The disciples had asked Jesus when they should expect His return and the end of the age. Jesus answered that it was impossible to predict, even for Him! So instead of speculation, Jesus encouraged preparation. Jesus’ famous parable of the ten virgins teaches us to get ready ASAP–before it’s too late. At Calvary, we’re learning to…
“Live The Cross-Shaped Life” – Cruciformity is learning to embody the self-sacrificial love of King Jesus, which God always deserves and honors.
God doesn’t always make things easy for His people, but He always makes it worth it. The living, breathing proof of this is Jesus. Everything about Jesus is humble self-sacrifice from birth to death, but God brought Him back to life and crowned Him King of kings. That’s cruciformity, and we’re learning His cross-shaped story as we preach through the Gospel according to Matthew.
We’re also learning cruciformity in the beatitudes, the cross-shaped attitudes of God’s kingdom people. We’ve been memorizing these beatitudes this year, and we are now on the final one:
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10 NIV)
I’ve heard people say something like “You must be doing something right if you’re being persecuted.” That is not true at all! Just because you’re being persecuted doesn’t mean you’re in the right. The beatitude does not merely say “blessed are those who are persecuted;” it says “blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.” Being persecuted because of righteousness is a blessed state, but persecution in itself doesn’t mean anything! You might be persecuted just because you’re acting like a jerk or because you committed a sinful crime! But if your life is increasingly lining up with the righteousness of Christ as revealed in Scripture, and you’re persecuted because of THAT, then you’re blessed. Peter, reflecting back on Jesus’ words, expanded the thought in his first letter to the churches: “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” (1 Peter 4:14-16)
Today, we’ll look at the first of three parables Jesus told in Matthew 25 and then draw out three lessons on preparing for Jesus’ return.
The Parable
Jesus’ parable is brilliant as always. He will use a common, everyday thing–lamp oil–to teach truths of infinite importance–preparing wisely for His return.
#1 The Preparation (25:1-4)
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.”
The virgins are young women who are part of a Jewish wedding party. They’re bridesmaids. Jesus doesn’t go into much detail regarding the wedding because He doesn’t need to. That’s not the point because His focus will be on the character of the bridesmaids. The bridesmaids are waiting, likely with the bride, for the bridegroom, who would have been bringing the rest of the wedding party. Once the bridegroom met the bride and her bridesmaids they would all travel through the streets of town in a processional until they reached the groom’s house for a celebration.
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.”
They needed their own lamps because the wedding would have happened in the evening. Why? Because everyone worked during daylight, dinner and especially feasts were after sunset. This is no small thing. There were no streetlights in ancient Israel. Everyone would need to provide their own source of light for the evening processional; therefore, each bridesmaid would need to grab some extra oil, just in case it was needed. The five wise bridesmaids prepared extra oil, but the five foolish ones did not.
In today’s terms, think of it like charging a phone. Have you ever headed out for a long day and forgot to charge your phone the night before? You can see the battery percentage ticking down, and so you try your best to conserve the battery. But you don’t take as many photos as you like or message as many people as you like. Maybe you were smart enough to bring a charger; maybe not!
#2 The Wait (25:5)
5 “The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.”
Last week, we studied two other parables Jesus told about the timing of His return. In the parable of the unsuspecting homeowner, Jesus compared his return to how a thief shows up in the middle of the night in total surprise. In the parable of the wise and wicked servants, the master entrusted servants with tasks and then returned surprisingly early only to find one servant doing what he had been told and the other in total disobedience.
In this parable, the bridegroom does not come as a total surprise. Neither does he return surprisingly early. Instead, he returns surprisingly late, and, because he took so long, the bridesmaids had fallen asleep, and the oil in their lamps would have run out.
#3 The Return (25:6-7)
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.”
That’s way past my bedtime. Midnight is quite late to get the party started. No wonder they had already fallen asleep. By that time, their lamps had been burning for several hours and would have completely burnt out. But the party would just be getting started, and they need more oil for the rest of the evening! Fortunately, the wise bridesmaids have prepared for the groom’s return! They fill their lamps with oil and are ready to join the wedding processional. But the foolish bridesmaids are in trouble…
#4 The Request (25:8-9)
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.’”
Naturally, the foolish bridesmaids ask the wise bridesmaids for some oil. Kind of like when you have a group of people with phones running out of battery but only one charger! Ah! But who should get the oil? The ones who were smart enough to prepare! Who should get first dibs on the phone charger? The one who was smart enough to prepare!
Now, you might say, “That’s not nice! They should have shared their oil!” But the facts of the story are the facts. The oil cannot be shared otherwise no one goes to the wedding. And the point of this story isn’t sharing; Jesus tells tons of other parables about sharing. In fact, he’ll tell one at the end of this chapter! But this parable is about personally and wisely getting ready for Jesus’ return! Because the foolish bridesmaids did not get ready, they’re in trouble…
#5 The Consequences (25:10-13)
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.’”
