Sermon Tone Analysis

When I was a boy, I joined the organization, The Boy Scouts of America, in Chattanooga, TN, which is my home town.

This whole time-frame was a learning experience for me to say the least.

I was a part of a group of young men, that were not the most geared towards the standard of excellence that was part of the Boy Scouts of America.

By that I mean, I had some rough characters in my scout troop!

(Elaborate some if you want to.)

The reason that I mention this, is because as a boy Scout member, you have, across the board within all scout troops in this country, a creed or motto, which is basic and simple, but relevant to life non the less.

That motto is, “Be prepared”!

"Be prepared for what?" someone once asked Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting.

"Why, for any old thing." said Baden-Powell.

But Baden-Powell wasn't thinking just of being ready for emergencies.

His idea was that all Scouts should prepare themselves to become productive citizens and to give happiness to other people.

He wanted each Scout to be ready in mind and body for any struggles, and to meet with a strong heart whatever challenges might lie ahead.

Be prepared for life - to live happily and without regret, knowing that you have done your best.

That's what the Scout motto means.

Being prepared for life and knowing that you have done your best!

I mention this to you today, because it ties in with the passage and the precept of the message that we are looking at in tonight’s sermon.

In keeping with the Biblical time frame that I started speaking on this past Sunday (that is, the last few weeks of Jesus ministry leading up to the crucifixion) we are going to be looking tonight in Matthew’s gospel primarily, but more specifically, at one particular teaching that He covered with His disciples during that time frame.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we find what are called the discourses of Matthew.

These are sets of teachings that Jesus did with His disciples, that Matthew has recorded for us within his gospel account.

The five discourses are: the Sermon on the Mount (), the Missionary Discourse (Matthew chapter 10), the Parabolic Discourse (Matthew chapter 13), the Discourse on the Church (Matthew chapter 18) and the Discourse on End Times, “The Olivet Discourse”, (Matthew chapter 24-25.)

Now, today, we are going to be looking at the last of the discourses in Matthew’s gospel, the one known as the Olivet Discourse.

(Does anyone know why it is known as the Olivet Discourse?)

Right, this particular discourse was given from Jesus to His disciples while they were on the Mt. of Olives.

This takes place shortly after the Triumphant Entry in Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), which will actually be this Sunday!

(Then of course in two weeks, we celebrate Resurrection Sunday!

AMEN?!)

And as I mentioned just a second ago, this passage of scripture is keeping within the time frame of the last few weeks of Jesus’ earthly ministry before the crucifixion.

The Olivet Discourse comes right after the incident in , where we see Jesus giving the seven “woes” to the religious hypocrites of His day and time.

If you remember, I mentioned in Sunday’s sermon that when we see Jesus saying “WOE” to someone or a group, it carries a very staunch and negative meaning.

(Pain, despair, sorrow)

It is at the close of that we see Jesus in grief over the condition of Jerusalem and also the foretelling of the destruction of it, as well as the temple in Jerusalem which takes place in A.D. 70.

Turn with me please, at this time, to .

Now this is midstream in the Olivet Discourse, as it covers chapters 24-25.

Chapter 24, the opening of this teaching of Jesus to His disciples, starts with His disciples pointing out the temple to Jesus from the beautiful view that Mount of Olives affords them.

You see, their natural minds were still on the things of majesty and power and earthly kingdom development and the beauty of the architecture of the temple itself!

So, Jesus says this to them, “Do you see all these buildings?

I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished.

Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

It is here, that the disciples ask Jesus to tell them of when these things that He just mentioned would take place.

They ask Him, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

So, the rest of chapter 24, is Jesus telling the disciples about the things that will happen, the signs of the end of the age.

(Many false teachers, antichrists, wars and rumors of wars, nation rising up against nation, famines and earthquakes, those of the kingdom being offered up for tribulation and persecution and death!

The urgency of these things that they will come quickly and that they will be severe, such as the world has never seen before or never will see again!

Jesus warns that if you hear people saying, “Look, the Messiah is here, or He is there”; do not believe them, because they will false prophets, able to do great signs and wonders, themselves!

This whole issue of the signs and wonders is another thing that will lead many astray; even professing Christians will be deceived and led astray from the truth, just as Jesus says in verse 24 in this chapter!

This is one reason that I truly want Christians to be locked onto and focused upon the spreading of the gospel message and not whether or not they are seeing signs and wonders!

If their faith is that shallow and weak (to where they need something visible to validate the existence of the Lord in their life) and they are not firmly rooted into their walk with the Lord and someone come onto the scene (a false prophet) and begins doing these signs and wonders that they are desiring to see, then they will follow them and be led astray from a true relationship with the Lord Jesus!

This is happening right now, as we speak, in one form or another!

