Matthew 17:1-8 – Listen to Him!

Lesson Focus:

We are called to listen and to obey the voice of God as made known to us through the person of Jesus Christ even when it is hard or causes us fear. 

Lesson Outcomes:

Through this lessons students should:

1.     Identify Jesus as the full revelation of the nature of God.

2.     Understand that Jesus represents a continuation of what God has been doing from Old Testament times onward.

3.     Understand that Jesus, as the revelation of who God is, should be listened to even when it is hard or impractical. 

Catch up on the story:

We have reached the middle of Matthew’s gospel.  Jesus is currently in the region of Galilee teaching, preaching and doing miraculous things.  After moving on from the area around Caesarea Philippi, Jesus begins to explain that he must make his way toward Jerusalem where he will suffer and die.  As we hear from Peter in 16:22, the idea that Jesus must suffer and die does not fit well with the disciples’ understanding of Jesus as Messiah.  Jesus will have none of Peter’s temptations.  Truly, Jesus declares, if anyone wants to follow him, he or she must take up their own cross of self-denial. 

At the same time, however, the question of Jesus’ identity is never very far away in Matthew’s gospel.  Characters in the story are constantly seeking to discover just who this Jesus is.  Matthew, for his part, is clear about who Jesus is and, to that end, places stories which help answer this question all throughout his narrative.  The Transfiguration is one of those stories.     

The Text:

As with most texts, the only way to understand the Transfiguration is to understand it in its immediate context and within the context of Matthew’s gospel as a whole.  Let us start with the immediate context beginning in chapter 16.  Jesus asks his followers a simple question.  The question is, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  The purpose behind Jesus’ question is the desire to begin a discussion about who Jesus is, what he has come to do and how he will do it.  Peter answers rightly proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of the Living God.  For Matthew, this question of Jesus’ identity is at the forefront of the gospel.  Peter has answered correctly, but fails to grasp exactly what that means for Jesus and his followers.  Peter displays his flawed understanding of Jesus’ identity as he rebukes Jesus for saying that he must go to Jerusalem to suffer and die. He understands the Messiah to be someone who will defeat God’s enemies militarily (i.e., the Romans), not someone who will suffer and die.  Truly, though, Jesus declares that anyone who wants to become his follower must practice self-denial as he has and as he will in his upcoming suffering and death.

At the beginning of chapter 17 we are given a time marker.  It is six days since Jesus has had the above-discussed conversation with his disciples.  Jesus gathers his inner circle of followers, Peter, James and John, and climbs up to the top of a mountain.  There has been lots of discussion amongst scholars as to which mountain this is.  The actual mountain on which the Transfiguration took place is inconsequential.  What matters is that this event takes place on a mountain.  All through Israel’s history God reveals himself in special ways on mountaintops. God gave the law on Mount Sinai. The Temple was built on Mount Zion. Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.  Matthew’s first readers would have anticipated that something remarkable was about to happen.

Once they reach the top of the mountain something remarkable does indeed happen.  Jesus’ appearance begins to change.  Jesus’ face begins to shine as bright as the sun and his clothes become dazzling white.  At this point we should be reminded of another story containing another characters whose face glows, which is Moses.  After the Exodus, Moses goes up to the top of Mount Sinai to receive the Law.  Because of his proximity to God, Moses’ face begins to glow and continues to glow even after he has returned to the camp.  Whereas Moses’ transformation is a result of his encounter with God, Jesus’ transfiguration (metemorphothe - to take on a different physical form or appearance—‘to change in appearance.’)[1] is merely a revealing of who Jesus is on the inside.  As Jesus’ appearance changes the disciples get of glimpse of Jesus in his full glory.  Jesus divinity is here reinforced.   

I suppose we would have a neat and memorable story if things were to end just with the transfiguration, but the story does not stop there.  As Peter, James and John stand gawking at their friend’s changed appearance, suddenly two other figures appear.  They are Moses and Elijah, two of Israel’s most important leaders.  What could be the significance of the appearance of Moses and Elijah?  Bruner believes that Moses and Elijah perform two important services.  First, they announce the continuity between Israel’s history (the Law and the Prophets) and Jesus.  In Matthew’s gospel there has been a tension between the religious authorities, who style Jesus as a Law breaker, and Jesus who has been offering the fullest interpretation of the Law by saying things like “You’ve heard it said…But I say to you…”  Moses and Elijah would not be conversing with Jesus in this way if Jesus were opposed to the Law.  Second, it provides a discontinuity and a hierarchy between the Old Testament and Jesus.  While the Old Testament and the Law were trying to achieve the same things as Jesus, that is, enabling God’s people to live truly as God’s people, Jesus stands above Moses and Elijah and all they represent.[2]

