Matthewchapter 25
46 verses · Matthew, by tradition · AD 50 to 65 · The Gospels
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
Introduction
Matthew, by tradition, The Gospels, Matthew Overview.
Matthew wrote for Jewish believers who had begun to wonder how long they would have to wait for their Lord's return. This chapter closes the last of the five long discourses in his Gospel, still spoken on the Mount of Olives to the disciples alone. It carries three pictures taken from village life, a wedding at night, a master's money and a shepherd's evening work. The three share one theme, which is the delay before the end and how to live through it. Listen for what each unready person has failed to do. Notice where the King says He was present all along.
Context
- Who
- Jewish readers wondering how long the waiting would last
- What
- Two parables of readiness, the ten virgins and the talents, followed by the King separating the nations at the last judgment.
- Where
- The Mount of Olives, facing the temple across the Kidron valley.
- When
- The last week before the crucifixion, in AD 30 or AD 33.
- Why
- To teach the disciples how to wait faithfully through a long delay and to show what the King will look for when He comes.
Historical context
Village weddings happened at night. The groom came in procession to fetch his bride from her father's house, and the timing was famously unpredictable because the two families negotiated the final settlement first. The bridesmaids' job was to meet the procession with light, and a lamp with a small oil reservoir would not burn all night unattended.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
A talent was not a coin but a weight, and a huge one, roughly six thousand denarii, some twenty years of a labourer's wages. Even one talent was a fortune. Putting money with the bankers to earn interest was normal Roman practice, though Jewish law forbade charging interest to a fellow Israelite.
Burying money was not stupidity; it was the legally safest thing the third servant could have done. Rabbinic law held that a man entrusted with money who buried it in the ground was free of liability if it was stolen. He chose the option that protected himself. That is precisely what he is condemned for.
The final picture is an evening chore. Sheep and goats grazed together by day, and shepherds separated them at nightfall because goats need shelter from the cold while sheep are content in the open. It was routine, unremarkable, and done by every shepherd in the country.
Significance
The delay is the theme all three pictures share, the groom is late, the master is a long time coming, the judgement is at the end. Readers who had expected everything to be settled quickly were being taught how to wait well.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And the last scene defined what the waiting should look like. The nations are separated not by what they claimed but by food given to the hungry, clothes to the naked, visits to the imprisoned, and prison visiting was a live issue for congregations whose members were being arrested. The King says: you did it to me.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Ten Virgins and the Oil They Carried
Matthew 25:1-2
ten virgins: The parable follows at once on the command to keep watch that closed chapter 24, now set in a wedding party of ten virgins. The company divides evenly, with the same lamps and the same errand in both groups. The difference the parable will expose lies in provision.
Matthew 25:1
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven - That is, the candidates for it, be like ten virgins - The bridemaids on the wedding night were wont to go to the house where the bride was, with burning lamps or torches in their hands, to wait for the bride groom's coming.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Matthew 25:1
“Then shall the kingdom of heaven - See the notes at Mat 3:2. The phrase here refers to his coming in the day of judgment. Shall be likened - Or shall resemble. The meaning is, “When the Son of man returns to judgment, it will be as it was in the case of ten virgins in a marriage ceremony.” The coming of Christ to receive his people to himself is often represented under the similitude of a marriage, the church being represented as his spouse or bride.”
Matthew 25:1
“This parable of the ten foolish and the ten wise virgins, some interpret literally of virgins, of whom there are according to the Apostle some who are virgins both in body and in thought, (1 Cor. 7.) others who have preserved indeed their bodies virgin, but have not the other deeds of virgins, or have only been preserved by the guardianship of parents, but have wedded in their hearts. But from what has gone before, I think the meaning to be different, and that the parable has reference not to virgins only, but to the whole human race.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 25:1
“The chapter we have now begun is a continuation of our Lord’s prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives. The time to which it refers is plain and unmistakable: from first to last, there is a continual reference to the second advent of Christ and the end of the world. The whole chapter contains three great divisions. In the first, our Lord uses his own second coming as an argument for watchfulness and heart-religion: this he does by the parable of the ten virgins.”
J.C. Ryle · Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)Reformed Evangelical
Five of them were foolish: Clarke gives the Greek sense of wise as provident, the virgins who made provision and left nothing to the last moment. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note the ten are divided into wise and foolish, as the builders of 7:24 to 27 were. Both groups show some goodwill toward the truth.
Matthew 25:2
“And five of them were wise,.... The order of these words is inverted in some versions, as in the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel, which read, "and five of them were foolish, and five of them were wise"; but this is of no great consequence. There is a parable of R.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:2
“Five of them were wise - Or, provident, φρονιμοι - they took care to make a proper provision beforehand, and left nothing to be done in the last moment. Five were foolish - Μωροι, which might be translated careless, is generally rendered foolish; but this does not agree so well with φρονιμοι, provident, or prudent, in the first clause, which is the proper meaning of the word. Μωρος in the Etymologicon, is thus defined, μη ὁρᾶ το δεον, he who sees not what is proper or necessary.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 25:2
“And five of them were wise, and five were foolish--They are not distinguished into good and bad, as TRENCH observes, but into "wise" and "foolish"--just as in Mt 7:25-27 those who reared their house for eternity are distinguished into "wise" and "foolish builders"; because in both cases a certain degree of goodwill towards the truth is assumed.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 25:3-4
take along any extra oil: The fault is precise, since the foolish carried lamps and no extra oil for a wait longer than expected. The wise ones "took oil in flasks along with their lamps," a reserve carried beside the lamp itself. Both groups started equally equipped for a short vigil.
