Naylor Community Christian Church
I. Introduction
-- turn
in Bibles to Matthew 25:1-13
Matthew 25:1-13 New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “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 them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their
lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in
jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the
bridegroom! 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;
our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be
enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for
yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy
the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to
the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord,
Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I
don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not
know the day or the hour.
--
anyone here ever been in danger of running out of gas? -- several years ago, we
took a trip out west to buy a bus from Kim’s uncle -- the plan was to drive out
together to Arizona, stopping along the way to see some of the attractions --
and then to get the bus and drive it back home -- one of the places we decided
to stop was Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico
-- we
had been driving west on I-10 through Texas, and when we got close to New
Mexico, we plugged the address into Google Maps to route us there -- the GPS
mapped it out and when we got to the right place, we turned off I-10 and headed
north, following the GPS directions
-- we
had about a half a tank of gas when we got off the interstate, so we weren’t
real worried about that -- you know, there’s always a gas station on the road
that you can stop at and fill up, even if you have to pay more than you want
-- the
route to Carlsbad Caverns wasn’t what we expected -- we were expecting it to be
a highway or at least good paved roads since this was a major attraction -- but
it wasn’t -- we ended up on gravel roads following semitrucks and taking two
path lanes to get to the entrance -- I don’t know if you’ve been there, but the
caverns are literally in the middle of nowhere -- and all the time we’re
driving, the tank is getting lower and lower in the van
-- as we
were leaving the caverns, it was getting late -- our plan was to spend the
night in El Paso and then push on to Sierra Vista, Arizona, the next morning --
we looked at the gas, and we discussed whether we had enough to make it to El
Paso or if we should go on into Carlsbad, New Mexico
-- to go
into Carlsbad would mean we would be driving about 30-45 minutes the wrong way,
and then we would have to backtrack to get to El Paso -- we’re basically talking
about adding an additional hour and a half to our trip
-- we looked at the map and
there were a lot of small towns and crossroads and I distinctly remember Kim
saying, “Let’s go on -- there’s lots of crossroads and there’s going to be
convenience stores at each crossroads and if we have to, we’ll just fill up
there” -- that made sense -- that’s exactly what we see here in Georgia
-- so, we
headed off towards El Paso and started driving through the desert -- we’re on
these little country, two-lane roads, but at least they were paved -- but then
I started noticing that when the GPS was showing us we were getting near a
town, we’d get there and there wasn’t a town -- it was just a crossroads -- it
had a town name -- but there was nothing there -- no stores -- no gas stations
-- I started getting a little worried
-- but,
at this point, we had no choice -- we were pretty well committed -- and, we
thought, we do have Triple-A -- worst case, if we run out of gas, we can just
call them -- but, as we passed crossroad after crossroad with no stores and as
the tank kept getting lower and lower and lower, we realized we also had no
cellphone coverage -- Triple A is a great resource, if you can get in touch
with them -- but with no phone service and starting to run out of gas, we were
in a pickle
-- so,
we just kept driving and praying and watching for gas stations -- the warning
light came on in the van and we were still a long ways from El Paso -- and I
thought, somebody’s going to have to walk
--
finally, we came into the outskirts of El Paso on fumes -- I don’t think we
could have gone another five miles -- we were almost literally coasting into
town and we ended up paying a lot of money for gas to fill up the van -- a lot
more than I would have wanted to pay -- but, at the moment, I was fine with
that because we were in serious trouble
-- usually,
we don’t have problems with running out of gas in our vehicles these days because
most of our cars have warning lights to let us know when we’re getting low so
that we can make sure we have gas before we get into trouble -- we just ran
into a unique situation on our trip that we should have been better prepared
for
-- well,
just like our vehicles have warning lights to keep us from getting in trouble, the
Bible has warning lights for us, too -- and this parable of the ten virgins
that Jesus shared with His disciples is a warning light for us that is
especially relevant in light of what is going on in the world today
-- so, let’s
take a look at it and see what we can learn from this story about being spiritually
prepared in our lives and in our churches
II. The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew
25:1-13)
--
before we get into the text, let me give you the context of this passage -- we
find this parable in a section of Matthew where Jesus is giving instructions
and teachings to His disciples about the end times
-- it
comes right after the passage in Matthew 24 we call “The Olivet Discourse,”
where Jesus gives His disciples a picture of what the season of the end times
is going to look like -- with wars and rumors of war -- nations rising against
nation -- kingdoms against kingdoms -- and famines and earthquakes in various
places -- it would be a time of false religion and false teachings -- a time
when many turn away from the faith, despite the gospel being preached
throughout the world
-- Jesus
tells them that when they see this occurring, they can know the end is near --
