"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW" Chapter Twenty-Five by Mark Copeland

                        "THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"

                          Chapter Twenty-Five

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).

POINTS TO PONDER

   *  The importance of being prepared and productive

   *  The basis upon which nations are to be judged

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) 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

2) What parable illustrates the importance of being prepared? (1-13)
   - The parable of the wise and foolish virgins

3) 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."

4) Which "coming" is Jesus talking about? (13)
   - Either His coming in judgment on Jerusalem or His Second Coming,
     possibly both

5) What parable illustrates the importance of being productive? (14-30)
   - The parable of the talents

6) 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

7) In the judgment depicted, who is being judged?  On what basis? (32,
   40,45)
   - All the nations; their treatment of Jesus’ brethren (His disciples)

8) 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

9) 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

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

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2015