Matthew 25:3
“Or, The oil is the word of teaching, with which the vessels of souls are filled; for what gives so great content as moral discourse, which is called the oil of light. The wise took with them of this oil, as much as would suffice, though the Word should tarry long, and be slack to come to their consummation. The foolish took lamps, alight indeed at the first, but not supplied with so much oil as should suffice even to the end, being careless respecting the provision of doctrine which comforts faith, and enlightens the lamp of good deeds.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:3
“The foolish took no oil with them - No more than kept them burning just for the present. None to supply their future want, to recruit their lamp's decay. A lamp and oil with it, is faith working by love.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
took oil in flasks: Clarke notes that the wise carried a separate vessel of oil to refill their lamps. Wesley reads the oil as love in the heart. Gregory reads the flasks as hearts that keep their glory within, and the foolish as those who seek glory from the lips of their neighbors.
Matthew 25:4
“Took oil in their vessels - They not only had a sufficiency of oil in their lamps, but they carried a vessel with oil to recruit their lamps, when it should be found expedient. This the foolish or improvident neglected to do: hence, when the oil that was in their lamps burned out, they had none to pour into the lamp to maintain the flame.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
4 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:4
“The wise took oil in their vessels - Love in their hearts. And they daily sought a fresh supply of spiritual strength, till their faith was made perfect.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 25:4
“For by oil the splendor of glory is signified; and our vessels are our hearts, in which we carry all that we think. The wise therefore have oil in their vessels, because they retain the splendor of glory within their conscience, as Paul attests when he says: "Our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience." But the foolish virgins do not take oil with them, because they do not have glory within their conscience, since they seek it from the lips of their neighbors.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 12patristic
Matthew 25:4
“But remember that this oil which keeps the lamps burning, is derived to the candlestick from Jesus Christ, the great and good Olive, by the golden pipes of the ordinances, as it is represented in that vision ( Zech. iv. 2, 3, 12 ), which is explained John i. 16 , Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 25:4
“But this is too general; for it cannot be for nothing that this inward grace is here set forth by the familiar symbol of oil, by which the Spirit of all grace is so constantly represented in Scripture.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 25:5-7
When the bridegroom was delayed: While the bridegroom was delayed, wise and foolish alike "became drowsy and fell asleep". The cry rang out at midnight, the hour least expected, and the wise proved ready because they had what sleep could not use up. All the virgins woke, and the test came to everyone at once.
Matthew 25:5
“The world "slumbered" signifies, simply, "nodded," or, "became drowsy"; while the world "slept" is the usual word for lying down to sleep, denoting two stages of spiritual declension--first, that half-involuntary lethargy or drowsiness which is apt to steal over one who falls into inactivity; and then a conscious, deliberate yielding to it, after a little vain resistance.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:5
“While the bridegroom delayed - That is, before they were called to attend him, they all slumbered and slept - Were easy and quiet, the wise enjoying a true, the foolish a false peace.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
At midnight the cry rang out: Clarke notes that a wedding usually began at night when the evening star rose, so a bridegroom who came at midnight had long delayed. Jerome records a tradition that Christ would come at midnight, as the destroyer came to Egypt. Midnight is the hour people least looked for him.
Matthew 25:6
“And at midnight--that is, the time when the Bridegroom will be least expected; for "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1Th 5:2). there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him--that is, Be ready to welcome Him.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:6
“The Jews have a tradition that Christ will come at midnight, in like manner as in that visitation of Egypt, when the Paschal feast is celebrated, and the destroyer comes, and the Lord passes over our dwellings, and the door posts of each man's countenance are hallowed by the blood of the Lamb.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 25:6
“At midnight there was a cry - The Jewish weddings were generally celebrated in the night; yet they usually began at the rising of the evening star; but in this case there was a more than ordinary delay. Behold, the bridegroom cometh - What an awful thing to be summoned to appear before the Judge of quick and dead!”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
trimmed their lamps: Barnes explains the work: after burning the lamps gave a dim light, so the virgins cut away the burnt linen and fed them fresh oil. The foolish found they had none to give. Henry compares their brief flare to a hypocrite's hope, which blazes just as it is expiring.
Matthew 25:7
“Trimmed their lamps - Burning until midnight, the oil was exhausted: they gave a dim and obscure light. They trimmed them by removing the burnt parts of the linen or the torch, so that they would burn clear. It was needful, also, to dip them again in oil, or to pour oil upon them. This strikingly represents the conduct of most people at the approach of death. They then begin to make ready. They are alarmed, anxious, and trembling, and then they ask the aid of others, but often when it is forever too late.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:7
“Note, Even counterfeit graces will serve a man to make a show of when he comes to die, as well as they have done all his life long; the hypocrite's hopes blaze when they are just expiring, like a lightening before death.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 25:7
“Are we, then--with some even superior expositors--to conclude that the foolish virgins must represent true Christians as well as do the wise, since only true Christians have the Spirit, and that the difference between the two classes consists only in the one having the necessary watchfulness which the other wants?”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 25:8-9
The foolish ask the wise, "Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out," and the fault can no longer be mended. The wise refuse, since there "may not be enough for both us and you," and send them to "those who sell oil."
Matthew 25:8
“And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out--rather, as in the Margin, "are going out"; for oil will not light an extinguished lamp, though it will keep a burning one from going out.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:8
“And the foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil,.... A graceless person may be able to see the grace of God in others, be convinced of it, and acknowledge it, as these foolish virgins did: they saw that the wise virgins had oil, that is, grace; this they knew by the bright burning of their lamps, by their readiness in trimming them, and that in a different way from them; by their sedate composure of mind, and confidence of soul, notwithstanding the midnight cry; and by their ardent and affectionate desire to meet the bridegroom.”
