Matthew 25:14-40

Amen.

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

Let's pray.

Lord, as we turn to your word,

!

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Now, we're in Matthew 25,

and we're realising that as we listen to Jesus,

that we've been led into a secret.

As we belong to him,

Jesus has led us in on a secret.

And once you've been led in on the secret,

nothing's ever the same again.

You can never think like somebody who doesn't believe again.

If you picture two people,

they're on a train.

They're two metres apart.

In a carriage.

There's two people on a train.

And one of them is living a pretty aimless life,

just trotting along.

The other one, next week, is getting married.

And everything for that second person

is governed by that big event that's happening.

That person who's about to enter into their life

and change everything.

Or think of two people that,

one of them is out of work,

and one of them is looking for a job.

The other one has an appointment next week

to meet with a CEO to discuss a new job.

And for that second individual,

everything is being governed by that meeting.

The way they think,

the way they live,

is being governed by that.

And the way that we think,

and we live,

and who we've been called by Jesus,

we've been told that we have a meeting with Jesus.

That one day he will come again.

And that meeting will take place,

and it sheds light on everything that we do in this world.

And so in Matthew 24 and 25,

Jesus strings together,

reminder after reminder,

that he is coming again.

And that we are going to meet him.

And we saw last week,

that we need to be ready for that day.

Like those wise bridesmaids,

that have not only got lamps,

but have got oil.

And we see this week,

in this parable,

that we've just read,

that we are to be productive.

And we are to be responsible,

in how we live.

And we will one day have to give an account.

The parable,

it's about a master who has three servants.

Two are faithful,

one is not.

And it's the only parable,

where the master gives different talents,

different resources,

to different servants.

Five to one.

Two to the second.

And one to the last.

And so four questions this morning.

Number one,

what does it mean to be faithful?

Does that mean successful?

Second,

what is this reward?

Is it a kind of promotion?

Third question,

what is unfaithfulness?

Unfaithfulness.

And what is going on with this kind of weird servant?

And then the last question,

is what about the punishment?

And is it unfair?

There are four brief questions.

Is anybody with me?

Any of you?

Two of you at least.

First of all,

what is unfaithfulness?

Verses 14 and 15,

15 of chapter 25,

a man is on a journey.

It's obviously Jesus.

He is leaving.

He entrusts property to three servants.

And he gives them basically resources.

I know the word talent.

Talent.

We often use for an ability,

or a gift,

or a skill.

But actually,

the word talent is a currency word.

And it's a very big currency word.

It's the word we might replace with a million.

So a talent is a huge amount of money,

almost a million.

So the servant goes to the first servant.

The master goes to the first servant,

and he gives him five million.

Second servant,

he gives two million.

Third servant,

he gives one million.

It doesn't mean that he's given five abilities.

That's how it's sometimes translated.

But I suppose,

if we were going to think about

what does it mean,

it means for us

everything that we've been given by God.

So resources,

abilities,

opportunities.

What do you have

which has been given to you?

The brain you've got.

The gifts that you've got.

The resources.

The plenty,

or maybe they're not so much.

Whatever it is

the Lord has given to you,

we may summarize as a talent

to be used in his servant.

And so,

servant number one,

if you look at verse 16,

he starts at once.

He's obviously faithful.

He's obviously keen.

The second servant,

verse 17,

seems to do the same.

Servant number three,

however,

buries the talent in the ground.

And we know,

that's not completely crazy.

We know from another parable

that people did that,

didn't they?

They buried treasure in the ground.

It was kind of a cheap bank.

And so burying in the ground

was a way of

keeping it safe,

of not doing anything with it.

And before we see the challenge

that the parable finishes with,

I want us to face that.

Before we get to the challenge,

I want you to see the comfort this morning.

Because the comfort in the first 10

of the 18 verses

is to encourage you.

Just note,

the two men are given

all that they need to be faithful.

Are they not shortchanged?

Are they not sent out

to do something

which is too difficult?

The master does not ask

impossible things

of his people.

He doesn't ask you

to pull a rabbit out of a hat

or to create success.

He doesn't say,

I'm sending you off with nothing

and I want you to produce masses.

