Conclusion of Our Lord's Discourse. Parables of Virgins and Talents. The Final Judgment.

  24 And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter;

  25 and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own.

  26 But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter;

  27 thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest.

  28 Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents.

  29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away.

  30 And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

[See Section 103. This parable is much like that of the pounds, but differs in several particulars. There the same amount was entrusted to each one, but the returns were different, and the rewards were different. Here different amounts were entrusted, the returns were in proportion to the trust, and the rewards were the same.]

  25 and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own.

  26 But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter;

  27 thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest.

  28 Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents.

  29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away.

  30 And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

  31 But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory [Christ's judgment throne is called his throne of glory because in the day that he sits upon it his glory will be exhibited to men more brightly than ever before; for in the decisions of that hour his mercy, justice, and righteousness will most fully appear, and all the obscure things in the past administration of his government will be made clear]:

  32 and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and shall separate them [not the nations, but the individuals which compose them] one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats [It was the custom for the shepherd to let the sheep and goats feed together during the day and to separate them at night. This custom is placed in the parable because it is analogous to the present commingling and final separation of men. Goats are here employed to represent the evil class of men, because goats have to be driven while sheep follow the shepherd];

  33 and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. [The right hand is always represented as the place of honor and preferment. The Jews in their traditions say that when criminals were tried by the Sanhedrin those who were acquitted were placed on the right hand, and those who were condemned on the left.]

  34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit [take possession of as rightful heirs] the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world [God's purpose designed such a kingdom from the beginning ( Ephesians 1:9-14 ), and we may conceive of it as in process of preparation ever since-- John 14:2 ]:

  35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;

  36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

[The acts here enumerated indicate more than a mere outlay of money. They are not such are the offspring of impulse, but such as call for the sacrifice of time, strength, sympathy, etc., and clearly demonstrate the fullness of the Christian life. Moreover, Jesus does not mean to teach that mere works of benevolence are a sufficient ground for salvation. The meaning is that none can be saved without these fruits of faith and love. The passage must be construed in the light of other Scriptures which teach the further necessity of forgiveness on the part of God and of obedience on the part of man.]

  36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

  37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when drink?

  38 And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

  39 And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

  40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.

[This conversation is the drapery of the narrative. Such words will not be actually spoken at the judgment, but they are introduced for the twofold purpose of illustrating the beautiful unconsciousness of merit and which characterizes the noblest of deeds and the more important fact that anything done for his sake is the same as done for his person-- Matthew 10:42 ; Mark 9:41 .]

  38 And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

  39 And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

  40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.

  41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels [The two preparations stand in contrast. God prepared a kingdom of joy and designed that man should be with him in it. He also prepared a place for punishment for Satan and his angels, and man can cast his lot there and share that punishment if he wills to do so]:

  42 for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;

  43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

  44 Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

  45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.

[The neglect or abuse of Christ's disciples is a direct affront to his person-- Acts 9:4 .]

  43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

  44 Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

  45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.

  46 And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life. [This verse contains two important truths: 1. That the doom of the wicked is as durable as the reward of the righteous. 2. That the doom of the wicked is a punishment. The word "punishment" expresses misery and suffering purposely inflicted.]