Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Matthew Chapter 25
Metaphysically Interpreting Matthew 25:1-13
Matthew 25 (asv) 25:1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 25:2And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 25:3For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them: 25:4but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 25:5Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 25:6But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him. 25:7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 25:8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. 25:9But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 25:10And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. 25:11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 25:12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 25:13Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.
MARCH 28, 1965: Matt. 25:1-13
WEEKLY UNITY
Unity explains this week's International BIBLE LESSON
Expectancy.
Questions and Answers
Is expectancy of good a desirable mental attitude? It is, because it is underlaid by faith and hope. Expectancy of good is a fundamental preparation for successful living. It makes the mind alert and the interest keen. The person who is expectant of good is more alive than the one who has no such expectation or who expects the worst and is pessimistic accordingly.
How do we acquit ourselves like men? By taking a mature outlook on life. As mature men and women, we expect life to be under law, and know that if we wish to learn [? plus two words illegible] understanding, or any other desirable state we ourselves must set in motion the causes that will bring these states into being.
What is represented by the light the wise virgins carried? It is intelligence, and the wise virgins represent the five senses under the guidance of forethought. Forethought is an expression of intelligence. The intelligent person looks ahead and provides for emergencies.
What are the five foolish virgins? They are the unenlightened senses. The spiritless soul who does not look ahead, but provides only for the present moment, is left without resources in an emergency. To stand fast in the faith is to foresee what is likely to arise and to provide for it.
How is our awareness of spiritual things heightened? By the action of Spirit, which quickens and illumines our senses, increasing our spiritual perception, and making us capable of coordinating body, soul, and spirit.
To meet life adequately, with what do we need to supply ourselves? With zeal and depth of spiritual feeling. So equipped, we can possess our souls in patience and keep intact our faith.
What is meant by entering in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast? Those who have the patience to realize the depth of meaning of the Christ life and the willingness to stand fast in order to attain to it, enter with the bridegroom (Christ) into the Christ consciousness (wedding feast).
How are the senses defined in spiritual terms? Sight is really a mental or spiritual faculty. We say, "I see," when we understand what has been explained to us, meaning that we see with our mind. Hearing is also mental, for until the meaning of what we hear becomes clear to us we do not hear in a complete sense. Feeling is more a matter of sympathy than of physical touch. Tasting involves discrimination or the power to discern and appreciate beauty, order, and proportion. The sense of smell becomes the intuitive cognition of values.
My soul waits in silence for God only; for my expectation is from Him.
My Motto
By Roy Oelschlager
Lord, fill my mouth with worth-while stuff, And nudge me when I've said enough.
Undated: Matt. 25:1-13
Unity interprets a living BIBLE LESSON
Prepared by Mary Mae Oesch
HOW TO BE ALIVE EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE
Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish maidens reflects a custom of His time. Wedding festivities were often long and elaborate, and it was customary that the guests should furnish candles or lighted oil lamps for the occasion. Friends met the wedding party and accompanied them in a procession to the place where the wedding was to be held. After the invited guests had entered, the door was closed, since there was no room for late arrivals.
The ten girls in Jesus' story were expecting to enjoy the wedding festival. They came with their lamps, ready to join the procession. Five girls had the foresight to bring extra oil for their lamps, since they knew that no one could be sure when the bridegroom would arrive. The other five maidens were negligent and failed to provide enough oil.
Since there was a delay in the wedding procession, all ten girls rested and waited. At midnight came the word that it was time to go out and meet the bridegroom. Then it was that the five negligent girls knew their lamps would soon burn out. They tried to borrow from their friends, but were advised to go to the nearest dealer and replenish their supply.
While the five were gone, the members of the wedding party were joined by the five wise girls who had been prepared. Later the foolish ones sought admittance to the wedding feast, but the door of the house had been closed.
In this way Jesus emphasized the importance of being prepared at all times for spiritual illumination and a full awareness of the Christ Spirit.
Basically, the parable of the ten maidens is an object lesson in spiritual preparedness. The five foolish girls symbolize the outer, or material, aspect of the five senses—seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, and tasting. The five wise maidens represent the spiritual counterpart of the same five senses. When we recognize that our senses are really spiritual gifts from God, we raise them to a spiritual level and we are ready for spiritual wisdom. We need intelligence (light ) to find life's deeper meaning through the Christ. Our enlightened senses (the wise maidens ) are prepared to welcome the Christ Spirit (the bridegroom). But if the senses function only on a physical plane (the foolish maidens ) they are not enlightened and are shut out from the marriage feast.
Our senses are channels through which our awareness can be heightened, avenues through which we can become consciously one with our highest good. Charles Lelly, editor of NEW, writes: "The senses are the windows of the soul, and when balanced they are the most sensitive instruments we have for recognizing the presence of God everywhere." But our greater good is attained only when our physical senses are enlightened and lifted up, or transformed into spiritual awareness.
Spiritual awareness makes the difference between existing and truly living, the difference between boredom and joyous adventure. All God's creation is wonderful when we open our eyes and ears and use our other senses intelligently and appreciatively, remembering God's presence in all.
For example, we do not see with our eyes alone; we see with the mind, which uses the eyes as a camera. We see more clearly and intelligently when we remember that our eyes are spiritual organs of spiritual sight, and when we let the Christ light shed its radiance upon all that falls in line with either our mental or physical vision. Let us open our eyes to the glories and beauties of our world, and pray for heightened awareness. Wakeup and live! Let all your senses contribute to a conscious awareness of the Christ. Then you will be truly alive every day of your life!
What do the foolish maidens of Jesus' parable represent? All the maidens symbolize aspirants to spiritual wisdom and power. In the external aspect, the foolish maidens represent the five senses, that think life depend son material sources.
