Matthew 25:1-5

Matthew 25:1-5

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be similar to ten unmarried virgins who, after taking their lamps, went out into the meeting place of the bridegroom.  And five out of them were foolish and five were wise.  For the foolish ones who took their lamps did not take oil with them.  And the wise ones took oil in its vessel with their lamps.  And while the bridegroom spent a long time away, they all grew drowsy and slept. 

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

First of all, don’t miss how Jesus introduces this parable.  He specifically says, “At that time.”  Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the time when the world will come to an end.  This is a parable to help us understand what it will be like when the end of the world comes.  It is a parable meant to help us understand a godly approach to life.  Jesus has just spent several passages reminding us to be prepared since we will not know the time of His return.  Here He is intentionally setting up yet another parable to emphasize the importance of being prepared because we will not know when the Lord returns.

Are you surprised to see yet another parable about preparedness?  Why do you think Jesus spent so much time speaking about being prepared – especially right before He is arrested and crucified?

Second Thought:

Notice that Jesus tells us about two categories of young virgins.  There are the wise ones and the foolish ones.  The wise ones are prepared.  They think ahead and make sure that they are ready when the time of their anticipation comes.  They think about the bridegroom’s return and make sure they have done all that they can so that when the bridegroom comes back they will have no lack.  Then there are the foolish ones.  The foolish ones go out in anticipation.  They are just as excited to see the bridegroom as the wise ones.  But they don’t think ahead.  They don’t do what it takes to make sure that they are ready.  They simply go out in excitement.  They are living in the moment without a glance to the future.  They are foolish.

Are you surprised that Jesus makes two categories and goes as far as calling one category wise and the other foolish?  Why is Jesus not afraid to make judgments and place labels on His ideals?  What makes the wise ones wise?  What makes the foolish ones foolish?  Which category are you living in right now?

Third Thought:

Notice that the virgins all get drowsy.  The bridegroom is away for longer than they thought.  They can’t stay awake for the whole time, so they fall asleep.  Notice that Jesus doesn’t fault them on this.  The wise and the foolish ones both fall asleep.  What Jesus is telling us is at least two-fold, and probably more than that.  First, Jesus is warning us that the plans of the bridegroom often take longer than the thoughts of mankind.  In other words, God take His time developing His perfect plan while we think He should just hurry up and get to the end.  We think the bridegroom is coming soon; this parable indicates that humanity will be surprised by how long God takes to develop His plan.  And God is okay with us being surprised by that.  The second lesson is more deep than this.  These virgins needed to sleep.  Anticipating the coming of the Lord is hard work.  We need abiding time.  We need to rest.  There is nothing wrong with resting while we anticipate the coming of the Lord.

Has God every taken longer than you thought He would take?  How does that feel?  Do you allow yourself to abide in those times when God appears to be taking His good sweet time?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 25:6-13