that even though we don’t know the hour nor the day, we can be sure the season
of the end is upon us -- and that we should be prepared when we start to see
these signs
-- and
just as an aside, I am not saying that the end is coming soon or that Jesus is going
to come tomorrow, but when you look at what is going on in the world with the
war in Israel and the protests and everything else we’ve been dealing with over
the last several years, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to start preparing
and paying attention like Jesus tells us to
-- that’s
why Jesus warned His disciples about the signs of the times -- so that they
would be ready -- so that they would be prepared -- so that they would be
vigilant and watching for His return
-- and in the latter part of
Chapter 24, Jesus gave several warnings about how the end was going to come --
He said that it would come on a day when people were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage -- just a normal day -- but then the end would
come quickly and if you weren’t ready, you would be left
-- Jesus
said that on that day, two men would be in the field -- one would be taken and
the other left -- and two women would be grinding with a hand mill -- and one would
be taken and the other left -- so, keep watch, He says, because you don’t know
when the day or hour will come
-- He
then goes on to give several parables about the Kingdom of Heaven and what it
will look like during the season of the end of the age to help His disciples get
ready and be prepared for when it does happen
-- the
first parable that Jesus shares with His disciples in this section is the
parable we are going to look at now -- the Parable of the Ten Virgins
-- let’s
look back at Matthew 25 and read the first part of verse 1
-- “at
that time” -- this is referring to the end of the days -- to the time right
before Jesus would come back
-- “at
that time the kingdom of heaven will be like this” -- so, as Jesus starts
here, He tells us this is a parable about the kingdom of heaven -- the kingdom
of God -- on earth during the season of the end times -- in other words, Jesus
is saying that this is what the church -- God’s kingdom -- is going to be like
in the last days
-- in
our Bible study in Revelation, we just went through the letters Jesus had John
write to the seven churches -- and we talked about how this is a case of now
and in the future -- in other words, those letters were written to specific
churches in John’s day -- real congregations that existed in the first century
-- but,
as we talked about, it is obvious that these churches are still represented
today and that we can find examples of all these churches in the world right
now -- so, there are some congregations that look like the church at Ephesus --
and some like the church in Philadelphia -- and, sad to say, some like the
churches of Sardis and Laodicea -- churches that aren’t what they need to be --
churches where the vast majority of their members may not be prepared and ready
for the coming of Christ
-- that is the warning that
Jesus is setting up in this parable when He says that this parable is a
representation of what the Kingdom of Heaven is going to look like in the last
days -- every church and every person who claims the name of Christ is not going
to be ready for His return -- and we need to read this parable and seek to understand
the meaning of this parable in light of Jesus’ warning
-- so,
regardless of whether Jesus returns today or tomorrow or in a thousand years,
the issue at hand is whether our spiritual tanks are full and we are in a right
relationship with Jesus or whether our warning lights are on and we’re not
where we need to be in our relationship with Him -- and so we find ourselves
with our tank running on empty
-- let’s
go back to verse 1 and start looking at this in more detail
Matthew 25:1 “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 them were foolish and five were wise.
-- Jesus
tells us that the kingdom of Heaven is going to be like ten virgins who took
their lamps out to meet the bridegroom -- so, it’s a story about ten virgins,
but, keep in mind, it’s really a story about the church in the end days
-- now,
in order to interpret this passage, the first thing we have to do is to
understand the context of what Jesus is talking about here -- most commentaries
tell us that this passage is referring to a traditional Jewish wedding festival
-- Jewish weddings in the first century were not like our weddings are today --
rather than being a one-day event, Jewish wedding ceremonies lasted months --
sometimes years -- and culminated in the great wedding feast at the end
-- weddings
began when the bride became betrothed or engaged to the bridegroom -- this was
the start of a committed relationship with each other -- in the eyes of the
community, the couple were joined together forever at this point, and to
dissolve that relationship would require the engaged couple to actually divorce
-- we’re
moving into the fall holiday season -- and all of us here remember the story of
Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas --
remember how their story began? -- it began with Mary and Jospeh being engaged
-- they were betrothed to one another -- and it was during that betrothal period
of the Jewish wedding ceremony that Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant -- in
our day, the couple would just break up -- but because the Jews considered the
engaged couple to be joined together forever already, Joseph had no choice but
to divorce her if he wanted to end their relationship -- that’s the picture
that Jesus is portraying for us here in this parable as He uses the normal
Jewish wedding ceremony to make His point
-- so,
the weddings begin when couples become engaged -- they are essentially joined
together in relationship at that point, but they don’t live together -- usually,
they were both still living with their parents
-- during this engagement
period, the groom would build a home for his bride -- or, if the family could not
afford a separate home, the groom would prepare rooms for his bride in his
