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Ten Sleepy Virgins:
Are You Ready for Christ's Return?
Matthew 25:1-13
During this Advent Season as we remember
Jesus’ first coming we are also using this season to think about
and prepare for his second coming!
In our passage this morning Jesus tells a wedding story to illustrate a
certain truth about his Second Coming. The parable itself is a
masterpiece, with each detail adding a piece of crucial information. This
morning we will only take time to focus on one phrase in verse 10:
“And the door was shut.” There is an awful finality about
those words. It means that the door was shut and locked and would not be
opened again. Those on the inside were safely inside; those on the
outside could never get in no matter how hard they tried.
There is a “door” that leads to heaven. It is the door of
God’s grace, held open by the bloody cross of Jesus Christ. For
2,000 years that door has been open to the entire world, and it is open
even today. Over the door are these wonderful words: “Whosoever
will may come.” Anyone, anywhere, anytime can go in that door and
find new life, salvation, forgiveness, freedom, and eternal life.
Today the door is open but our text reminds us that the door will not be
open forever. There is no “second-chance” beyond death.
Jesus uses this parable of the ten virgins to remind us that the door
will be shut once and for all when he returns to the earth. In order to
catch the impact of this story, we need to know something about
first-century Jewish wedding customs. In those days you got married in
three stages. First, there was the formal engagement. Some months later (up to a year or more) came the
formal religious ceremony in
the bride’s home. Third,
there was a wedding banquet
(or feast) at the groom’s
home.
That banquet took place sometime after
the formal ceremony, usually at night. It might happen the same day or it
might take place a week or so later. And in certain cases that
“banquet” could last up to seven days. So it was quite an
elaborate affair that cost a lot of money, and therefore it was a major
social event that everyone wanted to attend. When it was time for the
banquet, the groom would take his bride and together they would walk to
the groom’s house. The road before them would be lit with lamps
held aloft by the wedding party. The bridesmaids would take part in this
ceremony of welcoming the bridegroom (and the bride, though she is not
mentioned in the parable) as he prepared to come for the banquet. It
would be a major breach of etiquette for anyone in the wedding party not
to be by the road ready to welcome the bridegroom.
And that’s the background of this story. The formal ceremony having
already taken place, the ten virgins (the bridesmaids) are by the road waiting
for the groom to appear. Their lamps are lit as they anxiously await his
coming. When he is delayed, they all fall asleep. At midnight someone shouts the good news, “Behold, the
bridegroom is coming!” The virgins wake up and prepare to relight
their lamps, which had gone out while they slept. Five of the virgins had
brought extra oil and so could relight their lamps. Five had no extra
oil. When the first group asked to borrow some from the other five
virgins, they were refused. While they went off to buy some oil, the
bridegroom appeared and the five virgins whose lamps were lit went in
with him to start the party. The door was shut by the time the other five
virgins returned. Here is the sad end of the story, “Later the
others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door
for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t
know you’” (Matthew 25:11-12). Jesus makes a simple
application to his Second Coming in verse 13, “Therefore keep
watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
That’s the story. The focus of the
story is on the ten virgins. Five were wise and five were foolish. Five
had oil and five didn’t. Five were ready and five weren’t
ready. Five entered the wedding banquet and five were refused. All of
this is meant to teach us that some people will be ready and others
won’t be ready when Jesus returns to the earth.
I. Alike in Many Ways
One of the most striking
facts about this story is how similar the ten virgins appear on the
surface:
· All had been invited the banquet and all had responded positively.
· All ten had gone out to wait for the bridegroom.
· All of them had their lamps with them.
· All the virgins wanted to see the bridegroom.
· All were in the right place at the right time for the right reason.
· All of them wanted to go to the wedding banquet.
· All had some oil in their lamps at the beginning.
· All fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom.
· All were awakened by the midnight cry.
· All ten virgins got up to prepare their lamps.
· All appeared to be equally prepared for the bridegroom’s coming.
That last statement is crucial. There was no way to tell in advance who
was wise and who was foolish. To the untrained eye, they would all look
the same.
II. One
Crucial Difference
And yet there was one
crucial difference. You couldn’t see it by casual observation
because it wasn’t a matter of dress or outward appearance. I
imagine that all the bridesmaids dressed alike and looked alike. But
there was something else, something not readily visible that separated
these young girls from each other forever. Five were wise and entered the
wedding banquet. Five were foolish and were summarily excluded.
