Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
Today we are in Matthew chapter 25, and we’ll listen to our guest reader, Roy Hanske, who has been on Christian radio here in Denver since 1985, and a good friend of mine as he finishes out his guest reading with this chapter, the 48 verses of Matthew 25.
Matthew chapter 25. 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, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the wise took flasks 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 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 came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 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. For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another 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 made five talents more. So also he who had two talents made two talents more. But he who had received 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 accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents. Here, I have made five 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 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 joy of your master he also who had received one talent came forward saying master i knew you to be a hard man reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed so i was afraid and i went and hid your talent in the ground Here, 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 scattered 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 him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has 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 there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when the son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him then he will sit on his glorious throne before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he will place the sheep on his right, but 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 foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and 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 and feed you, or thirsty and give you 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 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, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me. Naked, and you did not clothe me. Sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a 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 it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
There are three major themes in Matthew chapter 25. The parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents, and the final judgment. So let me go back to a couple of journals to cover these three themes. In 2007, I wrote, the five prudent virgins did not share their oil. They needed it to get into the wedding. We are not asked to give up what we need to be Christians or get into heaven. We are all on our own and cannot depend on anyone else to get in. I continue to write about the next theme. He will ask… And then the final theme, there is a heaven and a hell, verses 31 through 46. And God will, quote, separate them from one another, according to verse 32. 2541 says, Into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels, tells us that all are not going to heaven. In 2016, I wrote about Matthew 25. The point of many of the parables is to be ready for the second coming, though we don’t know when it will be. Be wise like the five virgins who bought extra oil. Use our God-given talents like the good and faithful servants. Meet needs of our fellow man. Be ready. The second point I wrote, there will be separation, heaven and hell. In each instance, there are rewards for those who are ready, who use their talents, or met others’ needs. And punishment, eternal punishment, for those who aren’t ready, who buy their talents, and who ignore others. In the few minutes we have, I’d like to focus on the last theme, the final judgment. Verse 31. Verse 31 says, So let’s talk about when He comes. What’s going to happen? What is He going to do? And the chapter continues. He will separate people from one another. as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. To those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. It may be popular in our culture today to believe that God is so loving that he wouldn’t send anyone to hell. It may make us feel good to believe something like that, but it’s just not biblical. Over and over in Matthew, we have read that there will be a separation at the end. There is heaven and there is hell. Those are not my words. Those are not the church’s words. Those are the words of Jesus right out of the scriptures. So do you have a worldview or do you have a biblical worldview? The worldview has done a very good job of softening this message, hasn’t it? But as Christians, we are to use our talents… what we read about earlier in this chapter, to be sure that people know the difference. There’s a heaven, there’s a hell, and there’s a path to heaven, and we can share it with others. Father, we thank you that your word is clear. Though we may not like what it says, sometimes your word is clear. There is a heaven and there is a hell. You came to pay the price so that none would have to perish, but all could have eternal life in you. Help us use our talents to spread that message. In Jesus’ name, amen. Merry Christmas, and thanks for listening to AdBible today. As we close out 2024 in Matthew, I want to announce the broadcast schedule for 2025. I know you’re going to enjoy it and want to share it with others. 2025 will be an amazing year on AdBible as we cover 44 books of the Bible. Yes, that’s two-thirds of the 66 books of the Bible in just one year. If you’ve never read all the books of the Bible, 2025 is going to be an exciting year for you. We are going to cover Old and New Testament books going back and forth throughout the whole year. On January 1, we will start with the writings of the Old Testament historical books, like Job. We’ll spend the month of January in Job. Then we’ll move on to Ruth. Then we’ll go on a journey through 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and conclude with 1 and 2 Chronicles. You won’t want to miss any of these dramatic historical writings in the first quarter of 2025. In the second quarter of 2025, we will jump into the New Testament with the writings of Mark, Peter, James, Jude, and Hebrews. Going from the Old Testament to the New will be like the newness of spring – new life and flower buds, leaves, and showers to keep us growing. Next summer, we will go back to the Old Testament, diving into the writings of all 13 of the minor prophets, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, and some of the most obscure minor prophets, Obadiah, Nahum, and Zephaniah. It will be easy to keep up with these short, powerful books in the busy summer months. And then in the fall and the winter, we will cover all of the New Testament writings of Paul. Books like Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and his personal letters to Timothy and Titus. You will get all of Paul in the fall. 44 books of Ad Bible in 2025. To order the four day-by-day through the Bible books we will be using in 2025, visit EzraProject.net and find the 2025 plan. All four books individually are $85, but the set is on sale for only $59. Yes, that’s a 30% savings plus free shipping. So go to EzraProject.net today and order your set so you are ready for 2025. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
And want to share it with others.
