Live like you were dying
Commentary
Object:
A well-rounded biblical moral lifestyle is established on four primary foundational principles:
Creational Norms: How did God intend for things to be?
• Here is where the portraits of life on earth in Genesis 1-2 establish the original dimensions of human behavior.
Restraint of Sin: What evil has infested the world that needs to be restrained and counteracted?
• Included in this category of scripture are the negative expression of the Ten Commandments and the laws for Israel. The point of these injunctions is to push back at the darker temptations and intentions of evil and depravity, even in the human heart. It is in this light that Joshua's final instructions to the Israelites in our Old Testament reading must be heard and read.
The Mind of Christ/God: What is the heart and passion and will of God?
• Paul's letter to the Philippians is perhaps the most concise call for Christians to put on the "mind of Christ," but throughout the Bible there are calls to "be holy, because I, the Lord, your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:1-2, with amplifications in the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew 5-7). In other words, if we love God, we will be particularly interested in the unique revelation of God's heart and character in Jesus Christ.
Eschatological Hope: What goals, plans, or expectations is God drawing us toward in the consummation of all things?
• It is in this light that Paul's ethical urgings in 1 and 2 Thessalonians (as noted in our New Testament reading for today) comes to expression. But these are based on Jesus' own injunctions in the great eschatological visions of Matthew 24-25 (our gospel reading; along with Mark 13 and Luke 21). The point is that Christian behavior should be tempered by the confidence that Jesus will return soon to bring in the judgment day and that our actions are to be shaped by the urgency of this looming event.
Perhaps one of the most pointed contemporary reflections on this is Tim McGraw's song "Live Like You Were Dying." That might make a good title for a message encompassing the common themes of today's lectionary readings.
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
Three incidents round out the book Joshua, each of which addresses some dimension of the future of the land and Israel's place in it. First there is the story of the tension produced when the warriors from the trans-Jordan tribes return home in chapter 22. While the early intent of taking and settling Canaan seems to have been limited to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea (cf. Numbers 32), several tribes found the lands just east of the Jordan to be to their liking. They requested the right to settle in this territory that had previously belonged to the Ammonites and Moabites. Moses gave them permission, with the stipulation that their soldiers must first accompany the rest of the tribes in the looming conquest of Canaan proper. This they agreed to do.
Now in Joshua 22, these warriors go back to their settlements east of the Jordan. As they forded the river, they built a huge altar and ignited a great blaze on it. Neighboring Israelite tribes grew suspicious, thinking that these trans-Jordan relatives were already bowing to other gods. In the ensuing conversations, all fears were quelled and Joshua heard testimony that they were not seeking a shrine for worship other than the tabernacle. Instead they only wanted to set up a monument that would help them remember their ties with the rest of the tribes. In this way a pledge was made for national unity that transcended tribal identities.
Second, as he grew old and neared death, Joshua called together the elders who had shaped community life for the Israelites at his side (Joshua 23). He took them on a verbal tour of their remembered history and called from them a pledge to keep their villages and cities true to the identity promulgated in the Sinai covenant.
Third, in a final covenant renewal ceremony (and our Old Testament lectionary reading for today), Joshua gathered the whole nation together shortly before he died (Joshua 24). Once again, he reminded them who they were and whose they were. The Israelites did not exist as an independent tribe negotiating its own way among the other nations of the ancient Near East, nor were they free agents determining their religious allegiance by taking offers from the open market. They were the people of Yahweh, the nation of the Sinai covenant, the human agency of God's mission to recover a relationship with the residents of planet Earth as communicated to Abraham many centuries before.
The concluding appendix to the book (Joshua 24:28-33) lists three graves: those of Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazer. Each is uniquely significant. Graves are a symbol of settlement and homeland. Abraham and his wives were buried in this land, as were Isaac and his wives. When Jacob died in Egypt, his family made sure to bring his body back to Canaan to bury it there. Now the generations are passing again and upon their deaths Joshua the leader, Joseph the ancestor, and Eleazer the religious head are all buried in this land. It is a fitting reminder that the land has finally achieved its intended rest and its rightful owners can rest there as well. They are truly home.
It is in this light that the location of the "Promised Land" must be considered. Why was Canaan the land promised to Abraham? Why did Israel wrestle these acres away from other clans in order to establish its own settlements?
