The next section in Matthew 25 is the parable of the talents. Since this story is almost identical to the parable of the minas covered in a previous lesson, we will not examine it. Then in the last part of the chapter Jesus actually goes beyond answering the questions asked of Him by the disciples and talks about the first action He takes following His second coming. This is the judgment of the living nations in verses 31-46. The purpose of this judgment is to deal with the remaining enemies of Israel not killed at Armageddon and determines who will be allowed to enter into Christ’s millennial kingdom.
Again, we will not look at this passage in detail at this time, but will come back to it in a future lesson as we examine the consecutive events surrounding the tribulation period and His second coming. For now I’ll just remind you that the future 7-year tribulation period is to deal with the enemies of Israel and begin the preparation of the Jews to become the spiritual leaders of the eternal earth. The following millennial reign of Christ on the earth is to deal with the enemies of God and to prepare the earth and its people for the coming eternal earth when the Father joins the Son and the Holy Spirit to make His abode with men and dwell on the earth forever.
So now we must return to the issue at hand. Jesus is in Jerusalem, has just finished a heated exchange with religious leaders in the temple, then what is commonly called the Olivet Discourse. Then Matthew 26:1-2 says, “And when Jesus finished saying these things, He told His disciples, You know that the Passover is in two days and the Son of Man will be delivered to be crucified.” Jesus is on His way to the cross. In the next several lessons we’ll look at the chronology of events leading to His arrest.
Matthew 26:3-5 gives us yet another of the plots to kill Jesus. By this time the Jewish religious leaders had been unsuccessful in their attempts to dispose of Jesus (compare Matthew 12:14; Luke 4:28-30; John 5:16; 7:30, 44; 8:59; 10:31; 11:47- 53). Verse 3 tells us the chief priests, scribes and elders all went to the high priest Caiaphas to come up with a plan. From the references above we know it had long been determined that they wanted to kill Jesus, and, Caiaphas had been involved. But now there seems to be more determination and a sense of urgency.
The key is in verse 4 where we see they, “consulted together how they might seize Jesus by subtlety and kill Him”. Here, “subtlety” is from dolos, bait or a snare, sometimes rendered “guile”. Jesus has already said in verse 2 He would be betrayed. We will see this unfold later in the chapter when He is arrested.
The next part of Matthew 26 contains a principle that exposes a deception in religion today. In verses 6-13 we see the account of an unknown woman anointing Jesus with an expensive perfume (compare Mark 14:1-9; and an extended version in Luke 7:36-50). This is not to be confused with an account found in John 12:1-9 that occurred several days earlier at the house of Lazarus, when Jesus was similarly anointed by Mary, though the wrong response of the disciples and what Jesus says about it is comparable.
Read these accounts then let me draw you to verse 8 and the indignation of the disciples, who objected (again) to this wasteful behavior. Then to verse 9 and their explanation that the perfume should have been sold and the money used to help the poor. And finally to verse 10 where Jesus tells them to leave her alone that she had done a good thing. This brings us to verse 11, “For you will always have the poor with you, but you will not always have Me.”
Nowhere in the Gospels do you see Jesus doing anything to help the economic plight of the poor, but several times emphasizes that the kingdom has come because the gospel is being preached to them (Matthew 11:5; Luke 4:18). The idea of a social justice gospel or humanitarian missions designed to improve the lives of those who “come to Jesus” does not exist either with Jesus or later with the apostles. Jesus knew and we should understand that no condition of life could prevent anyone from knowing God.
Jesus never advocated for economic equality. He never spoke out against slavery. He never campaigned for women’s rights. He never showed concern for anyone’s economic, social or cultural condition. In fact, those who know God understand that He uses those conditions to teach us to trust Him and understand His ways (Isaiah 55:8). And, that difficulties, hardship and suffering are some of the things He uses to conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:18, 28-29; Philippians 3:10; I Peter 4:13, 19).
The fact is that such “mission” endeavors only serve to deceive their converts by giving them a false concept of Who God is and what He does. God’s purpose has never been to make believers lives better from a worldly standpoint. It has always been to change them from that worldly view to an eternal, spiritual one through a relationship of trust, regardless of their circumstances. And He makes it clear that difficult situations in life are part of that process of change.
For instance the narrow road of Matthew 7:13-14 describes the believer’s life as one that is compressed with the pressures of life. Does He move to protect us from those pressures? Absolutely not! He wants us to learn that we can face those things with a reliance on Him and come out of the situation on the other side with a greater trust and confidence in Him – the linchpin of our relationship with a wise and caring God, Whose concern is to prepare us for an eternity with Him, not to make us more comfortable in the here and now.
Look at Jesus’ statement in verse 13. “I’m telling you the truth, wherever this good news is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be told also, as a memorial to her.” He commended the woman for her willingness to sacrifice something valuable to show her devotion to Him. Her act may very well have caused some additional hardship for her. But Jesus did not regard the sacrifice and hardship as a bad thing. Instead, He saw them as proof of her devotion and the reality of her trust in Him.
Now, with this being said, let me make just a couple of other points for the sake of clarity. When I listen to the appeals of those involved in what is called missions today, the thrust of their message almost always centers on this one thing: it is an appeal based on economic need and emphasizes hunger, poor living conditions, broken families and the need for education. And the appeal is designed to produce an emotional response, some guilt and a false sense of responsibility to give money for projects to correct all these things.
Now, earlier I mentioned Matthew 11:5 and Luke 4:18 where Jesus says the kingdom had come because the gospel is being preached to the poor. What did He mean by that? It is simply that being poor is no disadvantage when it comes to accessing what God offers. But what does He offer? Is it food, better housing, education? Or is it deliverance from sin, from the appeal of this world and anticipation of an eternity with Him, all through the sacrifice of Christ and a life of submission and obedience to Him that changes us from one experience to the next into the image of the One Who loves us?
And when I see someone who is willing to go (because God has truly called them) to a people and spend whatever time is necessary to see they understand those things and are following them and then is willing to be responsible to oversee them in time to make sure they stay on that path (that’s what Paul did), I’ll get emotional, maybe even feel a little false guilt, have a sense of real responsibility and give sacrificially to see the work carried out.
Let me simplify this. Is God more concerned with our physical, worldly needs; or is He more concerned with our spiritual need? The answer is obvious from scripture and should be obvious from personal experience. The social justice model originated in the Catholic Church in the 1800’s and has been generally accepted in slightly different forms in almost every religious institution and government in the world. And the foundation of it is this: emphasize the need of the under privileged and work to meet that need, either in the name of God or government, while giving the real, spiritual need mere lip service. The conclusion to all this is just as obvious: it is based on religious deception and results in perpetuating that deception.
Now, do any of the people who engage in this and those they work with really benefit spiritually from any of this? I can’t and won’t judge that. I can only say that both the message and activity are founded in religious deception and are never what God intended. Is more food, clean water, better living conditions, more economic opportunity and education or Western moral values more important than having a real understanding of Who God is and what He does and experiencing that in your life in preparation for spending an eternity with Him?