What do the wise girls symbolize? The inner aspect of the five senses, their thought counterpart, that draws its life current (oil) from the one life (God). The wise maidens had attained sufficient understanding to raise their senses to a spiritual level.
What does the bridegroom represent? The divine idea descended into human consciousness, the Christ Spirit.
Metaphysically Interpreting Matthew 25:31-46
25:31But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: 25:32and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; 25:33and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 25:34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 25:35for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 25:36naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 25:37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? 25:38And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 25:39And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 25:40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me. 25:41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: 25:42for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; 25:43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 25:44Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 25:45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me. 25:46And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.
JUNE 7, 1964: Matt. 25:31-40
WEEKLY UNITY
Unity explains this week's International BIBLE LESSON
Service: The Test of Value.
Questions and Answers
What is signified in this lesson by "the Son of man ... come in his glory"? The Son of man here signifies God's idea of man raised to spiritual dominion (become "King"). "His glory" signifies man's realization of his divine majesty and power.
What is "the throne of his glory" mentioned in the text of this lesson? It is the perfection of the Christ Spirit of love and compassion that is expressed by those in whom the Christ Spirit rules.
What is signified by the "nations"? The nations signify man's thought people, over which he has supervision and authority.
What do the sheep and the goats represent? The sheep represent man's receptive, obedient, productive thoughts. The goats represent his aggressive, disobedient thoughts. The Son of man separates the thoughts that are innately good from those which are negatively good or which are vitiated by selfish or other evil motives.
What is the kingdom that we "inherit" that is "prepared ... from the foundation of the world"? It is the kingdom to which Jesus referred when He said, "the kingdom of God is within you." It is a realm of divine ideas, the source of every good that we can desire. We inherit or enter into this kingdom when we realize our spiritual dominion and bring with us our loyal thoughts.
What form of well-doing blesses the doer? That which is done without thought of reward, impartially and as a matter of principle instead of as a personal feat. Where the good is loved and served through love, with the unconsciousness of self that love makes possible, the doer is blessed in the doing and asks no other reward.
Can we develop the habit of taking thought for others equally with ourselves? Yes. We can develop it by thinking of ourselves only as part of the whole body of society and of others as equally important parts of it. What affects one affects all, therefore our thought ought to embrace all alike.
What is the dividing line between selfish and unselfish living? It is the line of demarcation between consciousness of the self and consciousness of the universal life, which embraces the right of others to our attention and service.
What is the test of value as given in this lesson? Service or the unselfish thought is the one thing that is accounted good.
What is the acid test of the good that anyone may do? The spirit or motive that underlies the act. If it is done in the Christ Spirit of love for love's sake, it is a good act. If it is done from an inferior or ulterior motive, as far as the doer is concerned, he reaps the reward of his motive rather than of the act itself.
The law of love is now fulfilled in me, and I express it in my service to God and to man.
The Quest for Truth
Love truth for its own sake, not for the reward it will bring to you. Seek good for its own sake, not for the happiness it will confer upon you. Thus will your life become sweeter and stronger each day, since truth and goodness are the foundation of great and noble living. Inspired by loftiness of purpose and breadth of mind, you will ascend from one plane of thought to another until your view will be like that from a mountain height. Petty limitations and false motives will disappear from your mentality, and you will be conscious of having graduated into a vastly larger world of thought and purpose. The quest for eternal truth is the greatest work to which you can address the best powers of your mind. — Grenville Kleiser: Inspiration and Ideals.
Undated: Matt. 25:31-46
BIBLE LESSON
Unity's Interpretation of the International Sunday School Lesson
The Dividing Line.
Questions and Answers
What is "the throne of his glory" mentioned in the text of this lesson? It is the perfection of the Christ Spirit of love and compassion that is expressed by those in whom the Christ Spirit rules.
Over what does the victorious Son of man rule as king? Over the self, in absolute dominion. His outlook is to be universal and His compassion goes out to and includes all others within its scope.
How is goodness expressed? In taking thought first for others, and for self secondly. We can establish this universal viewpoint in our mind and character by recognizing the whole (society) rather than a part (the personal self ) as entitled to our chief thought.
What do sheep and goats typify? Sheep, the most harmless and innocent of all animals, typify the divine life that flows into our consciousness from Spirit. This life is pure, innocent, guileness [(?) gentileness may be meant]. The goats symbolize resistance and opposition.
What is meant by separating the sheep from the goats? Divine understanding, when it enters the mind, quickens the discriminating faculty. Conformance to the standard of absolute Truth requires us to deny all motives, thoughts, and acts that do not accord with it, and to affirm those in harmony with it. Thus the sheep are separated from the goats.
Is the dividing line between good judgment and ill-considered judgment easily seen and recognized? No, not always. It is often buried deep below the surface of consciousness and must be sought for earnestly. Each one must ask himself what is his duty, what is the right course to follow, and where the line falls. He must affirm the wisdom of Spirit enlightening him until he sees clearly, what he has to do.
What is the kingdom inherited from the foundation of the world? The kingdom to which Jesus referred when He said, "The kingdom of God is within you." It is the realm of love, compassion, and understanding through which all men become brothers in Truth.
What is the standard by which we measure value? Service. We account as essential and most valuable the things that best serve us. Emotion, thought, appetite should all serve us and do our will. The forces of nature serve to build and sustain the body. The forces of mind serve to unite us with God in the conscious act of creation.
My will is to enter into the life of Christ and to see the Christ in others.
Unless otherwise specified, the Bible text used in this lesson is taken from the American Standard Version of the Bible, copyright, 1929, by the International Council of Religious Education, and is used by permission.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 10-16-2013
