Watch Therefore

Scripture

Matthew 25:1–13 KJV 1900

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Cultural Context

With the fear of repeating well known fact it is important to notice the cultural context of this story to explain the traditions here referred to. In that time the wedding tradition often included a procession where the bridegroom would travel to the bride’s house to get her and taker back to his house where the party would commence. This was often done in the evening, just as the stars were beginning to shine. It was the custom that virgins would wait at the bride’s house for the announcement of the coming of the bridegroom. As he neared they would go out and meet him and escort him with lamps to the house of the bride and then escort the couple to his house with their lamps.

While the coming of the bridegroom was often soon after dark it was not always so. In the parable of Jesus we see 5 of the virgins who thought they knew how things would go and were prepared for the expected scenario, and 5 who while they certainly assumed that the bridegroom would come quickly were prepared for any eventuality. While they waited the time grew long and all ten of the virgins fell asleep. As they slept the lamps continued to burn. Suddenly they were awakened with the news that the bridegroom was on his way. It was time to escort him to the bride. Yet when the virgins trimmed their lamps in preparation fro the journey 5 found that they were out of oil. Their lamps were going out and the bridegroom approached. They begged the others to spare some oil but this was not possible. There was a journey ahead and the wise could not afford to spare any oil lest they run out in the midst of the journey and then they all would be without lamps.

In desperation the 5 without oil went searching for a place to buy oil but it was too late. Before they reached the destination the door was closed and the party begun. No one else was permitted to enter.

The Wise and the Foolish

The first thing we notice in this story is that 5 virgins were called wise and 5 were called foolish.

What is it to be wise? Well first of all in this case it was wise to be prepared. It was not certain when the bridegroom would approach, it was only assumed. The wise came prepared fore various eventuality. They were prepared when he bridegroom tarried, when their lamps had to burn for longer than expected, when things did not go according to plane the wise were ready because they were prepared. So in this case preparation is what makes one wise.

By looking through the Bible we find some other characteristics. In various places in Proverbs we learn that it is the wise who take instruction and make a change. Perhaps in this case some wise elders gave the instruction to the virgins to take extra vessels full of oil with them. Instead of arguing that it was not necessary, that it was cumbersome, that it was inconvenient, or that they would look foolish for this extra burden they wisely accepted the council of the elders and followed the advice. Even though their friends did not take the council they did and how happy they were when that wisdom paid off. It seemed unnecessary but the as the night wore on the council of the elders showed itself to be correct.

In our lives how hard is this? To receive instruction, to receive guidance from some person who has more experience than us giving some advice or another that we do not want to hear. Some advice that we aught to take this or that precaution in our lives that seems so unnecessary, to prepare for the unlikeliest of scenarios. To take that advice gracefully and to put it into practice even when the necessity of it is unclear is wisdom and it is not easy. Yet this is the attitude we are to have. On the side of the elder, they are to give advice. It is their godly duty to instruct the younger. Yet how many of us younger do not enjoy the instruction of the elders? How many of us find it so easy to brush off the ideas of the old fogies without a second thought? I am reminded here of the importance of tradition. So often we feel above the traditions of the elders, and yet I remind myself and all of us that tradition is not simply what we have always done, but tradition is the things that have been done in the past that stood the test of time. Traditions exist because they have been found to be valuable, to be helpful and probably to be best. Tradition alone is not a good enough reason to hold to something with absolute certainty, but it is my opinion that tradition alone is a good enough reason to continue therein until proven otherwise. It is wisdom to be cautious in running over tradition for the sake of expediency. It is wisdom to graciously receive instruction and to put it into practice.

Another thing that shows up when discovering what constitutes wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Or perhaps it could be said the reverence of the Lord. In the Chronicles of Narnia C. S. Lewis used a lion as the figure of CHrist. In the story the children ask if the lion is safe. They are told that he isn’t safe, but He is good. I think part of what is being communicated is that God does not play by our rules. He is over all and above all and as such we cannot expect to control Him, but rather place yourself in his care trusting that while in some senses it may not always be safe, He is always good. Wisdom involves reverencing God. Reverence for God includes obedience to his commands which is another thing referred to in studying wisdom and I think that also includes remembering that He is not a great cosmic grandfather in the sky but rather our father. A father does not love His children any less than a grandfather, but as a father He has the responsibility of training up the child, of correction, of discipline. This means that there is a certain element of respect for a father which is different than respect for a grandfather. The first think in being wise is having a proper reverence for God and following His instruction that is communicated through His world and also in building a relationship with Him where He can guide and instruct us by His Spirit. It is also wise to receive instruction from others and to willingly take that instruction to heart and put it into practice.

