203 Matthew 25 Mercy, Mercy and More Mercy

In Matthew 25 Jesus tells three parables as the cross is looming in his consciousness. Each one demonstrates the primary ethos of the Kingdom of Heaven is mercy. We discover there is a very close relationship between the oil referred to in the parable of the ten girls and mercy. Then in the three servants we discover that one of them saw his master as being without mercy which illustrated that we react to God in the way we see him. The last story is of the sheep and goats who either lived a life of mercy or apathy toward the marginalized of society. We discover that mercy is the foundation of the final judgement.

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Matthew 25 NLT Mercy, Mercy and more Mercy.

The cross is looming in Jesus’ consciousness. He has just a few more days and hours to complete his teaching ministry. He must focus on the essential and neglect the good. The three parables in this chapter all focus on mercy or sympathy or the ability to forgive others who have wounded us. These three qualities are the essence of love in a wounded world. The opposite of love is apathy or insensitivity towards the suffering of others. This is one of the reasons that love is costly. It is to be emotionally

engaged in the suffering of others.

Matthew 25 is more about the Ethics of the Kingdom of Heaven than the end of the world. The trilogy of parables in chapter 25 is demonstrating that the primary ethos of the Kingdom of Heaven is mercy.

There is a direct connection between exercising mercy and giving forgiveness. At the centre of both actions is the heart of love. When we forgive, we exercise mercy. However, we can extend mercy without forgiving. The good Samaritan did not need to forgive the wounded Jew for any direct transgression towards him. However, he showed mercy to him.

While salvation is a gift (Ephesians 2:8), works of mercy lay up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:20; 19:21). Traditionally these works are: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, ransom the captive, bury the dead, shelter the stranger, comfort the sick, and clothe the naked. When we neglect these works, we are excluding Jesus from our fellowship. This is why Jesus us so insistent on forgiveness at the end of the

LORD’s Prayer (Matthew 6:15). It is forgiveness which is evidence of mercy.

The three parables of Matthew 25 are The Ten Girls with Oil, the Talents given to three Servants, and the Sheep and the Goats. In the parable of the talents the man who had one talent perceives the master as a master without mercy.

Matthew 25:24-25 NLT “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

In the parable of the sheep and the goats the character of the goats is revealed as follows

Matthew 25:45 NLT “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

The goats have no mercy for those around them and thus do not share in the mercy of Jesus for others. On any given day we can be a sheep or a goat. The fight of faith is to remain a sheep or to have oil to bless others with mercy and forgiveness. The opposite of love is apathy or a lack of mercy and forgiveness for others.

So, Jesus will state, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5). God gives us mercy, and we become merciful. When we are merciful, we often receive mercy from those around us.

We now come to the first parable.

The Parable of the Ten Girls

25 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’

7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. 8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’

9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. 11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’

12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

“The word “mercy” in English is the translation of the Greek word “eleos” or “eleison.” “Eleos” has the same ultimate root as the old Greek word for oil, or more precisely, olive oil “elaion;” a substance which was used extensively as a soothing agent for bruises and minor wounds. The oil was poured onto the wound and gently massaged in, thus soothing, comforting and encouraging healing for the injury. In short medicinal olive oil was symbolic of showing mercy to the wounded.

The Greek words for ‘Lord, have mercy,’ are ‘Kyrie, eleison’ that is to say, ‘Lord, soothe me, comfort me, take away my pain, show me your steadfast love.’ Thus, mercy does not refer so much to justice or acquittal, a very Western interpretation, but to the infinite loving-kindness of God, and his compassion for his suffering children! It is in this sense that we pray ‘Lord, have mercy,’ with great frequency throughout the Divine Liturgy” in Orthodox services.

In Hebrew, Hesed is far more than “eleison” (rooted in eleos, meaning oil). “Hesed” is such an unusual word that the translators of the King James Bible invented a new equivalent English word: lovingkindness. In Christian texts in Hebrew, “hesed” means Grace. So, Mary is called “full of Hesed.”

https://doxos.com/2022/06/20/two-words-for-one/

The 5 girls without oil are short on mercy. Mercy is difficult to come by at short notice. The girls would be away for a time trying to find mercy. They could also be short on forgiveness which would complicate their situation. God’s glory is mercy and compassion (Exodus 33:19, 34:6). It is not possible to know God and not be merciful and compassionate.

Jesus in teaching his disciples to pray has one conditional line, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” At the end of the prayer Jesus comments on this line by saying,

Matthew 6:14-15 NLT “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Here is the implication of this first parable in Matthew 25. If we have no forgiveness or mercy for those around us, we do not know our heavenly Father who is full of mercy and forgiveness. This is why the bridegroom makes the ironic statement, “I do not know you.” You have no mercy, no forgiveness, you cannot be part of this wedding. This wedding is about forgiveness and mercy.

Taking up your cross is exercising mercy towards others. It means their comfort is more important than your own. In the parable of the Good Samaritan the despised Samaritan shows mercy as he gave oil to soothe the wounds of the chosen Jew. It is a profound parable about the mercy shown by a despised man to a favoured man.

The companionship of the Holy Spirit is symbolized by anointing with oil. This is because the Spirit soothes our troubled lives here on this dark world.

Parable of the Three Servants

14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags(talents or 34 kilograms) of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate.

25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

Here the servant acknowledges that he views the master as being without mercy, he is harsh and reaps where he has not sown. He thus takes advantage of others. This is the second parable to illustrate the necessity of mercy.

26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an

abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Verse 30 reflects the culture of the day. There are different destinies in Jesus’ parables. It can be fire, torture, darkness and so on. They cannot all be true. These different endings all mean a bad destination.

The Final Judgment

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Jesus has characterized mercy as the loving way the sheep treated those in need. The marginalized ones represent Jesus in his marginalization on our planet. It is as believers show mercy and compassion to others, including those who treat them badly, that they demonstrate the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ (John 13:34).

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

In this way Jesus places a premium on having mercy on himself who is represented by the marginalized people of earth. The truth is that successful people can come up with many reasons for not helping those in need. The needy are regarded as lazy, and so they do not deserve help. They waste what is given them, and so forfeit our help or generosity. Often humanists are more merciful towards the marginalized than

religious people. It does not have to be this way. William Wilberforce and David Livingstone were Christian activists against slavery. They lived the mercy of Jesus Christ toward the marginalized.

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

The actions are a revelation of the mercy they have received from Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is this mercy which reflects the heart of God to people. Let us not heap up requirements for those who need our help. Let us be generous as God has been generous towards us. It was Mary of the Anointing who was to be remembered forever because she reflected the extravagant expensive love of Jesus back to him.

(Much of this material is from Brad Jersek) The Ten Virgins—5 need oil.

Ian Hartley, January 2025