As Jesus, Moses and Elijah are standing there a bright cloud descends on the mountain.  From this cloud God begins to speak, echoing words we have already heard at Jesus’ baptism earlier in Matthew’s gospel, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”  If we were to inspect the original Greek we would find a definite article (the) before the word, Son.  Whenever a definite article appears in this way it specifies that what follows the “the” is the only thing of that kind.  So, God says that Jesus is “the” Son, the only Son.  Even though Moses and Elijah are there with Jesus, God is not speaking of them as if to say, “Here are my sons, listen to them!”  No, God is singling out Jesus.  Moses and Elijah were good, and we should not forget them or throw them out (or the Old Testament), but this is Jesus, the Son of God.  The voice then adds a second phrase, which is not uttered at Jesus’ baptism, “listen to him!”  The word used here is akouo, which means to “listen or pay attention to a person, with resulting conformity to what is advised or commanded—‘to pay attention to and obey.’”[3]  Akouo is also plural in this case and as such can be translated as, “You all, listen to and obey him!”  In other words, God is urging Peter, James and John –and us too!– to not only listen to the words and teaching of Jesus but also to obey what he commands. 

In the context of the Transfiguration it becomes clear that the things that Jesus has done, how he has healed and taught, how he has interpreted the Law for God’s people, have been pleasing to God.  Even Jesus’ turn toward Jerusalem where he will suffer and die is pleasing to God because of Jesus’ steadfast obedience.  Jesus is doing and being all that God wants him to do and be.  Now we are being called to listen and obey, even when what Jesus commands and does is difficult for us to understand or challenging for us to live out in our own lives. Remember, Jesus has just called his disciples to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow him (16:24). In 17:4, Peter’s desire to stay on the mountain and build three dwelling places for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah seems to reflect his reluctance to participate in self-denial and suffering. Peter wants to stay on the mountain where he can experience Jesus’ glory and power for himself. He does not realize that Jesus’ glory and power will be revealed definitively only on the other side of his suffering and death on a cross. Peter wants a Messiah who is glorified and powerful; not one who is suffering and dying.

Peter, James and John hear God’s voice and they fall to the ground in fear.  Then, just as quickly as the experience began, it is over.  Jesus, seeing his friends afraid, walks over to them and touches them.  The very same person who was just a moment ago glowing with the glory of God, the same person who created the universe, now bends down to touch and help these men to their feet.  Bruner describes the significance of the touch likes this, “Everything is in that little seventh verse, and in some ways this little grab-and-lift at the end of the Transfiguration… Jesus shines not just to shine, not just to impress, not even in the final analysis just to make us obedient or trembling, but especially to help us up, to put us on our feet, to enable us to breathe again so that we can be obedient to his Word, [so we] can ‘Listen to him.’”[4]

So What?

The question of Jesus’ identity is at the forefront of this passage.  If Jesus is just some guy then all that he says and does is really of no consequence.  If Jesus is who Matthew says he is, it has major implications for how we are to live.  All through Matthew there are disputes between the religious leaders and Jesus about his identity.  Most religious leaders question his authority to interpret the Law.  In the Transfiguration Matthew undeniably depicts Jesus as God’s Son.  Not only that, but Jesus as God’s Son is doing everything the Father in heaven has sent him to do, even down to suffering and death.  God is pleased with Jesus and commands that we listen and obey him. 

The point is this, Jesus is who he claims to be and so we are called to follow and obey.  Only Jesus does not leave us to our own devices to listen and obey.  Listening to and obeying the words and commands of Jesus is hard and, at times, terrifying.  Loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, responding with love, all of those responses can be so hard.  But, Jesus reaches down to us as we are face down paralyzed by fear of following and he lifts us up.  We can listen and obey Jesus because he is there urging us to not be afraid, cheering us on as we seek to follow in the path that he blazed for us.  

Critical Discussion Questions:

1. What does God look like in this text/Who is God in this text/What is God doing in this text? 
1. God is revealing himself to us in a special way in this text.  God announces his pleasure with Jesus because he has been so completely obedient, obedient even in suffering. 
2. Jesus is the only way through which we can understand what it means to be a follower of God’s law. 

