"Lessons in Readiness"The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Good Morning, we are in our sermon series in the parables.

Over the past several weeks, we have been looking at the stories that Jesus told - these were his core teachings and foundational what it means to be a disciple....

Throughout the parables Jesus taught, what it looked like be part of his kingdom.. His Kingdom is both Now and not yet..

This week has been eventful week in the news ...with what took place in Israel last weekend …

The world has been shocked by the stories, images and atrocities that have been committed in Israel and in the Gaza Strip…

Things are escalating in the middle East… With Israel is now making retaliations..

One of the questions that came up early on. Was..

Why was Israel not prepared?…

How did they not see this coming?

how come ..they lacked the imagination needed to see this happening.

It was reminiscent of our Pearl Harbor or our 911 - When we were caught off guard.

"Opps"

One the challenges of life is not knowing what lies head ..

As Jesus earthly ministry winds down, he begins to talk about his departure…

In Mat 24 -25 we have the well know sermon of Jesus known Olivet Discourse —

Jesus is Preaching on the Mt Olives and he points to the temple and he says, “Do you see all these, Not one stone upon another will not be over thrown....

This must have been shocking statement ..So much so that.. later ..the disciples pull him aside privately and the ask what he meant..

Would the temple really be destroyed? and when would this happen?

When Was this the end of the age?

In Matt 24 and 25 Jesus begins answers this question..

He talks about the abomination of desolation - when the anti christ will set up idols to be worshiped in the temple.. -He talks about the Tribulation PERIOD of intense suffering, and the second coming…(the rapture of the church) -..

Jesus said this generation would not pass before these things happen..This verse has caused some confusion..

— some believe this happened in 70 Ad.. with the destruction of Jerusalem… However, The word generation can also mean the generation that is alive when these events happen.. which point to things to come..

Jesus tells 5 parables in this sermon, known as the “Crisis Parables” — .. because they deal with being — ready for His coming.. For example.

The Parable of the Fig tree - Which about discerning the time of his coming-

Jesus said when you see the leaves budding on the fig tree .. know Summer is coming…

know that Jesus is at the very gates..

Then there is..

Parable of the Talents - the Master Gone for an extended period of time and he returns to settle accounts …and each of his servant has to give account for their stewardship.. ...

And then.. We get to the ..

Parable of the 10 Virgins — (Or the Parable of the Wedding Feast) -

We need to remember — that purpose Jesus teaching on the End times was HOPE…

Jesus was comforting his disciples - that he would be back.…It was one of joyful anticipation…

Living far away family - Airports are are place that full both sad and joyful memories.… When we drop family at airport we shed tears… But they arriving — there anticipation and excitement.…

There is something wonderful about the coming of “Christ”— It is called the blessed Hope..

The Scriptures has much to say about the second coming..

In the OT there are more prophecies about Jesus second advent/coming than his first Advent/coming..

There are 1845 OT references to the second coming...

In the NT - 1 in every 25 verses deals with the return of Christ. It is mentioned 318 times in 260 Chapters!

Also every NT book mentions his return, with exception to Galatians….

Then then is the teaching of Jesus — He often talked about his return often -

In fact his last words recorded in John is a promise of his return..

Jesus said in...

John 14:3 (ESV)

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

This morning we are looking at

The Parable of 10 Virgins - lessons in Readiness.

Lets read our text found in Matt 25.

Matthew 25:1–13 ESV

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

The parables were often stories that involved everyday things that his audience could understand… He talks about farming buildings.. families, Inheritance… . Here Jesus talks about a wedding Ceremony…

Opps (Displace the Equilibria)

I have gained a new appreciation for Weddings.. We had a crash course in wedding planning … When Justin and Emma got married in May..

But, Our Weddings in the Western world ...have nothing on a Jewish a wedding in the First Century…

A wedding was the greatest event in a village or a town.. Everyone got involved, friends, family, extended family, everybody in the village..

In a Jewish marriage there were three main elements -

First..The engagement - that happen long before the wedding day.. the engagement was a contract that didn’t really really involve couple.. It was often an agreement made between the two fathers.

