Jesus began His sermon on the Mount of Olives with the temporal judgment against Israel (23:1f), and now concludes His eschatological sermon with the eternal judgement of the Nations. Through a parable-like simile of sheep and goats, Jesus discusses with His disciples the clear delineation of those that are His sheep and the dire consequences of not being one His own (i.e. the goats).

Jesus gives a sixth and final illustration to warn His would-be disciples to be ready for His return at any moment. Using another parable—the parable of the talents—Jesus encourages His followers to labor faithfully until He comes again by comparing three men who were given various levels of stewardship over large sums of borrowed money.

Jesus gives a fourth illustration (3 previous are Figs, Flood of Noah, Faithful fella put in charge) to warn His would-be disciples to ready for His return at any moment with a parable of the ten female virgins waiting for the groom and his wedding procession. In this story the groom comes back later than expected. Five of the bridesmaids are wise, and five are called “foolish” because they were not prepared to wait so long.

Jesus wraps up the first half of His sermon on the Mount of Olivet with three practical admonitions all built around 3 illustrations: a fig tree, Noah, and a thief in the night. The core reactions toward His second coming Jesus expects from His followers are Expectancy, Imminency, and Urgency.

Matthew 24-25 records Jesus’s Olivet sermon. In it He lays out the basic elements and atmosphere of the events surrounding the last days. Matthew 24 focuses on the deception and destruction that characterizes the world around the time of His return to establish His kingdom on earth.

Matthew 23 is Jesus’s last time to address the public. He gives a strong rebuke of Jewish leadership by diagnosing their problem as religious deceit. He used the words “hypocrisy” and “woe” repeatedly in this message. Their false righteousness—and the destruction it causes—deeply saddens our Lord.

Matthew 22 ends with Jesus giving one last word to the challenges of His enemies. His final word is about His credentials as fully man and fully God. Using the most quoted Psalm in the Bible, Psalm 110, Jesus challenges His challengers with the duality of nature as the divine messiah.

As a last-ditch effort to discredit Jesus the religious leaders of the day asked a question that was so highly debated that most would have assumed there wasn't an answer. in the hopes of setting an achievable standard, the religious leaders attempted to grade the commands of God so they could keep what they credited as the "most important" Laws. It is only upon asking Jesus, which is the greatest command, that the core of the Law of God is revealed to be Love.

Jesus recognizes the devious intent and foolish question of the Sadducees. He responds to their

outlandish story by affirming Holy Scripture, the power of God and the reality of the

resurrection. Jesus’ teaching amazes His listeners by His authority and grasp of divine truth.

In Matthew 22:15-22 Jesus is tested by religious and political leaders who plan to trap and discredit Him. Though their snare is well set, their trap is limited by their poor understanding of God and His Kingdom (Matthew 15:14; 23:27). Jesus’ response is believed by many to be, “the single most influential political statement ever made in the history of the world.”