Mateus 25
G. Campbell Morgan · Citado em PreceptAustin
Mateus 25
Morgan - Well Done - Borrow From This Verse During a bitterly cold January in 1875, Rev. Richard S. Storrs of Brooklyn warmed the minds of the ministerial students of Union Theological Seminary as guest lecturer on the subject Preaching Without Notes. Storrs had originally prepared for the bar. He had seen America’s greatest lawyers sway stubborn juries and judges by looking them in the eye and speaking persuasively without notes. I could not see, therefore, why a minister should not do before his congregation [that] which lawyers do all the time in the courts; and when my plans of life changed under the impulse of God’s Spirit and I devoted myself to the ministry, I determined to preach without manuscript. For three weeks, Storrs stirred the students, telling them why and how to preach without notes; then on January 27, 1875, he ended his lectures, saying: Your success may not come at the precise time when you expect it, or in the way which you anticipate. It may not come so that you yourselves shall see it on earth. The Master seemed to have but small success: twelve apostles, and one of them a traitor. Paul, the greatest preacher, did not appear to achieve large success: a few scattered congregations, error and dissension among them. But success is certain in the end. Out of the work come consequences of good—immense if unseen. In all your life remember this! Expect the time when the Son of Man, no more invisible, shall be revealed; and when by Him shall be opened to you that grand and bright expanse of heaven in which he may say to all of us: “On earth ye have been the rulers over a few things; a few facilities, a few knowledges, a few opportunities: Lo, I will make you rulers over many things, in this kingdom of my Father.” Rewards Of Faithfulness A faithful man will abound with blessings. — Proverbs 28:20 Today's Scripture : Matthew 25:14-23 Missionary Jack Shiflett was speaking to one of his supporting churches. Having spent 11 years in Spain, Shiflett talked about the frustrations of presenting Jesus to people who don’t think they need the gospel. In the past couple of years, though, Jack and his wife Cheryl have seen their ministry begin to bear fruit. At least 17 people have accepted Jesus as Savior. Yet that was after many years with few results. To emphasize his appreciation for the faithfulness of this church, Shiflett said, “After 8 years, we came to you and reported that we had led one person to Jesus Christ. And you sent us back.” The people at the church had recognized that the hallmark of servanthood is faithfulness, not results. Results, they knew, rested in God’s hands through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Shifletts were faithful to the task and are now seeing the harvest. Their example is encouraging, for we often go without results for even longer periods of time. And the example of the church in sticking with them is just as vital. Press on in your service for Jesus, Spurred on by your love for the Lord; He promised that if you are faithful, One day you'll receive your reward. —Fasick God is more concerned with reliability than results. David Jeremiah - FAITHFUL OVER FEW, RULER OVER MANY - MATTHEW 25:21 David Jeremiah Morning and Evening Devotions God owns everything and has decided to put some of it into our hands to manage. When the Lord looks down and sees an individual doing a good job administering a few things, He decides to put that individual in charge of a few more things. God evaluates our stewardship on the basis of how well we administer it, keeping His priorities in mind rather than our own. When He sees someone serving faithfully, He expands the responsibility, giving something else to be managed. But when He sees someone who manages God’s resources based on a personal agenda, or who forgets to reflect the Spirit of God in his management, the Lord can choose to withhold any further responsibility. That’s why Jesus, in explaining the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:21, said, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.” Well done, good and faithful servant! - Matthew 25:21 TODAY IN THE WORD The poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote these lines inspired by today's passage: “No light had we: for that we do repent: / And, learning this, the bridegroom will relent. / ”˜Too late, too late! Ye cannot enter now.' / No light, so late! And dark and chill the night! / Oh let us in, that we may find the light! / ”˜Too late, too late! Ye cannot enter now'.” Today's reading is a continuation of Jesus' instruction to His disciples that we began yesterday in Matthew 24. The Parable of the Ten Virgins illustrates the command to keep watch. All ten of the women expected the bridegroom to come. But only five were prepared for the experience of waiting. When the bridegroom appeared, the foolish women were unprepared and unable to enter the wedding banquet. The Parable of the Talents further develops what it means to be engaged in watchful waiting. It doesn't mean sitting around, staring at the sky, doing nothing. Instead, it means using what God has given us for His glory. Like the servants in the parable, we don't know how long we have to be profitable with our gifts from God. We do know that He expects us to be busy about His work. This parable also reveals something about the nature of God. A talent was a large sum of money, easily a year's wage. Our God dispenses gifts generously and trusts us with great resources. Yet there is no question about who truly owns these talents. We should not think that the gifts from