2. What does holiness/salvation look like in this text?
1. Our holiness is deeply connected to our careful listening to what Jesus has to say to us.  Our growth in grace depends on our ability to hear and obey Jesus.  At the same time, Jesus reaches down to us, grabs ahold of us and encourages us to obey.  Jesus does not leave us to grow by ourselves, but gives us the help we need. 

3. How does an encounter with this story shape who we are and who we should become?
1. It is no doubt that Peter, James and John were changed by this encounter with God.  This passage should encourage our faith.  Yes, Jesus is the Son of God and yes we should do what he says, even when that means denying ourselves and sharing in his suffering.

Specific Discussion Questions:

Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself quietly.  Read it slowly, as if you were very unfamiliar with the story.

1.     What other stories from the Old Testament might the Transfiguration remind you of?

2.     Read Matthew16:13-28.  How is this passage connected to the passage concerning the Transfiguration?

3.     Why do Moses and Elijah make an appearance at the Transfiguration? Can you describe how the Old Testament is in continuity with the New Testament?

4.     Look at verse 4. Why do you think Peter wants to stay on the mountain and build three dwelling places for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah? What are the parallels between Peter’s response here and our own responses to Jesus? Do we ever prefer to stay on the mountain and experience Jesus in his glory instead of going down the mountain to follow Jesus in his death? If so, explain how.

5.     Why would God need to proclaim that Jesus is his Son and that he is pleased with him?

6.     Peter, James and John’s response to this encounter with Jesus is one of fear.  Why were they afraid?

7.     Discuss a time in your life when you listened to Jesus and obeyed even though it was very hard to do that.

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[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 586.

[2] Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew: A Commentary: The Churchbook, Matthew 13-28, Revised & enlarged edition (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004), 168.

[3] Louw and Nida, 466.

[4] Bruner, 179.

Matthew 25:31-46 – The Final Judgment

Lesson Focus:

Those who will find themselves invited into God's eternal kingdom are those who have properly expressed their love for God through their love and care for their neighbor, especially “the least of these.”

Catch up on the story:

Over the last few weeks we have been heading toward some kind of statement from Jesus concerning final things.  The coming of ‘The Son of Man’ has been highlighted in the previous three parables.  The theme that runs through each of these preceding parables is preparedness for when the Messiah fully and finally comes.  Each parable highlighted, in a different way, what it means for those who belong to the Kingdom to be ready for the return of the master. 

This week’s passage forms the end of Jesus’ sermon on preparedness for the end of the world.  With this passage we also move away from parables as the dominant literary form.  While this week’s passage has often been referred to as a parable, it is not.  What we have is a depiction of the last judgment taught by and featuring none other than Jesus himself. 

The Text:

Notice the beginning of the passage.  It starts not with a formulaic saying about comparing the kingdom of heaven to this or to that, but with a solid and referential, “when.”  This “when” also serves to connect today’s passage with the preceding three parables about preparedness.  When the master arrives from being away (25:45-51), the groom arrives at the wedding (25:1-13), and when the master comes to check on what we have done with the money we have been given to invest (25:14-30), that will be the time when the Son of Man will come in glory to sit on his throne of glory. 

Throughout Matthew, Jesus has referred to himself as “The Son of Man.”  In fact, Jesus words in 25:31 are almost verbatim of 16:27.  The role of the Son of Man in this passage as well as that of the king (v. 34) and Lord (v. 37) is played by Jesus himself.  The Father will gather all nations to Jesus for the final judgment.  At this point we cannot forget that Jesus and the Father are one.  The glory that Jesus displays is the glory of the Father.  The judgment that Jesus issues is the judgment of the Father.  Jesus will continue to exercise his role as servant even while the Father is glorifying him for his obedience (see, Phil. 2:6-1).  

All nations will be gathered together on this last day of judgment.  The resurrection of the dead will not just include those who have believed, but will include those who, by word or deed done or undone, have rejected Christ.  Absolutely everyone will be there, an image that defies our imagination as we attempt to visualize all those who have lived, past and present, standing before Jesus on his throne. 

Sorting and separating the resurrected will begin immediately.  Jesus, who is sitting on his glorious throne, will place the goats on his left hand side while the sheep he will place on his right side.  The phrase, “all nations” might lead us to believe that the separation that is taking place is between nations.  Certainly, for some in Israel, this might have been what was expected.  Rather, as the passage unfolds we will see that the separation is more likely individual in nature.

