Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
Destruction of the Temple. MATTHEW XXIV, XXV. Parable of the Ten Virgins.
yield them to an enemy's talons. How significant all of the former parable In quite a new light. But let It be observed that, just as in the parable of tlie Marriage Supper, so in this—the Bride does not corae into view at all in this parable; the Virgins and the Bridegroom holding fortli all the Intended instruction: nor could believers be represented botli as Bride and Bridal Attendants without incongruity. 3. And Hve of tlkcm were wise, and Ave were foolish—They are not distinguished into good and bad, as Trench observes, but into "wise" and "foolish" —just as In c'n. 7. 25-27 those who reared their house for eternity are distinguished into "wise" and " foolish builders;" because in both cfwes a certain degree of goodwill towards the truth is assumed. To make anything of the equal number of both classes would, we think, be precarious, save to warn us how large a portion of those who, x\p to the last, so nearly resemble those that love Christ's appearing will be disowned by Him when He comes. 3. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them : 4. But the wise took oil In their vessels with their lamps—What are these "lamps" and this "oil?" Many answers have been given. But since the foolish as well as the wise took their lamps and went forth with them to meet the Bridegroom, these lighted lamps, and this advance a certain way in company with the wise, must denote that Christian profession which is common to all who bear the Christian name; while the insufficiency of this without something else, of wliich they never possessed themselves, shows that "the foolish" mean those who, with all that is common to them with real Christians, lack the essential preparation for meeting Christ. Then, since the wisdom of "the wise" consisted in their taking with their lamps a supply of oil in their vessels, keeping their lamps burning till the Bridegroom came, and so fitting them to go in with Him to the marriage, this supply of oil must mean tliat imvard reality this of what Jesus is and does for men ! Under His great Mediatorial wing would He have "gathered" Israel. For the figure, see Deuteronomy 32. 10-12; Ruth 2. 12; Psalm
17. 8; 36. 7; 61. 4; 63. 7; 91.4; Isaiah 31. 5; Malachl 4. 2. The •ncient rabbins had a beautiful expression for proselytes from the heathen—that they had 'come under the wings Of the Shekinah.' For this last word, see on v. 38. But what was the result of all this tender and mighty love?
Tiio answer is, "And ye would not." O mysterious word mysterious the resistance of such patient Love—mysterious the liberty of self-undoing! The awful dignity of the will, as here expressed, might make the ears to tingle. 38. Bebold, your house—the Temple, beyond all doubt but their house now, not the Lord's. See on ch. 22. 7. U left unto y ou desolate—
' deserted ;' t. e., of its Divine Inhabitant. But who is that? Hear the next words: 39. For I say uato you—and these were His last words to the impenitent nation, se? opening remarks on Mark 13. Ye glial I not see me henceforth—What? Does Jesus mean that He was Himself the Lord of the temple, and that it became "deserted" when He finally left it? It is even so. Now is thy fate sealed, O Jerusalem, for the glory is departed from thee! That glory, once visible in the holy of holies, over the mercy-seat, when on the day of atonement the blood of typical expiation was sprinkled on it and Tn front of it—called by the Jews the Shekinah, or the DwUing, as being the visible pavilion of Jehovah —that gloiy, which Isaiah (ch. 6.) saw In vision, the beloved discl Dle says was the glory of Christ (John 12. 41). Though it was never visible In the second temple, Haggal foretold that " the glory of thai latter house should be greater than of the former" (ch. 2. 9), because " the Lord whom they sought was suddenly to come to His temple" (Malachi 3.
1), not In .a mere bright cloud, but enshrined in living Humanity ! Yet brief as well as " sudden" was the manifestation to be : for the words He was now uttering were to be His VERY LAST within its precincts, till ye shall •ay, Blessed. Is he that cometh In the name of the liord i. e., till those "Hosannas to the Son of David" with which the multitude had welcomed Him inw the city—Instead of "sore displeasing the chief priests and scribes" (ch. 21. 1.5)—should break forth from the whole nation, as their glad acclaim to their once pierced but now acknowledged Messiah. That such a time will come of grace which alone will stand when He appeareth whose eyes are as a flame of fire. But this is too general ; for it cannot be for nothing that this inward grace is here set forth by the familiar symbol of oil, by whicli the Spirit of all grace is so constantly represented in Scripture. Beyond all doubt, this was what was symbolized by that precious anointing oil with which Aaron and his sons were consecrated to the priestly office (Exodus 30. 2;3-25,
30); by "the oil of gladness above His fellows" with which Messiah was to be anointed (Psalm 45. 7; Hebrews
1. 9), even as it is expressly said, that " God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him" (John 3. 34) ; and by the bowl
Is clear from Zechariah 12.10; Romans 11.26; 2 Corinthians 3. 15, 16, &c. In what sense they shall then " see Him" may be gathered from Zechariah 2. 10-13; Ezeklel 37. 23-28; 39. 28, 29, &c.