I've been trying to

download episodes of the A-Team.

The A-Team was kind of a 1980s show.

You can pay for it on YouTube

ridiculously.

But do you remember,

there was a scene in the A-Team

in every episode

where the A-Team

were stuck in a garage

and in the garage

there was

a wheelbarrow,

a basketball

and a can of petrol.

And the next scene was

the A-Team would have created

a Sherman tank

and out they come

with guns firing.

They made enormous things

out of nothing.

But Jesus isn't like that.

He doesn't say,

I'm giving you nothing

and I want you to produce masses.

And then these men

use what they have.

Do you notice,

it's not super success.

They don't come out

with a thousand percent increase.

It's not fast either.

It seems to take

the whole of their lives.

The Master is away,

verse 19,

for a very long time.

The five produce five,

the two produce two.

And the response

from the Master

is as good as you could hope for.

He looks at his servants

and he edits one of the most

remarkable

and beautiful sentences

in the whole of the Bible.

He says,

well done,

good and faithful servant.

And he says exactly

the same thing

to the man

who had the five talents

as the guy

who had two talents.

And so I want to remind you

this morning,

and this is most of you

who serve the Lord

at home

or in work,

in the world,

in church,

and nobody

gets what you do

or it feels like that.

Maybe you think

nobody sees

what you do.

Maybe nobody

appreciates

what you do,

you think.

No one understands

what you do,

but you are seeking

as you can

to put God's word

into practice.

And this sentence

from Jesus Christ

is going to

totally compensate.

I'm not saying

it's easy to wait

for that sentence.

We know it's not.

I'm not saying

we shouldn't encourage

one another

as we wait

for this sentence.

But I am telling you

that Jesus,

these words from Jesus

will outweigh

every cost

and every struggle

at the end.

So before you use

this parable

this morning,

as some of you

will do to terrify

yourselves,

one of the tragedies

of passages

like this

is people who

should be comforted

will burden

themselves

and people who

should wake up

to themselves

will care

nothing at all.

It's always

the danger.

A sermon

that's meant

to comfort

the disturbed

and to disturb

the comfortable

ends up

comforting the comfortable.

So before you

terrify yourself

this morning,

I hope you

will remember

that this master

is a great

and gracious

master who gives

abundant resources.

And what he

asks of you

is willing service,

not superhuman

service.

the sort

of service

that says

I would like

to use

what I have

and you

will discover

that as you

do that

God is

thrilled

by such

faithfulness.

So faithfulness

means that

you are looking

at what God

has given you

and you are

thinking how

can I use

what God

has given me?

How can I do

what he's asked

me to do?

How can I use

the opportunities

that only you

have?

How can I use

the time

that God

has given?

So the second

question,

what's the reward?

And we can't

push all the

details in the

parable too

far,

but you'll see

the reward in

verses 21

and verse 23

is commendation.

Well done.

And it means

greater usefulness.

You've been

good in a few

things,

I'll now

give you many

things.

And thirdly,

come and

enter my

happiness.

happiness.

These three

things are the

reward in the

parable,

the commendation

of Jesus.

And again,

I say to you,

you will value

that day and

his approval

immeasurably.

And if you

focus on

Jesus'

approval,

it will free

you from

many dangers

and disappointments.

The commendation

of Jesus,

wait for it.

The second

thing is that

reward,

isn't it,

of greater

faithfulness.

Verse 21

and verse 23,

you've been

faithful in a

few things,

I'll now

entrust you

with many

things.

It's ironic,

isn't it,

that the man

who's been

given five

million has

been told

you've been

faithful with

a few

things.

A few

things.

What could

the reward

be if you've

been given

five million?

And you're

now going to

receive many

things.

Luke says

in his

equivalent

passage,

you've been

given a

few coins,

you've done

well with a

few coins,

now I'm

going to

give you

some cities.

It's almost

absurd.

It's almost

as if the

master is

going crazy

with reward

and affection.

And we

want to

remember that

our master

is incredibly

generous.

And the

reason I'm

telling you

this is

because when

we come to

the third

servant,

if you've

got bad

views of

the master,

it will

affect

everything.

