The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13)

 

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

 

 

1. Matthew chapters 24-25 are known for the “Signs of the End of Times.” It tells us of the signs that will indicate the end of times and the second coming of Jesus, as well as how we should prepare and receive them. Today’s scripture is about the parable of the ten virgins.

 

A) The Wise Virgins and the Foolish Virgins

 

 1. There are 3 stages in a Jewish/Hebrew wedding.

First, once they become of age, the father of the bride and groom promise marriage. Some even arrange the marriage when the children are born.

Second, once the arrangement is made, they vow to marry in a sort of engagement ceremony at the bride’s home.

Last, about a year after the engagement, the marriage takes place.

 

2. In this context, “marriage” refers to the groom going to the bride’s home to “retrieve” her. The bride and groom would wear their respective wedding attire and the groom would go to the bride’s house around sunset (he went at sunset to avoid the heat of the desert).

 

3. In today’s scripture, ten virgins are waiting for their groom. But the bridegrooms were running late. As the night grew deeper the brides were growing weary and sleepy. In the middle of the night they heard cries proclaiming the arrival of the grooms.

 

The virgins all awoke and grabbed their lamps to meet their grooms. But as the night was late, their lamps were dim and their oil running low. Five of the brides were wise and had brought extra oil; the other five were foolish and did not think to do so. Their lamps dying, they asked the wise virgins to share their oil with them.

 

The wise virgins told the foolish that there was not enough for them to share and that they should buy more oil instead.

 

However, while the foolish women were away, the bridegroom arrived and the ready brides were taken in for their wedding and the doors to the ceremony closed. The foolish women, finding the door closed, knocked and begged the doors be opened but the bridegroom, already upset, merely replied, “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”

 

It is a cold and tragic turn of events. The foolish brides were ultimately rejected by the grooms and did not marry.

 

 4. The five foolish virgins symbolize those who do not believe or the false believers. The five wise virgins represent true believers of faith; the groom represents Jesus and His second coming while the wedding ceremony and feast symbolizes our salvation and Heaven that awaits us.

 

The parable tells us of two types of people here on earth: one is the people who truly believe in the Jesus Christ while the other is the people who do not believe, be they religious or not.

 

5. The wise can discern their time and timing.

Grace does not last forever. We receive grace when we have earned it.

2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” “Now” means the time of the church.

 

Throughout our lives we are often urged to believe. However, we often excuse ourselves saying that we’re too busy; we’ll serve in a few years when we feel able; our parents are against religion so I’ll wait until they pass on; and so forth. Unfortunately, we forget that there is no guarantee we will live to see such a time or that if such a time does come there won’t be new excuses blocking our way. In the end, we could end up dying without salvation.

 

We cannot live forever. The perfect timing for repentance and believing does not come for everyone.

Those who work in a vineyard do not stay there forever. There is a time when their work is needed and time when it is not. Our time to serve God is also limited. The time to receive blessings is also limited. Time will not always be on our side. It is important to start early and serve God while we still have the time to do so.

 

B) The Lesson of Today’s Scripture

 

1. Become People Who are Prepared for the End

Before anyone does anything, they must first prepare themselves.

Most of our lives consist of preparing for something. We must prepare when starting a business, when cooking, getting married, having a baby; we must prepare for our retirement, for war, and even our own death. We must always be prepared for we do not know when God will call us to return to Him.

 

Long ago, there was a very rich man living in a village. one day, the rich man gave a cane to a servant, whom he thought was the most foolish man alive, and said to him, “I don’t think there is anyone more foolish than you. Take this cane and if you see someone more foolish than yourself, pass it on to them.” He did this to ridicule the servant.

 

A few years later, the rich man became ill and was near death. Hearing of his master’s illness, the foolish servant went to see him. The rich man told him, “My final moments have come. I will be leaving very soon.”

 

The servant then asked, “Where will you be going? Are you ready? Have you prepared?”

To this the rich master though the foolish servant and misunderstood and said, “You idiot! I’m dying! There is no preparing for death! How do I know where I’ll be going when I die!”

The servant then replied, “Master, you choose your destination and prepare when you travel for merely a day yet you do nothing to prepare for death? You are a very foolish man. Take this cane.” And with that the servant gave his master the very cane he had given him years ago.

 

The End of Times is something we must prepare for, and prepare for thoroughly.

 

*This is the story of a famous writer and church deaconess. This writer was diagnosed with lung cancer and heard her family say she only had six months left to live. But this deaconess had faith and was not afraid. Instead, she thought she would spend her six months preparing for her death and tying the loose ends of her life.

 

She paid off all her debts. She went to all the people who had hurt her and who she had hurt over the years and cleared all misunderstandings. She spent quality time with her sons and daughters and slowly put her life in order.

 

Six months passed yet the writer’s cancer showed no signs of worsening. People suggested the deaconess go to another hospital and get checked. So, she went a different hospital and got checked out and found out that she was not going to die. She did not have cancer at all. The hospital had made a misdiagnosis.

 

People asked her, “Don’t you feel angry? Don’t you feel cheated? You’ve spent so much money and time. You’ve been through so much emotional pain.”

The deaconess replied, “I have never lived so sincerely as I did these past six months. I will continue to live like this.”

 

2. We must live with patience and endurance.

In a way, a life of faith is a life of waiting for Jesus’ second coming.

In John 14, Jesus promises to go to Heaven, create our place in Heaven, and then return for us.

In today’s scripture, the grooms arrived late. The ten virgins had to wait a long time and were incredibly tired. But this same wait is differentiated by the wise and foolish.

 

There is a saying: “The road needs to be long to understand the strength of a horse and time needs to be long to understand the heart of a person.”

It means that only when the road is long can we truly understand how much stronger a horse is than we are and only when time passes can see who are true friends are and who truly loves us.

 

Similarly, Jesus’ return is delayed so that the Lord can find those who truly love Him and are willing to wait for Him.

 

A life of faith is made up of waiting. We wait for answers to our prayers; we wait for our blessings from God. Patience, endurance, and peseverence are necessary for true faith.

 

Habakkuk 2:3 says, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”

We must not become impatient; we must wait and prepare for our Lord.

 

Anyone can prepare a lamp. The problem is the oil. Not everyone who comes to church prepares spare oil; only the wise like the five brides do so.

 

What does the oil represent? It symbolizes our life of holiness, our life of salvation, our life of prayer, and life of humbleness, and our life lead by the Holy Spirit. Are you living a life prepared and ready to meet Jesus without shame at any time?

 

 C) The Second Coming is Near, So Always be Awake and Alert! 

 

  1. Verse 13 says, “13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” “The day…[and] the hour” refers to Jesus’ return. Jesus will come again. How do we know this? It is because the Bible promises us countless times. Jesus’ second coming is mentioned twice as many times as Jesus’ birth was promised.

 

 2. Acts 1 says that as Jesus was taken into Heaven, two men dressed in white appeared beside him and said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

 

 3. Pail says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

 

4. James 5:7-9 says, “7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.”

 

5. The Apostle John says in Revelations 1:7, “7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”

 

 

We must all become people who are awake and alert. Those we are awake are those pray and live life preparing to meet Jesus. Do not let today’s sermon sit lightly.

 

True and proper faith means we must be prepared and awake like the five wise brides in the parable. Whether we look in the Bible or look at our world around us, we can feel that Jesus’ return is imminent.

 

Are you dozing off? Are you letting your guard down? Wake up! Be alert! Restore yourselves a new heart, a new outlook. Serve the Lord with passion. Fight away Satan! Love, pray, obey the Word. Jesus Christ, our Lord who will give us all we give Him, will return. Hallelujah!