Jesus tells us that the resurrected will be separated as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  There are a few reasons why a shepherd might separate sheep and goats.  First, goats might have been separated from the flock at night because of their inability to handle colder temperatures.  Or, they might have been separated because of the different nature of hair and wool.  Goat hair can be used to make textiles in the same way as sheep wool can.  The story does not stand on the reason sheep and goats might be separated, only that they are. 

The sheep, Jesus tells us, will be placed on his right hand side.  The right hand was considered the hand of power and prestige.  To sit at one’s right side at a banquet was a place of honor.  Thus, the sheep are brought to Jesus’ right hand side as a way of indicating their place of honor and reward at the final judgment.  While normally, the left hand side was still a place of honor, as the story continues, it will become clear that the left hand side for the goats is worse than just second best.

As quickly as the imagery of the sheep and goats appears it is gone.  The Son of Man will no longer be shepherd but judge and king.  The king, in verse 34, is one and the same as Jesus.  He will now address those that he has separated starting with those on his right.  Jesus invites those who are on his right to come and inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for them from the foundation of the world.   

Jesus begins by inviting those on his right to enter into the kingdom that has been prepared for them since the beginning of time.  Clearly, God has had a plan for his creation from the very beginning.  This is not predestination, as our Calvinist friends would understand it.  God's intention, even before the fall of humanity, was that his creation would live with him in unbroken, unmediated fellowship.  It has always been God's plan that all of us end up with God fully and finally.  Those on Jesus' right are invited into the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, to take up residence because they have faithfully prepared themselves.  In short, they have responded rightly.  As the parable of the Wedding Guest (22:1-11) teaches us, we are all invited, but not all get to stay because of their lack of preparedness.

Jesus then begins to explain to the resurrected on his right why it is that they get to inherit the kingdom.  They inherit the kingdom because when Jesus was hungry they gave him food, when he was thirsty they gave him water, when he was a stranger in a strange place they offered him hospitality.  Additionally, they gave Jesus clothing when he was naked and visited him when he was sick and in prison. 

The righteous, as Jesus calls them, are flabbergasted at Jesus' words.  They wonder out loud when it was that they did those things for Jesus.  Jesus responds with a statement that should give us pause when we take time to consider it fully.  In doing these things for the least of Jesus' brothers or sisters, then those deeds were done for Jesus! 

The language, here in chapter 25, is similar to Jesus' discussion of the lost sheep in Matthew 18.  In the beginning of that chapter, Jesus is asked who will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus responds by saying that unless you become like a child you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  We often assume that this means that we must have child-like faith.  That's not what Jesus is getting at here.  Rather, Jesus uses the image of a child to illustrate those who are lowly and least in society.  Indeed, children were not valued in the same way as we value children today.  They were little more than property.  True greatness, Jesus insists, belongs to the least of these in society.  It is the call of the shepherd to go after the least of those who wander off from the flock.  We often understand the parable of the lost sheep to be about salvation in a spiritual sense.  And while it should spur us on to evangelize those who need to hear the good new about Jesus, it has concrete physical forms of spreading God's good news in mind as well.

Jesus will not change his mind concerning greatness and the needs of the least of these in his kingdom between the events of Matthew 18 and the end of the world!  In fact, if we look at this week's passage in the light of the last few parables, our preparedness is measured by how well we looked after the least of these.  Jesus informs the righteous that as they have loved their neighbor, the least of these, they have loved God!     

The list itself is not comprehensive, but it is concrete and physical in nature.  All of the actions performed by the righteous deal with a person's sense of wholeness and well-being.  Food, clothing, water are essential to our survival as creatures.  So too is our need to be accepted and cared for within the context of community.  We cannot be fully human unless we participate in a community where there is love and acceptance.  It is because of this that Jesus highlights hospitality for those who are sick and in prison.  Sickness, as it does today, placed a person on the margins of society.  Those in prison also were often in need of physical assistance as well.  While the state provided the housing for its prisoners, it was up to the prisoner's family or friends to provide them with food and water.[1] Not only was isolation a problem for prisoners, so was starvation and death. 

Another important aspect needs to be kept in mind.  Jesus' social world was built around a system of reciprocity, honor and shame.  One might hold a banquet and invite the important persons of the town to be a guest in hopes, not only that they would attend, but also that the invitation might be reciprocated at a later date.  It was an honor to be invited as a guest to someone's house.  In the same way, it would have brought shame on a house for an invitation to be rejected.  To do something for someone who could not possibly return the favor was unheard of.  Jesus, by highlighting the service done to the least of these is highlighting the righteous’ disregard for the system of reciprocity.  Furthermore, they are shocked when they receive a reward, an invitation to the kingdom, for the care they have shown for the least of these.  In other words, the value of the righteous' service did not depend on the value of the ones who were served.

