The Ten Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13 - The Ten Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13

We have been talking a lot about being ready when the Day of the Lord arrives and I don’t really think that anyone warned Jesus’ followers better than Jesus Himself. So today I think we will step back from our look at Revelation and look at Jesus’ own words concerning those who are ready and those who are not and see if there are any second chances.

In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus prophesied that the Temple would be destroyed so when His disciples got Him alone they asked Him a two part question: When will these things be? What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age. The rest of chapter 24 of Matthew is used telling His disciples about the Great Tribulation that those who are His disciples will experience, and the coming of the Son of Man. Then Jesus tells two parables to drive home the inevitability of His coming. I am not going to preach those two parables right now maybe another time. This morning I am going to preach out of Matthew 25:1-13 the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Let’s pray and we will get started.

In chapter 25 of Matthew Jesus is still on the same discourse that He was on in chapter 24 speaking to His disciples about His return and setting up His Kingdom. However He has shifted from talking about what will happen to how we are to live until He does return. We will begin reading Matthew 25:1-12 1“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.6“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom £is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Let’s look at some of the things that are going on here.

1. Jesus often used the ancient near Eastern wedding customs to teach about His return and that is what He is doing here. The people of that time knew the customs but we don’t so let me tell you a few of them. The perspective groom would come and negotiate the bride price with the father of the bride and then he would propose to the bride and pour her a glass of wine requiring her to drink the wine to the very bottom. Then he says he will go away and prepare her bridal chamber but would return when his father said the bridal chamber was ready, he was going to prepare a place for her. In this passage we just read from Mathew 25 that event has come and gone. The groom has come to the bride and had covenanted with her to return when her place was ready and marry her. Now it has come time for him to retrieve his bride.

2. The virgins or bridesmaids if you will are waiting for the time when the groom would return with his bride. These virgins were not simply a part of the wedding party they had a responsibility. Should the groom come at night they were responsible for having their lamps ready to light the way to the wedding feast. They were to keep their lamps prepared at all times.

3. There were ten of these virgins and Jesus says in the parable that five were wise and five were foolish. There are four different words in New Testament Greek that are translated into English as “foolish”. Three of these words have to do directly with intelligence. But the word that Jesus chose to use was “moros” and it means godless. Jesus could have used the other three words but I believe He had a point to make.

a. Like I said, five of these virgins were wise. They had brought the oil necessary to keep their lamps burning brightly. They were prepared and obviously committed to doing what was expected of them until the groom returned with his bride.

b. However, five of the virgins were foolish. They obviously knew what was expected of them, they brought the lamps, they knew they were to be the light that showed the way to the marriage feast. It appears that although they had gone to wait for the groom to return, wanting to be in the wedding party, they had never truly made a commitment to serve the bridegroom by being that light. They wanted to be a part of the party without any responsibility.

4. Many would make comments about the sleeping of the 10 virgins but it does not appear that Jesus had a problem with the virgins doing their daily business. Within any given day sleep is a part of it and even though the bridegroom was going to come, no one knew when and sleep was necessary. They were simply going about their daily routine waiting for the groom. Even the wise virgins were sleeping, going about their daily lives.

5. The groom had been delayed and the virgins slept but at midnight the cry went out: “Behold the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him.” The 10 virgins were roused from their sleep and they began to prepare their lamps to shine the way to the wedding feast.

a. The five wise virgins were prepared and committed to do what was required of them. They filled their lamps and were ready to go out and meet the bride groom. They would be a shining light on the path to the wedding feast.

b. The five unprepared, uncommitted, foolish/godless virgins were obviously expectant that someone else would provide their way into the wedding feast. They were going to ride in on someone else’s coat tails. Like I said earlier, they knew what was expected of them but they were not committed to being the light they were supposed to be.

c. It does not appear that the wise, prepared, committed virgins were unhappy with the five foolish virgins. They didn’t ridicule or condemn them. In fact they suggest that they seek to get oil somewhere else perhaps it was not too late. However it is obvious that they understood that with what they had they could only shine their own light and not the light of others.

d. The five unprepared, uncommitted, foolish or perhaps godless virgins left to find other means to the feast, not at all doing what they were supposed to be doing, shining a light on the way to the wedding feast.