Matthew 25:8
“Our lamps are gone out - Σβεννυνται, are going out. So then it is evident that they were once lighted. They had once hearts illuminated and warmed by faith and love; but they had backslidden from the salvation of God, and now they are excluded from heaven, because, through their carelessness, they have let the light that was in them become darkness, and have not applied in time for a fresh supply of the salvation of God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 25:8
“Getting grace is a work of time, and cannot be done in a hurry. While the poor awakened soul addresses itself, upon a sick bed, to repentance and prayer, in awful confusion, it scarcely knows which end to begin at, or what to do first; and presently death comes, judgment comes, and the work is undone, and the poor sinner undone for ever.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
go to those who sell oil: Jerome hears fear in the answer of the wise, and gives the rule that each man will receive the reward of his work. Clarke adds no one has grace to spare for another. Wesley takes those who sell as God and Christ, who give without money, as in Isaiah 55:1.
Matthew 25:9
“For these wise virgins do not answer thus out of covetousness, but out of fear. Wherefore, each man shall receive the recompense of his own works, and the virtues of one cannot atone for the vices of another in the day of judgment. The wise admonish them not to go to meet the bridegroom without oil, Go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:9
“Lest there be not enough - It is sure there is not; for no man has more than holiness enough for himself. Go ye rather to them that sell - Without money and without price: that is, to God, to Christ.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 25:9
“Lest there be not enough for us and you - These had all been companions in the Christian course, and there was a time when they might have been helpful to each other; but that time is now past for ever - none has a particle of grace to spare, not even to help the soul of the dearest relative! The grace which every man receives is just enough to save his own soul; he has no merits to bequeath to the Church; no work of supererogation which can be placed to the account of another.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 25:10-12
the door was shut: While the foolish were on their way, the bridegroom arrived, so their errand kept them away at the one moment presence was required. Those who were ready went in with him, "and the door was shut". The others return and plead, and hear in reply, "I do not know you."
Matthew 25:10
“While they went to buy, the bridegroom came - What a dismal thing it is, not to discover the emptiness of one’s heart of all that is good, till it is too late to make any successful application for relief! God alone knows how many are thus deceived. And they that were ready - They who were prepared - who had not only a burning lamp of an evangelical profession, but had oil in their vessels, the faith that works by love in their hearts, and their lives adorned with all the fruits of the Spirit.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:10
“But because the season for buying was now past, and the day of judgment was coming on, so that there was no room for penitence, they must not now lay up new works, but give an account of the old. After the day of judgment, there is no more opportunity for good works, or for righteousness, and therefore it follows, And the door was shut.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
The foolish virgins returned to a shut door. Jerome calls their double Lord a fine confession of faith, and asks what words are worth when a life denies them. The same cry at 7:22 voiced surprise, and here it is a plea near despair.
Matthew 25:11
“Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us--In Mt 7:22 this reiteration of the name was an exclamation rather of surprise; here it is a piteous cry of urgency, bordering on despair. Ah! now at length their eyes are wide open, and they realize all the consequences of their past folly.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:11
“God and religion will be glorified by those late solicitations, though sinners will not be saved by them; it is for the honour of Lord, Lord, that, of fervent and importunate prayer, that those who slight it now, will flee to it shortly, and it will not be called whining and canting then.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 25:11
“Open unto us - This is not to be understood as implying that any will come after the righteous shall be admitted into the kingdom, and claim admission then. It is a part of the parable to illustrate the general truth inculcated, or to prepare the way for what is afterwards said, and to keep up the narrative and make it consistent.”
Olshausen, Stier and Alford hear this reply as milder than the one at 7:23, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown reject that reading. Jerome joins it to 2 Timothy 2:19, where the Lord knows those who are His. Without oil, the foolish virgins were unknown to the bridegroom.
Matthew 25:12
“But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not--The attempt to establish a difference between "I know you not" here, and "I never knew you" in Mt 7:23 --as if this were gentler, and so implied a milder fate, reserved for "the foolish" of this parable--is to be resisted, though advocated by such critics as OLSHAUSEN, STIER, and ALFORD.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:12
“For the Lord knoweth them that are his, (2 Tim. 2:19.) and he that knoweth not shall not be known, and though they be virgins in purity of body, or in confession of the true faith, yet forasmuch as they have no oil, they are unknown by the bridegroom.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 25:12
“Note, We are all concerned to seek the Lord while he may be found; for there is a time coming when he will not be found. Time was, when, Lord, Lord, open to us, would have sped well, by virtue of that promise, Knock, and it shall be opened to you; but now it comes too late.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the day or the hour: Jesus states the parable's moral: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour". The command ties the parable to the call to watch in chapter 24. The parable has shown the wise slept too, and they carried what the hour of waiting could not exhaust.
Matthew 25:13
“Watch therefore - He that watches has not only a burning lamp, but likewise oil in his vessel. And even when he sleepeth, his heart waketh. He is quiet; but not secure.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
The Talents Entrusted to Servants
Matthew 25:14-15
entrusted them with his possessions: The second parable follows from the same command to watch, moving from waiting to working. A man about to go away entrusts his servants with his possessions, "each according to his own ability". A talent was worth many years of wages, so even the smallest portion was a large sum.
