The Wise and Foolish Virgins - Are we ready for Christ's return?

Well, let's take our Bible and let's turn to Matthew chapter 25. We're going to be in verses 1 to 13. Now, I will ask you to turn to a portion of Scripture in John, John chapter 1, and I will read those a little later on. I'll tell you when to turn there. I want you to put your eyes on those verses for a reason or two. But tonight we're going to be in Matthew 25 verses 1 to 13. Now tonight we're going to start a new category of parables, and of course these parables were taught by Jesus. If you think back, it's been a while, but we studied the kingdom parables from Matthew 13. And then we studied the parables concerning the Christian life.

And we just finished those parables that are about salvation or man's salvation. And tonight we're going to start certain parables that you teach and illustrate certain things about wisdom and foolishness. These parables, there are four of them right in front of us, are all about wisdom and wise living as compared to foolishness and foolish living. Now, if you think about it, you're going to recognize something that I'm going to share. We have seen that these parables are all about revealing. Revealing. Jesus was and is revealing certain things. Obviously, He's revealing a lot of things, but there are certain things He is revealing.

Think back to Matthew chapter 13, those kingdom parables. Jesus revealed many things about the kingdom of heaven here on earth. In the first parable in Matthew 13, Jesus revealed how people are brought into the kingdom. So it's about revealing. In the salvation parables, Jesus taught and revealed many things as well. He revealed the heart of His Father towards lost sinners, and He revealed the heart of the Jews and the Jewish religious leaders through all of these things. Now, we can continue to name a list of many things that Jesus revealed in those parables that we have already studied.

But I want you to see that He is about revealing certain things. Well, here in this category of parables, Jesus is all about revealing wisdom and wise living as compared to foolishness and foolish living. And on a more personal level, Jesus was and is all about revealing the wisdom of certain men and the foolishness of certain men. And how those things are lived out in a particular area of life. And I think these things fit really well with what we're studying in Ephesians 5, starting in verse 15. Really, verses 15 all the way down to the end of the book are all about what? Unwise living and wise living.

You might not realize that, but verse 15 in Ephesians 5 speaks to all the rest of the book. Well, tonight we start the first of four parables to teach and illustrate wisdom or folly or wise living as compared to foolish living. And tonight we're going to start the parable of the ten virgins. It can be considered the parable of the foolish virgins and the wise virgins. But I think you see that starts in verse 1 on down to verse 13. Let's read the verses and then I want us to look at and try to get our minds around the background because there is a lot here that we need to get.

Jesus says, "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom delayed, they all became drowsy and they slept. But at midnight there was a cry, 'Here is the bridegroom. Come out and meet him.' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil.

Our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Since there will not be enough for us and for you, you go rather to the dealers and buy oil for yourselves.' And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came. And those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast or the marriage banquet or celebration and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But he answered, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.' Now this parable for us is often called a masterpiece. This would be considered a masterpiece of storytelling.

Jesus was a master storyteller. He was a master illustrator of truth. And he was a master illustrator of truth by using parable. The parable of the Good Samaritan is often called a masterpiece. Really all of his teaching could be considered masterpieces. So it's kind of unfair to single out one. But if you do some study on your own, you're going to recognize that some single out parables like this parable as a masterpiece. And this parable can be categorized or labeled in several ways. There are several themes taught in this parable that all come together for the main message of the parable.

Here we have a parable that is a part of what's called the Olivet Discourse. And in this parable Jesus is giving a warning. Actually he gives several warnings in the Olivet Discourse. So we see a warning in the parable. Also here we have a parable that deals with the Second Coming of Jesus. Although many details about his Second Coming are not given, this parable certainly pertains to the Second Coming. So we will see that the parable deals with the Second Coming as well. But we also have a parable that deals with wisdom and foolishness. But wisdom and foolishness as it pertains to a particular part of life.

Simply this is a parable on wisdom and foolishness. And it is a warning to those who are listening to be wise in relationship to the Second Coming of Christ. This parable is a warning to be wise and not to be foolish as one makes preparation for the Second Coming of the Messiah. Now before we get into what is taught in the parable, we've got to ask what all of this is all about. Now honestly, we really cannot relate to any of these things. We know that. We have a wedding and we have wedding customs that are completely different from our wedding customs. So we need to ask what all of these things mean.