Without question, there are many geographical areas of the world that would have appeared to be far more desirable. Mesopotamia, with its well-watered valleys surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, had a much better agricultural base than did Canaan. Egypt experienced a more stable climate and a more secluded location. Anatolia was better suited to permanent settlement, because of its mountain-ringed highlands, than was the open strip of countryside between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, Canaan was largely a rock pile, very indefensible, lacking any natural harbor for trade, and geographically splintered, so that it would be very difficult to forge a national identity across high mountainous ridges and deep separating valleys.
What made this piece of property so valuable, at least in Yahweh's eyes? In the words of every real estate salesman: location, location, location. Canaan was the unparalleled single piece of territory in the ancient world that connected the various civilizations with each other. It was the bridge between Africa and Asia. It was the rest stop on the trade routes from what would become Europe to both the Orient and Egypt. It served as the primary highway for marshaling troops in the military campaigns of its world and formed a key segment in every major communication line or caravan trek.
Canaan was precisely the one spot in the world of that day where the nation of Israel could not be hidden from other tribes and countries and clans and peoples. In other words, the Promised Land was, for Israel, not a secluded sanctuary or retreat where the pastoral scenes of Eden could be replayed but rather the busiest street in town. Here Israel was placed as the divine billboard, calling all nations back to a relationship with the Creator. Here Israel's unique community character and moral ethos were on display to attract other civilizations to inquire and seek after the God of this people.
The choice of Canaan as the Promised Land was no accident, when seen in the larger perspectives of the Sinai covenant and its missional foregrounding provided by the book of Genesis. If the Creator was going to find a way back into the hearts of humans who had long ago forgotten their maker, it would require the formation of a community shaped by the Sinai covenant, and then displayed in the most prominent location possible in the world of the day: Canaan. In this sense the mission of God was not first built out of Jesus and the New Testament church but was resident in the religion of the Bible from its very beginning. This is why Jesus would say that his disciples were to be like a city set on a hill (Matthew 5:13-16), for that is exactly what his ancient kin, the Israelites, were intended to be. That is why the Israelites have come home to this land they never knew, and why Joshua challenged them to buy into God's mission or get lost among the other nations, limping into oblivion.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
After the Jerusalem council of Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas were eager to visit the Galatian congregations and inform them personally of the good outcomes in this early Christian theological debate that had affected them so deeply (Acts 15:36). But tensions flamed between them when they argued whether John Mark should be invited along (Acts 15:37). Paul was still very upset that the younger man had suddenly "deserted" them on their first mission journey (Acts 13:13). In the end, Barnabas felt a family obligation to give it a try with Mark again, while Paul chose a new partner, named Silas, to join him in these travels (Acts 15:39-41).
It was probably late in 49 AD when Paul and Silas left Syrian Antioch, their home base. They traveled overland to the communities in central Asia Minor where Paul and Barnabas had established Christian congregations more than a year earlier. At Lystra they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-2), a promising young man whose mother was Christian but whose father was not. Together this growing company of itinerant preachers had in mind an itinerary taking them farther north in Asia Minor (Acts 16:6-8). There were other new areas where Jewish settlements in Hellenic cities might give them an open door for talking about Jesus.
While pondering their options at Troas, Paul may have had some medical problems. The text of Acts 16 shows a shift at that point from third-person references to first-person recollections (note vv. 6-10). It seems obvious that Doctor Luke, the man who would author this book, joined the band at Troas. It might well be that he came to Paul as a healer and stayed with Paul as a new believer and fellow evangelist. Also in this city a divine directive illumined Paul in a vision (Acts 16:9-10), with the result that the company headed next across the Aegean Sea to Macedonia. Philippi was their first major stop, a fairly new Roman colony established by military personnel who received parcels of land as their pensions. As of yet there was no sizeable Jewish population in the city, since Paul and Silas found a small group of Jews worshiping at the river's edge on a sabbath (Acts 16:13). Once there were ten Jewish males in any town a synagogue had to be established, so the river gathering meant that Jews had not come to Philippi in any significant numbers. As was his custom, Paul spoke to the small group about Jesus, and a new Christian congregation was formed in the home of Lydia (Acts 16:14-15).