Jesus said for us to keep our focus on Him and His words and let Holy Spirit guide us; not men and their words and actions!

is divided into 3 teachings; two of which are parables and the third is Jesus teaching on the final judgement of all people.

The two parables are: The Ten Virgins and The Talents.

What Jesus is showing us within this set of messages, is a warning to the church.

The church is to be watching and ready for His return, whenever and how unexpected it will be.

(According to His own words in , it will be unexpected!)

We may see the signs and indications of the things that are associated with His return, but the actual act itself, is going to catch many by surprise!

.

Now, in and of itself, this parable is straight forward.

It is a depiction that He is coming at a time that is not known and unexpected!

The opening statement here is about the Kingdom of Heaven and the ten virgins.

With this being explicit as to what it is talking about, (the Kingdom of God), it removes room for interpretation.

If it is the kingdom that Jesus is talking about then those whom He has mentioned (the ten virgins) would be assumed to be? (Right, Christians!) Look at a couple of verses.

So these verses all give us idea of who shall and shall not enter into the kingdom.

Only those who are born again (born of water and spirit), those who do the will of God shall enter into the kingdom.

Unrighteousness shall not enter into the kingdom!

So, by this parable starting off saying that the picture you are being painted is like the kingdom of heaven, it leads us to think, that the leading characters in the story, (the ten virgins) must have done what is necessary to be a part of the kingdom, RIGHT?

OR AT LEAST, THEY HAVE PROFESSED TO BE WHO AND WHAT THEY SAYS THEY ARE! (Both of these parables and the closing teaching at the end of the chapter show how all things are disclosed and brought into the light of the truth!

You see this every Sunday and every Wednesday in churches all over country; the congregation assembled and singing praising the name of the Lord!

Hands and voices raised and accolades about His greatness going up! (LOOKS GREAT, RIGHT?)

These people have expressed interest and professed a relationship with the Lord; they are in the church body and they carry the torch that represents their salvation!

The truth is, you may look good in front of others, but God is the one who searches and truly knows the condition of your heart; not the men and women standing around you!

The parable says that there were five wise (phronimos; wise, intelligent, prudent) virgins and there were five foolish (moros; foolish, godless, moron) virgins.

It says that they were all taking their lamps/torches and going to meet the bridegroom.

Five were wise, in that they took oil for their lamps

Five were foolish in that they didn’t take any oil for theirs.

It is a good idea at this point, before moving forward with the parable, to understand how the Jewish weddings took place as it makes this parable more relevant.

(Also, we need to understand, that most of what Jesus said was to Jewish people, from the Jewish culture.

So, having a better understanding of their way of life and the OT practices that they operated under, is helpful in many of His teachings.

An engagement was made, usually through the fathers of the couple coming together and arranging it to happen.

They gave their child, in contract, to be engaged to the other’s child.

The couple didn’t date and then decide to get married like our culture teaches.

The father of the groom had to negotiate a price with the father of the bride; a dowry, or what the Hebrews called a mohar.

This payment was for the deemed usefulness that the young lady would have been to the father and their house , if she wasn’t getting married off.

(So, the father paid for the bride for his son up front and no payment was made by the groom for the rest of his life.

Nowadays, no payment is made up front for the bride and then the husband pays for it the rest of his life!)

Next, the couple would come together, in front of family and witnesses and make binding vows.

This was an official ceremony and after this ceremony, they were considered married!

Although there was no sexual consummation of the vows yet.

This relationship was referred to as being betrothed.

(Mary was betrothed to Joseph in ).

The bridegroom had then a period of time, usually around 1 year and sometimes up to 7 years, to go and either use part of his father’ s house and land, or he could work and save and buy some of his own land and build a house and sow and plant and prove that he could adequately take care of the young lady that he had been betrothed to.

Then, when everything was considered ready, the bridegroom and his friends would go to receive the bride and her party.

This could happen at any time of the year and any time of the day.

The bride and her party and family had no idea of the coming time of the bridegroom and his party.

It was a constant expectancy on their part, as they knew that she was betrothed and it WOULD happen, but as to when he would be coming for her, was a mystery.

Each day was to be lived as if that were the day for the coming of the bride!

(Does that sound at all familiar to any of you?)

The actual intimacy and consummation of the wedding, would take place when the ceremony went under way at the home of the bridegroom.

This is so true for us, as the day will come when we, (those who are truly His), will be taken to His father’s home and will receive our glorified bodies and thus become one with Him for all times.

(ginosko - Greek word referring to intimacy, both sexual, but even more so, the knowing someone to the deepest level of a relationship!)

That level of intimacy with our bridegroom will not happen until it is consummated!

So, we have the virgins waiting for the bridegroom, half of them ready and half of them not ready for his return.