53: Getting Ready (Matthew 25:1-30)

VIDEO: Our King Will Return (Igniter)

Jesus IS going to return, and in just a few minutes we’re going to talk about the importance of…

GETTING READY for His Return

But just before we do, let’s do a quick flyover of what we covered in Matthew 24, one of the most misunderstood & misinterpreted passages in all the Scriptures.

It all began with the disciples commenting on the beauty & size of the Temple in Jerusalem. Yet Jesus told them about a time coming when it would be totally destroyed, not one stone left on another.

Jesus also told them that the Temple would be destroyed within their own generation.

Matthew 24:34-35 (NIV) Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

And sure enough

The Romans had surrounded Jerusalem in April of AD 70, besieged Jerusalem for 5 1/2 months, entered the gates, decimated the city, killed over 1 million Jews, took 96,000 captive, and…totally destroyed the Temple - just as Jesus had said.

And since that day - almost 2000 years ago - there is no more Jewish Temple, no more temple priests, & no more animal sacrifices.

Instead, today…right now, a Muslim mosque stands near where the Temple used to sit & a sacred Muslim building called The Dome of the Rock (built in 688) sits on the very place where the Temple used to sit.

In February 2023 several of us got to see the Temple Mount for ourselves. Let me take you there for a moment.

VIDEO Temple Mount

And so it was, just as Jesus said, there were wars and rumors of wars, famine, persecution, signs in the sky, and an army surrounding & destroying Jerusalem and tossing the stones from the temple down off the temple mount - all within the generation of His 1st century disciples.

This was a NEAR FUTURE prophecy - an event that happened within their lifetimes.

But Jesus also seemed to point a FAR FUTURE event - His 2nd coming & the judgment of all nations (Mt 25:31-46) and we will discuss what that moment of JUDGMENT will be like in detail - NEXT WEEK.

But today we talk about the importance of GETTING READY for the return of Jesus.

And as Jesus often does, He tells a earthly story with an eternal meaning, and it goes like this…

Matthew 25:1 (NIV) At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

Remember that the term “heaven” is often a stand-in term for God, so the kingdom of heaven is referring to the kingdom of God.

The 10 virgins represent those who claim to be a part of the kingdom - some are prepared for Jesus to return while others are not.

The bridegroom is imagery for Jesus returning.

The virgins are young unmarried girls who likely are bridesmaids at the bride’s home, awaiting the bridegroom and his friends.

This is where the marriage would take place, followed by the whole wedding party and attenders going to the home of the bridegroom where a wedding banquet was held.

This was often done at night and the lamps would have made a beautiful display as the bridal party & guests made their way down the streets. Many seeing this would move to the side of the street and let the party pass (sort of like how we do for a funeral today as cars pull to the side of the street).

Matthew 25:2–4 (NIV) Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

This extra oil was brought in case the bridegroom didn’t show up quickly and the lamp burn out for lack of fuel. And, in Jesus’ story, that is just the case.

Matthew 25:5–6 (NIV) The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

He’s not there yet, but he’s expected to be on the way soon! So, in the story, as in real life (now 2000 years later), the bridegroom doesn’t arrive as quickly as they expected - and this unexpected delay gives the ladies an opportunity to take a nap, and they all fall asleep. Yet when the wake-up call is sounded at midnight, some of them ARE ready, and others ARE NOT.

Matthew 25:7–9 (NIV) Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “ ‘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.’

Trimming a lamp was a necessary task to ensure the lamp provided consistent light. It involved:

Cutting off the burnt ends, adjusting the wick to the correct length for an even burn, maintaining the oil level ensuring there is enough oil in the lamp for it to keep burning.

Some might read this text and think: “Why wouldn’t they SHARE with the other ladies?” But the point of the story is not to tell followers of Jesus to share what we have with others who are in need.

Instead, the point of the story is to be READY for the return of Jesus.

Note: a person doesn’t get in to the Kingdom because OTHERS are prepared, but because THEY are.

5 of the young ladies are excited because they were prepared, even after the extended wait,

but the other 5 young ladies were afraid because they were not prepared for their lamps to be lit after all this time. So they go off to buy oil.

Matthew 25:10–12 (NIV) 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. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

If this were just about a wedding banquet, I suppose we could get over missing out on the festivities, but it’s MUCH more important than that - this is about the Kingdom of Heaven - those who enter in and those who don’t.

Some people actually believe that when Jesus returns He will welcome EVERYONE in, because since He loves everyone He won’t judge anyone.

That’s NOT what Jesus teaches and if you refuse to read this and so many other biblical texts correctly, you’ll miss the STING of the STORY.

And here it is - Jesus warns that there will be those who will be shut out from the Kingdom…forever - with no chance of getting in. They will hear the deafening words, “I don’t know you.”

By the way: There is no purgatory where you get prayed out or paid out. There are NO 2nd chances.

Upon your death, or upon Jesus’ return - your forever home will be set.

And then Jesus puts the exclamation point on the story…

Matthew 25:13 (NIV) Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Are we keeping watch? Are we living like He’s Returning?

BIG QUESTION: Are YOU Getting Ready for His Return?

And just in case the significance of that story didn’t sink in, Jesus tells another story to make it stick.