Matthew 25:14
“Called his own servants - God never makes the children of men proprietors of his goods. They are formed by his power, and upheld by his bounty; and they hold their lives and their goods, as in many of our ancient tenures, quamdiu domino placuerit - at the will of their Lord.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
4 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:14
“Their master delivered to them his goods: having appointed them to work (for Christ keeps no servants to be idle), he left them something to work upon. Christ's servants have and receive their all from him; for they are of themselves worth nothing, nor have any thing they can call their own but sin. Our receiving from Christ is in order to our working for him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 25:14
“The parable of the talents which we have now read is near akin to that of the ten virgins. Both direct our minds to the same important event: the second advent of Jesus Christ. Both bring before us the same persons: the members of the professing church of Christ. The virgins and the servants are one and the same people—but the same people regarded from a different point, and viewed on different sides. The practical lesson of each parable is the main point of difference: vigilance is the keynote of the first parable, diligence that of the second.”
J.C. Ryle · Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)Reformed Evangelical
Matthew 25:14
“Christ's "servants" here mean all who, by their Christian profession, stand in the relation to Him of entire subjection. His "goods" mean all their gifts and endowments, whether original or acquired, natural or spiritual.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 25:14
“Our Lord proceeds by a parable still plainer (if that can be) to declare the final reward of a harmless man. May God give all such in this their day, ears to hear and hearts to understand it! The kingdom of heaven - That is, the King of heaven, Christ.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Barnes notes that English kept the word talent for a man's gifts. The master gave to each servant as he judged him able to put the money to work. Barnes applies that to the place God gives each one in the world; Origen reads the talents as measures of understanding.
Matthew 25:15
“Five talents - See the notes at Mat 18:24. The word “talents” here is used to denote indefinitely “a large sum,” and is designed to refer to the endowments conferred on people. We have retained in our language the word “talent” as referring to the abilities or gifts of men. According to his several ability - According to the ability of each one. According as he saw each one was adapted to improve it. So in the church and the world. God gives people stations which he judges them adapted to fill, and requires them to fill them.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:15
“And unto one he gave five talents,.... A "talent" with the Jews, if of silver, was, according to Brerewood (w), of the value of 375 l. of our money; according to Bishop Cumberland, 353 l. 11 s. 10 1/2 d.; and if of gold, was equal to 4500l. and, according to the latter, 5075 l. 15 s. 7 1/2 d.: so that five of these talents, if of silver, were 1875 l. and if of gold, 22,500 l. according to Brerewood; a very large sum for one servant to be intrusted with.”
Matthew 25:15
“Whenever you see of those who have received from Christ a dispensation of the oracles of God that some have more and some less; that some have not in comparison of the better sort half an understanding of things; that others have still less; you will perceive the difference of those who have all of them received from Christ oracles of God.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 25:16-18
put them to work: The servant with five talents went at once and put them to work, gaining five more. The one with two gained two more in the same way. The third servant dug a hole in the ground and "hid his master’s money," burying what he could have used.
Matthew 25:16
“Those that have so much work to do, as every Christian has, need to set about it quickly, and lose not time. Note, A true Christian is a spiritual tradesman. Trades are called mysteries, and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; it is a manufacture trade; there is something to be done by upon our own hearts, and for the good of others.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
gained two more: Gill reads the second servant's gain as work done in proportion to the gifts he received, prospering under a divine blessing. Both faithful servants doubled their money. Henry calls the Christian a spiritual tradesman, whose trade is worked on his own heart and for the good of others.
Matthew 25:17
“And likewise he that received two,.... Talents, or a lesser measure of ministerial gifts: he also gained other two; he worked and laboured, and traded, in proportion to the gifts he had received; and his improvements and success, under a divine blessing, were answerable.”
dug a hole in the ground: Luke's account at 19:20 has the money wrapped in a cloth, and Jerome reads the hole as the master's commands neglected for pleasure. Barnes lists the excuses of such a servant: a low place, small ability, and fewer talents given than to others. Henry counts idle ministers among them.
Matthew 25:18
“Those that have estates, and do not lay them out in works of piety and charity; that have power and interest, and do not with it promote religion in the places where they live; ministers that have capacities and opportunities of doing good, but do not stir up the gift that is in them, are those slothful servants that seek their own things more than Christ's.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew 25:19-23
to settle accounts with them: "After a long time" the master returns, so the delay tests what the servants did with the interval. The two who traded give the same account and receive the same answer. In both cases the reward exceeds the task, since faithfulness "with a few things" brings charge of "many things."
Matthew 25:19
“After a long time ... - By the return of the lord of those servants to reckon with them is denoted the return of Christ to call people to an account for the manner in which they have improved their talents. See Rom 14:12; 2Co 5:10; 1Th 4:16; Act 1:11; Act 17:31. Reckon with them - To reckon is to settle accounts. Here it means to inquire into their faithfulness, and to reward or punish them accordingly.”
presented five more: Jerome takes the long time of verse 19 as the span from the ascension to the second coming. The servant's account names what was entrusted before what was gained. Henry teaches that every gain is to be spoken of with the favor of the master who entrusted his goods.
Matthew 25:20
“We earnestly believe that we are incapable of explaining such things, unlike those who infer from the perceptible events of the Scriptures more inspired meanings. These are spiritual meanings that Solomon calls "divine" and which Jeremiah calls "faculties of the heart" and which Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews calls "faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil." The persons in the first group are those who in addition to the "five talents" gained five more, trading with them and capitalizing on their ability. Successfully negotiating and zealously teaching, they traded and acquired five more talents.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on Matthew 66patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:20
“We must never look upon our improvements but with a general mention of God's favour to us, of the honour he has put upon us, in entrusting us with his goods, and of that grace which is the spring and fountain of all the good that is in us or is done by us.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Barnes reads the joy of the master two ways: the feast held at his return, or the rewards he had prepared for faithful servants. Henry sets this beside Genesis 15:3, where Abraham was unwilling to make his faithful steward his heir. Christ brings His faithful servants into His joy.