Paul and Silas stayed in Philippi for some time but eventually encountered trouble that landed them in jail. A young fortune-teller began to follow them, shouting out to the crowds about them (Acts 16:16-17), perhaps in a mean-spirited or nasty manner. Paul became grieved by her evident demon possession and exorcised her (Acts 16:18). The girl's masters were very upset and threw Paul and Silas into prison (Acts 16:19-24). A midnight earthquake rocked the place and led to the jailer's conversion (Acts 16:25-34). In the morning, the Roman citizenship of Paul and Silas was discovered, and the magistrates were beside themselves in efforts to undo the unlawful treatment these two had received (Acts 16:35-40).
It was on to Thessalonica next, for Paul and Silas and their team (Acts 17:1-9). For three weeks Paul preached about Jesus in the Jewish synagogue. When Gentiles swelled the crowd of Christ-believers, however, some Jews became jealous and formed a mob to disrupt civic life. The uproar caused city officials to arrest leading members of the new Christian congregation, and the group sent Paul and Silas out of town that evening under the cover of darkness. With brief stops in Berea (Acts 17:10-15) and Athens (Acts 17:16-34), Paul eventually arrived in Corinth, where he met Aquila and Priscilla for the first time (Acts 18:1-3). This couple would become fast friends with Paul, keeping in touch for the rest of his life.
Although Paul would spend the next year and a half in Corinth, at the outset his heart remained back in Thessalonica. Already when he was traveling through Athens, Paul worried about how the fledgling Thessalonian congregation was faring (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20), and sent Timothy back to find out more and make a report (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5). Paul had already continued on to Corinth by the time Timothy caught up with him and was elated at the good word his younger associate brought (1 Thessalonians 3:6-10). With emotions running high, Paul dashed off a letter of appreciation and encouragement to his new friends (1 Thessalonians).
Most of this short letter is given to expressions of praise for the great testimony already being talked about from those who observed the grace and spiritual energy of this newborn congregation. Paul rehearsed briefly (1 Thessalonians 1-3) the recent history that had deeply connected them and told of his aching heart now that they were so quickly "torn away" from one another (1 Thessalonians 2:17). Only after these passionate confessions does Paul spill some ink on a few notes of instruction (1 Thessalonians 4-5). While most of what Paul has to say are typical exhortations toward quiet and godly living, a surprising topic suddenly jumps out as prelude to a new and unique trajectory in Christian doctrinal development. Paul suddenly declares a new and powerful idea: Jesus will soon return and all who die in faith will rise to live with him.
The central message of Paul's missionary preaching focused on the resurrection of Jesus. This was, for Paul, the astounding confirmation of Jesus' divine character. It was the undeniable proof that Jesus was the messiah and that his words and teachings had ushered in the new age of God's final revelation and redemptive activity.
Paul understood that Jesus was the great "Day of the Lord" event foretold by the Old Testament prophets (1 Thessalonians 5:1), and that out of gracious forbearance, Jesus had split this cataclysmic occurrence in two, so that the beginning of eternal blessings could be experienced before the final judgment fell (1 Thessalonians 5:2-11). This meant that Jesus had gone back to heaven only briefly and would be returning to earth very soon -- probably next week, but maybe next month. It was the generous grace of God that had provided this brief window of opportunity, allowing Jesus' disciples a chance quickly to tell others the good news, so that those who believed would also reap the benefits of the looming messianic age. Neither Paul nor God wanted anyone to be destroyed in the judgments that were still ahead.
Matthew 25:1-13
The three parables of Matthew 25 are Jesus' amplification of his eschatological visions and challenges to his disciples in Matthew 24. After the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples walked through the temple courts on their way to a time of prayer on the Mount of Olives. The buildings of the temple had gone through a massive renovation by Herod the Great, one of the most astounding builders of human history. The construction work was completed only a few years before and these rather rural Galilee folk were astounded by the immense structures and their marvelous beauty. This is the background to the introductory notes at the beginning of Matthew 24.
While his disciples are agape at the splendor of the renewed temple buildings, Jesus quickly tosses water on their ardor by announcing the coming destruction of these great structures in the Roman campaign only a generation into the future (70 AD). Then Jesus springboards from that prophecy to more complex and frightening scenes from the end of time.