I don't know if you've traveled outside of the country. But if you travel outside of the country, you will run across customs that are completely foreign to us. I remember when I went to Russia on a mission trip, I noticed that all the wedding rings were on the right hand. No one had a wedding ring on their left hand. And it took me a minute to figure it out. I thought, wait a minute, those are wedding rings and they're on the other hand. And when I asked, I was told that that was their custom. I think you can understand that. But let's take a look at what all of these things mean. Let's look at the background, the setting of this parable.

Here we have this typical Jewish wedding ceremony. And this was a common scene in their day. Virtually in the village or in the neighborhood or in the community or even a large city, so many would have been involved and so many would have either participated in the wedding or they would have been guests of the wedding or guests in the wedding. And this was a great, great time of joy. It's a great time of happiness, lots of festivities and lots of celebration. You can use terms like banquet and those are accurate terms to use. Now a Jewish marriage basically consisted of three parts. One of these things you will be more familiar with.

The first was called the engagement. Now most of the time the engagement was arranged by the father of the bride and the father of the groom. Most of the time this was an arranged marriage contract. And the couple involved usually had little to do with that arrangement. So there's the first stage, this arrangement or this engagement. And then the second stage was what was called the betrothal period or the betrothal portion of the marriage. If you remember our Christmas story, Joseph and Mary were betrothed to one another. They were in the middle of this second portion of the marriage or marriage process.

But the second stage is called the betrothal period and there was a ceremony where the bride and the groom, they exchanged vows in the presence of family and friends. Now at this point the couple was considered married and the relationship could be broken only by a formal divorce. Just as if they had been married for many years. If the husband happened to die during this particular period, the bride was literally considered a widow. Although the marriage had not been physically consummated. And the two would never live together. And then the betrothal could last for many months, even sometimes a year.

During this time the groom would establish himself. He would work at his trade. He would work to learn his trade. Whether it be a trade or farming or some kind of a business. And he would work to provide a home and a place for his new bride and his family to come. And then at the end of this betrothal period, the wedding feast would be held. And it was at the feast and its related celebrations that the entire community would come and be involved. These festivities, they could last a week or even more. And they began at the grooms coming with his groomsmen to the bride's house. Where the bridesmaids would have been waiting.

And together the bride and the groom and all of their attendants, they would then parade through the streets proclaiming that the wedding feast was about to take place. And this procession was generally at night. And they usually would use lamps or torches. And they would have been used to illuminate the party to bring all kinds of attention to these particular events. And at the end of this feast period, a close friend of the groom who acted a lot like we would consider a best man. They would take the hand of the bride and place it in the hand of the groom. And the couple would for the first time be left alone together.

The marriage would be consummated and the couple would then live together in their new home. And it was at this third part of the marriage ceremony that Jesus spoke of. This third part of the marriage ceremony really is the structure for this teaching parable. And with that in your mind I think you can see that and understand that. So that helps us see how we need to approach the parable. We need to focus on these young virgins. They could be called attendants or bridesmaids. Bridesmaids would be an accurate term. But yet they were young virgins and I'll speak to that. And they were central figures in the parable.

And then when you look at the bridegroom, he's at the center of the parable. I think we know that. And then last I want us to see there's a very clear warning at the very end. And that's in verse 14. That part of the message will be rather short. So let's look at number one, the young virgins. The young virgins, the bridesmaids, are the bride's attendants. And this will focus on verses 1 to 5. And this is the kingdom of heaven. Will be like ten virgins who took their lamps. And they went to meet the bridegroom. Five were foolish and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps they took no oil with them.

Otherwise they took flasks of oil with their lamps. And as the bridegroom was delayed they all became drowsy and they slept. So I think with the background in our minds those verses might kind of ring a little different in our ear. But before we get into the point of the verses I want to address a question or two that can come up with dealing with this parable. There are many questions that can be brought out that can cause us to assign meaning to every detail if we're not careful. And the point of this parable is to communicate one thing. Yes there are some details that do have meaning. I know that.