Matthew 25:21
“He says, Thou wast faithful in a few things, because all that we have at present though they seem great and many, yet in comparison of the things to come are little and few. What greater thing can be given to a faithful servant than to be with his Lord, and to see his Lord's joy? The servant who of five talents had made ten, and he who of two had made four, are received with equal favour by the Master of the household, who looks not to the largeness of their profit, but to the disposition of their will.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:21
“Ruler over many things - I will promote thee to greater honors and to more important trusts. Joy of thy lord - In the meantime share the pleasures and enjoyments of his palace; be his companion, and receive the rewards which he has promised thee. “The joy of his lord” may mean either the festivals and rejoicings at his return, or the rewards which his lord had prepared for his faithful servants.”
Matthew 25:21
“It is the joy of our Lord, for it is joy in the Lord, who is our exceeding joy. Abraham was not willing that the steward of his house, though faithful, should be his heir ( Gen. xv. 3 ); but Christ admits his faithful stewards into his own joy, to be joint-heirs with him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
entrusted me with two talents: Spurgeon preached on this servant that every gift, whether time, wealth, influence, speech or thought, is lent from on high. His report runs word for word with the first, with two in place of five. Jerome says the master looks to the will behind the work.
Matthew 25:22
“EVERY good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.” All that men have they must trace to the Great Fountain, the giver of all good. Hast thou talents? They were given thee by the God of talents. Hast thou time? hast thou wealth, influence, power? Hast thou powers of tongue? Hast thou powers of thought? Art thou poet, statesman, or philosopher? Whatever be thy position, and whatever be thy gifts, remember that they are not thine, but they are lent thee from on high.”
Rabanus Maurus hears well done as a cry of joy, the Lord inviting the servant who labored well into eternal bliss. This is the fullness of joy of Psalm 16:11. Jerome calls every present good few beside the goods to come.
Matthew 25:23
“Well done is an interjection of joy; the Lord showing us therein the joy with which He invites the servant who labours well to eternal bliss; of which the Prophet speaks, In thy presence is fulness of joy.”
Rabanus Maurus · written before 856 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 25:24-25
you are a hard man: The third servant describes his master before any account: "Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown". He names fear as his own motive, and presents the bare return as if it were an achievement: "See, you have what belongs to you."
Matthew 25:24
“He never knew God, who thinks him a hard master. Reaping where thou hast not sown - That is, requiring more of us than thou hast given us power to perform. So does every obstinate sinner, in one kind or other, lay the blame of his own sins on God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:24
“The one talent - The design of this part of the parable is to show that no one is excused for neglecting his duty because he has few talents. God will require of him only according to his ability, 1Co 4:2; Luk 12:48; 2Co 8:12. A hard man - Of a sordid, griping disposition; taking advantage of the poor, and oppressing them. Reaping ... - This is indicative of an avaricious and overbearing disposition; compelling the poor to sow for him, and reaping all the benefit himself.”
Matthew 25:24
“For truly that which is written, To offer excuses excusing sins (Ps. 141:4.) happened to this servant, so that to slothfulness and idleness was added also the sin of pride. For he who ought to have honestly acknowledged his fault, and to have entreated the Master of the household, on the contrary cavils against him, and avers that he did it with provident design, lest while he sought to make profit he should hazard the capital.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 25:24
“Note, It is common for people to make a very light matter of that which will be their condemnation in the great day. Or, if he was conscious to himself that it was his fault, it intimates how easily slothful servants will be convicted in the judgment; there will need no great search for proof, for their own tongues shall fall upon them.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
hid your talent in the ground: Jerome sees pride added to laziness. The servant blames his master and calls hiding the talent in the ground a way to keep the money safe. Gill calls the fear a pretense for sloth and an earthly mind, and Henry notes that his own words convict him.
Matthew 25:25
“And I was afraid,.... The Persic version adds, "to negotiate with thy money": he was afraid, lest by trading he should not gain what his Lord expected; and most of all, lest he should lose the talent itself; and dreaded his Lord's austerity, should that be the case, fearing that he would have no mercy on him. This was his pretence; but the true causes were sloth and earthly mindedness: and went and hid thy talent in the earth; that it might not be lost, though it lay useless, and turned to no account.”
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:25
“I was afraid - I feared lest, by some accident, thy talent would be lost if I put it out to trade, and that I should be severely punished by a hard master. I therefore kept it laid up safely, and hid it where it could not be lost. That is thine - There is what properly belongs to thee. There is the original talent that thou gavest me, and that is all that can be reasonably required. Observe here: 1. That this expresses exactly the feelings of all sinners. God, in their view, is hard, cruel, unjust.”
Matthew 25:25
“Thou wicked and slothful servant--"Wicked" or "bad" means "falsehearted," as opposed to the others, who are emphatically styled "good servants." The addition of "slothful" is to mark the precise nature of his wickedness: it consisted, it seems, not in his doing anything against, but simply nothing for his master.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Matthew 25:26-27
The master calls him a "wicked, lazy servant" and turns his own words against him, granting the harsh picture he painted. The least duty open to him was to have "deposited my money with the bankers," where it would have come back "with interest".
