Matthew 25:1-13
Notes
Transcript
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Again, let me wish our mom’s, soon to be mom’s and those who are mothers to many, Happy Mother’s day.
We certainly love and appreciate you all.
I am blessed to see you all today, it is a great day to worship, to love on and encourage each other and to share our thankfulness to the Lord for His many, many blessings.
God is so good to us!
Today we will continue in our study of the Gospel of Matthew, and we will look at the first 13 verses today as Jesus teaches us about the parable of the ten virgins.
So lets back up just a second, remember what a parable is…
A Parable is a earthly story with a heavenly meaning… So Jesus takes us to something we would know about from life and connects it to a spiritual meaning.
The purpose is so we could grow in the knowledge of the Word and ultimately closer to Him.
So lets look at our text my friends...
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Remember now that the parable of the 10 virgins is taught by Jesus in the last few days before the cross. Soon Jesus will be betrayed and arrested, beaten and crucified.
But, before this takes place, Jesus takes time to teach His disciples many things to help them grow but also understand more of Him and His Father’s kingdom.
The last couple of weeks, he was answering the question the disciples asked concerning the future destruction of the temple and his return to establish His Kingdom.
Today we continue to examine this words as He teaches His disciples and us about the necessity of being ready for His return.
So three thoughts today...
1. The Invitation....
The Bible tells us of a wonderful event that takes place in the life of family, friends and yes even the community. A Wedding!
Weddings in middle eastern countries, especially during the days of Jesus were community events, everyone celebrated such a wonderful event. A new couple were married, homes were growing and there would be the future blessings of children on both sides of the family.
In particular their were young maidens, unmarried ladies who played a key role in the celebration. They were called upon to help escort the bridegroom to his brides home on the evening of the wedding celebration. If it was dark, torches would light the way along with their own lamps.
Look at those first 4 verses again Matthew 25:1-4
1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
How wonderful, these ladies have been called upon to be part of the wedding celebration, so Jesus tells us there are 10 of them were called to position of helping meet the bridegroom and escort him to His soon to be wife’s house and then back to the Bridegroom’s Father’s house.
Jesus further classifies these ladies as 5 who were wise and 5 who were foolish.
Why did Jesus classify them as wise and foolish....
What makes the difference? There were 5 who made preparation. These are the 5 who are called wise women, they took extra oil with them. They made sure they are were ready in case the evening went a little longer than what was expected. They wanted to have enough oil for the whole night.
But 5 of the ladies did not make the needed preparation, they took what they had hoping it would be enough for the evening.
The theme here is preparation… the necessity of it.
So what does all this mean my friends… There is a call for people to be ready for when the Lord returns, the Lord is the bride groom and he has welcomed all to come to the wedding supper.%
5 Ladies were ready, they had made the proper preparation to be ready no matter when the call came, they had invited the Lord into their hearts .. But there were those 5 who didn’t heed the call to be ready.
The truth is that each person must make preparation!
There is the key my friends, each person is invited to the wedding celebration, each person is invited to heaven but you have to RSVP, you have to make yourself ready....you have to ask the Lord Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you, save you and give you eternal life.
Jesus said in John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
We must come through Him and with Him, you must be ready when He calls!
Are you ready...
Have you made the necessary preparation to see Jesus?
Now lets move to our second thought for the day....
2. The Bridegroom was Delayed....
As a Pastor, I’ve done many weddings, I know people have a lot of different expectations about weddings, They wonder how long the ceremony will be, if it will start one time, and of course, if the food at the dinner will be any count...
So many thoughts....
In truth, all that matters is what those who planned the wedding thinks and likewise, when you come to the truth of Scripture, all that matters is what God has set forth for us to know.
God has set forth a wedding celebration, He has invited the whole world to come and see, enjoy and experience the generosity and grace of the Father. The wedding is the marriage supper of the Lamb.
It happens as Jesus is told to go get his church, who are called the bride of Christ. It is not the church is made a woman, No… but we are joined to him in the picture of a wedding. We are to be his people and He will be our God.
So there is a further day when Jesus comes back to gather His people, the church, the body both dead and living and then takes us back to heaven with Him.
Now in our text we see this illustrated, and as the wedding has been planned, all has been put in place, the Bible says the bridegroom was delayed in coming. Lets go back to out text
5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
So moving on here, Jesus tells them in the parable that the bridegroom didn’t come when they expected him too, the young man was delayed. We do not know why, just that he did not come as quickly as everyone thought he would that evening.
