[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, thanks so much for listening to this message. My name is Jason and I'm one of the ministers here at the Madison Church of Christ. It's our hope and prayer that the teaching you hear today will bless your life and draw you closer to God. If you're ever in the Madison area, we'd love for you to stop by and study the Bible with us on Sundays at 05:00 p.m. or Wednesdays at 07:00 p.m. if you have questions about the Bible or want to know more about the Madison church, you can find us
[email protected] dot. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast as well as our Sermons podcast Madison Church of Christ Sermons. Thanks again for stopping by. I hope this study is a blessing to you.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: All right, so we're going to be in Matthew chapter 25 tonight.
And we have after tonight we will have three classes left if I calculate that. Correct, there are 28 chapters. Correct. I'm looking at you, Larry. There are 28 chapters. So that's make sure I'm doing my math right. So we'll do 25 and then we'll do three more weeks. So we've got three more weeks after tonight. So as we get into chapter 25. I know I do this every week. What was happening at the end of 24? Somebody helped me out and I do run out into the audience. My son was here last week and I got all up in David's personal space and he thought that was weird. And then I had to explain it was so the people online could hear what David was saying. So who wants to summarize what was going on at the end of 24?
Does anyone remember? End of chapter 24, 2nd coming? They were talking about the second coming and the end of the age. Okay, so they're talking about those things. Jesus has outlined, what's going to be, what's going to be happening.
He ends by saying that about that day and hour, which, as we said last week, we interpret to mean is the end of time. That's when he says, no one knows. Right.
Then he tells them to be ready for his coming.
And then we get over into chapter 25. And I want to start in verses one through 13. Do I have a volunteer that would like to read those? Go ahead, Brent.
Chapter 25, verses one through 13.
[00:02:22] Speaker C: One through 13.
Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were prudent, for when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the prudent took oil and flasks along with their lamps. Now, when the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout. Behold the bridegroom come out to meet him.
Then all the virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the prudent answered, no, there will not be enough for us. And you too go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.
And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast. And the door was shut.
Later, the other virgins came, saying, lord, lord, open up for us. But he answered, truly, I say to you, I do not know. You be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: Okay, so what is Jesus talking about here?
He's talking about being prepared. Prepared for what? Judgment. Okay, specifically, though, what's the analogy here? What's he and I'm talking about with respect to the timeline? He's saying, what? What's going to happen?
He's the groom, at least by my reckoning. So what's going to happen? The groom's going to what? He's going to be away, right? The groom's going to be away.
And then the groom's going to come back. And then when the groom comes back, there's going to be a reckoning. Does everybody agree with that? Okay, so what is, let's see. I had a point.
Ah. What are some parallels that we saw from chapter 24 here in this particular text? And in particular, I would say look at verse six.
What's a parallel that we talked about last week when we talked about in chapter 24?
There's an analogy. There was an analogy to lightning. And what did we say about that? Anybody remember? No, nobody remembers. Thank you for your honesty and candor. Way you weren't here. All right, so we talked about you. You helped teach last week. No excuse. Yeah, yeah.
So, so, Brent? Well, we talked about there in chapter 24, there are various interpretations, but we talked about that. It mentions, it was lightning, wasn't it? Okay, it was lightning. And what did. Yeah, it goes from the east to the west. And what did we say? Remember the analogy? I said, if lightning, you're going to know. You're going to know no matter what, you're going to know.
What's he saying here in verse six? What is it there was a shout. Did any of the people that were waiting, was there any ambiguity to what was happening? No. Okay. So there's no way you're going to miss it. Okay. And we talked about that last week because there are interpretations about the second coming of Christ. And the point we made last week is, yeah, there's not going to be any debate about it. When it happens. Everyone will know. And in this one, everyone will know. Now, there's a couple other things that we're going to see as we study tonight. Pardon me.
Some other things I want to pull out of this particular parable and the one below. What's something else? What's another lesson you can take away? There are no wrong answers. What's another lesson you can take away from this?
[00:06:30] Speaker D: We think we know when he's coming.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: But we really don't.