God become our possessions, or that the glory should be directed anywhere other than God. The final section of this chapter provides more insight into the content and consequences of watchful waiting. As the King separates the righteous from the unrighteous, He comments on whether their lives exemplify humility and mercy. Those who claim to know Him but have no evidence of His kingdom in their lives receive everlasting punishment. The righteous will have the joy of the wedding banquet, a share in the master's happiness, and eternal life (vv. 10, 23, 46). TODAY ALONG THE WAY Throughout this Gospel, Jesus has identified righteousness with lives of humility, mercy, and justice. It is not simply doing good deeds—the Pharisees gave alms to the poor. True righteousness is only possible through a desire to love and serve God, to seek His kingdom at the expense of our own glory. As we wait for Christ to return, what “talent” has God given you to use for Him? Are you engaged in watchful waiting, preparing to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”? Well done, good and faithful servant! . . . Come and share your master’s happiness! - Matthew 25:21 TODAY IN THE WORD Are You Counting Stones? - What pursuits do you consider worthy of your time? A British physics professor spent thirty-five years counting pebbles. Dr. Malcolm Cornwall of the University of Sussex, along with some of his students, spent that long counting the stones on Brighton beach. They didn’t count each one, but used a mathematical theory called the “order of magnitude” to reach the final total: 100 billion. The professor said it would take one person about 2,500 years to count them all by hand. He now intends to count how many gallons of water are in the English Channel. We’ll leave it up to God to decide the worth of these projects! Ultimately, God will decide the worth of everything we do--including how we spend our time, money, and energy. The well-known parable of the talents is another of the servant parables we read yesterday. The truths of accountability and reward are emphasized again, though the unexpected return of the master is not. Each of three servants is given money according to his demonstrated ability. Understanding that they are only stewards, and that the resources still belong to the master, what do they do with what they’re given? Two of them go out and put the money to work. Perhaps they invest it or go into business--at any rate, they do something, and multiply their capital. But one servant does nothing at all. When the master returns, he rewards the first two servants with even more authority and responsibility. But the third servant is severely punished and thrown out of the house. Why had he done nothing? He claims he was afraid, but the master calls him wicked and lazy. We, too, are stewards, and will one day give God an account of what we’ve been doing with His resources. Are we making use of His gifts for His glory? If yes, we’ll hear the same as the first two servants: “Enter into the joy of your master!” (Mt 25:21, 23, NASB). TODAY ALONG THE WAY In light of the principle of accountability found in today’s parable, begin a one-week project to track your use of time. Don’t make extensive notes, just jot down activities briefly, such as “Job,” “Household tasks,” “Watching TV,” or “Church service.” At the end of the week, total up the time spent in different categories. Do any of your findings surprise you? WELL DONE - Speaking in Edinburgh, missionary John Williams held his audience spellbound with thrilling accounts of God's work among the tribes-people of the New Hebrides Islands. A soft-spoken missionary followed Williams with a brief report of his work. In a low and trembling voice he said, "My friends, I have no remarkable success to relate like Mr. Williams. I've labored for Christ in a far-off land for many years and have seen only small results. But I have this comfort: when the Master comes to reckon with His servants, He will not say, `Well done, thou good and successful servant,' but `well done, thou good and faithful servant.' I have tried to be faithful!" From Jesus' story in Matthew 25 we learn that unequal gifts exercised with equal diligence will receive equal reward. In the parable, talents represent God-given abilities to carry out God-assigned responsibilities. What's important is not how much we accomplish, but our motives and the quality of our labors. Alexander
Mateus 25
Morgan - Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour. Matt. 25.13 This is our Lord's word to His own as to their attitude toward the fact of His Second Coming. That He is coming again He most plainly declared, and all the New Testament writers affirmed the truth. The light and glory of that certainty falls upon all the. darkness of the processes through which the victory of the Kingdom of God is to be won. Nothing will be completed until He come; but everything is working under His mediatorial reign to that consummation. Nothing is more explicit in His references to that glorious end, than the declaration that the day and hour are not revealed. The hiding of that time is part of the Divine counsel. To seek to discover it is to attempt to be wiser than our Lord, in His infinite wisdom, intends that we should be. Our attitude is to be that of those who watch. To know the day or .the hour would be to make watching largely unnecessary; and this would rob us of that alertness which is of the very essence of true discipleship both in life and service. Concerning the times and seasons we need have no care. They are within the Father's authority, and there can be no failure with