Message for THE LORD S DAY EVENING, November 13, 2011 SERIES: The Parables of Jesus MESSAGE 15 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister The Parable of The Ten Virgins Message 15 in The Parables of Jesus Series Scripture Text: Matthew 25:1-13 As we continue with our PARABLES OF JESUS series, I would like for you to please turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter twenty five. And let s read the first thirteen verses. The Parable of the Ten Virgins 1 At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 At midnight the cry rang out: Here s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! 7 Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out. 9 No, they replied, there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves. 10 But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11 Later the others also came. Sir! Sir! they said. Open the door for us! 12 But he replied, I tell you the truth, I don t know you. 13 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. I N T R O D U C T I O N
This Parable of The Ten Virgins is taken from what Bible scholars refer to as The Olivet Discourse. The Olivet Discourse of Matthew chapters 24 and 25 is the LORD S own sermon on His Second Coming. Four times in that Olivet Discourse Jesus stressed that the time of His return was uncertain and unpredictable. Matthew 24:36, Jesus said, No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Matthew 24:42, Jesus said, Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your LORD will come. Just two verses later, in VERSE 44, Jesus said, So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. Then again in VERSE 50, Jesus said, The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect Him and at an hour he is not aware of. Now to emphasize this important truth, Jesus tells His disciples this Parable of The Ten Virgins. The whole intent of this parable is to teach us about the suddenness and unexpectedness of the coming of Christ and how vitally important it is that we be prepared at all times for His coming. If you will think back to our earlier study of The Parable of the Wedding Banquet and our recent Wednesday night study on The Wedding of The Lamb from Revelation 19, we have learned a great deal about ancient Jewish wedding customs. In this Parable of The Ten Virgins we learn some more information about the customs of ancient Jewish weddings. The Wedding Festivities in those days were focused
on the HOME where the bride and groom were to live following their wedding. According to Jewish custom, the Bridegroom was allowed to show up at his future home at any moment, even if it was the middle of the night. But before his arrival, the bridegroom would always send a man ahead crying out, Here s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! Traditionally, ten young women (virgins) would be staying in the home with the BRIDE. These ten young women were to be prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom at all times, day or night. In the event the bridegroom came in the night, the ten women were to have lamps ready so they could go out to meet him and light his path to His home. This is the setting for this Parable of The Ten Virgins. Verse 1 At that time (speaking of His coming) the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. As we move on to VERSES 2-5, Jesus reveals some pertinent information about these TEN VIRGINS. Verse 2 Verse 3 Verse 4 Verse 5 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. (NOTE: Key in on this issue, because it becomes the focal point of the parable. ) The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. -So they are ALL virgins. -They ALL had lamps. -They ALL were looking for the BRIDEGROOM.
-They ALL had fallen ASLEEP. -They ALL woke up to go out and meet the BRIDEGROOM. But it as at this point in the parable we see the oil issue come into play. Look at verses 7, 8: v. 7 Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. v. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out. COMMENTARY ON VERSES 7, 8 The Greek word for lamps in these verses actually means torches. The types of torches referred to here consisted of a long wooden pole with some kind of a wire mesh basket attached to the top, filled with cloth rags. That cloth would be soaked in oil and then lit to give off light. Because the torch would naturally start to burn down it was important to carry a flask of oil to keep the torch lit as long as necessary. So all ten virgins are awakened from their slumber.they light their torches..and go out to meet the bridegroom. But on their way, five of the virgins realize they haven t brought their flask of oil. They ask the five wise virgins who had brought their flask of oil to share with them. Notice their response in VERSE 9: v. 9 No they replied, there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves. Well taking the advice of the five wise virgins, the five foolish virgins rush off to buy some oil. But there s a major problem! Remember it is MIDNIGHT and there are NO 24-hour WAL-MARTS or WAL-GREENS. In ancient times the merchants closed down shop at sundown and did not re-open until daylight. In other words, these five foolish virgins were literally left in the dark! While the five foolish virgins are off on their futile search for oil in the middle of the night, notice what happens. (vs. 10-12)