The Second phase, would be the betrothal - This was the official marriage ceremony - where the couple would say their vows and covenants before their friends and family

The Betrothal period lasted for an extended period .. it could last as long a whole year-

During this time a groom would get things and prepared to take his bride.

He might build an addition to his fathers house... or purchase land or a field.. The goal would to be in a better financial place.. before getting married.

A Betrothal was a binding agreement.. and if you broke up during the Betrothal period it was considered divorce..

At the end of this period came the

the Wedding Feast..…

This was the festivities...that could last up to one or two weeks..

The festivities began with the bride and her bridesmaids preparing themselves for the arrival of the groom.. When all the preparation would wait outside in the evening with their lanterns lit .. anticipating the arrival the grooms arrival..

The groom would arrive with an announcement followed by the young men of the village -

After receiving bride there would be a joyful processional throughout the village — and the party would begin..

On the last day of the Wedding feast…

“the friend of the bridegroom” (the best man) would take the hand of the bride and place it in the hand of the groom … and all the guest would leave…and they would be alone for the first time...

Jesus takes us to the Scene where Bride and Bridesmaids who are waiting for the groom..

It would be in the evening— where they had these lamps/torches - that were fueled by oil…

Each bridesmaid was responsible to keep the flame burning.. they carry a little extra oil.

In this Parable — 5 of the bridesmaids are called wise and 5 are called foolish..

Jesus teaches his disciples how to be prepared for for his return....

First --

I. Be Prepared For Life’s Delays.

WE have all been on a road trip and the we suddenly hit an unexpected traffic Jam…The last time I drove to San Francisco… traffic was moving long quite fast.. until the Bay bridge exit—

I hit several lanes of traffic … It is amazing..it is only a 25 mile drive the bridge to the airport — But.. it took me nearly an hour and Half...

Jesus teaches US in this parable TO EXPECT Delays..

It wasn’t that the foolish bridesmaids didn’t have any oil.. They had come with what they thought they had needed....

Maybe they assumed that he would come earlier in the night..

They prepared for the GROOMS ARRIVAL but …miss calculated THE timing…

They weren’t prepared for the delay…

When grooms coming was delayed…

They took a nap…

Agg (Problem)

…

While they slept their lamps were still burning…and when they woke up they realized their lamps have gone out..

For the five WISE bridesmaids - this wasn’t a problem.. they had extra oil… but foolish bridesmaids had a problem.

you have wise and foolish responses..

The problem is not that they fell asleep — We are told that the wise bridesmaids also fell asleep..

The real problem is that They didn’t have extra Oil

Now..

Often in Jewish literature - wisdom and prophetic writings were treated as two separate things… One is timeless and the other is about timing .

but here..Jesus draws the two together:

While the wise are prepared, they are prepared for the moment the bridegroom returns. Wisdom is linked to the need to be ready for the actual moment.

There is nothing like being caught off guard in the moment of need .. we have seen it so many times.. especially the fires .. in paradise and Maui.. the Fire came suddenly and leaders didn’t know how to respond..

The foolish bridesmaids.. do what we all do when we caught off guard... they try to fix the problem...

… First they try to borrow from the other bridesmaids…

they demand that the others share.. It is written as imperative… “Give us” your Oil..

but there is also a problem, there wasn’t enough oil to go around…

The Wise Virgins say you need to get your own oil… Go to the merchant..

What is the Lesson.....Wisdom Expects delays....but is also prepared.

Martin Luther, once said

That if he Knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow he would plant a tree..

In Other words - he would live just like he did every other day…But with anticipation..like every other day…

We handle delays by being prepared..

When the Bridegroom comes they have nothing extra to give —they have no reserves.... there resources are depleted..

It is human nature to live on the edge .

Car manufacturers know this . Every car built with over a gallon of reserve fuel beyond the "empty" line.

When you think you have nothing in the tank — they make allowance because they.. know that people procrastinate —

How many times do we allow our Spiritual/ Emotional Tanks to get below Empty?

