Sermon Tone Analysis

Matthew 25:1-13

 

A well known Christian wrote, "The last days are upon us.

Weigh carefully the times.

Look for Him who is above all time, eternal and invisible."

That was not written by a modern prophecy expert.

It was written by a man named Ignatius about 110 A.D., just a couple of decades after the apostle John wrote Revelation.

Another Christian wrote, There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born.

Firmly established in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power."

That was written by an influential Christian named Martin about 375 A.D.

 

Another early church father, Hippolytus, wrote in the year 236 A.D. that Christ was sure to return by 500 A.D.

 

The years surrounding the year 1000 were filled with predictions about the imminent return of Christ - to the point where Christians didn’t plant crops for the next year, buildings weren’t repaired and the details of daily life were ignored.

In the 1500’s, Martin Luther wrote, "We have reached the time of the white horse of the Apocalypse.

This world will not last any longer . . .

than another hundred years."

A little known fact of the life of Christopher Columbus is that he was a student of biblical prophecy.

He wrote a volume called "The Book of Prophecies," in which he predicted that the world would end in the year 1656.

He even wrote, "There is no doubt that the world must end in one hundred fifty-five years."

The year 1666 saw an explosion in end times speculation.

One pastor wrote in his journal that every time a storm hit that year, his people would go to the church building to await Christ’s second coming.

In the 1800’s a man named William Miller predicted the return of Christ.

He laid down the date of somewhere between March of 1842 and March of 1843.

The hopes of the Millerites were dashed when it didn’t happen.

Their hopes were down but not out.

In New Hampshire, in 1844, one of the brothers stood up and declared His return would be in the seventh month of the current Jewish year.

More fervently than ever, the Millerites set out to warn the world.

October 22 - the end of the world was pronounced.

In ten weeks, the great day was at hand.

In a Philadelphia store window this sign appeared, "This shop is closed in honor of the King of Kings who will appear about the 20th of October.

Get ready friends, to crown Him Lord of all."

A group of about 200 left the city.

They waited, but the days past and nothing happened.

Five years later, another date was set, and another date passed.

In my lifetime thee was the book; “88 Reasons Why Jesus Could Come In 1988.”

It never stops.

About 1992, I saw a popular book in Christian bookstores by Harold Camping.

The title was "1994."

Another date set.

In 1993, he wrote another book called, "Much More Evidence That 1994 Could Be the End of the World."

1994 came and went.

Today you can walk into a Christian bookstore and see dozens of books making bold predictions about the return of Jesus.

Jesus, on the other hand, as we saw in Matthew 24 last week, insisted that we could not know the time of His return.

Instead, He taught us through a series of several parables that we ought to be prepared at all times.

Let’s look at the first of these this morning.

*Read Matthew 25:1-13*

 

- Notice that in this story, it is the groom who is the center of attention.

Not any more.

Now it’s the bride who is the center of attention.

Everyone waits for her arrival.

Everyone stands when she enters the room.

Everyone stares at her beautiful dress.

The groom is just the guy sweating next to the preacher - the one lucky enough to have won the love of the beautiful bride.

I like it our way.

But in Jesus’ day, it was the groom for whom everyone waited with bated breath.

Part of the wedding celebration was a feast that followed the actual wedding ceremony.

That is what Jesus speaks of here.

It was traditional for the bridesmaids to wait at a home together for the bridegroom to come and bring them to the wedding feast.

Another part of the tradition was for the bridegroom to negotiate with the bride’s family about a gift to give them in return for their daughter.

Often, the negotiations would be delayed by the bride’s parents as a way of communicating that they thought their daughter was worth much more than the groom had gestured by his initial gift.

That would cause a delay in the wedding feast.

In Jesus’ story, the bridesmaids are waiting through just such a delay.

In such a delay, they were to be ready at any moment for him to arrive and escort them to the feast.

Five of them, however, were not ready.

They had time to get the extra oil they needed, but they did not feel the sense of urgency to do it right away.

Their procrastination caused embarrassment when the groom came and they had to run to the store for more oil.

The problem was that when they returned and sought entrance to the feast, they were considered no different than other uninvited seekers.

The feast had begun and the doors were locked.

It was too late.

And Jesus says His return will be like that.

Be prepared - the bottom line of this story - whether the oil represents your faith, the Holy Spirit, Christian character - it doesn’t really matter.

Why?

Because each feeds the other.

It could be any or all three that Jesus had in mind - the message of James.

The main message is to be ready, prepared, all the time.

!

I. "Even Though He Delays"

- Have you ever heard the story of Jeff and Janell Youngbluth’s first date?

- Janell was expecting Jeff to show up.

She was dressed up and waiting patiently.

However, by the time he was an hour late, she figured she had been stood up.

So, she took off her makeup, put on her pajamas, gathered all the junk food in the pantry and sat down to watch TV with the dog.

As her favorite show was just coming on, the doorbell rang.

It was her Jeff.

He stared at her wide eyed: "I’m two hours late, and you’re still not ready?"

 

- Jesus said; don’t let my return sneak up on you.

Be ready all the time.

- I thought of the electricity crisis in California.

It kind of snuck up on them this winter.

But did it really?

I mean, shouldn’t they have seen it coming and been prepared for it?

Why did they ignore the obvious?

No power plants built in 10 years while the population grew.

Old plants closed for good and some closed for repairs.

Did it sneak up on them?

They took the convenience for granted without considering what it takes to maintain that convenience.

And now they are in a crisis.

- *1 Thessalonians 5:2-4* - "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.

And they shall not escape.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief."

! II.

Because There Are Some Things You Can’t Borrow