That's probably the most obvious. Right. Because what did he say right at the end of chapter 24? He said, you don't know. And then he's saying here again, you don't know. So you better what you be prepared. And I will say, I kind of wish I had saved my little sermon that I did at the beginning of class last week for this week because it's very, I think it's very, it's much more applicable to this week's lesson. We don't know. We don't know when we are going to go into eternity and it's very, very quick. Now, again, this particular parable is not necessarily talking about death, but I think it is applicable to death. Okay.
But again, here we're talking about the second coming. What other things? Yes, Brent, I was going to say, you know, one thing that strikes me.
[00:07:25] Speaker C: Is that the foolish virgins thought they were prepared enough. You know, they did bring lambs, you know, but they just weren't fully prepared. They weren't prepared for the long haul, if you will.
[00:07:38] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a good one. That was not one that I had thought of, but that is very good. They thought they were prepared. What else? When your time's up, there's no more chances. Right? Yeah. They went out to the merchant, but nice doors closed. Yep. It was too late. It was too late.
What else?
[00:08:00] Speaker E: I think about when Jesus forgot where he says Lord, lorde, he mentions in eleven, Lord, Lord, as they open the door for us. And so I think of just the idea of pursuing our christianity in a lukewarm manner. The danger of that being a little prepared but not fully prepared.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
Yeah. And I think I want to kind of go on a tangent there. I think both of those are very good points. And it goes back to something you've heard me say in class before.
We don't, and I don't like to think that there is a point that it's too late. Right. Do we like to think that there is a point where God's going to say, you know, it's too late, you know, am I striking a chord here or is anybody agreeing with. Yeah, I completely agree with you.
[00:09:01] Speaker F: But an analogy that had been brought out to me before about this kind of thing is he likened it to a court trial.
Innocent until proven guilty.
Living here on this earth is our time of trial. But once the sentence and the verdict comes back, it's all done. It's all over. You cannot redo it. You can't fix it.
For the most part, when it happens, it's all done.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: Yeah. And I want to be clear.
I want to be clear. I don't think in this parable, and then the real application of the parable. I don't think in this parable that I'm trying to say or the scripture is trying to say that the groom was happy about this. Right.
That's not what I'm trying to say. But I think, I think contemporarily we don't a lot of times think of it that, you know what it says here? There's going to come a point where the bridegroom's going to say, I'm sorry, it's too late. And that's not a pleasant thing to think about.
It really isn't. What else, what other lessons do we have here?
[00:10:19] Speaker D: To me, the words, the verbiage, verses eleven and twelve are strikingly similar to what he says in Matthew eleven, or, excuse me, Matthew seven, where he says, not everyone that says Lord, lord, but he. That does the will of my father.
[00:10:36] Speaker B: Yeah, that was, that was, that was the point made up here. And I'm sorry, Joseph, I've worked with your brother so much. I'm going to go, Michael. I work with his brother. Okay. So I was going to go, Michael. Michael. And I was going, it's not Michael. It's not Michael. And I panicked. So I'm sorry, Joseph.
[00:10:56] Speaker D: But yes, just the, if somebody reads this and says, well, how do you, how should you be prepared?
Flip over there. Those similar words.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: Right.
[00:11:09] Speaker D: Talks about doing the will of the father.
[00:11:10] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:11:12] Speaker G: I think the comparison to Matthew 22 is interesting as well, because here they're clearly, the virgins are clearly unprepared. They didn't bring the oil whereas in 22, the parable of the wedding feast, the man made it into the feast, and then he was noticed to not be wearing the appropriate attire.
[00:11:29] Speaker B: And the guy came down, yes, that's definitely one I had not. That is very, very good. Any others? So I think there's a parallel down to the next parable. We're going to talk about, who were the virgins responsible for in the end? Who were they responsible for? Who were they responsible for? Themselves? Could they help the other ones?
No, no.
That's another one that I think is difficult at times, especially when you look at sharing the gospel and those sorts of things. A lot of times you think, well, if people aren't receptive, you're thinking, oh, they're rejecting me. No, no, they're not rejecting you.
But again, that was one of the things that I saw there. Any other comments before we move on to the next section of scripture?