Matthew 25:14–15 (NIV) Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

Again, the point of the story is about the Kingdom of Heaven. The man going on a journey represents Jesus, as He would eventually leave and later return - expecting his servants to have done something to grow the investment of gold he had left with them.

Matthew 25:16–17 (NIV) The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.

The 1st 2 servants understood that the master didn’t leave the money for them to hold. They understood that they had been tasked to GROW what they had been GIVEN.

Matthew 25:18 (NIV)But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

This man cared more about SECURITY than GROWTH. While the other 2 men were working to GROW what the Master had given them - expecting His return & expecting to face His judgment, this other man did what was easiest - and put it in a hole - no work involved after that - and no real expectation of his master returning to hold him accountable for what he had been given.

Matthew 25:19–21 (NIV) After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.” His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Matthew 25:22–23 (NIV) The man with two bags of gold also came. “Master,” he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.” His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

This is a wonderful phrase that I’m sure YOU and I would love to hear one day from the lips of our KING. Will there be ANYTHING BETTER than hearing something like THAT!?!

“You took my commands seriously to further the Kingdom. You used the gifts I gave you, the talents I gave you, the money I gave you, the health I gave you…to invest in what is ETERNAL!”

Jim Elliot, a young missionary barely known in life, is forever known in his death, because of his passion to take Jesus to an unreached group of Auca tribe in Ecuador - a group of people that killed him and 4 other young missionaries. Ultimately, this people group came to follow Jesus because of their faithfulness & the faithfulness of their families who continued to carry the Gospel message to them.

Instead of burying the greatest treasure of all and being more concerned about their own SECURITY , these folks were driven to see the KINGdom GROW. These men & women, despite the danger of death & pain on this side of eternity, did all they could do to GROW what the Master had GIVEN them.

In his journal, Jim Elliot had written this often quoted phrase: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

But, as we have already seen, that was not the case with all the servants…

Matthew 25:24–25 (NIV) Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”

Matthew 25:26–27 (NIV)

His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.”

The Master sees that the servant wasn’t really his servant at all. He didn’t take the master’s expectation seriously. In fact, the servant even blames the master for being a hard man. The servant wasn’t living like the master was returning. The ‘servant’ wasn’t interesting in GROWING what he had been GIVEN. He was more concerned with his own safety & security.

Just because we call Jesus our master doesn’t make it so. Those who CLAIM Him but don’t OBEY Him, aren’t really his servants.

People who who don’t serve Jesus aren’t servants of Jesus.

and they can expect to hear something like this…

Matthew 25:28–30 (NIV) “So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This isn’t works-based-salvation. People aren’t saved because of their good works. But saved people DO GOOD WORKS - it’s in our spiritual DNA. We are followers of Jesus and followers of Jesus…FOLLOW JESUS!

Finally, this ‘servant’ is thrown outside - that means thrown outside the kingdom - where there is darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth - language that Jesus uses of HELL 5 different times recorded in Matthew’s gospel (see Mt 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13, 24:51).

As we will see next week, Jesus DOES send people to hell…forever, and ever, and ever.

So here’s the 2nd BIG QUESTION for today:

What are you DOING with what you’ve been GIVEN?

Are you living like Jesus is returning? What are you doing to further His Kingdom? How are you using what he’s given you to invest in what is ETERNAL and not just what is EARTHLY?

It’s now been about 2000 years since the Bridegroom - the Master - ascended to heaven and promised to return. And you might be thinking what so many have thought before. You’ll hear it in this writing from the apostle Peter, who ultimately was murdered for his faithfulness to the Lord Jesus - thinking that, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

2 Peter 3:3–4 (NIV) Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”

2 Peter 3:9–10 (NIV) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

2 Peter 3:11–12a (NIV)Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.

‌2 Peter 3:14–15a (NIV) So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation...

BIG QUESTION: Are YOU Getting Ready for His Return?

What are you DOING with what you’ve been GIVEN?

If you’re still breathin’, there’s still hope.

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What stood out to you from today’s teaching - answering questions or stirring up questions for you?

Read Matthew 25:1-11. Why are some of the women described as “foolish” and others described as “wise”?

How can we encourage others to be prepared without assuming responsibility for their preparedness?

What are some modern examples of spiritual unpreparedness that we might encounter in our daily lives?

Why weren’t the 5 virgins allowed into the wedding banquet? Reread verse 1. What is the story really about and what does this tell us about the possibility of having a 2nd chance of coming into the Kingdom after death or after Jesus returns?

Based on verse 13, what’s the point of the story Jesus is telling? How can you change your attitude or actions this week to reflect your belief that Jesus could return at any moment?

Read Matthew 25:12-30. What did the master call the 1st two servants? Why? What did the master call the 3rd ‘servant’? Why?

How does the parable of the talents illustrate the relationship between faith and works?

What talents, abilities, health, or resources has God given you that you should use to further His kingdom and what are some practical ways you can do this?

How can we maintain a sense of urgency and anticipation of Jesus’ Return without becoming anxious or fearful?

How can we as a faith community support one another in staying prepared and vigilant? What role does accountability play in our spiritual preparedness?

How can we pray for/care for one another this week? (Pray for one another.)