Jesus then turns from his right to his left.  While he had gracious words to speak to the righteous resurrected on his right, he has only words of condemnation for those on his left.  Those on the left, as with those on the right, wonder why it is that they are being told to depart into eternal punishment.  While the righteous resurrected ones did not realize that their actions had been an expression of their love for God, the ones on the left have failed to realize that they have not properly shown love for God.  They have failed to care for the least of these, which is also a failure to care for and love Jesus himself.  In the context of the current discourse in Mathew we are left to wonder if the ones on left are the religious leaders in Israel.  They had placed their faith in keeping the exact letter of the law all the while neglecting those who matter most to God. See Matthew 23:23-24.    Either way, it is not just those who are in religious leadership who fall into the trap of religious legalism while neglecting the least of these. 

The judgment that Jesus pronounces on both groups is final.  The reward will be eternal citizenship in the kingdom of heaven.  The punishment will be eternal as well.  Those who have not exercised their love for God through love for neighbor will be given eternal citizenship in the place that had been prepared for the devil and his angels.

  

So What?

It might be easy, from this passage and the passages that go before it, to see an emphasis placed on care for the poor over against strict adherence to Christian belief or morality.  Indeed, some have, in the history of Christianity, overemphasized care for the poor at the expense of morality and faith.  At the same time, however, there have been those who have emphasized morality or even faith at the expense of concrete care for the poor. While Jesus is making a profound case for what it means to be prepared for the coming of the kingdom of heaven, Matthew's Jesus is not abandoning morality or belief. 

Where we get into trouble is when we swing too far one way.  The religious leaders in Israel had swung toward strict adherence to the law and so neglected expressing their love for God through their love for neighbor.  Jesus is quite clear that those who do not express their love for God through their love for their neighbor, especially their unimportant and helpless neighbor, will not find a place in God's eternal kingdom, regardless of how pure a life they lived.

Of course, the converse is true as well.  We cannot only exercise care for the least of these at the expense of acting morally or believing rightly.  In fact, as we live ethically and morally upright lives, as we affirm proper beliefs, as Jesus and the Apostle Paul will urge us to do, we are actually being shaped and formed (hopefully!) into people who will more readily express our love for God through our love and care for our neighbor. 

At the end of the day, we, like Jesus’ original hearers, like the community that Matthew has written his gospel for, we are waiting for Christ to return to finally and fully usher in God's kingdom.  The questions that lingered for those communities linger for us: will we be prepared for his coming? and what does it look like to be prepared for his coming?  Matthew has given us solid answers to those questions.  We will be prepared for the coming of Christ and his kingdom if we have used well the gifts God has entrusted us with and if we have expressed our love for God through our love and care for our neighbor, especially our vulnerable and unimportant neighbors.                 

This is the final Sunday before Advent.  In Advent we anticipate and wait for God's coming in the birth of Jesus.  It is, at the same time, a time of anticipating the coming of God's kingdom in its fullness.  We not only anticipate the beginning of God's kingdom, but the consummation of it as well.  May the lessons we have learned from our study of Matthew help prepare us as we anticipate the coming of our King. 

Critical Questions: 

1.     How does this text reveal to us the nature and character of God/What is God doing in this text?   

a.     God obviously identifies with those who are the vulnerable and unimportant people of society. We see this in the incarnation: God, who was rich, became poor.  He identifies with them so much that our care for the poor and powerless is really care for Jesus himself.  Ultimate salvation comes for those who have expressed their love for God in the proper kinds of ways.

b.     This care for the least of these also causes God to act in judgment.  We must never forget that the God who has been so faithful and so steadfastly loving toward us desires for us to act in the same way towards our brothers and sisters. 

2. What does holiness look like in this text?

a.     Holiness looks like caring for the poor and powerless in tangible and concrete ways.  It looks like expressing our love for God through feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving water to the thirsty and visiting the sick and those in prison.  It may also look like thinking about and finding ways to address cycles of injustice and oppression that cause these problems.It also looks like finding ways to change the structures in our society, which cause all of these problems.  In short, it is a call to work for justice and equity in addition to showing mercy and compassion. 

b.     It also looks like doing these types of things without a thought to any reward we might receive now or in the hereafter.  In the passage, those who were ushered into the kingdom were surprised by their invitation.    