As his disciples shake their heads in disbelief and wonder, Jesus moves on quickly to this trilogy of parables in Matthew 25. All three are part of the great eschatological teachings that meander through both the Old and New Testaments. While each segment of the Bible contains a lot of moral instruction and guidelines to ethical behavior, addressing many dimensions of life and behavior, the grand culmination of behavior modification in the faith community is the challenge: What should we be doing at the end of time?
It is in that light that we need to read and interpret this first of Jesus' three Matthew 25 parables. No indication is given by our Lord as to when the final morning of human history will break. In fact, it is precisely the unknown hour that makes this parable tug at us. What will be the driving forces that shape our behavior? How will looming expectations of eternity keep time organized and schedules written with meaning and purpose?
Application
Until Jesus returns, we will debate issues of holiness. Few of us will be completely satisfied with others' perspectives. Part of the problem is that there is no concrete "code of ethics" in scripture that defines behavior in all situations of life. The Ten Commandments brush colors in broad strokes, which, as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, have a variety of more specific applications. Even Joshua's injunctions to Israel in Joshua 24 are too general to be a final code of conduct. He speaks of the heart and expects some change in lifestyle. But the emphasis is on the heart. The person who lives with God carries himself or herself with a certain air in society. It's hard to define in exact terms, but others can sense it. And they can sense its absence too.
One morning in 1872, David Livingstone wrote this in his diary:
March 19, my birthday. My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All, I again dedicate my whole self to Thee. Accept me, and grant, O gracious Father, that ere the year is gone I may finish my work. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen.
Just one year later, to the day, servants came to check on their master's delay. They found him on his knees in prayer. He was dead. Friends in England provided a final resting place for his body and posted this note that testifies yet today:
He needs no epitaph to guard a name
Which men will prize while worthy work is known;
He lived and died for good -- that is his fame;
Let marble crumble: this is Living-stone!
Perhaps that is a fitting testimony about all who seek to live like they were dying, confident of God's good purpose and direction in their lives.
An Alternative Application
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Paul's letters to the Thessalonian congregation occurred early in his ministry with both epistles most likely penned in 50 AD. These writings are very short and do not spell out a fully explored eschatology. But in their brief exhortations they contain some of Paul's most direct and explicit eschatological teachings.
First, it is clear that the emphasis in Paul's preaching was on the resurrection of Jesus. This was the confirmation that Jesus was the messiah foretold by the prophets. It was also the most profound sign that the new messianic age had arrived. Since the messianic age was part of the promised "Day of the Lord," a time of divine judgment was sure to arrive soon.
Second, Jesus' first coming brought the beginnings of the blessings of the messianic age, but it delayed the judgments of God for a time so that the followers of Jesus could spread the news of salvation far and wide. Splitting the "Day of the Lord" in two was an act of kindness on God's part, providing more opportunity for people to respond in faith. It also placed upon the church a missionary urgency. The reason Jesus left his followers behind during the gap between his ascension and return was to send them as ambassadors of hope to the nations.
Third, the return of Jesus was imminent and likely to take place within weeks or months. This was the expectation that made any trials, persecutions, or difficulties durable. Knowing that one can outlast an opponent, no matter how nasty or strong, gives great resilience to hang on and survive with dignity.
Fourth, all who trusted in Jesus when he returned would share in his glory and power. But so too would those who had believed in Jesus and then died before Jesus had made his return. This teaching profoundly changed the burial habits of Christians and altered expectations at dying. Rather than closing doors to human existence, death instead opened them to eternal life. Many early Christians welcomed death by martyrdom, knowing that through this act they were immediately secure in resurrection hope.
Fifth, the yawning gap of time that had been widening since Jesus' ascension required meaningful explanations for the delay of his return. Answers came in three major varieties. Some saw this lengthening "in-between" age as evidence of divine grace: God was not going to bring final judgment until more people could respond to the gospel message in faith. Others declared that the delay was a tool for testing the faithfulness of those who said they believed in Jesus. A final group called to mind Jesus' words about signs that would appear before the final days and tried more closely to define the number of specific events that must still take place prior to his return.
Intertwined together, these three dimensions of eschatological expectations became hardwired into the church and infused it, for Paul, with a missionary urgency and an uncompromising ethic. The church must speak to everyone with loving passion about Jesus. At the same time, Christians were responsible to live in a profound moral simplicity that assessed every behavior by the question "What should we be doing when Jesus returns?"