When we in this place we have nothing to left to give. We often find ourselves reacting instead of responding to life..

The Bridesmaids do one last thing… they rushed to the dealer to get more oil…

but while they are gone —

BrideGroom arrives..And they end up miss they miss his coming ..

They were running on Empty...

I was thinking of this poor Bride in this story.…Every bride wants everything to go perfectly on their wedding day…

she ...Had half of her bridal party missing when the groom arrived…

The Wedding feast had to go on without them..

When they finally arrived - it was too late

The door was shut and they were unable to go in..

The three saddest sayings in the parable are .

Our lamps are gone out

The door was shut

3. an the Lord, says “I do not know you...

The foolish brides missed his appearing… because they were not prepared...

This a little like buying Super-bowl tickets (spending 1000’s dollars for the best seat) and arriving just before the game and realizing you don’t have the tickets on you...

When you think about it..

They spent the exact same time waiting as wise bridesmaids.. with one exception… they didn’t have anything Extra to give....

How do we prepare for the Unknowns of life?

1. Be Prepared for Delays.

2. Don’t Get Caught up in All the Details.

When things happen in Israel — The world takes notice… It isn’t it amazing that Little country - 290 miles north-to-south and 85 miles east-to-west —and population of 10 million.... gets SO MUCH ATTENTION..

In Christian circles - WHEN any THINGs HAPPEN IN ISRAEL you start to hear about prophecy and end Times… WE HEAR ABOUT the tribulation and the Rapture….

The reason is that Most of us believe that … we are living in the last days..

because of All the signs seem to be fulfilled...

Jesus said in Matthew 24…

When you see these things.. Deception of many, wars, rumors of wars, pestilences, famines, earthquakes, the sea and the waves roaring..

This is the begining of sorrows..

What does this mean for us?

First of all we need to be careful of getting caught up in the Hype ....

If you go back in history you find that Early Church believed that they were the generation experienced the Tribulation…

In second and third Century.. There was a Roman Clergy man that said that Jesus would return in 500 Ad.. (His predictions were based on the dimensions of Noah’s Ark) —

You may have remembered Harold Camping who predicted in 1994 that Jesus would come back on May 21, 2011…

Then more recently, we have had September 23, 2023 predictions of Christ return…

We need go back to what the scripture teaches . Which is ..No One knows the hour of his return..

Matthew 24:36 ESV

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Jesus says, “no one knows … but the Father only.”

“The angels of heaven” don’t know. TheSon doesn’t know.

The highest heavenly created beings and the highest uncreated being don’t know...

God the Father alone has such knowledge..

What Jesus taught us in Matt 24 and 25 Discernment… being aware of the season..

2. Discernment -

The Problem with going after signs is that they can interpreted in many different ways.—

There was a conference in Houston, speaker Marti Ensign, a missionary to Africa, told of bringing some African pastors to the United States for a big meeting.

During their free time, these Africans wanted to go shopping. Even though they were in a small town, Marti knew there was a chance someone might have difficulty or get lost. So she gave them her phone number for such an emergency. In less than an hour the phone rang and the African said, "I am lost."

Marti said, "Lay the phone down, go to the street corner, find out the names of the two streets at the corner, come back and tell me, and I will come and get you."

In a few minutes he returned to the phone and reported, "I am at the corner of 'Walk' and 'Don't Walk.

AHAHA..

How we interpret signs are important...

Some might remember Hal Lindsey… In the 70’s he identified apocalyptic symbols, primarily from the book of Daniel, as indications that the end was coming in his day.

The King to the North was Russia.

The ten-headed beast was the European Economic Community, an ancestor of the current European Union.

The scorpions that stung with their tails in Revelation were military helicopters....

What Problem is that you begin to fill in the blanks…

All these predictions become like the gospel…at that time people sold houses, quit jobs…

When I was in my 20’s - ready to go to Bible college had - a Christian tell me I was wasting my time...

Why? because Jesus was coming back..

