Jesus continued His discourse on the Mount of Olives with two parables
illustrating the need to be prepared and productive: 1) the wise and
foolish virgins (1-13), and 2) the talents (14-30). He concluded the
discourse by predicting His judgment of the nations on how they treated
His brethren (31-46).
- What are the main points of this chapter?
- Parable of the wise and foolish virgins - Mt 25:1-13
- Parable of the talents - Mt 25:14-30
- The judgment of the nations - Mt 25:31-46
- What parable illustrates the importance of being prepared? (1-13)
- The parable of the wise and foolish virgins
- Why is it imperative that one always be prepared? (13)
- "for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man
is coming."
- Which "coming" is Jesus talking about? (13)
- Either His coming in judgment on Jerusalem or His Second Coming,
possibly both
- What parable illustrates the importance of being productive? (14-30)
- The parable of the talents
- Based on this parable, what does Jesus expect of His disciples? (15,
21,26-27)
- To use what "talents" we have to the best of our ability and
opportunity
- In the judgment depicted, who is being judged? On what basis? (32,
40,45)
- All the nations; their treatment of Jesus' brethren (His disciples)
- Where is there a similar judgment portrayed in the Old Testament?
- Joel 3:1-2,12-14, in which nations are judged based on their
treatment of Israel
- Even if such "judgments" are limited to the nations, what do they
foreshadow?
- The coming of the Lord to judge all men at the end of time, cf. Ac
17:31; 2Co 5:10
- How are punishment and reward described in this chapter? (34,41,46)
- The righteous: inherit the kingdom, go away into eternal life
- The wicked: into the everlasting fire, go away into everlasting
punishment