3. How does an encounter with this story shape who we are and who we should become?

a.     This passage should shape how we think about the Christian life and it's ultimate aim.  The ultimate aim of the Christian life is to love God.  We love God when we express our love for him through our love for the least of our neighbors.  The programs and ministries of our church will be thoroughly Christian when they help us to accomplish that goal, either by helping to shape and form our thoughts and actions (prayer, worship, study of the scriptures) or by actually providing us with practical exercises in caring for our neighbor. 

Specific Discussion Questions:

Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself quietly.  Read it slowly, as if you were very unfamiliar with the story.

1.     The last three parables in Matthew have been preparing us for his final scene in Jesus' teaching.  Go back and review Matthew 24:45 through 25:30.  What are the common themes that run through these parables?  How is it that Jesus might be preparing us for this final judgment scene?

2.     Who is the one doing the sorting in this passage?  What might this say about Jesus' status and authority in heaven and earth?

3.     Why do you think the righteous are surprised when Jesus tells them that they have provided him with food, water and clothing when they had done those things for the least of these?  How does Jesus' list of activities help us see what is important to Jesus?

4.     In the list of the ‘least of these,’ which category of people is most neglected in our society? Is there another category that you would add to the list of the ‘least of these?’

5.     Jesus seems to be saying that we most fully express our love for him through our love for the least of our neighbors.  This is something that our church equips us to do. Here are some ministries that are intended to care for the least of these:

a.     The Mercy Fund: a special fund intended to assist people who are in need of groceries, utility assistance, bus passes, gas, etc.

b.     The Closet

c.     The Laundry Ministry

d.     Monthly Meals at the Motels

e.     Safe Families for Children

f.      Prayer Shawl Ministry

      Discuss these among your group and other possible ways to care for the least of these.

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[1] John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids, Mich. : Bletchley: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005), 1030.

Matthew 25:14-30 – Parable of the Talents

Lesson Focus:

Much is required of those who have been given things of great value. 

Catch up on the story:

After Jesus pronounces woes and judgment on the Jewish religious leadership, the disciples ask him what the sign will be that will indicate his return and the coming of the end of the age.  Jesus responds with a series of warnings and parables about what it means for those who believe to be prepared for Christ’s second coming.  The first parable was about a faithful slave, who worked hard to prepare for his master’s return, even when he did not return immediately.  The other slave failed to continue to look after the house’s affairs when it became apparent that the master would not soon return.  The unfaithful slave will be tossed out when the master returns.

The second parable depicted ten bridesmaids who were waiting to usher the bridegroom into the wedding banquet.  Five of the bridesmaids were thoughtless and did not bring enough oil to ensure that their torches would burn brightly.  The other five were thoughtful and had enough oil.  They were prepared when the bride eventually returned.  The first five were excluded from entering into the joyful wedding banquet.  

The themes running through these first two parables are present in the third parable.  There is an important person, a master and the groom, for whom the parties in the parables are anxiously waiting.  Those who acted properly in the absence of the important person are rewarded with being able to continue in the presence of that important person.  These themes will also be present in this week’s passage. 

Critical Questions: 

1.     How does this text reveal to us the nature and character of God/What is God doing in this text?

2. What does holiness/salvation look like in this text? 
3. How does an encounter with this story shape who we are and who we should become?

The Text:

Jesus begins this parable with a “For it is as if…” (NRSV) or “Again, it will be like…”  (NIV), and this connects this parable with the preceding one.  Matthew’s Jesus wants to connect this story with the one that went before in a specific way.  In other words, the parable of the bridesmaids and this parable about investment are very similar.  They both deal with discussing what it looks like to be prepared for Christ’s return. 

The main character in this parable is a master who owns land, has a good amount of liquid capital and has a fair amount of people who work as stewards of what he owns.  The master calls his slaves, literally, his own slaves.  For us the word “slaves” carries with it distinct imagery that is derived from America’s cultural history.  It’s important to remember that slaves could refer to a wide range of workers involved in the daily operations of a wealthy household.  While the life of a slave was not always easy, slaves could work up the household ladder and gain positions of power and responsibility.  That a master would have given some of his assets into the hands of slaves so that they might be invested in the master’s absences would not have been uncommon.  Jesus is, however, highlighting the fact that these slaves belong to him.  Stressing the fact that the slaves belong to the master also indicates that the parable is dealing with those who are already a part of God’s family.  For Jesus’ original hearers, especially in the immediate context, this points to Israel and her leadership.  For us, who hear this story today, the slaves are those who confess to be followers of Jesus Christ. 

