Matthew 23-25
End Time
Parables

The psalmist hopes and trusts in what God has revealed: His hesed/loyal covenantal love. Expecting God to fulfill his covenanted responsibilities to save His servant, the psalmist fulfills his responsibility to obey.

As a result of seeking and applying God's word (meditation=thinking through implications for applications), the psalmist lives in freedom, loves God's word, and shares it with others.

Wisdom results in joy to both the person who has acquired it, and those around him/her. The life of a wise child vindicates Biblical parenting. People who don't follow God nor His revelation will always rail against Biblical principles, particularly as they relate to parenting (as if God knows nothing about how to raise the creatures He's created). Compare the life of someone who is undisciplined and lives for the gratification of their selfish desires for temporal significance, sex, and success, with that of an other-centered individual who loves others with a view to eternal power, pleasure and possessions. Which brings more joy to parents and God?

A wise or prudent person has been trained to recognize or discern danger and take preventative action. The simple fool walks or runs right into danger and stupidly suffers, causing grief to those who love him/her.

You can learn from bad examples, both what not to do, and when they tell you what is true. It's not that hypocrites don't know the truth, often they do, but they don't do it. The sign of an evil parent, boss, or religious or civic official, is that they demand of others what they don't do themselves. The pathetic creatures described by Jesus have no basis for self-worth. They are not doing what pleases God, so they can't feel God's pleasure when they obey. Since we're made to crave His affirmation, they try to get if from others, doing the silliest things. To keep myself amused in the presence of fools, I view the prideful as monkeys in a zoo who go through bizarre pacing and routines all day long. Once, they did a behavior that got someone to toss them a treat, or they saw another monkey get rewarded. So, they repeat the action hoping for another peanut. They link together a bunch of bizarre behaviors, having learned that if they persist they'll eventually get lucky, because it happened before. It's a lot like dating. But real and enduring affirmation comes from God, which He bestows on those who do what is right in His sight, and He sees the heart. Being other-centered to see the real needs of others, and sacrificially and humbly serving them is about as Christlike as you can get (unless you're good on skipping over the seas). Paul in Acts 28:3 is a great example. But the Pharisees of Jesus' day, and ours, think that doing things so others see and think well of them, will give them the worth and value they crave. They're doubly wrong: people are fickle so being a slave to their opinion is just stupid; doing things to be seen by men forfeits your reward from your Heavenly Father (Mt 6:1). You can't serve two masters either (6:24). How have you humbled yourself lately to serve others?

Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus...”

Jesus recites the riot act to the hypocrites with vehemence worse than a viper's bite (which he also compares them to). Do you think He's the tinniest bit angry? How about sarcastic? So much for the meek and mild Jesus. There are a couple of points worth highlighting beyond the condemnation. The blind religious leaders kept people from “entering” the kingdom. Up until this point enter has had the connotation of taking possession, more than that of stepping over the threshold. Jesus is viewing the religious leaders as blocking the entrance although the possession meaning is still here; one has to enter to take possession, as the end of verse 14 indicates.

This verse deserves its own line, because it sums up the weightier matters of the law in a manner consonant with most ancient wisdom literature: justice, hesed/mercy, and a faithful relationship with God, as in Micah 6:8 (The LXX translates the Hebrew hesed as eleos which has a component of loyal and compelling concern for others.) The righteous ordering of society, real relationships with others, and a loyal relationship with God, comprise the good life.

Bonus note: this is the only other occurrence of the Greek word for “inside/within” Strongs #1787, which denotes the surface area enclosed by the walls of the cup, not the molecules of the walls of the cup. Why is this significant? Luke 17:21 is the only other occurrence, and the only verse (falsely) cited to support the false teaching that the Kingdom from the heavens is something in one's heart, rather than that promised in the OT. If you look at the context of Luke 17:21, we have the same wicked Pharisees who were rejecting Jesus there, as here. Surely Jesus was not saying that the kingdom was in their hearts?

The hypocrites will suffer the punishment of Gehenna (differs from the lake of fire, see previous comments). Despite their injustice and rebellion, Jesus (who gives a glimpse of His pre-incarnate state), often wanted/desired/willed to gather them under His protection, but they would/desired/willed not. Here is a perfectly clear example of man rebelliously exercising His free will against God's will, and winning (in the short-term). But wait, there's more! The Messiah pronounces judgment against the nation (house/dynasty of Israel left desolate), until they repent (Romans 11). They, as a nation, will see Him, when they become receptive and recite Psalm 118:26, as the crowds did a few days (and chapters) previously on His triumphal entry (Mt 21:8). Despite their evil rejection, God does not abandon Israel, but they will suffer the consequences of their choice to sin, until they repent. Wait a minute, is this the OT or NT?