But we can't strain at every detail and we can't look for spiritual meaning at every corner. First we need to ask what is the meaning of the young virgins. Well the young virgins and their behavior are at the heart of what's taught here. But these things were not odd. They were not strange culturally because we have the background we understand them. Simply the attendance of the bride in their day were unmarried. And the attendance of the bride in that day were young women. And because they were unmarried and they were young women well they were sexually pure. They were virgins so that language has meaning.

So culturally this was not odd language or imagery. That's exactly what they were. But then second what is the meaning of the number 10. Some assign meaning to the number 10 and some do not. The number 10 was considered the number of completion of the Jews. According to Jewish history at least 10 men were necessary to celebrate the Jewish Passover. Also at least 10 men were necessary to form a Jewish synagogue. So culturally there may have been some meaning here with the number with those listening. But third what is the meaning of the oil and the lamps. Some see this as representing the Holy Spirit.

Some commentators even link this back to the oil that was used in the tabernacle. And we can see that in Exodus 27 20 and 21. Now I don't have a problem connecting the oil and their lamps to the Holy Spirit. But we're going to see that this speaks to a whole lot more. But another question here. What are we the make of the details. Yes we have seen that some of the details in the parables have meaning. But we can't stretch those details. We have to be careful how much meaning we assign to each of the details here. And this is where having a bigger picture approach will help us. Sometimes I ask us to take a step back and look at big picture.

Determining the major point or meaning of these particular verses will help us understand the details like we should. Now to get at the major point or meaning of these verses. I want us to think of the occasion and the major point of the parable. And the major point of the entire parable is at the end. Verse 14. But the occasion. Simply the young virgins were not ready for the occasion. Some did not have oil for their lamps. They left the wedding festivities to go buy oil. And then when they returned it was too late. The bridegroom had arrived and the banquet which was the last part of the wedding, the entire wedding had already started.

Simply there were those who were not ready for the coming of the bridegroom and the banquet that followed. But then second the overall meaning of the parable. The parable is about being ready for the return of Christ. The parable is a warning to be ready. Some will be ready while some others will not be ready. And they will miss out. Simply the meaning of the parable is a warning to be ready for the return of Christ. So with all of that said we need to ask what all of these things mean and what these things should mean to us in our day. The five virgins who did not have oil for their lamps are those who are not ready for Christ in His return.

The five virgins who did have oil for their lamps are those who weren't or ready for Christ's return. And the oil. Some say this represents the possession of the Holy Spirit in the life and this speaks of salvation. I do not have a problem with that position. Certainly those who are born again do possess the Holy Spirit and they are indeed ready for the return of Christ. But I think it's a little bit bigger picture than that. The oil and the bringing of the oil for their lamps. Five brought oil remember. It speaks of readiness. It speaks of being prepared for the return of Christ.

The five virgins who brought their lamps and who had extra oil for their lamps. It speaks of a readiness being prepared for the return of Christ. And the five virgins who do have oil for their lamps certainly represents being born again and possessing the Holy Spirit. Yes but it's much more. This speaks of being ready for the return of Christ. This speaks of even anticipating the return of Christ. So the young virgins, five virgins in the story did not have the oil for their lamps. And they were not prepared to wait and for the coming of the bridegroom. But five virgins did have oil.

They were indeed prepared to wait for the bridegroom and for the coming of the bridegroom. So the point of these verses, this part of the parable is twofold. First this is a lesson on being prepared for the return of Christ. Second this is a warning against not being prepared. It's really a twofold lesson and warning. And look, this twofold message is a constant message from Jesus all throughout His teaching. Some of you will see this. In the parable of the wedding feast, the ones without the proper wedding clothes, they were not prepared. Isn't that right? In the parables about the kingdom in Matthew 13, we see the same things.

Jesus warns against being like the weeds or the false Christians. The King James calls them tares. He warns against having the wrong kind of heart. He warns against having a hard heart. He warns against having a thorny heart and a rocky heart. And in those parables, He is urging those listeners to be prepared to receive the seed of the gospel message. You see? Now what are the lessons for this portion of the parable for us today? How should we apply these things to us in our day? First, we must be prepared. We must be prepared for two things. First of all, for death. And second, for the coming of Christ.