father’s home
-- when
this was completed, he would gather his groomsmen and, in the middle of the
night, they would arrive at the bride’s house unannounced and he would retrieve
his bride -- and the bride and her attendants and the groomsmen would all make
their way back to the groom’s home along a path that was lit with torches --
where the couple would enjoy a wedding feast that would last for seven days
before they joined together formally as husband and wife
-- so,
that’s the picture we have of a normal Jewish wedding celebration -- and that’s
what Jesus’ listeners would have understood when they heard Jesus begin telling
the story of ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the
bridegroom
--
almost every commentary and sermon I read have identified the ten virgins in
this passage as bridesmaids -- as members of the bride’s wedding party -- who
would be expected to have lamps -- actually, the Greek word translated as
“lamp” here means a torch -- attendants who would be waiting with the bride for
the bridegroom’s arrival and who would escort her back for the wedding feast
-- but,
let me point out a couple things here that I noticed that seem to disagree with
that -- first, notice that there’s no mention of a bride in this passage --
none
-- the commentators said that’s
because the bride is assumed and because the focus of a wedding celebration in
those days would be centered around the bridegroom, and not the bride, as our
wedding celebrations do
-- but
notice that the text never calls the ten virgins “bridesmaids” or “attendants”
-- it just tells us that the ten virgins went out to meet the bridegroom -- and
that five of them were wise and five were foolish
-- given
the context of this parable -- given that Jesus said this is a picture of what
the Kingdom of Heaven would look like at the end of time -- I don’t think these
virgins are bridesmaids -- instead, I think they are brides -- I think they are
the betrothed in this parable
-- nowhere
in scripture are Christians or the church called bridesmaids -- we are always
pictured as the bride waiting for the groom -- we are not going to be
attendants to the church -- we are the church -- and the church is the bride of
Christ -- so, I’m going to suggest here that these ten virgins are brides who
are waiting for their bridegroom Jesus because I think that makes the best
sense of the meaning and purpose of this passage
-- with
that understanding, let’s go on -- Jesus said that five of the virgins were
foolish and five were wise -- what separated the foolish from the wise? --
verse 3
3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did
not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along
with their lamps.
-- so,
the difference between the foolish and the wise virgins had to do with oil --
the five foolish virgins did not have oil for their torches, while the five
wise virgins did
-- oil
in the Bible typically represents the Holy Spirit -- when Aaron and his sons
were being set aside as the priests for the Jewish nation, they were anointed
with oil to represent the presence of the Holy Spirit upon them
-- oil
lamps were continually burned in the temple to signify the presence of the
Spirit -- and, we are told to anoint people with oil as we pray for them in
representation of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst
-- the
Bible makes it clear that oil represents the presence of the Spirit -- and the
presence of the Holy Spirit is evidence of salvation -- as we have been talking
about over the last several weeks, the Bible tells us that when we are saved --
when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior -- we are immediately indwelt by
the Holy Spirit -- we are filled with His presence -- we are filled with oil
-- based
on that, we can assume that in this parable, the five virgins who had the oil were
saved -- they were in a relationship with Christ -- they had put their faith
and trust in Him and were looking forward to His coming -- they were brides
prepared and waiting for their bridegroom -- so, Jesus calls them wise here in
this parable
-- the five who did not have oil
were called foolish because they did not have the Spirit in their lives -- they
were not ready for the coming of Christ at the end of the age
-- one thing
we need to note is that there were no outward differences between the wise and
the foolish virgins -- looking at them, you couldn’t tell them apart -- they
both were waiting on the bridegroom -- they both had lamps or torches with them
-- they gathered together into one group -- for a period of time, the five
foolish virgins looked just like the five wise virgins -- but one of these was
not like the other
-- and
that’s a sobering message we see from Jesus -- not everyone who goes to church
is a Christian -- and not everyone who thinks they are a Christian is a
Christian
-- in
reality, every Sunday, two different groups gather -- you have the visible
church -- the outward church -- the people you see who gather together for
worship every Sunday -- the people who walk together through the doors of a
meeting place and join together to sing the songs and to listen to the word and
to be part of the “church”
-- but,
we all know that some in this group are not really “the church” -- they aren’t
born again believers -- they may just be visitors -- friends -- they may be
people seeking the Lord -- they may be people who just grew up in the church
and who continue to go because that’s their tradition -- but they’re not true
believers because they’ve never asked Jesus to forgive them of their sins and
repented and trusted in Him for salvation
-- but
present at the same time -- in the same group -- are those who are the true
church -- the true believers -- those who have received salvation through Jesus
and who have come to worship Him in spirit and in truth -- the thing is, you
can’t tell the difference in the two groups just by looking -- on the outside,
they all look the same -- it’s a matter of the heart that separates them --
it’s a matter of whether they have the presence of the Spirit or not -- is
their tank filled with oil or is it empty?
