With three chapters to consider, there is time for only a quick overview, which is unfair to the book. But we can only do what we can do. And we have a more detailed study of Matthew 23 already, so we can afford to skip over that chapter with just a word.

In chapter twenty-three, we can read about the failings of the spiritual leadership in Israel. If we were reading for our own study, we could take each of those lessons and apply them back to ourselves.

We could ask whether our own church should watch out for the same failings, or whether we can avoid those pitfalls in our own life.  

But for now, let’s leave it there. Empty tradition, or a new life in Christ? That would be the message of chapter twenty-three.

Chapter twenty-four talks about the coming of Christ a second time. There is a warning to be watchful, so that we are ready.

But there is another warning, which fits with the chapter before. Just as there have been false teachers and fallen pastors, there will be false messiahs and fallen end-times prophets.

The church will hear talk.

The end has come.

Listen to whoosits.

Go here. Go there.

But the coming of Christ will be clear and unmistakable. And the signs, too, will be clear. Some can be found back in the book of Daniel. The abomination that causes desolation will happen, just as Daniel warned. And then things will get bad.

It is a sobering chapter, and it brings us to chapter twenty-five, where we will slow down and spend a few moments. Chapter twenty-five speaks more easily to me. If twenty-four talks about the end of the world, then twenty-five is my responsibility in this temporary world.

Three parables. The ten bridesmaids, the three investors, and the sorting of a flock of sheep and goats.

Watch.

Serve.

And belong.

The parable of the ten bridesmaids is interesting, but confusing in some ways. A little background might help here, but the story in itself is fairly simple. There are ten young women who serve as attendants for a bride-to-be. The wedding is unscheduled. They wait for the arrival of the groom, who apparently is never on time.

You would think the guy could at least phone ahead and give everybody some advance warning. But for some reason, he doesn’t.

Before we go farther with this, let’s look at the two reasons that this guy doesn’t give more warning.

First of all—and this is just something I have heard—weddings at this time could be just like this story. The groom would go to prepare the home for his bride, and then when everything was prepared, he would come back and surprise the bride, carrying her away to her new life.

Very romantic, in a Pirates of the Caribbean kind of way.

It placed a lot of pressure on the guests and the family and the bride to be watching, because the wedding could happen at any time, even in the middle of the night.

So this story is probably authentic. But there is more to a parable than the story.

We talked about parables. They always have a point. And the point is more important than the details of the story. In some way, this will be different from a normal wedding.

So even if we could verify that a real-life groom was always dependable, it wouldn’t matter. This one is not.

Because this groom is Jesus, and he isn’t coming back for a wedding. He is coming back for a world, and for us. He is coming back to rule, to redeem, and to rescue.

And we don’t know when that will happen.

In the parable, the attendants who sat with the bride had brought lamps with them, and the lamps needed oil to burn. Some brought enough for a long stay, and some didn’t have enough to last the night.

While they were away or distracted or doing what they wanted to do instead of sitting around with some ditsy bride, which is why they didn’t bring enough oil in the first place, because they just didn’t care.

(Wait a minute. That isn’t a complete sentence.)

While they were away, the groom came, and the wedding went on without them.

A wedding was a big party. And they missed it. They couldn’t even get in late. The doors were locked, and they were left standing outside.

That image of the locked door may not fit the picture of an actual wedding. I don’t know. But it fits the picture of Jesus’ return.

It’s important to be watching. It’s important to be there.

The other parables have some of the same theme.

Be there.

But each one adds something else to the picture.

The parable of the talents is one of the most misunderstood stories in the Bible, and most of it comes from the fact that we think we know what a talent is.  

This is a good time to know Greek, because talent is a Greek word. It is a measure, like a bushel basket or a ten-pound sack. There are investors, in this parable, and they are given sacks of money to keep for their boss.

Each is given a different amount. And each invests the wealth in some way. One invests badly. He digs a hole and buries the money, and when the boss returns, the servant gives back the money with no gain at all.

It’s true that we all have different abilities, different in type and amount, but here the money is something more than an ability.

What is so precious that God will not allow it to be squandered?

Does he care if I play piano, or if I use my artistic ability to its best? Maybe, but not to the extent that this story takes it. I doubt that God would condemn a person for not practicing the clarinet enough.

There is a much simpler explanation. The treasure in every parable is the same. It is the kingdom. It is Jesus. It is life in Jesus’ name.

Now we’re talking treasure.

So when the dude wastes the investment, he is wasting the gospel, the life that he could be offering to people around him.

That’s what God is saying. Win someone for Christ. You have all you need. You have the word of life that is in you, sometimes in a big way and sometimes in a small way. Either way, you have life.

Invest it in someone else.

Think of what we’ve seen in the other chapters. Time is short. How you live makes a difference in the lives of people around you, and it makes a difference to God. So in the few days that are left, however many that might be, what will you do with the gospel of Christ?

Will you teach? Will you share? Will you pray?

When God returns and looks at your life—and mine—will he find that you’ve invested that word of life, and that it has grown in some way?

Be watching. Be ready. And serve.

And the third story, the sheep and the goats. The punch line is easy. Be a sheep.

Actually, this isn’t a parable. I keep thinking it is, because of the sheep and the goats. It sounds like a story.

But it doesn’t matter. The real cool stuff here is the way that the two flocks are sorted. God knows who you are. Even if you get lost in the crowd and the crowd isn’t all that good, God still knows.

I’ll let you read that for yourself, but notice that it is a precious thing to do good to someone who needs it. The smallest gift of kindness is noticed in heaven.

And it is expected. If you live for Jesus, you will find yourself doing some of these things.

Compare it to the Pharisees in chapter twenty-three. It’s the same story, by the way. They tried so hard to do religious stuff, but they missed the point.

Your life changes when you meet Jesus.

You are different.

You become like Jesus. You care. You serve.

Anything else is just empty tradition.