6. While the foolish virgins were out looking for another “ticket” to the feast, a way to repair their unpreparedness and lack of commitment:

a. The bridegroom came just like he was suppose to when the bridal chamber was prepared.

b. Those who were prepared and committed, those whose lights were shining went with the bridegroom.

c. Once all of the wedding party, the committed and prepared, went in to the feast the doors were closed.

7. The five unprepared, uncommitted, foolish or ungodly virgins returned after seeking out more oil for their lamps and they knocked on the door. And from the words Jesus used in the parable; Lord, Lord, open to us!’ these five foolish virgins demanded to be let into the wedding feast, like they thought they deserved it. They knew from the beginning what was required of them and still they were unprepared because they were uncommitted and foolish, but still they felt as if the groom owed them something. Sounds almost like another parable in Matthew 7:21-22 21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ It appears that even the unprepared, uncommitted, and ungodly want an excuse.

8. The bridegroom comes to the door. He doesn’t ask if they have prepared themselves and are ready now. He doesn’t ask if they have learned their lesson. He doesn’t ask for their ID’s or their membership cards. He doesn’t check the church membership roles or the baptism records. You see the bridegroom knew all those who were prepared, those who were committed, those shining their light leading the way to the wedding feast. He simply did not know intimately the unprepared, uncommitted, foolish virgins.

Thinking of these 10 servants of the Bridegroom, when the Bridegroom comes, when that midnight cry goes forth and that place that He prepared for those who are His which will you be? Will you be the wise, prepared and committed one whose light has been continually shining the way to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Yes, like the wise virgins in the parable you do have to go about your daily lives but why should your light not shine before men so that they can see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven?

Or will you be that foolish, ungodly, one who went through all the motions, knew what was required of you but were never prepared, nor committed; never really repented? Will you stand at the door and say, I said a prayer once, I was baptized, I am a church member, I did my best, only to hear the Bridegroom, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ say; “I do not know you”.

Perhaps you are one of the wise ones but of late your lamp has burned down to just embers. Your light is not shining nearly as brightly as it once did. You are prepared and committed, you have repented and turned to the Bridegroom, Jesus but you are running low on oil in your lamp and it is time to refill the lamp.

You see if we knew it was going to be another 2000 years this message would have no real significance. If we knew it would be another 100 years the same is true. It is also true if it would be 10 years or even a year. This message would lose its significance if we knew it was tomorrow that the Bridegroom was coming. But the last verse of this passage says it all: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Since we are not the foolish virgins who were not prepared even though they knew their responsibilities let’s look very quickly at three things that keep our lights shining brightly.

1. Stay in the Word. Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. If you are not walking in the light of God’s Word you cannot keep your lamp burning brightly.

2. Spending time with fellow believers keeps the fire burning. Hebrews 10:24-25 24And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. In 2 Timothy 3 Paul tells us very clearly that there will be a turning away towards the end. It is easy for the fire to grow cold, for the brightness of the lamp to dim if there is no one to stir the fire. Just to make this clear electronics are great if there is no other way to meet with fellow believers but our Lord intended for His followers to gather together as a community to serve Him by stirring one another up.

3. We must do what a light bearer does. The 10 foolish virgins knew what was expected of them but did not do it. James 4:17 says, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. This includes staying in the Word and meeting with fellow believers but it also includes serving others in need and telling others of the grace of God and warning them of the coming judgment. We have much light bearing to do as we await our Bridegroom.

Doing those things are not what gets you into the door of the wedding feast, the works are not your ticket to heaven, but those who are His will be doing them when He comes. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Let’s pray.