The master calls three slaves before he sets off on his journey.  He takes and gives the first slaves five Talents.  A word about Talents is appropriate here.  A Talent was the largest denomination of money in Jesus’ day.  It would have been equivalent to a year’s wage for about 100 day laborers.  It was a substantial amount of money in the form of silver.[1] The Talents in the story do not refer to our “talents” as we commonly understand them. 

The master gives five Talents to the first slave, to the second slave he gives two Talents and the third slave he gives one Talent.  Jesus tells us that the master gave “each according to his ability,” literally, their own “power.”  Let’s be clear, the money that is given to the slaves is still the property of the master.  The master has judged his slaves and has entrusted his money to them in accordance with how he thinks they will respond to the responsibility. 

The master sets out on his journey, and immediately the slaves go out and begin to use the money they have been given to make more money.  Both the NRSV (went off at once and traded with them…) and the NIV (put his money to work…) translate verse 16 in a rather passive way.  The force of the Greek paints a bit of a different picture.  It could be translated like this, “The one who had received five talents went off immediately and began to work his money hard and it produced five more talents.”  Upon receiving the money the first servant actively and immediately went and worked hard so that the money he had been entrusted with worked hard as well.  We are told the second servant does the same thing.  Each of the first two servants doubled their money. 

The third servant, on the other hand, received his Talent, dug a hole in the ground and hid his money.  Digging a hole in the ground and hiding a treasure was a common way to safeguard things of value.  In fact, rabbinical teaching often suggested that this was the safest way of protecting your valuables.[2]

The master returns from his voyage and calls his servants together to get an account of how they have used the money he gave them.  The first servant comes forward and calls his master to look at what he has done.  The action, according to the Greek, could be considered to be quite formal in the context of a religious setting, as in one bringing a sacrifice before a deity.  The first and second slaves are bringing the fruits of their labor before their master in joy and reverence.  Both slaves offer the same words.  In joy they call upon their master to look at the fruit of their labor. 

The master responds to both slaves the same way.  Because of their faithfulness and hard work, the master is pleased with them.  Their hard work and responsibility will earn them greater responsibility.  Not only that, they are invited to “enter into the joy of your master.”  Being a slave could be a thankless job, even for slaves who were trusted with great responsibility.  Entering into the master’s joy may invite us to think back to the joy the bridesmaids’ experience at the coming of the groom.  Faithfulness is rewarded with inclusion in the celebration that comes with the return of the master. 

It’s interesting to note that the reward for being faithful and bearing fruit is more responsibility.  Often we have imagined the reward for a well-lived Christian life to be entering into the rest of heaven when we die.  And that is partially true.  But the reality is that the reward for the faithful and fruitful Christian life is more responsibility!  The more we work hard with the capital that God has entrusted to us, the more capital we will be given.       

The third slave, however, is an entirely different matter.  He has not acted with zeal and ambition; rather, he has acted safely.  The reason for his hiding the money in the ground becomes apparent as he addresses his master.  Missing in the slave’s address to the master is any sense of joy and religious devotion.  Rather, there is fear.  The third slaves tells his master that he was afraid to work with the money because in doing so he might lose it and incur his master’s wrath. 

The picture of the master that the third slave presents can be troublesome for us if we are to consider that the master represents God.  Is Jesus depicting God as a “harsh man,” one who reaps what he did not sow and gathers where he did not plant?  Some think that the slave is giving a backhanded compliment all the while placing the blame for his inaction on the master himself.[3] In the same vein, John Wesley believes that the slave blamed the master because the master would expect more from him than he alone could deliver.  Instead of trying, the slave merely rolls over and blames the master, as Wesley believes, “every obstinate sinner, in one kind or other, lay the blame of his own sins on God.”[4]

The master is none too pleased with this third slave.  In fact, where as the other slaves entered into the master’s joy, the final slave is called wicked and lazy!  At the very least, the master says, the slave could have invested his Talent with the banks so as to earn a little interest!  The result is that the third slave has the money for which he was responsible taken from him and given to the slave with 10 talents.  Not only that, but the third slave is tossed out into the outer darkness!

