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Matthew 25:1-13

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

If this parable makes you uncomfortable, good. That is exactly what Jesus intended. The parable is a warning. You can lose the faith. You can give up hope. You can have the mountaintop experiences, you can rededicate your life a hundred times, you can feel really close to God now, but still be left outside when Jesus, the Bridegroom, is delayed in His return.

Jesus has told us to watch, but none of us have watched as we should. We have not believed as we should. We have ignored what we know to be right and have fallen into sin. We have had opportunity after opportunity to read, hear, learn, study God’s Word, and come to receive God’s gifts Sunday morning, but figured, “I can do it tomorrow, or next week.”

Jesus tells us that five of the virgins were μωραὶ where we get our English word, ‘morons.’ Now, these are not those who were confirmed but stopped coming to church. These five foolish virgins are those who stick it out. They keep coming to church. They serve on the church council, helped with the pot-lucks, and put their offering in the plate every week. The five fools have every mark of what would be considered a ‘good Christian.’ However, when the Bridegroom arrives, they are unprepared to meet Him. They have no oil. They have no hope or faith.

The other five virgins are ‘wise,’ but it is not the normal New Testament word for wise, σοφία. Jesus uses a different word, φρόνιμοι. This is a particular kind of wisdom that plans for the future. It considers everything that is known, but it also recognizes and plans for the unknown.

So, these wise virgins know the Bridegroom is coming, but they don’t know when He will arrive. And because they know that they didn’t know, they made provision for that too. They were ready. They were ready if He came right away – they had oil in their lamps. But they were also ready if He is delayed – they had extra oil in their flasks.

Of course, we should be ready for Jesus to return today. We should put away our sin. We should be repentant. We should reconcile with those we are fighting with. We should watch and pray and expect that Jesus will be here at any moment. All this is to have oil in our lamps.

But we do not know when Jesus will return. It may not be today or tomorrow or next year or even in our lifetimes. So, we should be making preparations for that as well.

We should go to work and school tomorrow and the days and weeks and months and years after that too. We should be preparing for our future careers. We should get married, have children, and teach those children the faith. We should be sending out missionaries to preach the Gospel in other places so they and their children will be ready for Christ’s return. We should be planting new churches, strengthening existing churches, and writing hymns for us today but also for those of future generations because it may not be tomorrow that Jesus returns.

If you thought that Jesus was going to come in ten days, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, you wouldn’t bother thawing out your turkey. You wouldn’t go to the store to buy all the groceries you need (or make your travel plans) for Thanksgiving Day. But if you are wrong, and Jesus doesn’t return in ten days, it will make for a very poor Thanksgiving. You won’t have any tryptophan in your system to help you fall asleep while you watch Giants play the Redskins. Yuck.

Be ready for the return of Christ. Be watchful. Stay awake. Don’t be away from the house when Christ arrives frantically trying to find oil for yourself because when He comes, it is too late. But none of this is to say that you are worthy of entering the feast because you are prepared. As important as they are, you aren’t welcomed into the wedding feast because of your good works.

Notice, all ten virgins – both the wise and the foolish – they all fall asleep. But also notice, that when the Bridegroom comes, He washes away the sins of those five wise virgins who fell asleep. He doesn’t hold their slumber against them. The Bridegroom is the one who died for their sins, so their sins aren’t going to stop Him from welcoming them to the wedding feast (Rev. David H. Pedersen).

Brothers and sisters, Christ is returning, and we do not know either the day or the hour. We do not know the general time or the specific time.

Be ready and remember what you are waiting for. You are waiting for a party. You are waiting for a time of unimaginable celebration and unspeakable joy. Absolutely, you need to be ready, but only because it would be a travesty to miss all the fun. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.