v. 10 But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with Him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. v. 11 Later the others also came. Sir! Sir! they said. Open the door for us! v. 12 But He replied, I tell you the truth, I don t know you. The coming of the BRIDEGROOM had brought GREAT JOY to the FIVE WISE VIRGINS, but for the FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS His coming brought GREAT SORROW. I. What Is The Meaning of This Parable? 1. In the Pulpit Commentary, H. D. Spence and Joseph Exell introduce the parable of The Ten Virgins this way: There are no hypocrites in this parable, no openly wicked or disobedient people. This consideration gives this parable an awful meaning. It is not enough to have once been (spiritually) awakened, there is need of constant persevering watchfulness. 2. The bridegroom in this parable is obviously JESUS. The ten virgins represents not the CHURCH as a whole, but its individual MEMBERS. Collectively, the Church as a whole is the BRIDE, but individually you and I are represented by the ten virgins. 3. Just like the Ten virgins, by all outward appearances every person who claims to be a Christian may look the same. -We all claim to believe in God. -We all claim to believe in Jesus Christ. -We all claim to believe in the Bible. -We all go to Church we sing the same songs..we commune around the same Lord s Table.and we all hear the same sermon. Outwardly everyone who sits in a Church pew each week may appear to be a genuine, sincere Christian. Outwardly everyone
who claims to be a Christian may appear to be ready to go meet Jesus. But what you and I see OUTWARDLY may not be at all what JESUS sees when he looks at each of us INWARDLY. 4. Just like the FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS, many who claim to be Christians have no spiritual oil. -They have outward RELIGION but they don t have an inward RELATIONSHIP with the Lord Jesus Christ. -They have an outward form of GODLINESS, but inwardly they deny the life-changing POWER of GOD to work in their lives. - Outwardly they can speak all the right religious WORDS, but inwardly they do not ABIDE in the WORD of God. - Outwardly they have FAITH, but they have no WORKS, which is the same as having DEAD faith. - Outwardly they appear HOLY, but there is no true, inward HOLINESS. 5. It is interesting to note Jesus didn t say One of the ten virgins didn t have any oil. He said, Five of the ten didn t. Is Jesus saying five out of ten people who claim to be Christians aren t? Is He saying half the Church isn t truly saved? Only the LORD HIMSELF knows the answer to that question. But one sobering truth we can t deny is that Jesus is teaching us the problem of un-preparedness in the Church is a common problem, rather than isolated. 6. The fact the FIVE WISE VIRGINS refused to give the FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS any of their oil also reveals an important truth. On the surface it appears the FIVE WISE VIRGINS were being SELFISH. But that is NOT what Jesus is teaching
here. It wasn t that the FIVE WISE VIRGINS wouldn t give them any of their oil, they COULDN T give them any of their OIL. You see SALVATION is not transferable from one person to another. Every person must have his own SALVATION. The truth is this: No one can get into heaven on someone else s OIL. In that moment when Christ, the Bridegroom comes, if one is not PREPARED, it is impossible then to get prepared. II. What Does This Parable Teach Us? I believe the message Jesus teaches you and me in this parable is very obvious and that is this: We must be always be READY and WATCHING for His coming. VERSE 13 Jesus said, Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. ILLUSTRATION Back in the days before UPS and FED EX, there was a famous mail delivery service between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California known as the Pony Express. Relay stations were established every 10 to 15 miles all along the 1,700 mile route. As a rider would approach a station he would give a loud shout, giving the station master very short notice of his arrival. The station master had to be ready at all times with a fresh saddled horse. And even when the Pony Express rider came to the station where he was to spend the night, another rider had to be ready to grab the first rider s bundle of packages and continue on the journey.
Although the Pony Express only lasted eighteen months, it left us with a lasting example of what it means to be READY and WATCHING at all times. When it comes to the return of Christ the truth is many who profess to be Christians are neither ready or watching. Many who profess to be Christians are still indulging in sinful living. Many are very worldly. Many are living their lives with absolutely no thought that Christ could come back at any moment. - II Corinthians 13:5 Paul says, Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you---unless, of course, you fail the test. -Philippians 2:12b Paul says, Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. The only way you and I can truly be prepared for the return of Christ is to live our lives as though He is coming today. The truth is, if we aren t ready for His return today, we aren t ready period! C O N C L U S I O N When Jesus comes to reward His servants, Whether it be noon or night, Faithful to Him will He find us watching, With our lamps all trimmed and bright? Refrain O can we say we are ready, brother? Ready for the soul s bright home? Say, will He find you and me still watching, Waiting, waiting when the Lord shall come? Blessèd are those whom the Lord finds watching, In His glory they shall share; If He shall come at the dawn or midnight, Will He find us watching there? Are you ready? Are you watching? (pick up Bible and read verse 13 to close) Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or hour.