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Matthew 25

Jesus joins readiness for his return with faithful service and mercy, placing each under the certainty of his judgment.

Jesus tells his disciples about ten virgins waiting for a bridegroom, then about servants entrusted with their master’s money during his absence. Both stories end with an arrival that exposes how people have prepared and acted. Jesus then describes the Son of Man gathering all nations before his throne. The King separates people as a shepherd separates sheep from goats, declaring that their care for, or neglect of, his brothers concerns him.

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1“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
3Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them,
4but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’
7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
9But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’
10While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.
11Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’
12But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
14“For it is like a man going into another country, who called his own servants and entrusted his goods to them.
15To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey.
16Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.
17In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two.
18But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth and hid his lord’s money.
19“Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled accounts with them.
20He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents in addition to them.’
21“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
22“He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents in addition to them.’
23“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24“He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow, and gathering where you didn’t scatter.
25I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’
26“But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter.
27You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest.
29For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away.
30Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
31“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
32Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
35for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in.
36I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?
40“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
42for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink;
44“Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
45“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’
46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Matthew 25:31The waiting in the parables gives way to the Son of Man’s arrival in glory as judge of all nations.
Matthew 25:34The King welcomes those on his right into a kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.
Matthew 25:41The King’s sentence upon those on his left makes the consequences of neglect explicit and eternal.
Where this chapter reaches

Luke shares the pattern of servants entrusted with money and called to account when their master returns, while Mark shares the call to watch for an unknown hour. Revelation shares the imagery of a throne of judgment and the final distinction between life and punishment.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What difference do you notice between waiting for the bridegroom and being ready when he arrives?

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How does the King’s identification with his brothers shape your understanding of care and neglect?

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Questions people ask about Matthew 25

What does the oil represent in Matthew 25?

Jesus does not identify the oil with a specific spiritual reality. Within the story, the extra oil distinguishes those prepared for the bridegroom’s delay from those whose lamps are going out. All ten sleep; the decisive difference is their readiness when he arrives.

What are the talents in Matthew 25?

A talent was a large unit of weight used to measure money. Here the master entrusts different amounts to servants according to their ability. The first two trade and gain more; the third buries his portion. The reckoning concerns their use of what belonged to their master.

Who are the least of these in Matthew 25?

The King calls them “these my brothers” and describes people lacking food, clothing, welcome, or care. Christians differ over whether this means Jesus’ disciples in need or needy people more broadly. The passage makes his identification with them clear: their treatment is counted as treatment of him.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).