Last Sunday of the Church Year

“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom” (Mt 25:1). Jesus is the bridegroom, and the kingdom of heaven is His marriage supper. And who is the bride? The Church. Every believer is part of the corporate bride of Christ. But let’s be very clear here: Jesus is not a polygamist. He does not have multiple brides. He does not have personal romantic relationships with thousands of individual brides. Many Christian have been falsely taught to seek a personal relationship with Jesus apart from the rest of the Church. They will talk about falling in love with Christ in a personal, romantic sense, but this is not a biblical idea. You are part of the one bride of Christ because you are part of the one Church of God. The Bible never actually speaks of a personal relationship with Jesus, only of His relationship to the Church, His bride—of which you are a member.

With this in mind, we can understand why there are ten virgins in the parable. These are not bridesmaids; they represent the members of the corporate bride of Christ, the Holy Church. But as it turns out, not all of them truly belong to the Church. Five are foolish. Now outwardly, there doesn’t appear to be any difference between the wise and the foolish. All of them are gathered in the same place, under the same roof. Likewise, there are many people who have some outward affiliation with the Church. Their names may appear on the rolls. They may have made substantial financial contributions to the last capital campaign. They could even be elders, board members, or even pastors. The ten virgins looked the same, dressed the same, came together in the same building, carried the same lamps, and all seemed to be caught up in the same activity: waiting for the arrival of the Bridegroom. In life it is hard to distinguish between the wise and the foolish.

Then, because the Bridegroom delayed, all of them fell asleep. What does it mean that the Bridegroom was delayed? Our Lord Jesus delays His return because God is merciful. Aren’t you glad that the Last Day didn’t come before your baptism, while you were still lost in sin? Thanks be to God for his abundant mercy. Even today, God is still adding those whom He calls into the Holy Ark of the Christian Church. Though the hour grows late, the day of grace is not yet over, and the door to the Ark still stands open.

And so, while waiting for the Bridegroom, the ten virgins fell asleep. This is the sleep of death, and every one of us, unless Christ returns first, will also fall asleep. But don’t worry about that—death is not the end. We’re not even halfway through the parable, let alone to the beginning of the eternal wedding. After all ten of the virgins died, at midnight, there was a cry, “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!” (Mt 25:6).

Jesus tells us about this moment: “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live” (John 5:25). And just as Jesus promised, at the sound of His voice, all the virgins came out of their graves, rose up and trimmed their lamps. On earth we say, “Until death do us part” during the marriage ceremony, but not even death can part Our Lord Jesus from the bride He died to purchase.

And then, on the day of the Resurrection, that which was hidden in life becomes apparent. The foolish virgins discover too late that there is no oil in their lamps. That’s not something you can see by looking at the outside of a lamp. In fact, it may have been impossible to tell a difference between the wise and the foolish while they were living. So it is with those who are attached to a church building on earth, whose names are written in the membership rolls of a local parish, and yet, are not members of the one Holy Christian Church. How is this possible? Jesus tells us in another parable of the wheat and weeds growing up together in the same field. And he warns us about trying to clean house now. Perhaps it can be appealing to my sinful nature to look sideways at my neighbor in the next pew and say, “I never liked her. I bet she’s one of the foolish virgins.” No. That’s not my call to make, or yours. You can’t look inside the lamp to see if your neighbor has oil.

Speaking of oil, what it is? It’s clear that you need it to enter the marriage feast. What is the oil? It is faith in Christ. Without this oil, one cannot not be a member of the Church. The trouble we have on earth is that we can’t see the oil. We can’t see faith. We can see the lamp. The lamp is good works. The Bible says to let your good works shine before men. But Christians are not the only one who do good works—unbelievers can do good works too—but without faith good works aren’t worth anything on the Last Day. Good works cannot save. Without oil the lamp will not light the way into the wedding feast. Salvation comes by faith alone.

When the unbelieving virgins realized that the had no oil, no faith, they went off to the market place to try to buy some. But that will never work. Faith is not something we obtain for ourselves. We don’t buy it, we can’t earn it, we don’t create it—we can only receive it. Faith is the gift of God. Too late the foolish virgins found that they had spent their lives spurning the one treasure that is needful. How? By rejecting and despising the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing. Every day of your life after baptism, the Holy Spirit is at work within your heart, seeking to fill you up with the oil of salvation. You don’t need to go out and try to buy oil. Jesus gives it for free through His ministers on earth.

So how is it that the foolish virgins could have been in and around the church all their lives and yet have no faith? The answer is a sad one. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Is it possible to attend a church where the saving Gospel is no longer preached? Yes, it is. St. Paul warns against this in his second letter to Timothy: “The time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves false teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

The words of Jesus are life and salvation. Without the pure doctrine of Christ, there is no oil in the lamp. Without the oil, there is no faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God or enter heaven. Jesus tells this parable as a warning. Don’t be led astray by false teachers. Don’t be distracted by beautifully adorned lamps. Don’t think that a lifetime of good works can grant salvation. Only faith in the words and promises of Jesus opens the door to heaven.

Jesus’ parable is also a great comfort. How? Because you may not look, feel, or always act like part of the spotless bride of Christ. There may be nothing outward that can unconditionally assure you that you are one of the wise virgins. Perhaps unbelievers have more beautiful lamps and greater good works that you. But take comfort in this: As you hear the words of Jesus today, the Holy Spirit is at work within you, creating and sustaining the faith that lights your path into the marriage feast. You who hear and receive the Word of God with gladness in life, can fall asleep in peace when your day comes, knowing that when the Bridegroom finally appears, your ears, though dead, will hear His voice and arise. And then together with all the saints now made perfect, you will enter with Him into the marriage feast that has no end.