The third

part of the

reward is

that we're

invited to

share in

our master's

happiness,

literally to

enter into

the joy of

the master.

And that

could mean

entering a

joyful place,

but it may

well mean that

I want you to

enter into

my joy.

I think

that's the

sense of

the passage.

The master

is saying,

I want you

to rejoice

like I

rejoice.

I want you

to experience

what I

experience.

I want you

to know

what perfect

joy is.

And so

who is the

happiest person

in the

universe?

It's the

living God.

And that's

not because

he's careless

about suffering

and sadness,

those things

grieve him,

but God knows

exactly what

he's doing.

And nothing

gets in

his way.

And he

wants you

and I to

share in

his joy.

And when

you consider

how tragic

it is that

people look

away from

the Lord

Jesus Christ

for joy

and for

satisfaction

and their

happiness,

that idea

there is

that if I

just become

wealthy,

if I just

accumulate

and I spend

it on myself,

suddenly I'll

be satisfied.

It never

comes.

satisfies.

That if I

get personal

satisfaction,

we know that

it never

really satisfies.

It fills the

void for just

a little bit,

doesn't it?

Getting what

you dream

of.

Only a little

time.

But the

long-term

effect of

accumulating and

hoarding and

holding and

not releasing

is actually

deep dissatisfaction.

And even more

seriously,

self-preoccupation.

and the

inability to

serve or

sacrifice for

someone else,

the corrupting

of our

values.

And I

think there's

a danger

in the

situation we're

in at the

moment.

We know

that we face

that danger

that when

money rules

the day,

ethical

decisions

become economic

decisions.

When money

rules the

day,

ethical

decisions

become economic

decisions.

And when that

happens,

you're really

in trouble.

you're really

in trouble as

an individual,

as a family,

as a community,

and as a

nation.

Well, we've

been made

for Christ.

It is good

fellowship with

him that

will give us

deep joy

and peace.

And there's

no peace like

his peace.

And no joy

like his joy.

And his reward

is immeasurable.

Number three,

okay?

What is

unfaithfulness?

Now, I

think we know

what unfaithfulness

is.

But what

drives

unfaithfulness?

What is it

that drives

it?

Because in

Matthew 25

and verse

24,

the servant

who buried

the talent

has got a

problem with

the master.

Have you

noticed that?

He's got a

problem with

the master.

He says,

you are a

hard man

and you

don't sow,

but you

somehow expect

to harvest.

You don't

scatter,

but you

expect to

gather.

Well, in the

face of your

hardness,

master,

I hid

from fear

what you've

given to

me,

verse 25.

And so we've

got to ask,

where does this

kind of thinking

come from?

Because there

are people who

think like that

about God.

There are people

in churches

who think like that

about God.

I don't really

know exactly

where it

comes from.

It might

come from

bad teaching

or bad

modelling.

It could be

some kind

of perversity.

Where does

this idea

come from

that God

is a

ruthless

tyrant?

Well, we

know, don't

we, that

it's certainly

got echoes

from Genesis

3.

The serpent

comes,

doesn't he,

and he

sows that

idea to

the man

and the

woman.

And he

puts it in

their head

that this

God,

the God

who's given

them all the

beauty of

the garden

and everything

in creation

to enjoy

all the

trees,

all the

perfection,

that this

God is

actually holding

something out

on you.

He's actually

a bit of a

sadist.

He's a

cruel tyrant.

And when

you begin

to think

like that

of God,

it affects

the way

you behave.

It's so

completely

different from

the biblical

picture.

And if you

find yourself

unbalanced

in this area,

can I really

encourage you

this week

to look

through your

Bible,

to collect

every verse,

to balance

up and

even up and

even perfect

a proper

doctrine of

God.

Think of

verses like

Isaiah 30

Isaiah 30:18

verse 18,

the Lord

longs to be

gracious.

He rises

to show

compassion.

That's the

God of the

Bible.

And there's

something

disturbing

going on

here.

Where the

servant says

to the

master,

you are a

bit of a

tyrant.

The

master,

of course,

doesn't

agree,

verses 26

and 27.

And he

says,

even if

what you're

saying was

true,

the logical

thing,

wouldn't it

have been

better if

you just

put the

money in

a bank?

