Matthew 25: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Matthew 25 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

Five wise virgins and five foolish ones wait for the bridegroom. The foolish take no oil for their lamps, but the wise do (vv. 1-4). When the bridegroom arrives at midnight, only the wise are ready to enter the marriage feast (vv. 6-10). The foolish are shut out and told, ‘I don’t know you’ (vv. 11-12).

Key verse

“Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
Matthew 25:13 (WEB)

Outline

Matthew 25:1–13 Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew 25:14–30 Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:31–46 Judgment of the Nations

Discussion questions

In v6, who announces the arrival of the bridegroom?
In vv. 34-36, what does the King commend the righteous for doing?
The master’s words to the servant in vv. 24-25: how does fear shape the servant's actions?
In vv. 41-43, what does the King accuse the goats of failing to do?
When have you overlooked helping 'the least of these' in your own life?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Matthew 25: Matthew 24, Luke 12, Matthew 13.

Before next time: read Matthew 26.