When all the Hype subsided…things carried on as normal..

instead of getting caught up in the hype… what What Jesus does in the Olivet Discourse…

Is that He gives us… indicators of what to expect when get get closer to his Return..

In Matt 24 there are several signs..

Increase in false Teaches

Wars and rumours of wars

Nation will rise up again nation

Famines and earth quakes.. (birth pains)

Love of many will grow cold

The Gospel will be proclaimed to all nations

What is Jesus saying...

We need to always be living in a Season of preparedness… It is not one FEAR but one of expectation…

Our mens bible study is in the book of Esther…When the nation of Israel is under the threat of anilation, Mordicah says to Esther - this could be the time —

Esther 4:14 (ESV)

14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Mordicah— looks out and he sees what is happening…It looks like this is the time speak.. God is able to bring deliverence form elsewhere.

God is capable …

But Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this… this is the way we should handle end time prophecy.. Who knows this could be the day.. we could be called for such a time as this..

T/s How do we prepare for the Unknowns of life?

1. Be Prepared for Delays.

2. Don’t Get Caught up in All the Details.

3. Take Personal Responsibility for your Faith.

I haver a First Aid Kit in my car.. And, I never gave it too much thought until I was thinking about message ... but the manufactures thought it would be a good idea to have it in the car…’

I looked at it - and has some of things you might expect.. band aids, bandages — blankets —

But, what was even more useful — Was this check list of instructions of what to do in an emergency… What to do with a wound, How do give CPR, What to do with a heart attack, How to help someone is chocking.. how to dress a burn or a sting…

It is quite an extensive list…with step by step instructions… This would be helpful in an emergency ---

Being Prepared does not means.. that I am obsessing about running into an emergency.. But, if it happens… I have tools....

With the Lord return it is not if it happens — but when Christ returns will I be ready...— The bible teach his imminent return — it is going happen - at some point… but I am ready? is the big question..

We are to be Awake and alert.. they way we are awake is by being

a. Pro-active in our Spiritual Readiness.

We are to be concerned about our own lamps…

Jesus says

.. “Therefore keep Watch”

The picture of the Church --- Should be those whose Lamps are burning brightly…

The lamps represent being ready.

In Matt 5 in the sermon on the Mount Jesus said that a man does not take his lamp and hide it under a bush… We are to be light and ablaze for Christ…

How do we keep the fire of God presence burning in hearts.. WE NEED HIS OIL..

by Having our lamps filled with oil — .

Oil is significant in the Bible.. Not only was it used for fuel for light..

It was used to set aside prophets and kings for service... It symbolized the “joy” associated with the marriage...

It was used in offerings..

Oil also represented the presence of God.. It symbolizes the Holy Spirit…

In the Ephesian chapter 5,

Paul tells the church to walk carefully — not as the unwise but as the wise -making the best used of time because the days of evil… don’t be foolish.. but understand the will of God.. How do you do this?

Ephesians 5:18 (ESV)

18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

The word filled means to Be Complete… it means

To cram — as to fill a net..

To Level up — as filling a hollow.

To furnish -

To be Satisfied..

To Supply...

CONCLUSION

CS lewis says that

The doctrine of the Second Coming teaches us that we do not and cannot know when the world drama will end.

The curtain may be rung down at any moment.… This seems to some people intolerably frustrating.… We do not know the play.…

The Author knows.

The audience, if there is an audience may have an inkling.…

When it is over, we may be told.

We are led to expect that the Author will have something to say to each of us on the part that each of us has played.

The playing it well is what matters infinitely.

C. S. Lewis

This morning

— How prepared are you?

How fill or empty is your tank?

Are we living with expectation..

It is interesting that Jesus last words are will be back — and the last words of the NT... ends with Jesus saying — I am coming soon..

Revelation 22:20 (ESV)

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

John Ends the Bible the Full revelation of Jesus with the word -

Come, Lord Jesus..

THE GREEK WORD IS MARNATHA… THIS IS OUR HOPE..

Close with a prayer