WISE?
Matthew 25:1-13 NET.
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of the virgins were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra olive oil with them. 4 But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 ‘No,’ they replied. ‘There won’t be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then the door was shut. 11 Later, the other virgins came too, saying, ‘Lord, lord! Let us in!’ 12 But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you!’ 13 Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Chapter 25 of Matthew’s Gospel consists of three parables that Jesus taught on the same occasion as his teachings about his second coming. We will not find much new instruction in this chapter, but we will find some helpful illustrations about how to obey the commands that Jesus gave in chapter 24.
The command is to Stay Alert (13).
The command is the same as the one Jesus gave in 24:42-43. The reason for the command is the same. Jesus tells us that his coming will be sudden, and there will be no advance warning. That is why his servants must always be ready for him to arrive.
I won’t spend much time elaborating on this because I have already done that. Today’s text gives us another illustration. He used a parable to do that.
· Parables are not a topic themselves. They were used to illustrate and explain something that had already been taught.
· The word parable means something placed alongside to explain. It is based on the combination of the Greek verb ballō, which means to place or through something, and the preposition para, which means alongside.
He tells a story about ten young ladies waiting to attend a party. The parable explains what it means to stay alert and be ready for Christ’s return.
· Not everyone is as ready as she thinks she is. All the young ladies thought they were prepared for the big party, but only some were. For parties, that does not really matter. But for the second coming, it matters. We cannot afford to be unprepared for that. The problem these five foolish virgins had was thinking that they had plenty of time to get their lives in order. They didn’t. They thought they were OK, but they were not.
· The thoughtless had lamps, but they started going out. Some people trust their ministries to get them into the party. Jesus had told his disciples that they were the light of the world. The lamps seem to speak to that reality. But sharing God’s glory by influencing the world around us is not our qualification. Nobody does enough for their works to count toward their eternal destiny.
The wise virgins kept shining (8-10).
· The Christian life is a marathon, not a short sprint. We all know people who make great starts trying to live the Christian life but then get sidetracked by some failure. The intelligent virgins in Jesus’ story were ready to wait for as long as it took. They did not have a plan B. The thoughtless virgins were OK with waiting for a while, but if the party were delayed too long, they would think of other options. Like Sarah, in the Old Testament, when the promised baby did not come, she introduced her maid, Hagar, into the picture—lousy choice. We must stick with plan A, no matter how long it takes.
I also see in the story that there was a time when all of the ladies waiting fell asleep. I can’t prove it, but I think Jesus was alluding to death here. The Bible often refers to death as sleep. We all have a limited time to invest ourselves in the Lord’s work because our lifespans are limited. We are mortal. If there is something we can do for our Lord to reach the lost with his gospel, then we had better not put it off. After we die, our time to shine will be over.
The wise virgins knew the Lord (11-12)
· The real difference is not the oil but the relationship. Some people get hung up on the symbol. I’ve been taught all my life that oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and it was. But in this parable, the oil stands for the preparation itself. When the bridegroom explained why he was denying them entrance, he didn’t blame it on their lack of oil. He said he didn’t know them. The question we should be asking is not what we can bring to the party. The question is will the host recognize us?
It isn’t even whether we know the Lord. The foolish virgins thought they knew the host of the party. But he didn’t know them. Our theology is what we think we know about the Lord. Our standing is based on what he knows about us. We can have an immaculate theology and be evil people inside. What matters is what Jesus knows about us.
· Those who were ready went in, and the door was shut. This tells me that the grace the LORD offers us today to come to him is a limited-time offer. If we fail to respond to his invitation today, we will not get a second chance on the coming day.
Here are some practical suggestions for living ready today:
Invest yourself in the coming kingdom. Jesus gave another parable – that of the talents — to encourage us to invest ourselves in the kingdom that will appear when the king does.
- We invest in the kingdom by getting into the word of God, which describes it.
- We invest in the kingdom by fellowshipping with the King.
- We invest in the kingdom by fellowshipping with other kingdom citizens.
- Serve Christ by serving others. The parable of the talents and that of the sheep & goats encourage us to serve others and meet other people’s needs. That is one way to prepare for eternity. The light shining from our lamps is light that helps others to see the God we belong to.
- Resist shortcuts to righteousness. The intelligent virgins were willing to pay the full price of admission. They knew they would only have one chance of joining the party, so they invested in the extra oil they would need to be ready when the bridegroom appeared.
- Eliminate distractions. In the parable of the sower, Jesus taught that some people would make a good start in the kingdom but then be sidetracked by other desires and worries. The intelligent virgins stayed on target.
- Be real. The parable of the sheep & goats shows us that not everyone who looks and sounds like an authentic Christian is really an authentic Christian. In fact, there was a long period when all ten virgins appeared to be ready for the party.
Sometimes, Jesus’s words are designed to comfort the troubled, and sometimes, they are designed to trouble the comfortable. I hope you have been troubled this morning; I know I have. Let’s recommit ourselves to living ready for our Lord’s return.
LORD, we are in this for as long as it takes. We commit ourselves to living ready today and every day until you burst through the clouds. Show us how to make ourselves ready for your coming kingdom.
jeffersonvann 