PASSION WEEK – Wednesday

Jesus continues the Olivet Discourse with 2 parables and a description of the Judgment. The parable of the ten talents is very similar to the parable of the ten minas so I’m not really going to comment on it other than to say I feel rather strongly that it should not be used to push people who have been “given many talents” to “invest” themselves all the way into complete burnout.

Ask me how I know.

PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS

I think the point of the parables is finally becoming clearer to me. I’ve noticed 2 main themes in the kingdom parables.

• There is something small or hidden
• There are good and bad, and the bad gets removed

Jesus told LOTS of parables for many reasons. I went back and looked at every parable, and found all the times Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” and then told a parable. There are only 10 of those. Let’s review them real quick.

• Parable of the Wheat & Weeds, Mt. 13:24-30, 36-43, Good and bad seed, grow in the same field and separated at harvest
• Parable of the Mustard Seed, Mt. 13:31-31, small but grows
• Parable of the Leaven, Mt. 13:33, hidden but spreads
• Parable of the Hidden Treasure, Mt. 13:44, hidden
• Parable of the Costly Pearl, Mt. 13:45-46, hidden
• Parable of the Net, Mt. 13:47-50, good and bad fish all in the same net, separated once the net is hauled in
• Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Mt. 18:23-35, good and bad (but mainly bad), the servant gets separated out because he wouldn’t forgive as he had been forgiven
• Parable of the Vineyard Workers, Mt. 20:1-16, this one seems to be a different theme: first and last.
• Parable of the 10 Minas, Lk. 19:11-27, good and bad servants
• Parable of the Wedding Feast, Mt. 22:-1-14, good and bad guests

So… the Kingdom of God is something that starts small and hidden but spreads and grows. Makes sense. Jesus started with just a few disciples, then 120 followers on the day of Pentecost. Within about 20 years there were many thousands of Christians; probably tens of thousands if not in the hundreds of thousands. By Paul’s second missionary journey around the year 50AD, the Greeks in Thessolonica said that Paul and the Christians had “turned the world upside down!,” (Acts 17:6). Today there are millions. And many millions have come and gone before us.

According to the parables, the Kingdom isn’t just small and hidden and growing, it is also made up of BOTH wheat and weeds, good fish and bad fish, faithful servants and unfaithful ones, wise virgins and foolish ones, and in the judgement: sheep and goats.

I guess in my mind I’ve categorized the weeds, bad fish, unfaithful servants, and foolish virgins as NOT part of the kingdom; probably because at the end they get left out. But for now, Jesus describes the kingdom as having both good apples 🍎 and bad apples. The bad apples are IN the kingdom with opportunities to forgive others as they have been forgiven. They can learn and grow and throw off the rottenness of the flesh. Or they can persist in keeping self on the throne. Jesus describes a Judgement Day where He divides the sheep from the goats; the good fish from the bad fish. The obedient and faithful are rewarded while the selfish and uncaring are rejected.

The foolish virgins weren’t so much “removed” as they were “excluded.” The bridegroom came while they were off shopping so they missed their opportunity because they put off their preparation. They had not anticipated that they might need more oil than what was already in their lamps. The wise virgins were prepared for a very long wait and an unexpected arrival. They went into the feast and the door was shut.

I’ve heard people say that the foolish virgins represent lukewarm “Christians,” and perhaps they do. Those would be people for whom Jesus and the Bible and loving the brethren is just “meh” and a shrug. Personally, I cannot fathom why anyone who thought heaven and hell were even remotely possible after death would be blasé about being in right relationship with God. You get one shot at this. ONE. After your last breath it is too late. Y’all, it is worth ANY sacrifice, ANY discomfort, and ALL of your effort to be established IN Christ and remain IN Him. This is more important than ANYTHING on your calendar up to and including major surgery.

I think we should take the parable of the ten virgins to heart and make sure we have a stockpile of oil to keep our lamps burning while we wait for the Bridegroom. It makes me think of this verse:

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭119‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Some people have a year’s worth of stockpiled freeze-dried food and emergency supplies, but don’t know more than a verse or two of scripture; maybe John 3:16 and “Jesus wept.” That’s a foolish virgin. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. If we had global economic collapse tomorrow and you had the Word of God stockpiled in your heart and you had built up a spiritual “bunker” of faith, you could face any trial – even torture and death – and you would enter into glory. But what’s the point of surviving the zombie apocalypse if you’re just going to eventually die anyway and spend eternity in outer darkness and torment? That’s a VERY short-sighted move.