To be foolish is contrasted with the wise here by their lack of preparation. They brought what they thought was just enough oil. They did not want to be burdened with any extra vessels or extra hassles. They did not want their friends to think them strange for having extra oil. They were trying to accomplish the same thing as the wise but without the same preparation and care. It could be that they too recieved instruction from others warning them that things might not be as easy as they though, that they better store up an extra supply of oil, just in case. They disregarded this advice. It seemed so unnecessary. The price for their foolishness was paid.

While it is the mark of the wise to receive instruction it is the mark of the fool to disregard advice. The fool often mocks the wise one giving advice rather than changing his own ways. The fool can only learn the hard way, cannot take instruction from others and is slow to change his ways, even when shown to be wrong. Proverbs advises the wise to not even bother to instruct the fool.

Another characteristic of the fool is a lack of respect for God. To the greatest extreme there is the fool who hath said in his heart, there is no God, yet the belief in God is not proof of wisdom, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom rather than the belief in Him. It shocks me to see those who do believe in God but they show little care about what He has to say to them, what His existence means in their lives. That is the mark of the fool. To view eternal matters lightly, to focus on the here and now rather than what will be for all eternity. The fool may even serve God as did these virgin in this story but they do it with a carelessness that leads to failure. That is the fool.

The Lamps and the Oil

In understanding this parable we must not only realize what differentiates the wise and the foolish we must also understand what is represented by the lamps and the oil. The parable itself does not explicitly define either so some conjecture is left to us. Commentators over the years have drawn different conclusion on these matters so it would not be wise to adamantly define what scripture has left a bit ambiguous. Nevertheless a lack of perfect understanding does not keep us from getting the sense of the parable.

Many seem to agree that the lamp or the light from the lamp is the profession of faith, the outward light of our lives when we claim the name of Christ. We are to be the light of the world after all. Just like the lamps were to be used to show the way for the bridegroom and then the couple together so we are to light the way to Heaven with our lives. We are to be a shining light in the darkness to give hope to those who have none, to show the way to those seeking. The lamps are the light of a good profession. A true faith always shines forth in the darkness.

What then is the oil? The oil is the fuel for the light, the thing which allows the true profession to shine forth. The the oil then is the grace of God in our lives and His love within us which shines forth unto the world. Now it must be noted that any illustration has its limits, when if pressed to be too literal it will not make perfect sense. I think that is the case here, especially in the asking for the others to share and the attempt to buy oil. We cannot share what God has given us even if we wish to. God’s special workings in our lives are in our lives alone. We can tell others about Him, and all He has done. We can encourage them to go to Him to receive His Spirit yet we cannot give them what God has given us. It is not a lack of supply but rather a lack of possibility. Also I am not sure that we can as it were store up the oil of the Spirit of God against dry time, yet I am not altogether sure that we cannot.

On the one hand it seems that God will give us what we need when we need it. Grace for the trial, strength for the day. And yet at the same time it seems in observing others and in my own life that the closer we draw to God, the more time we spend in His presence, the more we “store up” our fellowship with Him the more of His strength we have in the battle, the more of His Spirit we feel when it all seems to be going against us. Inversely I have observed that many try to skate by doing the bare minimum of maintenance in their spiritual lives. These are satisfied with grace for the day and strength for the hour. They do not seek to store up beyond what is needed for the moment. If there is no pressing trial surely a spare moment of prayer, a quick perusal of Scripture will do for devotions. No battle presents itself so they soldier on in the good times with plenty of strength for each day with no real effort given. Yet it is clear that these, like the foolish virgins are unprepared for emergencies, unready for the unplanned, incapable in the battles. The enemies attacks and the unforeseen blow sweeps them off their feet while wise with their storehouse of God’s Spirit are able to stand the foolish fall by the wayside. Again this is by way of illustration and not theology. Do not try to draw specific theological conclusion from this but rather see the practical application of taking care to our spiritual lives even in the times where it seems all is well that way we may be able to stand in the times when it seems that nothing is well.