With the event being delayed, we know that the lamps used more oil than anticipated..... So much oil was used that by the time the call rang out, Here comes the bridegroom, their lamps were beginning to run out of oil…
But 5 young lady’s were prepared and sadly 5 young lady’s were not....
Friends the midnight call is to remind us that the return of our Lord Jesus to gather his bride, the church will be at a time when we least expect it.
The Midnight cry speak to the trumpet blasts that we read about last week, Matthew 24:31
31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
And also in I Cor 15:52
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
And lastly I Thes 4:16
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
The Lord’s return might be delayed, but He is coming again. It is certain, we have a wedding to attend. You have to be ready.
As the midnight call rang out those 5 foolish bridesmaids said to the wise one, give us some of your oil… Look at verse 8
8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
Now the wise ones knew they didn’t have anything to share, they didn’t have enough so they told them to go out and buy more oil..
Now even tough it was late, there were places that stayed open late in communities to help those who were celebrating, like your neighborhood gas stations or 7-11 in some communities.
The 5 foolish ladies took off, they hurried and went to buy oil but while they were gone,the bride groom returned and took those with him.
Oh they were gone to long, they took to much time trying to be ready… Today their are people who hear the word of God and they say, I will do this or that later, I have some things to do or make right, I will give my heart to God later. But here is the truth… Are you sure you have that much time to wait?
Listen my friends there is a great lesson to be learned here from the wise and foolish virgins… Do you understand what it is?
The Spiritual meaning is this… The call to make yourself ready is a serious one and must be addressed before Jesus comes back for this church, his people.
You cannot transfer “preparation” from one person to another… Grandmothers salvation cannot help you and your salvation cannot help your children. each person must make a decision concerning what they will do with Jesus Christ.
Each person has to make that decision, it is a personal one....
What will you do with Jesus… will you receive Him or reject Him??? Will you be ready when Jesus comes back for His people....
Now there is just one last thought my friends,
3. The Door was Shut.....
These ten ladies have waited for, longed for the joy of celebrating the wedding of the bridegroom and his bride.
They have waited for that day, just like today their are people who want to get to heaven...but when the day came.. 5 of these ladies were not prepared.
As I said a moment ago, the 5 foolish virgins went in search of oil to buy from one of the merchants
And while they were gone, the bridegroom came and took those who were ready and prepared with Him.
So these 5 went and helped escort the bridegroom to get his bride, helping light the way during this wonderful celebration and bring them both back to His Father’s house for the wedding celebration and feast…
Lets go back to our text verse 10-13
10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Oh my ....
When the wedding party came to the Father’s house, all came in and then the door was shut.
All were invited, all were called to come as the Son when through the community to gather his bride and as they come back to the Father’s house, upon entering the door is shut and the celebration begins...
And when those 5 virgins who went in search of oil,finally have made them self ready, they have purchased their oil they come and knock on the door, expecting to be let into the celebration.
But something unique happens, The Lord (The Father) answered the door, his words are simple...Truly I say I do not know you.... and the door is closed.
They had been selected, they had waited but they were just a little late… but the door was closed, time had come to and end. If you were not ready when He came for His bride, then you missed it.
What do we see from this my friends,
A. God has indeed selected all, God intends for every person to be saved, He wants for them to be saved.
B. Not all will be saved and thus not all will go to heaven, you know why? Because they do not make themselves ready. They see God, they say they believe in God but they say, I believe something different.
Friends there is only one gospel and one way to heaven, and Jesus is the one way. John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
C. When Jesus comes for His church, He will gather all that are His and then the door, the opportunity will end. The door is closed. If you missed Jesus, you have missed it all.
Jesus came and gave His life as a ransom for many. He told His disciples if I go away I will come again and receive you unto my self, that were I am you may be also.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
But if you miss His return, you have missed it.
Being ready for His return means you have to make a personal decision for salvation. It is not what you parents have done, your friends, it is what you do.
Jesus is calling, if you can hear my voice today and today you know without a doubt that you need to come and be saved, be forgiven and have the guarantee that heaven is your future home.
Then today, act on it, because tomorrow may be to late.
Make yourself ready...
Pray