Creational Norms: How did God intend for things to be?
• Here is where the portraits of life on earth in Genesis 1-2 establish the original dimensions of human behavior.
Restraint of Sin: What evil has infested the world that needs to be restrained and counteracted?
• Included in this category of scripture are the negative expression of the Ten Commandments and the laws for Israel. The point of these injunctions is to push back at the darker temptations and intentions of evil and depravity, even in the human heart. It is in this light that Joshua's final instructions to the Israelites in our Old Testament reading must be heard and read.
The Mind of Christ/God: What is the heart and passion and will of God?
• Paul's letter to the Philippians is perhaps the most concise call for Christians to put on the "mind of Christ," but throughout the Bible there are calls to "be holy, because I, the Lord, your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:1-2, with amplifications in the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew 5-7). In other words, if we love God, we will be particularly interested in the unique revelation of God's heart and character in Jesus Christ.
Eschatological Hope: What goals, plans, or expectations is God drawing us toward in the consummation of all things?
• It is in this light that Paul's ethical urgings in 1 and 2 Thessalonians (as noted in our New Testament reading for today) comes to expression. But these are based on Jesus' own injunctions in the great eschatological visions of Matthew 24-25 (our gospel reading; along with Mark 13 and Luke 21). The point is that Christian behavior should be tempered by the confidence that Jesus will return soon to bring in the judgment day and that our actions are to be shaped by the urgency of this looming event.
Perhaps one of the most pointed contemporary reflections on this is Tim McGraw's song "Live Like You Were Dying." That might make a good title for a message encompassing the common themes of today's lectionary readings.
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
Three incidents round out the book Joshua, each of which addresses some dimension of the future of the land and Israel's place in it. First there is the story of the tension produced when the warriors from the trans-Jordan tribes return home in chapter 22. While the early intent of taking and settling Canaan seems to have been limited to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea (cf. Numbers 32), several tribes found the lands just east of the Jordan to be to their liking. They requested the right to settle in this territory that had previously belonged to the Ammonites and Moabites. Moses gave them permission, with the stipulation that their soldiers must first accompany the rest of the tribes in the looming conquest of Canaan proper. This they agreed to do.
Now in Joshua 22, these warriors go back to their settlements east of the Jordan. As they forded the river, they built a huge altar and ignited a great blaze on it. Neighboring Israelite tribes grew suspicious, thinking that these trans-Jordan relatives were already bowing to other gods. In the ensuing conversations, all fears were quelled and Joshua heard testimony that they were not seeking a shrine for worship other than the tabernacle. Instead they only wanted to set up a monument that would help them remember their ties with the rest of the tribes. In this way a pledge was made for national unity that transcended tribal identities.
Second, as he grew old and neared death, Joshua called together the elders who had shaped community life for the Israelites at his side (Joshua 23). He took them on a verbal tour of their remembered history and called from them a pledge to keep their villages and cities true to the identity promulgated in the Sinai covenant.
Third, in a final covenant renewal ceremony (and our Old Testament lectionary reading for today), Joshua gathered the whole nation together shortly before he died (Joshua 24). Once again, he reminded them who they were and whose they were. The Israelites did not exist as an independent tribe negotiating its own way among the other nations of the ancient Near East, nor were they free agents determining their religious allegiance by taking offers from the open market. They were the people of Yahweh, the nation of the Sinai covenant, the human agency of God's mission to recover a relationship with the residents of planet Earth as communicated to Abraham many centuries before.
The concluding appendix to the book (Joshua 24:28-33) lists three graves: those of Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazer. Each is uniquely significant. Graves are a symbol of settlement and homeland. Abraham and his wives were buried in this land, as were Isaac and his wives. When Jacob died in Egypt, his family made sure to bring his body back to Canaan to bury it there. Now the generations are passing again and upon their deaths Joshua the leader, Joseph the ancestor, and Eleazer the religious head are all buried in this land. It is a fitting reminder that the land has finally achieved its intended rest and its rightful owners can rest there as well. They are truly home.
It is in this light that the location of the "Promised Land" must be considered. Why was Canaan the land promised to Abraham? Why did Israel wrestle these acres away from other clans in order to establish its own settlements?