Matthew 25:26
“Slothful - Indolent, lazy, who had done nothing. God will judge people not merely for doing wrong, but for not “doing” right. See Mat 25:45. That servant was “wicked,” because he had such an opinion of his master; he had shown that he was slothful by not making good use of the talent, Mat 25:27. Thou knewest ... - This should be understood, and might have been translated, as a question. If you knew that I was Such a man you ought to have acted accordingly, so as to have escaped punishment. Didst thou know that I reap, etc.?”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:26
“But what he thought would be his excuse is turned into his condemnation. He calls him wicked servant, because he cavilled against his Lord; and slothful, because he would not double his talent; condemning his pride in the one, and his idleness in the other. If you knew me to be hard and austere, and to seek after other men's goods, you should also have known that I exact with the more rigour that is mine own, and should have given my money to the bankers; for the Greek word here (ἀζγύριον) means money.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
deposited my money with the bankers: Barnes describes the bankers as men who took money at a low rate and lent it out at a higher one, sitting in the temple. Theophylact reads the bankers as disciples, who give an exact account of what was put in their care. The servant could have made disciples.
Matthew 25:28-30
Therefore take the talent from: The master orders the talent taken and given "to the one who has ten talents". The worthless servant is thrown into the outer darkness. It is the sixth sounding in this Gospel of the refrain of weeping and gnashing of teeth first heard at 8:12.
Matthew 25:28
“The master had three servants. After they believed and became his servants, they were given a task to do. They received money from their master. One of them "traded" with it and "gained." The second one "gained," but not as much. And the third, out of fear and being insufficiently faithful, "went away and hid" his master's money. From his defensiveness it appears that he feared the master. He was in awe of the master even as the other had "zeal for God but not according to knowledge." Diffidently, he "hid" his talent in the ground.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Commentary on Matthew 66patristic
who has will be given more: Barnes calls the saying a proverb, one Jesus used before at 13:12 of those who hear the parables. In trade the servant who puts money to work gains more, and what the lazy man loses goes to the faithful. Origen reads the third servant's fear as zeal without knowledge.
Matthew 25:29
“For unto every one that hath shall be given - See the notes at Mat 13:12. This seems to be a proverbial expression. It means, whosoever rightly improves what is committed to him shall receive more, or shall be rewarded; but he that misimproves what is committed to him shall not be rewarded. In pecuniary matters in the literal sense of this parable they who improve their money by industry or merchandise increase it. They who do not who are indolent or vicious lose what they did possess, and it goes into the hands of the faithful and industrious.”
throw that worthless servant: Wesley finds the servant condemned for harmlessness alone, the very ground on which many build their hope. He reads the weeping as the careless sinner's and the gnashing of teeth as the proud man's. Spurgeon warns against seeing the Master as hard.
Matthew 25:30
“He is pronounced a wicked, because he was a slothful, an unprofitable servant. So mere harmlessness, on which many build their hope of salvation, was the cause of his damnation! There shall be the weeping - Of the careless thoughtless sinner; and the gnashing of teeth - Of the proud and stubborn.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:30
“THERE is a narrow path between indifference and morbid sensibility. Some men seem to feel no holy anxiety—they place their Master's talent in the earth, leave it there and take their pleasure and their ease without a moment's compunction. Others profess to be so anxious to be right that they come to the conclusion that they can never be so and fall under a horror of God, viewing His service as a drudgery and Himself as a hard master—though probably they never say so.”
Sheep and Goats Before the Throne
Matthew 25:31-33
all the angels with Him: The Son of Man comes in His glory with all the angels, and sits on His glorious throne with all the nations gathered before Him. He separates them "as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats". Sheep and goats grazed together by day and were sorted at evening.
Matthew 25:31
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory--His personal glory. and all the holy angels with him--See De 33:2; 1Pe 3:22. then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory--the glory of His judicial authority.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:31
“When the Son of man ... - This is in answer to the question which the disciples proposed to Jesus respecting the end of the world, Mat 24:3. That this refers to the last judgment, and not, as some have supposed, to the destruction of Jerusalem, appears: 1. From the fact that it was in answer to an express inquiry respecting “the end” of the world. 2. “All nations” were to be assembled, which did not take place at the destruction of Jerusalem.”
Matthew 25:31
“In these verses our Lord Jesus Christ describes the judgment day, and some of its leading circumstances. There are few passages in the whole Bible more solemn and heart-seaching than this. May we read it with the deep and serious attention which it deserves. Let us mark in the first place who will be the judge in the last day. We read that it will be “the Son of Man” Jesus Christ himself.”
J.C. Ryle · Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)Reformed Evangelical
All the nations will be gathered: Clarke reads all the nations as the whole Gentile world, with the Jews included after their own judgment in chapter 24. Gill holds that those gathered before the throne are the people of every nation who professed Christ. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that the judgment reaches beyond this scene.
Matthew 25:32
“All nations - Literally, all the nations - all the Gentile world; the Jews are necessarily included, but they were spoken of in a particular manner in the preceding chapter. He shall separate them - Set each kind apart by themselves. As a shepherd divideth, etc. - It does not appear that sheep and goats were ever penned or housed together, though they might feed in the same pasture; yet even this was not done but in separate flocks; so Virgil, Eclog. vii. v.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:32
“And before him shall be gathered all nations..... That is, all that have professed the Christian religion in all the nations of the world, whether Jews or Gentiles, high or low, rich or poor, wise and foolish, such as have had greater or lesser talents; though it is also true of every individual of mankind of every nation, tribe and family, of every sex, age, and state, that ever has been, is, or will be. Yet Christian professors seem only here intended, as the following distinction of them, their final state, and the reasons of it show.”