The Sleeping

In this parable the virgins all slumber and sleep. Some suggest that this was a degree of carelessness shown by all 10. Perhaps so for how often do even the brightest burning of the saints have some degree of carelessness? How often do even the most careful get distracted in their lives? You see here the bridegroom delayed his coming. It did not happen at the expected moment. This is true as well in our lives. For centuries it seems that the coming of Christ has been soon expected and yet He has not yet returned for us, His bride. This carelessness I feel has slipt in amongst even the best for so many no longer believe in His imminent coming. It has famously been delayed. An apparently compelling book predicted Jesus return in 1988. Millions were convinced and Jesus did not come. Billboards, just a few years ago, predicted Jesus return in 2012 and yet He did not come. For many years it has been preached that Jesus could come any day and that He is coming soon. Yet He has not yet come. Because of this many believe that He is not yet ready. That we must do this or that thing to usher in His second coming. It could be that these people are correct. I am not adamant on this point though I firmly believe they are wrong! I am convinced that we do not know when Jesus will come, we only know it will be a surprise and will catch many off guard. As more and more are convinced that His coming is contingent on us the more I become certain that we must be ready now for we do not know. The more I become convinced that Jesus could return at any moment and that His second coming is determined by God not the activity of man. It is this certainty that gives motivation to my life, this certainty that we do not know if tomorrow will be too late that causes me to spend my life trying strengthen the flock of God that none would fall away. It is this idea that given me the motivation to go outside of my natural inclinations to try and reach out to those who are not ready so that perhaps they might get ready.

Yet I of course could be wrong. But I challenge you to stay ready even if you think I am wrong. For if I am wrong and Jesus coming is not imminent what do you lose by staying ready and spending your life for Him? Nothing, it is only gain. Yet if I am correct and you are wrong, what do you lose by delaying your preparation? Everything, there is no benefit. So I find it logical to live like Jesus could come at any moment even if you do not believe it to be so and all that is to say nothing of the fact none of us know when our time is up.

Even in scripted sermon I get off onto rabbit trails or a bit ahead of myself. To circle back to the sleeping. Perhaps it was a bit of carelessness, or unwariness that caught all 10 of these virgins off guard. What was the difference? Why did 5 make it and 5 did not? Because for the 5 wise, the ones who took the time to prepare when they had the opportunity, who took the advice of the elders and took precautions against their own carelessness when they were alert they found that even when caught off guard by the coming of the bride groom they were still ready. The foolish on the other hand, they were confident in their knowledge. They were confident that they would not have to wait long and even if they did they would not fall asleep and leave their lamps burning. Yet when caught off guard their lack of preparation combined with their carelessness meant they did not make it to the wedding feast.

I do not say that we must be careless in our lives but it is likely that we will. That some period in our lives we may forget what we are really about, that some aspect of danger in our lives we will not immediately notice. So it is wise to prepare for our own carelessness. We do not intend to be careless. We do not plan to be careless, and yet is possible that even the most careful can for a moment or in a certain aspect be careless. Yet that preparation, that closeness to God, those safeguards put up ahead of time will guard us against carelessness and protect us in our foolishness.

Now another has submitted the idea of slumbering and sleeping was not carelessness but rather proper rest. All 10 rested in the Lord is the idea. They rested in the fact that they were ready for coming of the bridegroom. They peacefully slept knowing they were ready. The only problem was that some were not ready. They stopped their preparation before it was complete. They had a burning lamp but were low on oil. Since the lamp burned they rested thinking they were ready but when the time came to go to be with the bridegroom they found out that they were not ready and therefore were left out. The others woke from their peaceful rest and went on their way, rested and refreshed for the night of rejoicing. This is not a far fetched idea either for shall not many say on that day when we stand before God that they were ready? That they too had a burning lamp? And God will say like in the parable “I know you not?” This should cause all of us to take stock of ourselves. To take care that we are not the foolish who have a bit of the light, just enough to convince ourselves and others that we are ready but when it really comes down to it we are not. It also must be noted that all of these virgins did at one time have a burning lamp that contained oil. Just because your lamp has once been lit does not mean it cannot go our. Lack of proper preparation, lack of staying close to God, a lack of carefulness, a lack of wisdom can bring us to a place where we put out that light and perhaps do not even realize it. God can bring assurance and Satan can bring doubts. I do not mean to be agent of the latter this evening but so many in our world live in a false peace, a false confidence. So many who profess the name of Christ do not know Him. So many believe they will be welcomed into the joy of the Lord when they will not be. Let us be sure that our preparation is complete for when that day comes, and it will come as a surprise, it will be too late to get ready.

Final Warning

The application of this parable this evening is very simple and I have already applied it. In closing this story and moving to another one that similarly illustrates this point Jesus succinctly sums up the main point that we are to gather from this little story so I will close with His words. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherin the Son of man cometh.”