Without question, there are many geographical areas of the world that would have appeared to be far more desirable. Mesopotamia, with its well-watered valleys surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, had a much better agricultural base than did Canaan. Egypt experienced a more stable climate and a more secluded location. Anatolia was better suited to permanent settlement, because of its mountain-ringed highlands, than was the open strip of countryside between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, Canaan was largely a rock pile, very indefensible, lacking any natural harbor for trade, and geographically splintered, so that it would be very difficult to forge a national identity across high mountainous ridges and deep separating valleys.
What made this piece of property so valuable, at least in Yahweh's eyes? In the words of every real estate salesman: location, location, location. Canaan was the unparalleled single piece of territory in the ancient world that connected the various civilizations with each other. It was the bridge between Africa and Asia. It was the rest stop on the trade routes from what would become Europe to both the Orient and Egypt. It served as the primary highway for marshaling troops in the military campaigns of its world and formed a key segment in every major communication line or caravan trek.
Canaan was precisely the one spot in the world of that day where the nation of Israel could not be hidden from other tribes and countries and clans and peoples. In other words, the Promised Land was, for Israel, not a secluded sanctuary or retreat where the pastoral scenes of Eden could be replayed but rather the busiest street in town. Here Israel was placed as the divine billboard, calling all nations back to a relationship with the Creator. Here Israel's unique community character and moral ethos were on display to attract other civilizations to inquire and seek after the God of this people.
The choice of Canaan as the Promised Land was no accident, when seen in the larger perspectives of the Sinai covenant and its missional foregrounding provided by the book of Genesis. If the Creator was going to find a way back into the hearts of humans who had long ago forgotten their maker, it would require the formation of a community shaped by the Sinai covenant, and then displayed in the most prominent location possible in the world of the day: Canaan. In this sense the mission of God was not first built out of Jesus and the New Testament church but was resident in the religion of the Bible from its very beginning. This is why Jesus would say that his disciples were to be like a city set on a hill (Matthew 5:13-16), for that is exactly what his ancient kin, the Israelites, were intended to be. That is why the Israelites have come home to this land they never knew, and why Joshua challenged them to buy into God's mission or get lost among the other nations, limping into oblivion.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
After the Jerusalem council of Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas were eager to visit the Galatian congregations and inform them personally of the good outcomes in this early Christian theological debate that had affected them so deeply (Acts 15:36). But tensions flamed between them when they argued whether John Mark should be invited along (Acts 15:37). Paul was still very upset that the younger man had suddenly "deserted" them on their first mission journey (Acts 13:13). In the end, Barnabas felt a family obligation to give it a try with Mark again, while Paul chose a new partner, named Silas, to join him in these travels (Acts 15:39-41).
It was probably late in 49 AD when Paul and Silas left Syrian Antioch, their home base. They traveled overland to the communities in central Asia Minor where Paul and Barnabas had established Christian congregations more than a year earlier. At Lystra they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-2), a promising young man whose mother was Christian but whose father was not. Together this growing company of itinerant preachers had in mind an itinerary taking them farther north in Asia Minor (Acts 16:6-8). There were other new areas where Jewish settlements in Hellenic cities might give them an open door for talking about Jesus.
While pondering their options at Troas, Paul may have had some medical problems. The text of Acts 16 shows a shift at that point from third-person references to first-person recollections (note vv. 6-10). It seems obvious that Doctor Luke, the man who would author this book, joined the band at Troas. It might well be that he came to Paul as a healer and stayed with Paul as a new believer and fellow evangelist. Also in this city a divine directive illumined Paul in a vision (Acts 16:9-10), with the result that the company headed next across the Aegean Sea to Macedonia. Philippi was their first major stop, a fairly new Roman colony established by military personnel who received parcels of land as their pensions. As of yet there was no sizeable Jewish population in the city, since Paul and Silas found a small group of Jews worshiping at the river's edge on a sabbath (Acts 16:13). Once there were ten Jewish males in any town a synagogue had to be established, so the river gathering meant that Jews had not come to Philippi in any significant numbers. As was his custom, Paul spoke to the small group about Jesus, and a new Christian congregation was formed in the home of Lydia (Acts 16:14-15).
