Matthew 25:6-13

Matthew 25:6-13

But in the middle of the night a shout has become!  “Behold the bridegroom!  Come out into his place of meeting!”  Then all those unmarried virgins were being woken up and they trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish ones said to the wise ones, “Give to us out of your oil, because our lamps are ceasing to burn.”  But the wise ones answered while saying, “Not at this time!  There should surely not be sufficient amount for us and for you all.  Rather, go out to the ones who sell and buy some for yourselves.”  And while they went out to buy, the bridegroom came.  And the prepared ones went with Him into the wedding celebration and the door was being shut.  And afterwards the other unmarried virgins also came while saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!”  And the one who answered said, “Amen I say to you all, I have not known you all.”  Therefore be vigilant, because you all have not know the day nor the hour. 

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As we anticipated yesterday, we see that this parable is about being prepared and being surprised.  The shout for the bridegroom comes in the middle of the night when the unmarried virgins were all asleep.  They had been waiting, but they grew tired.  They slept.  And the bridegroom surprised them – rousing them out of their rest.  So it will be with Christ.  Many of humanity have died since His coming, and He will rouse them out of their sleep when it is too late for them to do anything about their relationship with God.  Those who are left alive when He returns will be going about their lives; and many will be focused on other things and not be prepared.  In both cases, the only way to have a positive outcome when the Lord returns is to be prepared for His surprise coming before He comes!

I’ve asked this question much over the last few days, but are you prepared?  Are you living your life focused on God and God’s will wherever He has planted you in life?

Second Thought:

Notice the instincts of the two groups of virgins.  The ones who are unprepared attempt to mooch off of those who have prepared.  This is the course of humanity, and I see it all the time around us: people who drive up on a lane closure and force their will upon others who have taken the time to prepare by already merging, students who come to class day after day without paper or pencil or even textbook, people who make late payments or who default on loans because they cannot pay back what they legitimately borrowed.  The truth is that human beings who don’t prepare are very prone to taking advantage of those who do prepare.  However, look at the response of the ones who do prepare.  They do not let themselves be taken advantage!  They protect what is theirs and send the others on their way.  They know that in the end, the goal is meeting the bridegroom.  Whether or not others are there is irrelevant if you are not their yourself!  It is like flying on an airplane when the breathing masks fall out of the ceiling.  You have to affix your own mask before you affix the mask of anyone else around you!  We should always be looking for ways to encourage others to prepare for Christ’s coming.  But before we can help anyone else we must do what it takes to prepare ourselves.

Have you ever mooched off of someone who was genuinely prepared?  How did that make you feel?  What does it say about a person who doesn’t feel guilty imposing upon those who have genuinely prepared and done what was necessary to put themselves in a good position?

Third Thought:

As we come to the close of this parable, we see that there are consequences to our actions.  Those who are prepared enter in with Christ.  That part is simple and easy to understand.  Additionally, those who are not prepared are denied entry.  But this is the difficult group to fully understand.  Keep in mind something subtly important about this passage.  Remember that these foolish unmarried virgins wanted to go out and meet the bridegroom.  They started this parable desiring to meet the bridegroom!  When they return, they call Him, “Lord, Lord!” These are not people who are flagrantly walking away from God and who have no interest in knowing the Lord.  These are people who know about God and even have a desire to meet God.  But they don’t have what it takes to get prepared in this life.  These are people who have the façade of relationship with God but none of the depth.  These are the ones that for several weeks of study now Jesus has been calling “pretenders.”  They say they want to know God, but their actions simply don’t bear out their witness.

How about you?  Are you a pretender or are you a wise one?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 25:14-18