Anesti Ministries

Chapters 21 to 27 of Matthew’s Gospel focus on the last week of Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem.

Be filled with the Spirit.

Jesus uses this parable to describe the 2 kinds of people He will find when He comes again. To understand this parable, we must understand the Jewish custom of marriage. There are 3 parts to a Jewish wedding. First is the engagement, where the bride accepts a ring from her husband. From that moment, she is consecrated to him to be his wife. Next, the groom will bring the marriage contract to the bride’s father. The marriage will only be legitimate when the bride’s father signs the marriage contract. Finally, the groom will return to the bride for the wedding feast and she will become his legal wife. The Bible describes God’s people as the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2). This includes both Jews and Christians. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit as a promise that He will return for us (Ephesians 1:13-14). As the bride of Christ, we are consecrated to Him until He returns from the Father.

The individual elements in this parable also have significant meaning. The wedding feast will be the most joyous occasion, but we have to be prepared. All the 10 virgins were carrying lamps. Psalm 119:105 describes God’s Word as a lamp. 5 virgins were wise because they took oil with them. Oil is used to represent the Holy Spirit (1 Samuel 16:13). It is not enough to know God’s Word, but we must be born again by the Spirit to enter God’s Kingdom (John 3:3). Being born again is a personal decision that you must make for yourself. It is not enough to know God but we must be known by Him. We cannot be a sleeping church. We must always be ready for Christ’s return by walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).

Faithful stewards.

Jesus uses a second parable to describe the Kingdom of heaven. We are servants whom Jesus has entrusted with His property. Jesus gives each person a different measure of gifts and resources according to each person’s ability. Therefore, we should not feel jealous when others seem to have more than us. You may feel like you have little resources, but you can still use it for God’s Kingdom. It was not an easy task for the first 2 servants to double their money. But we are called to learn from their example of immediately working hard to multiply what they were given. How you steward the things in your life matters to God. When you are faithful over earthly things, God will entrust you with spiritual things.

The third servant did not do anything with His master’s money but hid it in the ground. This servant explained that he did this out of fear of losing the money. But the master exposed this servant’s laziness. Instead of doing absolutely nothing, the third servant could have put the money securely in the bank. We will be held accountable for how we steward our lives. If we behave like the unfaithful servant, we will face eternal separation from God.

Love others.

Jesus describes two different rewards people will receive at His coming. Some will receive blessing but others will receive eternal condemnation. Many will be surprised to realise that Christ will judge us according to how we have treated others.

In the Bible, God’s people are described as sheep who follow their Master’s voice (John 10:27). God is looking for those who will follow His voice. How you treat others is a reflection of your love for Christ. When you show love to someone, you are loving Christ. Love is a verb that requires action. The love of Christ compels us to meet the physical needs of the poor and hungry. We are not to discriminate against anyone. We are to give to others without expecting anything in return.

Interestingly, those who receive eternal condemnation are not judged because they did wrong to others. Instead, they are judged because they neglected others. When we ignore the needs of others, we are not loving Christ. A heart that is transformed by the love of Jesus will reach out to love others.