And second, there's this warning for us. Those who are not prepared will not get into heaven. Those who are not prepared will be left outside of the banquet. And if someone is here and they're not in Christ Jesus, they've never been born again, this is a warning for you. And then third, there's this realization that we must come to. We must realize that there will be many who have the outward appearance of knowing Christ, but they have no oil. They are not born again. Now, what was the difference in the virgins? What was the difference in the virgins? They all looked the same, talked the same, they had their lips.

But some had oil and some did not. And we must realize that many will have a good outward profession of Christ, but in the end, they will be locked out of the banquet when the bridegroom comes because they do not have oil. And then number two, I want us to look at the arriving bridegroom. It changes in verse six. We'll read it down to verse 12. But at midnight, there was a cry. Here's the bridegroom. You know, today, as I was finishing up, I thought, did they announce it over and over and over? Was this a loud cry that they repeated over and over and over? But at midnight, there was a cry. Here is the bridegroom. Here is the bridegroom.

And he's speaking to all in the wedding party. And what does he say? Come out. Come out to meet him. And remember, they would have met the bridegroom and gone down that wonderful procession all through town with their lamps. Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, since there will not be enough for us and for you, go. You go. And you go to the dealers and you buy some for yourselves. 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. Afterward, the virgins, the other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open for us. But he answered, truly, I'll say to you, I do not know you. Now, before we get into the spiritual meaning of these things, we need to understand that all these things definitely could have happened in their day. This parable and these events represented real life events. Although we may strain to understand them, they did not. All those that were listening, they would have understood all of this and this would have drawn them in.

And in the story, the young virgins, the attendants, the attendants or bridesmaids of the bride, they were all staying at the home of the bride and they were waiting for the bridegroom. They all knew that the betrothal time was over and the final wedding festivities were in hand. They all knew that the bridegroom could come at any moment and the wedding banquet could begin. But they did not know when this would take place. So they were waiting. And then at midnight, the announcement came. Come out, come out, come out because the bridegroom is coming. Now is the time to celebrate. Well, we know the rest of the story.

Five of the bridesmaids of the virgins were ready and five were not. But a question that brings out a spiritual truth here in this part of the parable. Why couldn't the attendants share? Why couldn't the five virgins who had oil share with those who had no oil? And were those who had oil selfish by not sharing? Again, we can't press the parable too hard, but this does have meaning. Those who had oil were not selfish. They did not share because there was not enough oil to go around. And notice the spiritual lesson here. The oil does represent salvation and being ready spiritually. We understand that.

The oil represents being spiritually ready to meet Christ. So the lesson is this. One can't get spiritual readiness and preparation from anyone else. Spiritual readiness and preparation to meet Christ is something that must be settled between one and God. Here's where I want us to turn to John chapter one. John chapter one. And we see this principle and this lesson in these verses. This might fool some of you or surprise some of you. Verse nine. We're going to focus on verses 13 to 14. Notice what John says. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. We understand that's Jesus. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. That's Jesus in the rejection of the Jews. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Now let me pause there. Jesus is saying those who did receive him became right with God, children of God. They were ready. But notice.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And here in John one, we see that spiritual readiness and preparation comes by grace through faith. This comes from God, not from heredity. That's what the word blood pertains to. Not from a work of self. That's in the verse. And not from the work of another. You see, John is eliminating all of the false ways and methods and plans that people can have of coming to be made right with God. Well, there's another question that can arise here.

Here in the parable, the five virgins who were not ready, they were told to go buy oil for their lamps. Does this mean that salvation can be bought? No. That is where pressing every detail can get us into trouble. Jesus is not somehow teaching that salvation can be bought. He is and was stressing that one must personally secure their own salvation. He is stressing the fact that no man or person can secure salvation for another. And all throughout the Scriptures, we see that man is held responsible to seek after and to secure their own salvation.

In Luke 14, Jesus calls those who were following him to count the cost and to meet the conditions of true discipleship. He called them to love him supremely and to take up their cross in death. In those Scriptures, Jesus plainly called those who were following and seeking after him. He called them to seek after and to secure true discipleship. We see this in other places as well. In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul called those in the Corinthian church that battle so much sin. He called them to test themselves and to see if they were in the faith. So there's a tremendous lesson here.