[00:12:28] Speaker H: The five foolish versions knew enough to be prepared. And I'm thinking of the rich man and Lazarus when he says, let me go back and warn my brothers. And he says, they've already got Moses in the prophet. They already know what they need to know.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: Yeah, and I think that's, you know, we talked about last week, and I think it was you. You knew the name of the. Was it last week? We talked about the Milgram experiment two weeks ago. Oh. So, by the way, I had something called a nerve conductivity test yesterday, very much like the Milgram experiment, if you've ever had one.
Have y'all had one? They shock you. It's not. It wasn't painful, but it was not pleasant. But I thought of that as they were shocking me. I was like. Because at one point I went, ah. And, yeah, it was. And they kept going. She kept going. So anyway, I'm sorry. We've derailed my own class.
What was I saying? Where was I? What was I talking about?
I don't even remember.
Okay, the next passage. Thank you. Would you like to read the next passage for me? Okay, we're going to read the parable of the talents. If you would read 14 through.
Oh, this is a big one. You should have. You should have been quiet. 14 through 29 again, it will be.
[00:13:53] Speaker I: Like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one, he gave five bags of gold to another two bags into another, one bag each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gave him five more bags. So also the one with two bags of gold gained two more.
But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The men who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. Master, he said, you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more. His master replied, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. The man with two bags of gold also came. Master, he said, you entrusted me with two bags of gold. See, I have gained two more. His master replied, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness.
Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. Master, he said, I know that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you. His master replied, you wicked, lazy servant. So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. Well then you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would have received it back with interest.
So take the bag of gold from them and give it to the one who has ten bags, for whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have, will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
[00:15:54] Speaker B: Okay, so thank you. And thank you for reading such a long passage for me. So let's talk about this parable for a few minutes. Now, we all are familiar with that parable. And one thing, as I have gotten older, you know, the talent was here was a measure of money, and I hear a lot of lessons where people try to turn it into like, talents that you have as a human being today. And when I was younger, I've heard that, and I'm not a big fan of that anymore.
I think what the point here was is that gifts were given and there was something expected in return. Now, similar to what we did with the parable of the ten virgins, what are some of the things that jump out to you in these passages?
So what are some similarities?
What's going to happen.
Yeah. He goes away and he's going to be coming back and he expects what?
Something, right. In the first one, it was he comes back and he expects people to be ready. And in this one, he's given gifts and he expects what?
Something in return. But specifically, what does he expect? A what? Profit? An increase. Okay. All right. So what are some of the things that you guys think about or points from this particular parable?
[00:17:30] Speaker F: One thing that stood out to me was the he who had received the five talents went out at once and started working to make a profit. He didn't dawdle around. He didn't procrastinate. Oh, I'll start tomorrow. He went out at once and got busy.
[00:17:50] Speaker B: Yep.
They were each responsible for themselves. Yep. Bingo. Way to go. That was one of the ones. Once again, was any servant responsible for another servant?
Nope. Each one was responsible for them, for themselves.
What else?
Yeah.
[00:18:10] Speaker J: David, I don't know if this is a major point or not, but to me, God would rather see us try and fail at something than do nothing. The only guaranteed failure is doing nothing.
[00:18:26] Speaker B: That is fantastic. I'm going to say that back, or try to say it back. In case the people online didn't hear, David said, God would rather see us try and fail than to do nothing. The only way to fail is to do nothing. Does that capture what you said, David? Okay, I think that's very true. And I want to ask a couple of questions here. The servant in verse 26, and we'll get back to this.
As I'm talking, you guys take a look at verse 26 and how he describes that slave, what he says to that slave.
And while you're looking at that and you think about that, I want to ask you a question. Did the worthless slave do anything wrong in action?
Who said that? You in action?
Lukewarm. What?
[00:19:25] Speaker D: Lukewarm.
[00:19:26] Speaker B: Lukewarm. Well, it's kind of smack talking the master a little bit, calling him out.
[00:19:29] Speaker H: You know, Rupert, you don't sew a little uppity for a servant.
[00:19:39] Speaker B: So personally, I don't agree with that.
