Matthew 25:16 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Matthew 25:16

Comments

Two of the servants begin trading. They are full of gratitude for the trust placed in them and the wonderful opportunity to prove themselves to their master. Their circumstances have been dramatically changed. They are dealing with something that can introduce them to a completely different way of life, no longer working and forming callouses and blisters on their hands through working with the soil, or doing basic chores around the house. There is all the difference between being a slave, and being someone who has the power to make decisions about buying and selling, building up his master’s estate and making a profit. These two servants, according to their abilities, were going to work as hard as they could to show that their master had not made a mistake in giving them this honour. They looked forward to his return and the pleasure in his eyes when he saw what they had done, their loyalty and industriousness. They both took what had been given to them and through honest trading doubled their master’s goods. They understood the arrangement; they had been made custodians of his good for practical purposes. At no point did they ever regard these goods as their own. But they might have hoped that their proving themselves worthy of his trust would result in further responsibilities being given to them in the future.

Application

Christ, when he was in this world, had nowhere to lay his head; though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor. What he has deposited with us in this world is not earthly goods, this world is passing away, and the parable is speaking of Christ’s real and lasting goods. What he has left behind is the gospel and this what he expects to ‘trade with’ and to make a profit from. It is about his truth deposited with men in this fallen world, and which he expects us to make spiritual gain from. That is the gain that he will certainly come to look for in his servants.

How do we make gain from the gospel? How do we trade with it? By believing it. It is a message which we need to understand and believe. The evidence of that is seen in changed lives. The gain which the servants made from trading represents the advance of the kingdom of heaven. The gospel must come and reside in us. It must become the central truth of our lives. That means that we must bow to Christ as our Lord and Saviour and hand over our lives to him. We must pursue holiness and purify ourselves as he is pure. The gain of the servants represents the gain of faith which is much more precious than gold and will not pass away. It is the gain of all the good works that come from faith. The fruit of the gospel is after all in human beings; it is in ourselves. This world is about to be destroyed by fire; nothing other than God’s redeemed people will be saved out of it. This is the Lord’s profit.

But increase also comes in the form of those who are gathered into the kingdom of heaven through our witness, and the Lord takes a special delight in the preaching of the gospel and the work of evangelism. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! By this work we bring in a harvest for the Lord which will last for all eternity.

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Matthew 25:16 Commentary and Bible Study