What made the difference? Verse 5 offers an important clue: “The
bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell
asleep.” Where was the bridegroom and why was he late? The text
doesn’t say because the reason doesn’t really matter. We know
that because when he finally shows up at midnight, instead of postponing the party (as most people
would do), he orders that the party should begin right then.
And that brings us to the key point of the parable. Five of the virgins
figured out that he might be late in arriving so they brought some extra
oil with them. That’s why they were prepared when he finally showed
up. The other five virgins evidently never thought about the possibility
that he might be delayed. Or if they thought about it, they dismissed it
as so unlikely that it wasn’t worth worrying about. Either way,
they weren’t prepared when he suddenly arrived at midnight.
Before we feel sorry for them, please consider this. The foolish virgins
knew the bridegroom was going to get married, they knew he would come to
the banquet, and they knew they needed oil for their lamps. It’s
not a matter of a lack of information or having the wrong information.
All ten virgins started with the same facts. The five foolish virgins had
everything they needed to know. And still they were not ready!
One question and we can move on. What does the oil represent? The best
answer seems to be that it represents the inward preparation of the heart
for the Lord’s return. Or we might say it represents true
conversion. In the Old Testament, oil often stands for the presence of
the Holy Spirit. We might then say that oil represents the indwelling
power of the Spirit that accompanies true conversion. The five wise
virgins represent those whose hearts have been truly changed by the power
of the Holy Spirit. The five foolish virgins represent religious people
who come under the conviction of the Spirit but are never truly
converted.
III. Lessons
for Modern Churchgoers
From this little parable
we can draw a number of important spiritual lessons.
A) The True Nature of the Visible Church
Every Sunday two churches gather at the corner of Main Street Hill and Free Street: an outward church and an inward church. The
outward church is everyone who comes to First Baptist. It consists of
members, regular attenders, friends, visitors, and the great mass of
peripheral people who rarely attend but still consider this church as
their church. As such, the visible contains the truly converted and the
unconverted. It consists of some who know the Lord, some who are seeking
the Lord, some who attend but are lethargic, and others who are nothing
more than religious hypocrites.
The inward church is the “invisible” church made up of those
true believers in Christ who worship here week-by-week. The point of
Christ’s parable is to remind us that just because you go to church
doesn’t mean you are truly born again. People come to church for
all sorts of reasons, some good and some not so good. People come because
of family ties, to see their friends, to get out of the house, because
they like the music, in order to impress people, or because of a feeling
of guilt or obligation or because they think they can gain favor with God
by being in church. Not all of those things are evil in themselves but
any of them or all of them can be excuses that keep you from coming to
Christ for salvation.
Going to church is good; coming to Christ is better.
Being baptized is good; being born again is better.
Giving money is good; giving your heart to Jesus is better.
Being religious is good; knowing Christ as Savior and Lord is better.
B) The Coming End of the Day of
Grace
Recall the solemn words of verse 10: “And the door was shut.”
No door stays open forever. The foolish virgins forgot to bring extra oil
and then went out to buy some oil. By the time they got back, the door
was closed. It was too late!
Today the door of salvation is wide open to one and all. When you die,
the door will close. When Christ comes back to the earth, the door will
close. What will you do then?
Some people act as if they’re going to live forever. No one knows
what tomorrow may bring. Perhaps you will live another 20 years or 20
months or 20 days or 20 minutes. Who knows?
Do not say, “Someday I’ll come to Christ.” Come now.
Don’t wait for “someday.” Do not say, “I’ll
repent later.” If you wait, you may harden your heart and never
come at all. Come now.
C) The Danger of Self-deception
Finally, we see in this story a warning about the danger of
self-deception. What a sad scene as the five foolish virgins plead at the
door: “Let us in, sir. You invited us. We’re sorry we were
late. We didn’t realize you would be delayed. Please let us in. We
meant no disrespect.” From inside comes the solemn reply: “I
never knew you.”
Consider those young women. They thought they were his friends to the
very end. They were never his enemies and they thought they were ready to
meet him but they weren’t. In the same way many religious people
will be tragically surprised in that day when they present outward
righteousness and inward emptiness only to hear the Lord say, “I
never knew you.”
I am struck even more by the fact that these five virgins are never
called sinners. They are never accused of gross immorality. By outward
appearance, they seemed ready to meet the bridegroom. Outwardly, they are
all the same. But inwardly there was a huge difference.
Some people will find out the value of Christ too late. They will suddenly
realize how wrong they’ve been, but the door will already be shut.
Today the door of salvation is wide open. Someday it will be shut
forever. Make sure you are on the right side of the door when that day
comes. Amen.
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