Him. Knowing beforehand both the strangeness of the period of our waiting, and the certainty of His coming, it is ours to have our lamps burning, our loins girt about, and to be so occupied about His business that when He comes we shall be neither surprised nor ashamed. That is patient waiting for Christ, and it is far removed from the fussy impatience that seeks to know what He has chosen to hide, and in such seeking spends time and strength which should be devoted to His service. BE READY! - As a teenager, Jim Tait wanted to make maple syrup, so he purchased some catch buckets and a boiling pan. Then he tapped the trees and collected the sap. His father told him what to watch for after he began boiling the sap. But instead of keeping his eye on the steaming liquid, Jim left it for a few moments to consult with his father. While he was gone, the sap became milky and began to bubble. Moments later Jim returned, but it was too late. The sap had turned to syrup, and the syrup had crystallized and burned. In the parable of the 10 virgins, Jesus was instructing His followers to be ready at all times to meet the bridegroom, whose coming represented Christ's any-moment return to this earth. They were to live so that the Lord would find them as ready as if they had known the exact moment of His appearing. The fact of Christ's imminent return to this earth benefits us as Christians in many ways. It helps us to be ready and watching for the Lord, to be obedient, to be faithful, and to bear spiritual fruit. It is also a purifying truth that gives us hope (1 John 3:3). Are you watching for Jesus' return? If you knew it would be today, would you be ready? -D C Egner Blessed are those whom the Lord finds watching, In His glory they shall share; If He shall come at the dawn or midnight, Will He find us watching there?--Crosby Since Jesus may come at any time, we must be ready all the time. Matthew 25:14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. KJV Matthew 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. NKJ Matthew 25:14 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. NET Matthew 25:14 "For it is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. BGT Matthew 25:14 Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἀποδημῶν ἐκάλεσεν τοὺς ἰδίους δούλους καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοῖς τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ, CSB Matthew 25:14 "For it is just like a man going on a journey. He called his own slaves and turned over his possessions to them. ESV Matthew 25:14 "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. NIV Matthew 25:14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. NLT Matthew 25:14 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. YLT Matthew 25:14 'For -- as a man going abroad did call his own servants, and did deliver to them his substance, MIT Matthew 25:14 Here is another analogy: A man about to go abroad called his servants and put his assets under their control. NJB Matthew 25:14 'It is like a man about to go abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. NRS Matthew 25:14 "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; RSV Matthew 25:14 "For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; NAB Matthew 25:14 "It will be as when a man who was going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. GWN Matthew 25:14 "The kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a trip. He called his servants and entrusted some money to them. BBE Matthew 25:14 For it is as when a man, about to take a journey, got his servants together, and gave them his property. just like: Mt 21:33 Mk 13:34 Lu 19:12,13 20:9 entrusted Lu 16:1-12 Ro 12:6-8 1Co 3:5 4:1,2 12:4,7-29 Eph 4:11 1Pe 4:9-11 THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS For (gar) - This is a term of explanation so the question is what is Jesus explaining? Although the nearest context was a command calling for the hearers to be alert, the wider context was that Jesus was using these parables to explain the Kingdom of Heaven (cf Mt 25:1). In fact several versions (KJV, NKJV, NLT, GWN) add "Kingdom of Heaven" to their translation to emphasize this point. While I think this is the most likely meaning of the for (gar) , Robert Gundry feels that "For makes the following parable a further basis for the exhortation to stay awake in Mt 25:13." Given the close context, it is difficult to definitely refute Gundry's idea, but I think it is less likely given that context of both alludes to the Second Coming, the return of the king. I agree with Sean Douglas O'Donnell who asks "What is “IT”? The answer is easily found in the preceding parable. “It” is “the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 25:1). “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins” (Mt 25:1), and the kingdom of heaven will also be like “a man going on a journey” (Mt 25:14). (See Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth - Page 738) It is just like (term of comparison// simile) a man about to go on a journey, who called his own (idios) slaves (doulos) and entrusted (paradidomi) his possessions (huparcho) to them - In short, the man going on the journey gave his slave the responsibility of stewardship of his possessions, a steward being one who manages and looks after the care of another's property. The man surely represents Jesus and is referred to as kurios 10x in this parable, which is the title commonly used in Matthew for Jesus. The parable of the virgins (Mt 25:1–13) focuses on readiness manifested in waiting, whereas the parable of the talents focuses on readiness manifested in working John