last parable. This one's kind of kind of interesting. Matthew twenty five, starting at verse thirty. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. No, I'm sorry. I'm reading on the wrong side of the page. I forgot I turned the page. It's like that does not sound right. So Mat Matthew twenty five, verse thirty one. When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, and they sit on the glorious throne, before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as shepherds separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world. For I was hungry, you gave me food, I was thirsty, you gave me drink, I was a stranger, and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, feed you, thirsty, and give you a drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And and the king will answer them, Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers, You did it to me. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, and into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me no food, I was thirsty, you gave me no drink, I was a stranger, you did not welcome me naked, and you did not clothe me, sick, and in prison you did not visit me. I then they will also answer the Lord, saying, When did we see you, hungry, thirsty, or stranger, or naked or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, As you did not do to the one of the least of these, you did not do it unto me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Now I think this is really important because this is a very familiar parable. Do what into the least of these, right? How many of us have heard that phrase? I think ⁓ the way that we focus on this parable today is not near in the context of what Jesus is saying. We focus on the the clothing, the visiting the sick, the visiting in prison, right, doing what you do to the least of these. This is actually much bigger than that. Right? This is this is kind of ⁓ this progression of these parables starts off with something that changes on the inside. Then you choose to actually start implementing that in your life, right? And investing. And then that leads to outward things, right, that are that are what God has called us to do. All of these things are throughout scripture. We see them as examples of of how we live our life loving others. These are not the only ways you love others. These are not higher. than any other ways that we love others. These are just examples that we see all through scripture of, hey, if you truly love God, the way that you love others is you are sensitive to the needs of others. Right? You you want to do what's best for others. You you want to help the least of these. And there can be different ways that that is that that is done. And ⁓ and the the very important part, the main part of this passage is that there will be at the end a separation. All three of these parables really point out a very uncomfortable truth to us today. That there will be an eternal presence with God and there will be an eternal separation from God. Now we we have ⁓ the church as a whole in America has moved away from that reality. That is not what Scripture says. And it's it is uncomfortable. And I don't I don't, you know, prefer that that's wasn't the reality, but that's what Scripture says. Right. And these parables are specifically saying that. Right? And it's it's not that your actions, right? This Matthew 23, ⁓ this last passage, the sheep and the goats. Again, it's important to read all of these together, because some will use this passage. To say our works justify us getting into heaven, right? So, ⁓ look, look at all the things that you do for the least of these, and that's what puts you on the right side. No, you have to take it into context of all of these. It starts out with that that interchanging that you you just accept what Christ has done for you. You have not earned it. There's nothing that you can do to earn it. It is a free gift of God that. God has been working from the beginning through through the people that he called to bring the Messiah and now the Messiah ⁓ died and rose again for you. You have to accept that. Then you move forward, once you've accepted that, to applying that to your life. And that now you're going to use that gift. You're going to invest that gift in your life. And then that's going to result in you caring about the least of these. Does that make sense? It is hell. We have taken this so far out of context and I and I hate it. And there's so many if you if you get on ⁓ theological Twitter, I call it theological Twitter, where people from different churches and traditions they start arguing about they argue about this most pointless garbage, right? And it's like, no, do you are are you saved by faith alone? Or no, do you have to work? And right, and and kind of the stereotype is that Catholics believe that you have to earn your salvation. And Protestants don't believe that. It's all over the place. And we actually all believe nearly the same thing. Right? And I want to tell people there's a lot bigger problems out there than these little theological thumbnails that we argue about. But this passage actually makes it very clear that salvation comes from Christ and Christ alone. But then if we have truly received that salvation, our lives begin to change. And and that in the end, it matters. It matters whether your life has been changed by Christ or not. Because there will be a separation. And I want you to one of the things that I think is so ⁓ deceptive is that this passage, this last parable that we've heard, you've probably started hearing that in political discourse. And people saying, ⁓ the Bible tells us to do to the least of these. That means we need to welcome the stranger. That means it's really bad to enforce immigration policy. Right? ⁓ I I there is a candidate ⁓ that is running for Senate in the United States that specifically talked about this as saying this is the most important thing is that how we treat the least of these. Okay, there's there's some Truth there. We should care about the least of these. There are different ways to do that, right? You can have different political policies and still caring about the least of these. That that's one thing. But what's very interesting is what we have seen within our mainline churches that they have really emphasized the caring for the least of these, the social justice. Let's care for those who are who are poor, those who are needed. But those churches are also the ones that are ⁓ most likely to reject the idea that there will be an eternal separation from God at the end. This whole parable is about the fact that there will be an attaparation at the end. And so if you use this to justify why we need to care for the poor, care for you know the way that we need to care for the least of these, if you use it to justify that, you better also recognize listen, we probably need to care about the eternal soul of the least of these. Right? We we can we need to help p ⁓ people who are the least of these to be able to fill their belly, right? And to to have homes and to have health care and to all of this stuff. That is important. But guess what? All of that is temporary. If you're using this passage to justify that, you better have your first priority that they come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Because you know what? You can be really well fed and have great health care and have a wonderful house and die. And end up in hell. And if if we are using these passages, I I get very angry at what the church is doing because we love throwing out, ⁓ do it for the least of these. And ⁓ if you support this political candidate, you clearly aren't a Christian because you're not supporting the least of these. Okay, that is a complete misuse of scripture. And we need to recognize that because the enemy uses that. And it uses that to deceive us where we the church The church has a responsibility to care for the least of these. We clearly do. Our first responsibility is to introduce people to the life changing power of Jesus Christ. That is number one. And it is more important. It doesn't mean we neglect the second, but it is more important. And in our comfort of our country. We have decided that we're going to focus on the second part above the first, as a in a in a broad sense. And we need to be careful with that. And I just encourage you to make sure you read things in context. So these parables are are awesome because they are teaching us what to do while we wait. Right? While we wait, what do we do? We prepare ourselves on the inside, right? You you work on your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Then you make that commitment to, okay, I've received this. I've received these talents from from the the Lord. I've received these blessings. So now I'm going to invest them in my life. I'm going to start trying to live that out in my home, in my work, ⁓ in everything that I do. And then that's going to lead me to produce good fruit. Where I do care about the least of these because of what Christ has done for me, not so that I can receive Christ, but because I've already received him. And that's what we're gonna do until Christ comes again. And we're also gonna pay attention, just like Jesus said, pay attention to the signs of the times. We're gonna do that, but it shouldn't change our actions at all. We should be awake and ready and looking forward and and doing this. Because people need to hear and see what living out the gospel message looks like. And that's our responsibility. And then we we leave the results up to God. But make sure you don't get complacent. Make sure you've had that inner transformation. Don't just be going through the motions that that that that wrestle with that. And then start living. For Christ, don't get overwhelmed by everything that's going on around us. Talk about it, be aware of it, but don't be overwhelmed because you are the light of the world. And that light comes from Jesus Christ within you. Let's go to him in prayer. Yeah. See