If you

were telling

the truth,

surely it would

have been

better just

stick it in

the bank and

get some

interest.

But this

servant is

actually speaking

very sinisterly.

And the

problem is not

the master.

The master,

do you remember,

he gives

everything that

his people

need.

And he

does not

take or

squeeze us

or treat us

unfairly.

The fatal

sentence is

there in

verse 26.

It's where

the master

lifts the

lid on the

servant.

And he

sees right

through this

excuse of

fear,

this ridiculous

idea,

and he

strips away

the excuses

and he

says,

it's a

very disturbing

line,

isn't it?

This servant

is wicked

and lazy.

The problem

is not the

master,

it's the

servant.

I

remember

seeing a

fridge

magnet

which

said,

Jesus is

coming,

look busy.

And it's

just repeating,

isn't it,

that kind of

double insult,

that he's a

bit of a

looming

tyrant.

looming

tyrant,

but you

can fool

him.

You can

get him

off your

back.

And that

is a

double insult.

The fact

of the

matter is

Jesus is

not,

God is

not a

looming

tyrant.

He's a

gracious

heavenly

father.

And he

deserves none

of our

insults.

And he's

also one

that sees

through our

excuses.

One

commentator

says,

this third

servant

has the

philosophy

play safe.

People do

play safe,

don't they?

They say,

I don't

want to get

hurt.

I don't

want to be

insulted.

I don't

want people

to think

badly of

me.

I'm just

going to

bury

everything.

I'm going

to be a

secret

disciple.

But the

truth is,

you cannot

be a

secret

disciple.

Because

either your

secrecy

kills your

discipleship,

or your

discipleship

will kill

your

secrecy.

The

third

servant's

philosophy

is do

no harm,

isn't

it?

Old

Bishop

Ryle,

he says,

this is

the

philosophy

of the

stone,

not the

servant.

It's a

great

sentence,

the

philosophy

of the

stone

on the

ground

to say,

I do

no harm.

Bearing

your

responsibility

according

to this

parable,

conducting

your

Christianity

as a

private

thing,

being

an

invisible

member

of

Christ's

fellowship,

coasting,

traveling,

being a

passenger,

refusing to

do what

he asks you

to do,

will lead

to you being

exposed.

and I

greatly

fear for

people who

think that

they're

getting away

with it

because it's

just impossible

on the

last day.

Last

question,

what is the

punishment?

It looks,

doesn't it,

really excessive

in verses 28

to 30.

The

gifts are

taken away,

the servant

is sent

away into

darkness,

which is a

code word in

the rest of

Matthew for

hell.

And you

wonder if

the servant

has really

been over

punished when

you first

read it.

You might

wonder,

well has he

lost his

salvation?

The answer

to that is

the man

never had

salvation.

He had a

whole life

of being

asked to

respond to

the master,

but he

chose to

refuse.

And reject

the master

for the

whole life,

and now his

time is

gone.

He's

obviously

treated the

master as

an enemy

and refused

to serve

him.

And it

sounds,

doesn't it,

just like an

unbeliever being

exposed to

what he

is.

Just like

in Matthew

21 with

the fig tree,

it had

leaves,

it was all

leaves,

but no

fruit.

Or the

bridesmaids

from last

week,

they've got

lamps,

but they've

not got

oil.

And this

man wanted

to distance

himself from

the master,

and run

his own

life,

and forget

about what

he was

obligated to

do.

And now

he gets

his wish

full blown.

C.S.

Lewis said

on one

occasion,

if you

stand outside

the door

of the

kingdom of

God,

and you're

invited to

go in,

and you

say no,

and you're

invited to

go in

again,

and you

say no,

and you're

invited to

go in

again,

and you

say no,

then when

the door

closes,

and you

find yourself

outside,

you can't

be surprised

that you're

outside.

Well,

of course,

all of us

deserve this

treatment.

We've

treated God

badly,

and we

have.

We've

viewed him

badly.

Our

rebellion

deserves the

casting away,

but there's a

word,

isn't there,

that we

can't read

in this

passage

without it

triggering

another

memory.