Jewish wedding feasts could last for days. No expense would be spared. The groom and his family would do their best to impress. Eating, drinking, singing, and dancing. A great celebration of God’s gift of marriage. This is what the wise bridesmaids were privileged to experience. But the foolish bridesmaids were left out.
In an actual Jewish wedding, the five foolish bridesmaids might be scolded and shamed, but they would probably be allowed into the party. The twist in Jesus’ parable is that, if you are not prepared when He returns, there will be no opportunity to repent and commit to Him. But the once-included bridesmaids are now nothing but wedding crashers because they did not get ready wisely. The groom answered the cries to be let in with, “I don’t know you!” Can you imagine the regret??? “If only!!!”
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Have you ever had a fear of missing out on something, so you always stay in touch with your family or your friends or the news or your hobbies. The one thing you definitely do not want to miss out on is the return of Christ. Are you ready? Here’s three lessons we need to know about preparing for Christ’s return…
The Lessons
#1 The crucified and risen King Jesus will return to celebrate with His people and exclude those who are not.
Celebration sounds fantastic! Imagine living in the world after Jesus has made all things new! No more sin or death or trials or temptations. Only worship and holiness and love and peace.
Celebration sounds fantastic, but exclusion does not! This may sound harsh. It may sound too harsh to be the Jesus you think you know. Maybe you think that Jesus should just forgive everyone whether or not they’ve believed and repented. You can think that if you want, but that’s simply not what Jesus Himself says. To the unprepared, He says, “I don’t know you.”
Jesus will tell two more parables in Matthew 25 that further clarify what it looks like to live wisely in preparation for His return, but He’s really been teaching His disciples this all along in Matthew: deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him. Love God with all that you are. Love your neighbor as yourself. And make more disciples!
#2 Getting ready for Jesus is a small thing compared to the consequences of failing to prepare.
Bringing extra oil might have been a bit of a pain and an expense…but it would have been worth it compared to the consequences of being excluded from the party! Jesus said it like this earlier in the Gospel of Matthew:
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)
Self-denial and self-sacrifice for God’s glory and others’ good are not easy. Losing your life and your pride for Jesus is not easy. But it’s worth it! That’s THE question:
WOULD YOU RATHER surrender your life to Jesus now and enjoy Him forever OR live for yourself now and experience God’s wrath forever?
It’s obvious right? Don’t be foolish; the answer is clear. If you have questions or doubts, reach out for help. There’s a pattern where teenagers and young adults go and do their thing, but once they have kids, they start to take their faith more seriously. If that’s what you did, praise God! But if you’re a teen or young adult, don’t foolishly put off Christ because you foolishly believe enjoying your teens or your 20s is better. Jesus could return before you turn 18 or 21 or 25. Enjoying Jesus forever will be infinitely better than squeezing out meaningless fun in your youth. Get ready now.
There’s a pattern in our consumer culture where we spend our time and money on temporary fun and stuff rather than the eternal kingdom of heaven. But at any moment, Christ’s return can turn that momentary buzz of entertainment and materialism into a hangover from hell in hell. Enjoying Jesus forever will be infinitely better than obsessively upgrading your phone or car or home or squandering your retirement with leisure. Get ready for Jesus now.
Praise God! Those who have been baptized are proclaiming their readiness for Jesus! They are saying in their baptism that they trust and love Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin and that they are living a new life for Him by the Holy Spirit. Are you ready? Get ready!
#3 We cannot make others get ready for Jesus, but we can invite and warn.
It’s profoundly humbling and even terrifying for parents of children both young and old to know that they cannot make their child turn from their sin and love Jesus. The same is true for all of your family members, friends, coworkers, classmates, neighbors, and every person around the world. We cannot force anyone to get ready for Jesus because that is ultimately a matter of the heart–something between them and God. This is why the gathering of the church for worship of and learning from Jesus is so important. These gatherings ought to keep us focused on Christ, constantly preparing for His return:
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
One of the first steps away from Jesus is stepping away from His church. His churches ought to be the place where His love and truth are constantly shared. We need to be “spurred”–warned, and we need to be “encouraged”–invited. Why? Because “the Day”–Christ’s return–is approaching! Therefore, we must remain committed and focused and prepared to the end of the age. And then our invitations and warnings to Christlikeness overflow in evangelism to all the other people we want to see prepared for Jesus–from family and friends to neighbors and strangers. Do you live an inviting life and a warning life? Because we all need to keep getting ready for Jesus.
Questions for Reflection and/or Discussion
#1 Do you think Jesus is coming very soon or is He, in your opinion, still a long way off? Either way, what is Jesus teaching us to do in this parable?
#2 Would you rather surrender your life to Jesus now and enjoy Him forever or live for yourself now and suffer God’s wrath forever? Don’t be foolish; the answer is clear. If you have questions or doubts, reach out for help.
#3 Why is it sometimes hard to invite someone to Christ and warn them about unbelief when the consequences are eternal? Ask God for opportunities, compassion, boldness, and clarity to share Christ.
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