Paul and Silas stayed in Philippi for some time but eventually encountered trouble that landed them in jail. A young fortune-teller began to follow them, shouting out to the crowds about them (Acts 16:16-17), perhaps in a mean-spirited or nasty manner. Paul became grieved by her evident demon possession and exorcised her (Acts 16:18). The girl's masters were very upset and threw Paul and Silas into prison (Acts 16:19-24). A midnight earthquake rocked the place and led to the jailer's conversion (Acts 16:25-34). In the morning, the Roman citizenship of Paul and Silas was discovered, and the magistrates were beside themselves in efforts to undo the unlawful treatment these two had received (Acts 16:35-40).
It was on to Thessalonica next, for Paul and Silas and their team (Acts 17:1-9). For three weeks Paul preached about Jesus in the Jewish synagogue. When Gentiles swelled the crowd of Christ-believers, however, some Jews became jealous and formed a mob to disrupt civic life. The uproar caused city officials to arrest leading members of the new Christian congregation, and the group sent Paul and Silas out of town that evening under the cover of darkness. With brief stops in Berea (Acts 17:10-15) and Athens (Acts 17:16-34), Paul eventually arrived in Corinth, where he met Aquila and Priscilla for the first time (Acts 18:1-3). This couple would become fast friends with Paul, keeping in touch for the rest of his life.
Although Paul would spend the next year and a half in Corinth, at the outset his heart remained back in Thessalonica. Already when he was traveling through Athens, Paul worried about how the fledgling Thessalonian congregation was faring (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20), and sent Timothy back to find out more and make a report (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5). Paul had already continued on to Corinth by the time Timothy caught up with him and was elated at the good word his younger associate brought (1 Thessalonians 3:6-10). With emotions running high, Paul dashed off a letter of appreciation and encouragement to his new friends (1 Thessalonians).
Most of this short letter is given to expressions of praise for the great testimony already being talked about from those who observed the grace and spiritual energy of this newborn congregation. Paul rehearsed briefly (1 Thessalonians 1-3) the recent history that had deeply connected them and told of his aching heart now that they were so quickly "torn away" from one another (1 Thessalonians 2:17). Only after these passionate confessions does Paul spill some ink on a few notes of instruction (1 Thessalonians 4-5). While most of what Paul has to say are typical exhortations toward quiet and godly living, a surprising topic suddenly jumps out as prelude to a new and unique trajectory in Christian doctrinal development. Paul suddenly declares a new and powerful idea: Jesus will soon return and all who die in faith will rise to live with him.
The central message of Paul's missionary preaching focused on the resurrection of Jesus. This was, for Paul, the astounding confirmation of Jesus' divine character. It was the undeniable proof that Jesus was the messiah and that his words and teachings had ushered in the new age of God's final revelation and redemptive activity.
Paul understood that Jesus was the great "Day of the Lord" event foretold by the Old Testament prophets (1 Thessalonians 5:1), and that out of gracious forbearance, Jesus had split this cataclysmic occurrence in two, so that the beginning of eternal blessings could be experienced before the final judgment fell (1 Thessalonians 5:2-11). This meant that Jesus had gone back to heaven only briefly and would be returning to earth very soon -- probably next week, but maybe next month. It was the generous grace of God that had provided this brief window of opportunity, allowing Jesus' disciples a chance quickly to tell others the good news, so that those who believed would also reap the benefits of the looming messianic age. Neither Paul nor God wanted anyone to be destroyed in the judgments that were still ahead.
Matthew 25:1-13
The three parables of Matthew 25 are Jesus' amplification of his eschatological visions and challenges to his disciples in Matthew 24. After the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples walked through the temple courts on their way to a time of prayer on the Mount of Olives. The buildings of the temple had gone through a massive renovation by Herod the Great, one of the most astounding builders of human history. The construction work was completed only a few years before and these rather rural Galilee folk were astounded by the immense structures and their marvelous beauty. This is the background to the introductory notes at the beginning of Matthew 24.
While his disciples are agape at the splendor of the renewed temple buildings, Jesus quickly tosses water on their ardor by announcing the coming destruction of these great structures in the Roman campaign only a generation into the future (70 AD). Then Jesus springboards from that prophecy to more complex and frightening scenes from the end of time.