Matthew 25:32
“If it be said, But how can this be the general judgment, if only those within the Christian pale be embraced by it?--we answer, What is here described, as it certainly does not meet the case of all the family of Adam, is of course so far not general. But we have no right to conclude that the whole "judgment of the great day" will be limited to the point of view here presented.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
place the sheep on His right: Barnes reads the sheep as the righteous, named for the innocence the sheep pictures, and the goats as the wicked. The right hand is the place of honor, as at Psalm 110:1 and Ephesians 1:20. Ezekiel 34:17 had already pictured God judging between rams and goats.
Matthew 25:33
“Shall set the sheep ... - By “the sheep” are denoted, here, the righteous. The name is given to them because the sheep is an emblem of innocence and harmlessness. See Joh 10:7, Joh 10:14-16, Joh 10:27; Psa 100:3; Psa 74:1; Psa 23:1-6. On the right hand - The right hand is the place of honor, and denotes the situation of those who are honored, or those who are virtuous. See Ecc 10:2; Eph 1:20; Psa 110:1; Act 2:25, Act 2:33. The goats - The wicked. See Eze 34:17. The left - That is, the left hand.”
Matthew 25:34-36
The King speaks to those on His right of an inheritance readied before creation. The six works are ordinary acts: food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty and welcome for the stranger. The others are clothing for the naked, care for the sick and a visit to the prisoner.
Matthew 25:34
“Ye blessed of my Father - This is the king’s address to his followers; and contains the reason why they were found in the practice of all righteousness, and were now brought to this state of glory - they were blessed - came as children, and received the benediction of the Father, and became, and continued to be, members of the heavenly family. Inherit - The inheritance is only for the children of the family - if sons, then heirs, Gal 4:7, but not otherwise. The sons only shall enjoy the father’s estate.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:34
“Inherit the kingdom - Purchased by my blood, for all who have believed in me with the faith which wrought by love. Prepared for you - On purpose for you. May it not be probably inferred from hence, that man was not created merely to fill up the places of the fallen angels?”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 25:34
“This is the holy love whose practical manifestations the King is about to recount in detail; and thus we see that their whole life of love to Christ is the fruit of an eternal purpose of love to them in Christ.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
I was hungry: Barnes grounds the King's words in the union between Christ and His people. It is a union of feeling, interest and destiny in which they share the same trials. Wesley adds that these works of outward mercy presuppose faith and love; they come with works of spiritual mercy.
Matthew 25:35
“I was hungry, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink - All these works of outward mercy suppose faith and love, and must needs he accompanied with works of spiritual mercy.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
I was in prison: Clarke notes visiting the sick was held in honor. A saying held that the man who fails to visit the sick is like one who has shed blood. Tertullian reads the brother visited in prison as one about to confess Christ before a judge; such a visit eased his suffering.
Matthew 25:36
“How would Christ speak, but in accordance with the treatment to which the Christian would be subjected? But when He forbids thinking about what answer to make at a judgment-seat, He is preparing His own servants for what awaited them, He gives the assurance that the Holy Spirit will answer by them; and when He wishes a brother to be visited in prison, He is commanding that those about to confess be the object of solicitude; and He is soothing their sufferings when He asserts that God will avenge His own elect.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Scorpiacepatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:36
“I was sick, and ye visited me - Relieving the strangers, and visiting the sick, were in high estimation among the Jews. One of their sayings on this head is worthy of notice: “He who neglects to visit the sick is like him who has shed blood.” That is, as he has neglected, when it was in his power, to preserve life, he is as guilty in the sight of the Lord as he is who has committed murder. See Kypke in loco.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 25:37-40
The righteous answer with surprise, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You," unaware that their ordinary mercy carried this weight. The thread of the little ones, from the cup of cold water at 10:42 and the millstone of 18:6, reaches its fullest statement here.
Matthew 25:37
“Then shall the righteous ... - This answer is indicative of humility - a deep sense of their being unworthy such commendation. They will feel that their poor acts of kindness have come so far short of what they should have been that they have no claim to praise or reward. It is not, however, to be supposed that in the day of judgment this will be actually “said” by the righteous, but that this would be a proper expression of their feelings.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:37
“Lord, when sate we thee &c. This they say not because they distrust the Lord's words, but they are in amaze at so great exaltation, and at the greatness of their own glory; or because the good which they have done will seem to them to be so small according to that of the Apostle, For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18.)”
Rabanus Maurus · written before 856 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
a stranger and take You in: Rabanus Maurus reads the question as amazement at the glory given them, their good works looking small beside it, as in Romans 8:18. Tertullian cites a saying that to see a brother is to see the Lord. A stranger may be an angel, as Hebrews 13:2 warns.
Matthew 25:38
"Have you seen," says Scripture, "a brother? you have seen your Lord; " -especially "a stranger," lest perhaps he be "an angel.
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Prayerpatristic
sick or in prison: Gill notes that the Gospels give no account of the Lord himself sick or in prison. His servants were both, John the Baptist, Peter and Paul among them, and brothers in the faith visited them. The King counts those visits as made to Him.
Matthew 25:39
“Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? For though he bore the sicknesses of his people, yet we never read of his being sick himself, nor was he ever cast into prison; but this has been the case of many of his servants, as John the Baptist, Peter, and Paul, and multitudes of others, who have been tenderly and affectionately used by their fellow Christians.”
the least of these brothers: Jerome allows that Christ is fed in every poor man. He reads these brothers as the poor in spirit, the disciples of 12:50 who do the will of the Father in heaven. Wesley draws from it a charge to help the household of faith; he urges good done to all.