Jesus departs out of the temple (parallel to Ezekiel's vision) and sits on the Mount of Olives (on which Zech 14:4 says He will stand at His return). He foretells the destruction of the temple, signifying an end of temple worship as the Jews knew it. God would destroy the second temple and discipline His people, just as He had the first. He values obedience more than the finest religious building in the world. After the temple is destroyed, Judaism could no longer be practiced as specified in the OT. The disciples ask him two questions, when would the temple be destroyed and what what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the age (they viewed the coming as ending the present age). The word for the end of the “age/world” is “aion” which is usually incorrectly translated as eternal or forever (which is impossible to do in this context). It was never used in Greek literature of an indeterminate period of time (except in some of Plato's usages), and in the NT it almost always refers to a definite period of time, like the Messianic age (although the end of the next chapter might be an exception). The word for “end” is “sunteleia” which means summary fulfillment, or consummation. It is used almost exclusively by Matthew (cx Heb 9:26) to describe the concluding judgment of the age (Mt 13:39, 40, 49; 24:3; 28:20). Note that the next time the summary judgment is mentioned is in Mt 28:20, the last verse of the book. The rest of the references to “end” in this chapter are just “teleia” refering to an end goal or completion, without the “sun” prefix.

Jesus now answers the other “when” question. The remark about the generation not passing away has led many to falsely conclude that all this had to have happened before all the people listening to Jesus had died. Well the events described have clearly not transpired, and the judgments like the days of Noah have not been carried out. A generation refers to a group of people of common descent, and is appropriately used of the Jews as a nation at times (and this is one of them, in light of the context; (cf. Mt 17:17 where Jesus is not just berating his contemporaries). No one knows the day or hour when the Messiah will return to judge and rule, but Jesus does say one can know when it is near, and to be on one's guard.

Those who are on their guard, and watching for the return of Christ and the resulting judgment of their works, will be wise and faithfully doing what Christ wants; and as a result, will be blessed, and rewarded with being set over (rulership/dominion/life) those who were less faithful. The evil servant will suffer loss. The translation “cut in pieces” is legitimate in some contexts, but clearly not here, because after the cutting, there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, which is pretty difficult to do if you're in more pieces than you have teeth (even if you only had two teeth). Scourging is suggested by some, but there is a better translation. He will be cut off from blessing, just like God promised the unfaithful in the OT, and his portion/inheritance (or place) will be with the hypocrites, where it's all tears and teeth. This is not the lake of fire for those who aren't justified, or don't know God, but the outer darkness, excluded from the light of the city, where unprofitable servants serve their time. See comments on 25:30.

The importance of being watchful (on guard) and ready is underscored in the parable of the ten virgins. Lamps could be a symbol for witness. (Oil as the HS is nice, but breaks down with the buy and sell part). In any interpretation, those who were ready experienced the banquet feast of the delayed Bridegroom. Those who weren't ready were excluded. Again, this is not a justification by faith passage, but a reward passage, echoing that in Mt 7:21-23 from the “Lord, Lord” to the “I don't know you”.

• The lord is going away, and will return;
• He entrusts “his goods” to each of his servants, according to their ability;
• He returns and demands an accounting of their stewardship;
• He rewards them for what they've gained, based upon faithfulness not natural ability;
• His reward is two-fold, being placed over many things, and entrance into his joy.

1. they've done something,
2. they've done it well,
3. they've been good,
4. they've been faithful
5. they've been a servant.

Jesus gets more explicit about the timing of this last judgment being that of the second coming of the Messiah, with glory and the angels, which was previously mentioned as the time when the Lord would reward faithful disciples. Rulership/dominion in the Millennial Kingdom would be part of the reward for the twelve, as they sat on twelve thrones ruling over the tribes of Israel. Other disciples would be rewarded with rule over cities in return for their service (cf Luke 19:17). This judgment would usher in the Messiah's reign, as distinct from the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:11-15) at the end of the kingdom before the eternal state. This judgment is of all nations (alive at the end of the Tribulation?), on the basis of how they treated the Messiah in the person of His “brothers” (faithful disciples/servants or all believing Jews). The sheep are those called “blessed by the Father” and receive the kingdom as an inheritance (reward) for service rendered (during the Tribulation) to the Jews. The goats are those who didn't serve. The judgment seems to go beyond that of exclusion from the benefits and reward of the kingdom, and is that of being cursed and suffering punishment in the fire prepared for the devil (diabolos = Hebrew for “goat”) and his angels, which is called the “lake of fire” in Revelation 19:20; 20:10,14-15. These last verses in Revelation make it clear that those cast into the lake of fire are those whose sins have not been forgiven and whose names are not written in the book of life. However, Matthew's (and Jesus') audience didn't have access to John's revelation. Not all the forgiven and healed serve; they are not unforgiven servants, but unprofitable servants (who wind up in outer darkness, not the lake of fire). The adjective aionios in Mt 25:41 & 46 (2x) means “of the age” but is usually translated as “eternal” or “everlasting” (which is usually incorrect, but here makes some sense). The lake of fire goes on and on, as in forever. However, most references to eternal life are clearly that of dominion or rulership in the Messianic Age (which if viewed as extending into the eternal state, would preserve the parallelism of an ”unending aionios” in 25:46). See comments on Revelation 20.