I think the reason is he admits he's scared, so I think he's. If you want my opinion, he kind of knows he's in trouble, and he's already saying to the guy, you know, I knew you were a hard man, and, you know, you get where I'm going. So I don't think it's.
I'm not saying I'm right. I'm saying I don't agree with you. How about that? You're the teacher. I'm the teacher. So I guess it makes me. Right. Right.
Okay.
What else?
[00:20:16] Speaker D: Kind of along that line of them being scared, we're told to fear God.
And the first two feared him in a way that was a respectful awe and yet feeling like they would be rewarded for what they did. And the third one feared him as just like, oh, no, he's going to get me.
[00:20:37] Speaker B: So we're going to get to more of that as we get into the later part of the chapter. But I want to go back to the question I asked.
Did the unfaithful servant or the worthless servant, did he do anything wrong? Yes.
[00:20:51] Speaker F: I was just about to explain my answer before because I don't think he understands the dots that I was trying to connect with the answer to your question, which was for him that knoweth to do good and doesn't do it.
[00:21:06] Speaker B: There you go. So that's what I meant by there you go. I think you've summed it up. And where I was trying to get the class to go or where the point I'm trying to make is I would answer the question. No, he didn't do anything wrong. Right. He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't do anything, but he didn't do anything wrong. Now, I agree with what you're saying, but where I'm trying to go is that is a mindset that we can get into. Right.
You know, that is a mindset that we can get into. We think, well, if, you know, if I'm not doing anything wrong, well, then I'm okay. Right?
I mean, I think that's something that can happen to us. But what's this parable telling us?
[00:21:51] Speaker J: Are you saying he didn't do anything?
[00:21:53] Speaker B: Pardon?
[00:21:55] Speaker H: The master called him lazy.
[00:21:58] Speaker B: Yes, yes. He's not doing anything. He's just laying around.
Yes. So hang on, I've hit a nerve. Okay, so we're gonna, we're gonna go. We're gonna go get all these. This is what I want. Okay, so we'll start with you, Dale. I am saying I agree. There you go. Thank you, Vic. Did you hear what he said? He didn't violate any. Thou shalt nothing.
It was. That's. That's correct. It was not a sin of commission. He was, he was thinking, okay, you know, I didn't do this. I didn't do that. I didn't do that.
So. So to me, that's how he's justifying himself. Okay, I'm reading a lot in here, but that's, that's what I think is happening, but not doing something is wrong. I agree with you. I agree. So. So I agree with you and where we're going. I agree with what you're saying. I'm saying that we will sometimes feel that same way.
You know, it's like that. We think if we. If we're doing.
If we believe we've justified ourselves by doing what we ought to do or not doing the things we ought not to do. That's not correct. God expects us to be working. Sometimes we justify what we're not doing, basically because we can't find a verse in the Bible. Bingo.
Bingo. I'm in agreement. Yes, you had a point. I was just saying, I feel like it's almost kind of like playing it safe, right?
[00:23:25] Speaker F: Hey, if I don't, you know, like.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: You said, if I'm not technically crossing a line, I'm not doing. If I'm not making mistakes on the fact that he has that instead of. Yeah. In other words, he's kind of saying, I didn't make any big mistakes. Now, the analogy, I would, and it's not called out in scripture, but I think everybody in here has got a 401k or you've done some kind of investments. We don't know. Did those other guys, did their investment go up and down?
Did their talents go up and down? We don't know. But that's the point is this guy was so scared of making a mistake, he didn't do anything. Okay, now, somebody else had a point. Yeah. Well, it says early on that the master gave them talents according to each one's ability. So he had some ability.
Good point.
Okay. Yeah, yeah. We got an online comment. There were no instructions given, so the servants must have been expected to know the master. So inaction was antithetical to who the master was.
Can you tell who said that?
[00:24:30] Speaker J: That's Kim Walker.
[00:24:31] Speaker B: Kim Walker. Wow. And brilliant use of the word antithetical. I'll look that up later.
So. Okay, there's another comment. I was just gonna say, if he.
[00:24:43] Speaker I: Gave the talents according to each one's ability, did he not. Did the master not already know that that would have been the outcome?