full of golden oil, in Zecharlah's vision, wliich, receiving its supplies from the two olive trees on either side of it, poured it through seven golden pipes into the golden lamp-stand to keep it continually burning bright {Zechariah 4.)—for the prophet is expressly told that it was to proclaim the great truth, "Not by mlglit, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts [shall this temple be built]. Who art thon, O great mountain [of opposition to this issue]? Before Zerubbabel thou shall become a plain [or, be swept out of the way], and he shall bring forth the head-stone [of the temple], with shoutings [crying], Grace, grace unto it." This supply of oil, then, representing that Inward grace which distinguishes the wise, must denote, more particularly, that "supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," which, as it is the source of the new spiritual 11 at the first, is the secret of its enduring character. Everything short of this may be possessed by "the foolish;" while it is the possession of tliis that makes "the wise" to be "ready" when the Bridegroom appears, and fit to " go In with Him to the marriage." Just so In the parable of the Sower, the stony-grounj hearers, "having no deepness of earth" and "no root In themselves," though they spring up and get even into ear, never ripen, while they In the good ground bear the precious grain. 4. While the bridegroom tarried—So In ch. 24.48, "My Lord delayeth His coming;" and so Peter says sublimely of the ascended Saviour, "Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things" (Acts 3. 21, and cf. Luke 19. 11, 12). Christ "tarries," among other reasons, to try the faith and patience of H'» people—they all ulambcred and slept—the wise as wet
CHAPTER XXIV.
Ver. 1-51. Christ's Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Warnings suggested by it to Prepare FOR His Second Coming. (=Mark 13. 1-37; Luke
21. 5-36.) For the exposition, see on Mark 13. 1-37.
CHAPTER XXV.
Ver. 1-13. Parable op the Ten Virgins. This and the following parable are in Matthew alone. 1. Then— at the time referred to at the close of the preceding chapter, the time of the Lord's Second Coming to reward His faithful servants and take vengeance on the faithless. 27ien shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, -which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom—This supplies a key to the parable, whose ol>ject is, in the main, the same as that of the last parable—to illustrate the vigilant and expectant att Utide of faith. In respect of which believers are described aa "they that look for Him" (Hebrews 9. 28), and "love His appearing" (2 Timothy 4. 8). In the last parable It was that of servants waiting for their absent Lord; in this it is that of virgin attendants on a Bride, whose duty It was to go forth at night with lamps, and be ready on the appearance of the Bridegroom to conduct the Bride to bis house, and go In with him to the marriage. This ei»- Ureaod beautiful change of fignrt brings out the lesson
27te farable of ike Tin Virgins. MATTHEW XXV. The Parahlt of tlie Talent*.
as the foolish. The world "slumbered" sigmfles, simply, 'nodded,' or, 'became drowsy;" while the world "slept" becomes ours thereby In Inalienable possession. (Of. for the language, Proverbs 23. 23; ch. 13. 44.) 10. And while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came ; and they tliat were ready went In wltli him to the marriage : and the door was shut—They are sensible of their past folly; they have taken good advice: they are in tlie act of getting what alone they lacked : a very little more, and they also are ready. But the Bridegroom comes ; the ready are admitted ; " the door is shut," and they are undone. How graphic and appalling this picture of one almost saved—but lost .' 11. Afterward tame also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us—In ch.
Is the usual word for ' lying down to sleep ;' denoting two stages of spiritual declension—first, that half-involuntary lethargy or drowsiness which Is apt to steal over one who falls into inactivity; and then a conscious, deliberate yielding to it, after a little vain resistance. Such was the state alile of the wise and the foolish virgins, even till the cry of the Bridegroom's approach awoke them. So likewise in the parable of the Importunate "Widow: "When the Sou of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" fLukelS. 8). 6. And at midnight—i. e., the time when the Bridegroom will be least expected ; for " the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5. 2)—there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him—/. e., ' Be ready to welcome Him.' T. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps—the foolish virgins as well as the wise. How very long do both parties seem the same almost to the moment of decision ! Looking at the mere form of the parable, it is evident that the folly of "the foolish" consisted not in having no oil at all; for they must have had oil enough in their lamps to keep them burning up to this moment: their folly consisted in not making provision against its exhaustion, by taking with their lamp an oi?-r(?ssei wherewith to replenish their lamp from time to time, and so have it burning until the Bridegroom should come. Are we, then—with some even superior expositors— to conclude that the foolish virgins must represent true Christians as well as the wise, since only true Christians have the Spirit, and that the difference between the two classes consists only in the one having the necessary watchfulness which the "other wants? Certainly not. Since the parable was designed to hold forth the prepared and the unprepared to meet Christ at His coming, and how the unprepared might, up to the very last, be confounded with the prepared—the structure of the parable behooved to accommodate Itself to
7. 22 this reiteration of the name was an exclamation rather of surprise; here it is a piteous cry of urgency, bordering on despair. Ah! now at length their eyes are , wide open, and they realize all Jhe consequences of their past folly. I'Z, But he answered and said. Verily I say unto you, I know you not—The attempt to establish a diflference between " I know you not" here, and "I never knew you" in ch. 7. 23—as If this were gentler, and so implied a milder fate, reserved for "the foolish" of this parable—is to be resisted, though advocated by such critics as Olshausen, Stier, and Alford. Besides being Inconsistent with the general tenor of such language, and particularly the solemn moral of the whole (v. 13), it is a kind of criticism which tampers with some of the most awful warnings regarding the future. If it be asked why unworthy guests were admitted to the marriage of the King's Son, in a former parable, and the foolish virgins are excluded in this one, we may answer, in the admirable words of Gerhard, quoted by Trench, that those festivities are celebrated in this life, in the Church militant; these at the last day, in the Church triumphant; to those, even they are admitted who are not adorned with the wedding-garment ; but to these, only they to whom it is granted to be arrayed In fine linen clean and white, which Is the righteousness of saints (Revelation 19. 8); to those, men are called by the trumpet of the Gospel ; to these by the trumpet of the Archangel; to those, who enters may go out from them, or be cast out; who is once introduced to these never goes out, nor is cast out, from them any more : wherefore it is said, "The door is shut." 13. Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor. the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. This, the moral or practical lesson of the whole parable, needs no comment.
