Expectation, anticipation, surrender, faithfulness and reward

Matthew 25:1-30 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. ⁵ Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

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. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. ¹⁶ Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸ But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²² “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴ “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ²⁷ Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

²⁹ “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰ Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Today’s text begins with the same theme as yesterday’s with Jesus saying: “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”    In this case, those who were not ready for His coming, were not allowed in. Jesus says:  ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.”  It is not enough that we know Jesus, who He is. We must also know and believe what He did for us on the cross. We must be known by the finished work of the cross. In today’s text it is the ones who were prepared, the ones who lived in expectation of His coming who were rewarded. The early church lived and walked in that type of expectation and anticipation of Jesus return. They awoke each day wondering if this would be the day they would see Him again. That anticipation and expectation also caused them to live in an expectation that His words should be would be fulfilled. Mark 16:15-20 says:   He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;  they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.”    Not only should we, “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” We should also in anticipation and expectation of His coming, fulfill His commission and commandments. After all, while we may not see Jesus return today, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, with us and in us. How can we not live each day with excitement, expectation and anticipation that Jesus will do what He said He would do; that as He did for the early church, He will:  work with us, and confirm the word by the signs that follow.

In the second part of today’s text, in the parable of talents we see that those who used what they had been given, in service to the master were rewarded. The one who was given five earned five more and the one who was given two earned two more. Each of them, when they stood before the master heard the same commendation:   ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’  The third man who was given one did nothing with it. He hid it away and gave it back to the master because he feared him. To him the master said:   ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’  “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.   In Romans 12:6-8 Paul says:     Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;  if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.    Our reward in Christ is not based on how much we accomplish for Him. Our reward in Christ is based on how faithful we are to Him. We can do nothing to earn our salvation. That is done through the finished work of the cross and our believing. Each one of us though has been given gifts, abilities and resources from God. One of the lessons we need to learn from the parable today is that each one presented all that he had to the master. The one who was given five did not hold back, he gave all that he had because he recognized that all that he had was the master’s. For us it is vital that we have that understanding and that same heart. Whether we have been given much or given little, it is our faithfulness to do the Lord’s will and our heart to give all that we have to Him that He will reward, saying:   ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’      All that any of us can give to God is all that we have, all that He has given us.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit may I live each day in anticipation and expectation of Your coming and of Your abiding presence. May I faithfully use all that You have given me, knowing that all that I have is Yours. I do not know the day or hour, but when that day comes, may I be invited in and may I hear You say:  Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.      Amen.