As his disciples shake their heads in disbelief and wonder, Jesus moves on quickly to this trilogy of parables in Matthew 25. All three are part of the great eschatological teachings that meander through both the Old and New Testaments. While each segment of the Bible contains a lot of moral instruction and guidelines to ethical behavior, addressing many dimensions of life and behavior, the grand culmination of behavior modification in the faith community is the challenge: What should we be doing at the end of time?
It is in that light that we need to read and interpret this first of Jesus' three Matthew 25 parables. No indication is given by our Lord as to when the final morning of human history will break. In fact, it is precisely the unknown hour that makes this parable tug at us. What will be the driving forces that shape our behavior? How will looming expectations of eternity keep time organized and schedules written with meaning and purpose?
Application
Until Jesus returns, we will debate issues of holiness. Few of us will be completely satisfied with others' perspectives. Part of the problem is that there is no concrete "code of ethics" in scripture that defines behavior in all situations of life. The Ten Commandments brush colors in broad strokes, which, as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, have a variety of more specific applications. Even Joshua's injunctions to Israel in Joshua 24 are too general to be a final code of conduct. He speaks of the heart and expects some change in lifestyle. But the emphasis is on the heart. The person who lives with God carries himself or herself with a certain air in society. It's hard to define in exact terms, but others can sense it. And they can sense its absence too.
One morning in 1872, David Livingstone wrote this in his diary:
March 19, my birthday. My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All, I again dedicate my whole self to Thee. Accept me, and grant, O gracious Father, that ere the year is gone I may finish my work. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen.
Just one year later, to the day, servants came to check on their master's delay. They found him on his knees in prayer. He was dead. Friends in England provided a final resting place for his body and posted this note that testifies yet today:
He needs no epitaph to guard a name
Which men will prize while worthy work is known;
He lived and died for good -- that is his fame;
Let marble crumble: this is Living-stone!
Perhaps that is a fitting testimony about all who seek to live like they were dying, confident of God's good purpose and direction in their lives.
An Alternative Application
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Paul's letters to the Thessalonian congregation occurred early in his ministry with both epistles most likely penned in 50 AD. These writings are very short and do not spell out a fully explored eschatology. But in their brief exhortations they contain some of Paul's most direct and explicit eschatological teachings.
First, it is clear that the emphasis in Paul's preaching was on the resurrection of Jesus. This was the confirmation that Jesus was the messiah foretold by the prophets. It was also the most profound sign that the new messianic age had arrived. Since the messianic age was part of the promised "Day of the Lord," a time of divine judgment was sure to arrive soon.
Second, Jesus' first coming brought the beginnings of the blessings of the messianic age, but it delayed the judgments of God for a time so that the followers of Jesus could spread the news of salvation far and wide. Splitting the "Day of the Lord" in two was an act of kindness on God's part, providing more opportunity for people to respond in faith. It also placed upon the church a missionary urgency. The reason Jesus left his followers behind during the gap between his ascension and return was to send them as ambassadors of hope to the nations.
Third, the return of Jesus was imminent and likely to take place within weeks or months. This was the expectation that made any trials, persecutions, or difficulties durable. Knowing that one can outlast an opponent, no matter how nasty or strong, gives great resilience to hang on and survive with dignity.
Fourth, all who trusted in Jesus when he returned would share in his glory and power. But so too would those who had believed in Jesus and then died before Jesus had made his return. This teaching profoundly changed the burial habits of Christians and altered expectations at dying. Rather than closing doors to human existence, death instead opened them to eternal life. Many early Christians welcomed death by martyrdom, knowing that through this act they were immediately secure in resurrection hope.
Fifth, the yawning gap of time that had been widening since Jesus' ascension required meaningful explanations for the delay of his return. Answers came in three major varieties. Some saw this lengthening "in-between" age as evidence of divine grace: God was not going to bring final judgment until more people could respond to the gospel message in faith. Others declared that the delay was a tool for testing the faithfulness of those who said they believed in Jesus. A final group called to mind Jesus' words about signs that would appear before the final days and tried more closely to define the number of specific events that must still take place prior to his return.
Intertwined together, these three dimensions of eschatological expectations became hardwired into the church and infused it, for Paul, with a missionary urgency and an uncompromising ethic. The church must speak to everyone with loving passion about Jesus. At the same time, Christians were responsible to live in a profound moral simplicity that assessed every behavior by the question "What should we be doing when Jesus returns?"