this, by making the lamps of the foolish to burn, as well as those of the wise, up to a certain point of time, and only then to discover their inability to burn on for want of a fresh supply of oil. But this is evidently just a structural device; and the real difference between the two cl.i-sses who profess to love the Lord's appearing is a radical one —the possession bj' the one class of an enduring principle of spiritual life, and the want of it by the other. 8. And the foolish said unto the wise. Give us of your oil ) for our lamps are gone out—rather, as In the margin, 'are going out;' for oil will not light an extinguished lamp, though it will keep a burning one from going out. Ahl now at length they have discovered not only their owu
14-30. PARABiiE OP THE Talents. This parable, while closely resembling It, Is yet a different one from that of The Pounds, in Luke 19. 11-27; though Calvin, Olshau8EN, Meyer, &c.,. identify them—but not De Weite and Neander. For the difierence between the two parables, see the opening remarks on that of The Pounds. Wlille as Trench observes with his usual felicity—' tiie virgins were represented as waiting for their Lord, we have the servants working for Him ; there the inward spiritual life of the faithful was described; here his external activity.
folly, but the wisdom of the other class, and they do homage to it. They did not perhaps despise them before, but they thought them righteous overmuch ; now they are forced, with bitter mortification, to wish they were like them. 9. But the >vlsc ansvrered, [Not so] ; lest there be not enough for us and you—The words " Not so," it will be seen, are not in the original, where the reply is very el-
If is not, therefore, without good reason that they appear In their actual order—that of the Virgins first, and of the Talents following—since it is the sole condition of a profitable outward activity for the kingdom of God, that the liptical—
' In case there be not enough for us and you.' A truly wise answer this. 'And what, then. If we shall share it with you? Wliy, both will be undone.' but go ye rat Jicr to flu'isi that sell, and buy for yourselves Here again It would be straining the parable beyond its legitimate design to make it teach that men may get salvation even alter they are supposed and required to have life of God be diligently maintained within the heart.' 14. For [the kingdom of heaven Is] as a man—The ellipsis Is better supplied by our translators In the corresponding passage of Mark (13. 34), " [For the Sou of man Is] as a man," <fcc., travelling Into a far country—or more simply, 'going abroad.' The Idea of long "tarrying" is certainly implied here, since It Is expressed in v. I'J. who called his own servants, and delivered unto Uiciu his goods—Between master and slaves this was not uncommon In ancient times. Christ's "servants" here mean all who, by their Christian profession, stand In the relation
It already gotten. It is merely a friendly way of reminding them of the proper way of obtaining the needed and precious article, with a certain reflection on them for having It now to seek. Also, when the parable speaks of "selling" and "buying" that valuable article, it means simply, 'Go, get it in the only legitimate way.' And yet the word " buy" is significant; for we are elsewhere bidden, " buy wine and inlllc without money and without price," and. "buy of Christ gold tried in the fire," &c. (Isaiah to Him of entire subjection. His "goods" mean all their gifts and endowments, whether original or acquired, natural or spiritual. As all that slaves have belonK«i to their master, so Christ has a claim to everything which belongs to His people, everything which may be turt-ed
55. 1; Ilevelutlon .). 18). Now, since what we pay the demanded price for becomes thereby our own property, the salvation which we thus take gratuitously at God's bauds, beli'g bought la His own senae of thai word, to good, and He demands Its appropriation to His service, or, viewing It otnerwisc. they first offer it up to Him; M