-- that’s
the main warning for us in this parable -- we need to make sure we have oil in
our lamps -- that we are in a right relationship with Jesus, just like the five
wise virgins
-- verse
5
5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming,
and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the
bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
-- same
point that Jesus was making with His disciples in Chapter 24 when He warned
them to keep watch, because they did not know the hour or the day of His coming
-- even the wise virgins fell asleep waiting for Jesus, and they were caught
unaware when He returned
-- we have
to be careful that we are actively engaged in our relationship with Jesus --
even if we are secure in our salvation -- even if we know that we have oil in
our lamps -- we need to keep an eye open and keep working for Jesus and looking
for Jesus because He could return at any moment
-- verse
7
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;
our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be
enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for
yourselves.’
-- Jesus
says that the foolish virgins cried out to the wise ones for oil because their
lamps were going out -- the text doesn’t say they ran out of oil -- it just
says their lamps were going out -- it could be the wick or rag they lit was
flammable enough to start a fire, but they had no oil to begin with -- this
parable is not saying these foolish virgins ran out of the Holy Spirit or they
ran out of salvation -- they never had it to begin with
-- up to
that point, the foolish virgins looked like the wise virgins -- they’re like
the people in our churches who faithfully come every Sunday -- who sing all the
songs -- who read the passages in the Bible -- who listen to the sermon -- but
who don’t have a relationship with Jesus -- it is all an act -- they look like
Christians, but they’re not -- and they’re fooling those who see them -- and
they may be fooling themselves
-- that’s
why we read in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are
in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves,
that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
-- we
need to make sure that we are truly in a relationship with Jesus and not just
looking like we are
-- when
the lamps of the foolish virgins begin to go out, they cried out to the wise
virgins, “give us some of your oil” -- that won’t work -- you can’t borrow oil
from someone else -- you can’t borrow salvation from someone else -- in other
words, you can’t be saved based on someone else’s faith -- salvation is a
personal decision to receive God’s grace that requires repentance, trust, and
belief
-- I’ve
had people tell me they were Christians because they grew up in church --
because their parents were Christians -- because their grandparents were
Christians -- salvation doesn’t work like that -- it’s not transferable -- it
is personal and each person has to make their own decision to repent of their
sins and ask Jesus to forgive them and to be their Lord and Savior -- you can’t
get to heaven based on someone else’s relationship with Jesus
-- for that
reason, the wise virgins tell the foolish virgins to go and get some oil for
themselves
-- verse
10
10 “But while they were on their way to buy
the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to
the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord,
Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I
don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not
know the day or the hour.
-- the
foolish virgins left, and while they were gone, the bridegroom came -- those
who had oil with them and who were ready for His return went in with Him to the
wedding banquet -- as soon as they entered, the door was shut
-- the
foolish virgins came back and knocked on the door, but the bridegroom wouldn’t
let them in -- “I tell you the truth,” He said, “I don’t know you.”
-- the
foolish virgins had as many opportunities as the wise virgins to acquire oil
before the bridegroom showed up -- they just chose to wait, to their own
downfall
-- the
ultimate point of this parable is that there is a point of no return -- I’ve
had people tell me, “I’ll get saved on my death bed” -- or they say they’re
having too much fun now and they’ll just get saved later
-- there
is a point of no return -- there is a time when it’s too late to be saved -- no
one knows the timing of their death -- no one knows when Jesus is going to
return -- and if you are not saved when you die -- if you are not saved when
Jesus returns -- you won’t be given another opportunity to go out and buy oil
then -- the door will be shut, and it won’t be opened again
-- when
Christ returns, there are only two destinations -- either you’re inside with
Him or you’re outside in the darkness -- either you’re going to heaven or you’re
facing eternal death
-- as we
talked about during the sermon series on Heaven and Hell, there is no purgatory
-- there is no place or time or opportunity for you to get right with Jesus --
to buy oil -- after you die -- the decision must be made before death and
before the return of Christ
-- these
verses remind us that what determines our destination is whether we have oil or
not -- whether we have received salvation through Jesus or not
-- there
are many people who do good things -- even good things in the church or for the
church -- who are not going to be at the wedding feast of the Lamb -- there are
many people who are going to minister in Jesus’ name, but who won’t be at the
wedding feast because they only knew about Jesus -- they didn’t know Him
personally -- they didn’t have a relationship with Him
-- I
heard a preacher one time talking about a lady in his church who was a leader
in the congregation -- she was well-respected in that church and had taught Sunday
School for years -- but, it turned out she was not saved -- she had no oil in
her lamp -- she had never personally received Jesus as her Lord and Savior --
thankfully, during one service, she finally admitted to herself and to the
congregation that she needed Jesus, and she came to the altar and filled her
lamp with oil
-- doing
good things won’t save you -- not even doing good things for the church or in
the church -- notice that both the foolish and wise virgins were asleep when
the bridegroom came -- not even the wise virgins were up and working when the
bridegroom came -- this reminds us that salvation is not by works -- it’s not
by what we do -- salvation is only by grace through faith in the atoning death
of Jesus
--
looking like a Christian -- acting like a Christian -- claiming to be a
Christian -- is not going to save you -- it’s the same as carrying a lamp
without oil -- and in the end, you will find yourself locked outside the
wedding feast of the Lamb, just like these foolish virgins
III. Closing
-- as I
was studying this passage and working on this message, I couldn’t help but be
reminded of DC Talk’s song, “I Wish that We All Had Been Ready” -- let me share
part of the lyrics of that song with you now:
Life was filled with guns
and war
And all of us got trampled
on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready
The children died -- the
days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy
a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready
A man and wife asleep in
bed
She hears a noise and
turns her head -- he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and one's
left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready
And [now] there's no time
to change your mind
The Son has come and
you've been left behind
The Father spoke, the
demons died
How could you have been so
blind?
[Now] There's no time to
change your mind
The Son has come and
you've been left behind
-- the
main point of this parable is that we need to get prepared for the return of
Jesus -- that means that we need to find out whether we are truly saved or not
-- Remember! -- 2 Corinthians
13:5 that I just shared exhorts us to examine ourselves to see whether we are
in the faith
-- that’s
the primary thing we need to do in our lives -- it is something that all of us
have to do -- have you done that?
-- the
danger is clear -- keep in mind, Judas Iscariot heard Jesus share this parable,
but he didn’t listen with his heart -- he heard the warning, but did nothing
about it -- the warning light came on and told him that he had no oil, but he
didn’t pay attention until it was too late
-- so,
what about us? -- what about you?
-- think back and ask yourself
if there is a point in your life where you personally asked Jesus to be your
Lord and your Savior? -- a time when you confessed to Him that you were a
sinner and repented of your sins and asked Him to forgive you for your sins
-- we’re
not talking about baptism or joining a church -- those won’t save you if your
heart is not right -- unless you are saved by grace through faith -- unless you
believe in your heart and trust in Jesus for your salvation and the forgiveness
of your sins, you’re not saved
-- and,
there should be evidence of your salvation -- there should be a change in your
life -- in your actions -- in your heart -- you should know that you have been
saved -- not because of how you feel -- but because of how you have changed and
how you are not the same as you were
-- if
you cannot remember a time in which you were saved -- if you haven’t asked
Jesus to be your Lord and Savior -- then I would strongly encourage you to do
so now, before you leave -- because you don’t know what the next moment holds
-- you don’t want to reach the point of it being too late
-- the
other point Jesus is making in this parable is that we need to make sure that
we’re awake and waiting for His return -- that we’re not sleeping on the job --
that we’re ministering here on earth in Jesus’ name while we keep one eye on
heaven to see if Jesus is on His way back
-- studying
these parables about the end times and studying Revelation should impress upon
us the need for us to keep working -- the need to share the gospel with others --
to minister to them -- to point them to the One who can fill their lamps -- to
the One who can forgive their sins and give them eternal life with Him
-- that’s
our job -- that’s our mission -- and we don’t need to be like the five wise
virgins in this passage who got oil for their lamps and thought that was enough
-- we need to be constantly working and sharing the love of God in real,
tangible ways while we look for His return -- all the more so since the world’s
events right now look a lot like prophecy being fulfilled -- and we need to do
whatever we can to make sure that no one is left behind
-- so,
get oil for your lamps -- keep them lit -- and don’t go to sleep on your job --
that’s the take-home message for today
-- I’m
going to close in prayer now, and as I do so, let me encourage you to take a
moment and examine where you are with Jesus -- make sure your tank and your
lamp are full with the Spirit of God -- and make sure you are in a relationship
with Him and that you have repented of your sins and turned to Him for
forgiveness and salvation
-- let’s
pray
No comments:
Post a Comment