[00:24:51] Speaker B: Whoo.
That's a tough question.
[00:24:54] Speaker I: Did the servant lack self confidence?
[00:24:56] Speaker B: Well, I think. I think back to the point Mister James was making.
If he had. If there were no. If there were no ability, he wouldn't have given the talent. So I would say he, the master, knew that that slave had the capability to bring a return. If that capability, wouldn't you agree? Isn't that what you were saying? If he hadn't, if that slave had not had the ability to make a return, he wouldn't have gotten the talent. The master wouldn't have trusted him.
[00:25:30] Speaker I: I want to run the serpent. I guess. I don't know.
[00:25:32] Speaker B: I guess he was afraid of what? Said he was afraid. Maybe he misunderstood the match. He was afraid, and that's something.
There's a whole series of lessons there about being afraid. And let me see, I've lost my place here.
Yeah.
And so that's one of the, where I was wanting to go was. Again, I agree. I was making a point, and I think the point got made.
Yes. The master called him lazy.
[00:26:05] Speaker F: Maybe he's just making excuses.
[00:26:08] Speaker B: Yes. Oh, I agree. I agree. He was absolutely making excuses. But where I was wanting to hit is in verse 24. Okay, let's see. Verse 25 is the 24 and 25. He says it. Okay. He says what? It was verse 25. He says why he did what he did. Why did he do what he did?
He was afraid. What was he afraid of?
Maybe he was afraid he would lose that and gain nothing. He was afraid he would lose that. And I think we're full circle back to where David started. I don't know how the. I do not know how the parable would have ended. Okay. Had he tried and lost the talent, how would it have ended? And I think there's. I think I know where you're probably wanting to go.
[00:26:57] Speaker J: In my mind, I don't remember the, the scripture reference talks about how we build on the foundation and says some people build with good stuff and some with hay or stubble. And the person who builds with hay or stubble, his building gets burned up, I think, or lost or whatever, but he's saved.
[00:27:23] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. That's a good point. I think another point I'll bring out here, there's a lot of this, that when I was doing some study on personal evangelism, that's where I'm drawing this from, is so many people a lot of times are afraid to share the gospel because we're afraid we're going to do damage. But what does even scripture tell us? Who gives the increase if we're sharing. There you go.
There you go.
And I believe this. If we're trying back to what you said, if we're trying, God will give the increase, or he's at least going to count that, or he's going to take that into account that we are trying.
Verse 26. And again, I know I've kind of hit this point, but I think it's interesting. Again, you know, the slave wasn't out doing evil things with the talent. He just wasn't doing. Okay.
And verses 26 and 27 and 28 are pretty harsh. Okay. For a guy who was just not doing. Now, he wasn't doing evil things with the talent, but he just wasn't doing okay.
It's still called wicked. Yeah. Say again? I was going to say that. That's interesting. Yeah.
Yeah. So I'm looking at the time and I'm going to have to jump. I'm going to have to jump down to 34. So 31 actually starts talking about the judgment. Okay. So he goes from talking in parables and now he's talking about the judgment. And this will probably be the only thing that I'll have time to talk about. And while I'm doing this, does anybody have a quarter?
Quarter? The coin? A quarter anyone? If you've got it, be getting it, please.
All right, so I'm going to read this part. So it's talked about the sheep being separated from the goats. And then it says, then the king will say to those on the right, come, you who are blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in naked and you clothed me.
I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer, lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink. And when did you. We see you as a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you, and when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? And the king will answer them. Answer. And say to them, truly, I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me. Now, what do you guys find interesting about that passage? And then I'll kind of share what I find interesting. Did anybody get a quarter?
I'll give it back.
Okay.
Anything people find interesting there, you can probably figure out where I'm going to go from the last parable.
What did the king say to the people? What was he talking about?
What did the king say to the ones that are righteous? What were they doing?
[00:30:50] Speaker H: Every time you do a conduct for someone in need, you're doing it for me.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: Right? So it was what they were doing, right. And who were they doing these things for?
Other people just whoever, right? So the king is happy with what? How they're treating other people.