John Wesley brings the uncomfortable point of the parable into focus,

“Cast ye the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness—For what? what had he done? It is true he had not done good. But neither is he charged with doing any harm. Why, for this reason, for barely doing no harm, he is consigned to outer darkness. He is pronounced a wicked [servant], because he was a slothful [servant], an unprofitable servant. So mere harmlessness, on which many build their hope of salvation, was the cause of his damnation! There shall be the weeping—Of the careless thoughtless sinner; and the gnashing of teeth—Of the proud and stubborn.” [5]

The third servant is rejected from service and excluded from the joy of the master merely for being unfruitful!  Keep in mind that this parable is directed at those who profess to be followers of Jesus.  Some, it seems, are zealous for the work of the Lord, they have been given a thing of great value, God’s gospel of grace, peace, love, friendship, hospitality, justice, forgiveness and redemption, and they have taken those things and have invested them in the world around them and have been fruitful.  Others, on the other hand, are scared or lazy and have done nothing with the good news we have received.

       

So What?

What does it mean for us to be prepared when Jesus comes back?  As ones who have received the gift of Jesus’ love and grace we are to immediately go out and work those gifts to produce a return on Jesus’ investment.  I fear, however, that all too often we are like the third slave in this story.  We have received this great and valuable gift from God through Jesus and, for whatever reason, we fail to do anything worthwhile with it.  It is not that we are bad or immoral people.  We are not!  It is not even that we are lazy, for many of us work very hard.  Maybe its because we are apathetic.  Maybe we have been defeated by the magnitude of the work before us, as we survey the world and only see scenes of hurt and tragedy.  Maybe we believe that the gift God has given us to invest is only good for our own personal salvation.  Whatever the case is, we have not, as Wesley says, done harm, we just have not done the good we should do.

One commentator sums up the passage nicely,

“Thus to be ready for his coming is to be active on behalf of the kingdom of heaven and to have results to show for it.  It is to show initiative and to take risks in order to achieve something for God.  Those who had cause to fear his coming are those who have not made use of the opportunities and privileges entrusted to them, who have buried their money in the ground and so achieved nothing for the kingdom of heaven –or, to echo another parable, who have hidden their lamp under a meal-tub, with the result that no one has been able to see their light and so been drawn to give glory to their father in heaven (5:15-16).  For them there will be no ‘Well done!’”[6]

 

Critical Questions: 

1.     How does this text reveal to us the nature and character of God/What is God doing in this text?   

a.     God desires accountability.  Like the slaves in the story, we have been given the Gospel, a thing of great value.  God expects that we take that Gospel and put it to work so that it might bear fruit.  God is not idle in his dealings with the world he created, and so it seems, God intends that we should not be either.

b.     I think this text also reveals to us how God would like us to present the fruits of our labor back to him.  I think God wants us to work so that we can say with joy and gladness, “Look!  With what you have given me I have produced so much more!”

 

2. What does holiness look like in this text?
1. Holiness looks like working hard with the gifts of love and grace that God has given us so that fruit might be produced in our lives and in the lives of those around us.  Holiness, as we Wesleyans are prone to describe it, is our growth in grace and in the likeness of Jesus Christ.  There is no idleness or contentedness with the status quo in holiness, only intentional forward movement in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

3. How does an encounter with this story shape who we are and who we should become?
1. We must examine ourselves and determine if, as individuals and as a church, we are properly investing the resources God has given us.   

Specific Discussion Questions:

Read the text aloud. Then, read the text to yourself quietly.  Read it slowly, as if you were very unfamiliar with the story.

1.     One Talent was equal to about a year’s wages for 100 day laborers.  Why does the master entrust his slaves with such a great deal of money?

2.     Jesus tells us that the first two slaves went off and worked their money hard so that it would bring a sizable return.  In the Christian life, what might it look like to work the gifts of salvation, love and grace that God has given us hard so that we might gain a sizable return?

3.     The first two slaves are not afraid that they have not done enough, rather they present their money to the master with joy and pride.  How could this be a model for what we do together as we work in and for our church?

4.     The third slave buried his money in the ground.  What do you think he was trying to accomplish? 

5.     Have you ever buried the gifts that God has given you in the ground?  What might that look like?

6.     The third slave has not really done anything wrong.  He has not wasted the money the master has given him, yet he is called wicked and lazy.  Why does the master call him that? 

7.     Are you content with just doing no harm, or are you seeking to do all the good you can as well?

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[1] John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids, Mich. : Bletchley: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005), 1014.

[2] Ibid., 1015

[3] Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew: A Commentary: The Churchbook, Matthew 13-28, Revised & enlarged edition (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004), 559.

[4] John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, Fourth American Edition (New York: J. Soule and T. Mason, 1818), 85.

[5] Ibid., 86.

[6] Longenecker, Richard. The Challenge of Jesus’ Parables. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000). 187-88