Matthew 25:40
“It were indeed free to us to understand that it is Christ in every poor man whom we feed when he is hungry, or give drink to when he is thirsty, and so of other things; but when He says, In that ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, He seems tome not to speak of the poor generally, but of the poor in spirit, those to whom He pointed and said, Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother. (Matt. 12:50.)”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:40
“Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it to me - What encouragement is here to assist the household of faith? But let us likewise remember to do good to all men.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Matthew 25:41-43
The King says to those on His left, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed," answering the blessing of verse 34. The eternal fire was "prepared for the devil and his angels". The six failures that follow match the six mercies, and the sin they name is neglect, mercy withheld.
Matthew 25:41
“On the left hand - The wicked. Ye cursed - That is, you who are devoted to destruction, whose characters deserve everlasting punishment, and who are about to enter into it. “To curse” is the opposite of “to bless.” It implies a negation of all the blessings of heaven, and a positive infliction of eternal sufferings. Everlasting fire - “Fire,” here, is used to denote punishment. The image is employed to express extreme suffering, as a death by burning is one of the most horrible that can be conceived.”
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:41
“Then shall he also say unto them on his left hand,.... The goats, the foolish virgins, and slothful and wicked servants, depart from me: a like expression is used by him to preachers of the word, and professors of religion, that are mere nominal ones.”
gave Me nothing to eat: Origen grounds the charge in 1 Corinthians 12:27, where believers are the body of Christ. As the soul feels the hunger of its body, the Lord feels what His people suffer. Clarke adds that each chance to give was passed by.
Matthew 25:42
“It follows, I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat. It is written to the believers, Ye are the body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12:27.) As then the soul dwelling in the body, though it hungers not in respect of its spiritual substance, yet hungers for the food of the body, because it is yoked to the body; so the Saviour suffers whatever His body the Church suffers, though He Himself be impassible.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:42
“I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat - I put it in your power to do good, and ye would not. A variety of occasions offered themselves to you, but ye neglected them all, so that my blessings in your hands, not being improved, according to my order, became a curse to you.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
you did not take Me in: Clarke observes that people would run to relieve Christ if they knew He was in the land hungry and bound. He has named the needy man as His representative, and the neglect falls on that man. Clarke adds that the King will be just in judging it.
Matthew 25:43
“I was a stranger - If men were sure that Jesus Christ was actually somewhere in the land, in great personal distress, hungry, thirsty, naked, and confined, they would doubtless run unto and relieve him. Now Christ assures us that a man who is hungry, thirsty, naked, etc., is his representative, and that whatever we do to such a one he will consider as done to himself; yet this testimony of Christ is not regarded! Well, he will be just when he judges, and righteous when he punishes.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 25:44-46
Those on the left repeat the surprise of verse 37, offered as a defense. The King answers: "whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me". The discourse closes with one Greek word describing the "eternal punishment" and the "eternal life."
Matthew 25:44
“Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, etc. - It is want of faith which in general produces hard-heartedness to the poor. The man who only sees with eyes of flesh is never likely to discover Christ in the person of a man destitute of the necessaries of life. Some pretend not to know the distressed; because they have no desire to relieve them; but we find that this ignorance will not avail them at the bar of God.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Matthew 25:44
“Mark how the righteous dwell upon each word, while the unrighteous answer summarily, and not going through the particular instances; for so it becomes the righteous out of humility to disclaim each individual generous action, when imputed to them publicly; whereas bad men excuse their sins, and endeavour to prove them few and venial. And Christ's answer conveys this. And to the righteous He says, In that ye did it to my brethren, to show the greatness of their good deeds; to the sinners He says only, to one of the least of these, not aggravating their sin.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
one of the least of these: Here the King speaks only of the least of these, where verse 40 named them His brothers. Origen reads the change as deliberate, the name brothers given to enlarge the deeds of the righteous. Barnes reads the neglect as a lack of love for Christ.
Matthew 25:45
“Inasmuch as ye did it not ... - By not doing good to the “followers” of Christ, they showed that they had no real love to Him. By not doing good to the poor and needy, to the stranger and the prisoner, they showed that they had not his spirit, and were not like him, and were unfit for his kingdom.”
into eternal punishment: Clarke ties the eternal punishment to a will set against God. Jerome adds that the eternal life of the righteous has no more fear of a fall. Wesley notes that the Judge speaks to the righteous first, in the hearing of the wicked.
Matthew 25:46
“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life everlasting - Either therefore the punishment is strictly eternal, or the reward is not: the very same expression being applied to the former as to the latter. The Judge will speak first to the righteous, in the audience of the wicked.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Matthew 25:46
“Let the thoughtful reader observe that punishments are eternal, and that that continuing life has thenceforward no fear of fall.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Catena Aurea by Aquinaspatristic
Matthew 25:46
“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment - No appeal, no remedy, to all eternity! No end to the punishment of those whose final impenitence manifests in them an eternal will and desire to sin. By dying in a settled opposition to God, they cast themselves into a necessity of continuing in an eternal aversion from him.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Matthew 25:46
“This is said to be "prepared for the devil and his angels," because they were "first in transgression." But both have one doom, because one unholy character. but the righteous into life eternal--that is, "life everlasting." The word in both clauses, being in the original the same, should have been the same in the translation also.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Keep studying
Studies19
- The Son of Man in 1 Enoch
- The Sluggard in Proverbs
- Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant
- Hell and the Final State of the Lost
- Hospitality
- Hospitality in Israel and the Early Church
Show the next 6 titles
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Charles Spurgeon; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 12; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria; Rabanus Maurus, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Tertullian and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew.