Matthew 25:1-13


Matthew 25:1-13
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Jesus continues to prepare His followers for His second coming.  He wants us to realize that things will not always go according to our plan or schedule.  When the Lord returns there will be those who are prepared and ready for His coming and there will be those who are not ready.  Jesus wants to make sure that His followers are prepared by making the consequences of being unprepared very clear.  There will be no second chances.  In many ways the prepared and the unprepared will look very similar; until the coming of the Lord.  At the return of Christ, the judgment will be made as to who are the true followers of Jesus and who are foolishly unprepared.

THE COMING OF CHRIST MAY DELAY BUT IS IMMINENT: The lesson Jesus seems to be repeating over and over again in this passage is about the delay in His coming.  However, there is a balance to that teaching that we must always be on the alert and prepared because His coming is imminent.  As we consider the coming of Christ, we cannot lose hope and begin to live as if He were not coming.  We also must be careful not to generate false hope that we will see Him return in short order.  The second coming of Christ is something that only the Father knows.  It is not our job to predict or even try to guess when it might be.  Our job is to faithfully, expectantly and vigilantly work as we wait for His return.

THE PRUDENT WILL PREPARE TO WAIT FOR AND WELCOME THE LORD: The five prudent virgins were prepared to wait for the bridal party for a long time.  The preparation was simply bringing extra oil for their lamps.  Whatever the cultural implications for having a lamp might have been, it is clear in the story that being with out a lit lantern would have had serious implications for the guest, including exclusion from the wedding feast.  While there are many things that the oil could likely signify, it is likely unwise to try to come up with some sort of allegorical interpretation for what the lantern, the oil or the wick represents.  It seems that wisest way to interpret the parable is to simply state that it symbolizes preparedness.  Being prepared for Christ’s coming would certainly require genuine salvation.  The most important preparation we can make for the second coming of Christ is to believe in all that He accomplished in His first coming.  Trusting in our works or religious rituals is not genuine salvation.  It may look very similar to salvation, but it will not endure.  Only genuine saving faith in Jesus will eternally save a person from sin and guarantee entrance to the presence of God.

THE FOOLISH WILL BE UNPREPARED AND UNWELCOME: The fact that there are five virgins that think they are prepared for the groom’s arrival, but are not, is a sobering teaching.  They want to be at the feast, are expecting to be at the feat, were waiting for the bridal party to arrive just like the other and they had made some basic preparations.  However, time revealed that they were not truly prepared.  There will be those who make positive, initial responses to the Gospel but are not truly saved.  They may think they are saved.  Others may think they are saved.  However, they are not saved.  This passage makes it clear that once Christ returns, there will be no opportunity to change this condition.  It is of vital importance for every person in church or out of church to examine their faith to make sure it is genuine. 

APPLICATION: Be prepared for the Lord’s return.  Stay attentive but be patient because it may take longer than expected.  Trust Christ exclusively for forgiveness of and freedom from sin.  Examine yourself to make sure that you have truly turned to Christ as your only hope for eternal salvation.  Wait expectantly and work for His glory until the Groom comes. 

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