The word

darkness.

darkness.

Because we

can't read

the word

darkness

without

remembering

that there

was someone

else who

has experienced

darkness for

us.

The one

reason that

you and I

can be at

peace,

the one

reason that

you and I,

even in this

situation,

can keep going

forward with

joy,

the one

reason that

even today,

in the midst

of this awful

situation,

we can be

glad of

forgiveness,

and the

future in

front of us,

is because

this person,

Jesus,

voluntarily went

into the

darkness.

And he

acted like

he was the

rebellious

servant for

us, so

that we

might be

treated as

the utterly

faithful

servant.

And it's

incredible that

what took

place at

the cross,

when Jesus

went through

with the

crucifixion,

was that he

took all the

darkness and

all the

rebellious,

rebellion of

servants like

you and

like me that

we deserve,

and he

dealt with

it.

And he

took it,

and he

consumed it,

and he

gives to

you and

us the

status of

servants and

sons,

and the

huge privilege

of serving

a heavenly

father with

the resources

that he has

given to

us,

that he

has provided,

to serve

him with

the strength

that he

gives us,

for the

days that

he gives

us,

for a

reward,

at the

end of

the

world,

which

will

outweigh

the

world.

He is

incredible.

And the

Lord has

given to

every believer

gifts and

graces,

and the

key is to

be willing,

not to be

successful,

but to say,

Lord,

here's the

day that

you've given

me,

and here are

the gifts

that you've

given to

me,

and here are

the graces

that you've

given to

me,

how can

I be

useful to

you today?

Because the

way you

live your

life will

say a lot

about how

you view

the

master.

Let's bow

our heads

in prayer.

Heavenly

Father, we

praise you

because you

are God

and there

is no

other.

You are

our rock

and our

refuge.

You are a

very present

help in

trouble.

We thank

you for

your word.

We thank

you for

how you've

spoken to

us through

it.

We thank

you that

it cuts

us,

that it

is so

clear.

We thank

you for

the gifts

that you've

given to

your people.

Lord, we've

seen that

even this

week.

And we

want to

pray that

you will

help us,

Heavenly

Father, to

use our

time wisely

and well,

to serve

you knowing

that you

are a

generous

master who

gives all

that we

need.

And

Father, we

come to

you in our

need and

our

dependence

this

morning.

And we

ask you

for help.

We know

that you

are sovereign

and that

you are

all-powerful

and that

you are

good.

We want

to pray for

those in

our

congregation

that are

unwell.

We ask

that you

might strengthen

them.

We ask

that you

might heal

them and

keep them.

we pray

that you

would give

to the

doctors

and the

nurses

treating

them

skill.

Heavenly

Father, we

pray for

those who

are anxious

about their

family members

and worried.

Lord, we

pray that you

would grant

them that

peace which

transcends

all understanding,

that it would

guard their

heart and their

mind in

Christ Jesus

and that they

would know

that they are

in your

hands and

you are

the almighty

God.

Heavenly

Father, we

pray that you

would keep us

from a

wrong fear.

We pray that

you would help

us to live

day by day

using this

time that

you've given

to us wisely.

We thank you

for our

government,

for the

health services,

for all

those in

authority.

And we

pray,

Heavenly

Father, that

you would

give a

supernatural

strength to

those caring

for others,

that you

would bless

them and

their families,

that you

would strengthen

them for the

task that

is ahead.

We pray,

gracious God,

that you

would use

this situation

to turn

many back

to you.

Lord, we're

aware that

we have no

answers and

we are

fragile and

life is

very brief.

And so,

gracious God,

may,

in your

sovereignty,

in your

power,

would you

turn many

to yourself.

Heavenly

Father, we

ask you to

forgive our

sins.

As we

read this

passage,

we're aware,

Lord, there

are many

ways we've

been unfaithful.

There are

things we've

said this

week, things

we've done,

things that we

should have

done, and

we ask your

forgiveness.

And we

thank you that

you are

gracious and you

are forgiving.

And the

blood of

Jesus Christ

cleanses us

from every

sin.

Lord, watch

over us this

day, for we

pray all these

things.

In Jesus'

strong name,

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.