Did the king say, welcome to the people who didn't see him? Now I'm not going to. Don't misunderstand where I'm going. I'm not saying we should go out and be sinning, but was that what the king was talking about?
What was he saying to the ones that were good? What were they doing? They were doing good stuff for other people. Right? They were using their talents, but it was not. Oh, you get in because of your righteousness, right? Is that how we get to heaven?
No.
Why do I feel everybody's. I can feel it. The room's like, oh, we don't like this. Our righteousness doesn't get us to heaven.
Okay.
[00:31:59] Speaker J: And get you out here.
[00:32:00] Speaker B: Yeah, I like that. I like that. It doesn't get you in. It can get you out.
Final thing. And then I'll get into what this quarter is for. So something that, and this was something that came out as I was studying for tonight, verse 38 through 40.
Anybody see anything interesting there in their response?
[00:32:24] Speaker J: They didn't make the connection.
[00:32:26] Speaker B: What? They did not make the connection between, we're doing it for this other human being.
[00:32:33] Speaker H: Oh, this is actually service to you.
[00:32:36] Speaker B: And what else here can you take away? I'll give you my takeaway in just a second, hopefully right as the bell rings.
What else can you take away? Yeah.
[00:32:46] Speaker C: They were doing it because they love their fellow man.
[00:32:49] Speaker B: There you go.
It was a natural part of their life. Where was it coming from, Brent? Yeah, he's pointing right here. It was coming from. From their heart.
And it was so much a part of their life, they didn't even know they were doing it. Okay. And this is what the quarter's for. It's stupid, but you'll probably remember it. And some of y'all saw me doing this a few weeks ago. Can you see what I'm doing? I don't know if online can see what I'm doing, but I want to make a point.
As I'm doing it, I'm looking several y'all right in the eye, right? And I haven't looked at the quarter yet. Right?
So for those of y'all that don't know, much to the dismay of my wife and children, I am a magician, and I can't do anything else with a quarter other than just roll it. But people ask me one time, how long did it take you to get to where you could do it? It took me two years to get to that point, it took me six to get to this point.
Okay, now here's where I'm going with that. I didn't start out for this to be something that I could just do. Right, just a way to occupy my time. And as I read this particular parable, I wondered that about the people. You know, they probably deliberately started out doing those things, but by the time they got to judgment, they didn't even know they were doing it, did they, David?
[00:34:24] Speaker E: I'll even say to the people that were on the left side when they were faced with the question of, so, like, when was that you? When was it you where we needed to take care of you? It was like, the only reason they would have done it is if they would have known that it was the Lord. That was the only reason.
[00:34:39] Speaker B: Right, right. So the people. You said that was the people on the left, I guess.
[00:34:44] Speaker D: The goats.
[00:34:45] Speaker B: Yeah, the goats, the people on the left and the people on the right. Back to his point.
That's exactly. Did they expect anything in return? No, no. They didn't even know it was him. That's a very, very good point. Any other thoughts before we finish?
[00:35:00] Speaker D: It's hard to look at this and think that Jesus wasn't very serious when he said, do unto others as you.
[00:35:08] Speaker B: Have them do unto you.
[00:35:09] Speaker D: There's so many things that. And be merciful if you want to receive mercy. There's so many things that show that God looks at the way we treat others as the way we want to be treated.
[00:35:22] Speaker B: Absolutely, absolutely. And that's, you know, as I was reading this and as I was thinking about it, and again, I think it's. Don't know why this was big to me this time.
It's stark to me, the focus in this chapter, throughout all the parables, it is about that external. It is about how they're treating their fellow man. And back to Joseph's point, why they're doing it. It's just second nature to them. Well, why is it second nature? We go a long way. They've been loved. Now they're showing love. Right. That's why it's second nature.
Okay, any other questions? Comments? Wait. You've been really good.
[00:36:10] Speaker D: You wouldn't have asked for the quarter.
[00:36:12] Speaker B: I would have made it. Yeah. Yeah.
A question in the parable of talent. Yeah. Who are the bankers? Yeah. I don't know.
I don't know. What's the analogy of that part of. Yeah. Okay, thanks, everyone. We'll see you next week.