We get a few decades to prepare for eternity. As a percentage of the whole, that’s less than the blink of an eye. Don’t wait. Get more oil.

Ancient lamps ran on oil. How can the Word be “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path,” (Ps. 119:105) if we do not keep the lamp lit? The Holy Spirit is the One who anoints. He is the oil that illuminates the Word. It’s not enough to have a Bible (a lamp) if there’s no oil to keep the flame lit.

“But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I love the KJV rendering because “unction” [unk-shun] is not a word we hear much. It’s only used here in all of the Bible. The Greek word appears only 2 other places in the NT where it is translated as “anointing.” It’s this:

Believers have been “smeared” with the oil of the Holy Spirit.

If you’re a foodie, you might’ve heard someone describe a food with lots of fat or oil as “unctuous.”

How would we get more oil? Perhaps we make our container larger by emptying out self to make more room for the Holy Spirit.

It seems to me from the parables that those who are faithful in a little receive more. So what are we doing with the “special endowment of the Holy Spirit?” Are we serving others? Are we learning? Receiving instruction and correction in how best to serve? Are we seeking the Lord in prayer, fasting, scripture and koinonia (fellowship)?

I don’t think anointing is meant to be a “flash in the pan,” like a romantic crush that starts on an emotional high and fizzles within a year. It’s meant to grow over a lifetime like those adorable old couples who treasure each other more at 80 than they ever did at 25. (Hashtag #goals)

Which makes me think…

Ya know what…. Let’s just do this here….

SIDE LESSON ON ANOINTING

Your anointing is unique to you but it will conform to the pattern of Christ and His Word. The Holy Spirit will not lead you to contradict the Word He inspired. Your ministry probably won’t look like other people’s, but you can’t “go rogue” and call it anointing.

The gifts and calling of God are without repentance, (Rom. 11:29). Meaning, God does not snatch them back just because you sinned. This is a heavy responsibility and test of your integrity. Do NOT abuse the grace of God because of this. Just because Christ is our righteousness and perfection does not mean we coast. We need to “walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” Eph. 4:1. It’s hard. It’s uphill all the way. And when we fall, we own it and repent and get back up and keep walking.

Anointing is PRECIOUS. And priceless. We dare not take even the tiniest credit for it. Guard it above all things. Don’t let the world desensitize you. Even the dead can hear when God shouts. Train yourself to hear Him whisper.

The Holy Spirit is like a dove. Doves are gentle. And they don’t eat dead things or feed on flesh. You can’t feed the Dove the dead things of the world and the flesh and expect Him to stay. The carrion-eating Raven may find a meal there, but the Dove will return to the ark and take the anointing along with.

Because you cannot feed on the flesh, if you want to carry the anointing you WILL be different. Deal with it. You will be different even from a lot of Christians. They will watch things and listen to things and read things that the Holy Spirit says “nope” to you. He’s probably saying “nope” to them too. They just aren’t listening. Learn to delight in being totally the Lord’s and let Him deal with others.

The Holy Spirit can only anoint what you have, not what you don’t have. If you were an artist with only 3 crayons the Lord can anoint your use of those 3 crayons. But if you learned how to use and mix an entire palate of paint and other media, think how much more He could create through your hands. If you are a musician and only know how to play 3 chords, the Lord can anoint those 3 chords. But how much more could you give Him to work with if you disciplined yourself to learn more? What kind of vocabulary are you giving Him to work with? What knowledge? What skills are you developing? What experiences are you having? The Holy Spirit can only anoint what you have, not what you don’t have.

Thus endeth the lesson…

As we look at the end of the chapter about the Judgement and the Lord dividing the sheep 🐑 from the goats 🐐, all I can think of (because it’s getting late and I’m getting sleepy) is the kid’s church song…

I just wanna be a sheep, baa baa baa baa…

🤣 Oh… that is RICH.

And I find myself at almost 9pm searching YouTube and watching the many, MANY renditions of this song that people have uploaded. Including one that probably violates a copyright or two that was recorded to sound like “The Chipettes.” 🤦🏻‍♀️

I’m starting to evaluate my life choices.

Anyway, here’s a fun version with lots of good sheep footage. 🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑

And now we’re all going to have this song stuck in our heads for days.

You’re welcome.