Men, women, and young people are called to seek after and to secure their own salvation. And yes, we understand that one must be drawn by the Holy Spirit. But it is equally clear in the Scripture that man must seek after and secure their own salvation. They are responsible. No person can do this work for another. But what's the main point of these verses? "The bridegroom arrived at midnight when all were asleep." Now, all knew that he was coming, but they were asleep. Five of the young virgins were not neglecting, but five were. Five of the young virgins were not neglecting, they were ready, but five were not.

Now, at this point in the parable, we need to see the lesson that Jesus is coming, but we do not know when. Although we may be waiting and although we may be ready, we still do not know when Christ is coming. When we least expect him to come, he will come. Although we can know the times, although we can anticipate his return, although we can yearn for his returning, when we least expect it, the lesson is he will come. Now, there are several lessons here besides that one main lesson. First, we must see that we can't get our salvation from another. We can't get oil. We can't get spiritual readiness from another person, no matter who they are.

And second, we can't give salvation. We can't give spiritual readiness to another. No matter how good our intentions may be. And I'm going to speak to these two at the conclusion, a little further. But third, this Jesus is coming. When we least expect it, he will come. And look, it is not a sin to sleep. Were those virgins sinning by sleeping? No. It's not a sin to be sleeping. It's not even a sin to be recreating when he comes. The sin is not being spiritually ready. The sin is not being spiritually ready. And then third, the sure warning. This is right here in verse 13. You'll see that Jesus pivots here.

It's almost like he looks up from his sermon manuscript, which I know he does not, and he looks them right in the eye, and he gives them the sure warning. "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." Now, I mentioned earlier that this parable is a part of a series of warning parables. Five times Jesus issues a warning to those who are listening. Chapter 24, verse 36. And then in verse 42. And then in verse 44. And then in verse 50. And then here again, you can go back and look at those warnings. But here we get to the main point of the parable, which is a warning. And all the other parts of the parables, the parable.

And all of the lessons found in this parable, they point to this one lesson, this one warning. And the warning is this. Be on guard. The warning is this. Watch. "For you do not know the day or the hour or the time when the bridegroom will show up." The warning is this. Be ready. The warning is this. Be prepared. Have oil for your lamp. Which speaks to saving grace. Possessing, yes, the Holy Spirit. Being spiritually ready. He is saying, be spiritually ready. Be prepared spiritually. The bridegroom will return. So be ready. Or else. Now an application for us. This needs to be seen in two ways.

If you're not born again, this is a strong warning to be ready. Seek after God. Seek after Christ and salvation. Take heed of this warning to do all that you can do to get the oil for your lamp. And you have a responsibility. But then second, for those of us who are not born again, who are born again, excuse me, we should urge others who are around us who are lost to seek after the oil. To seek after Christ. To pursue spiritual readiness. These two go together. We must urge them to seek after Christ and to seek after salvation. They can only come from Christ. Now as I move away from digging into the parable, I want to offer us some lessons.

Six lessons. Yes, six. These are short. But these are very valuable. And I'm going to give you three lessons that come from James Montgomery Boyce. I've held onto these throughout the week. And these are lessons from my study that just come to the surface. I'll give you Boyce's first and then mine. And this will all kind of tie into some application. Some that we've made. And this will just wrap up the parable for us all. The first lesson. Salvation. Knowing God. The life of the Lord Jesus Christ in a person. None of that is transferable. Yes, we can influence someone to Christ.

And yes, I'm not even afraid to use this language of leading someone to Christ. Oh God can use us in a grand way to influence our sons and our daughters and our neighbors to Christ. But spiritual life is in no way transferable. This is a mistake that so many parents can make. We can be very well meaning. Oh we love our sons and our daughters. But we cannot transfer oil from our lamp to theirs. Salvation is a personal thing. Salvation is between a young man, a young woman, a teenager, a child, an adult. And God, we cannot transfer in any way.

And this is where we have to pray and we have to instruct and we have to teach them the truth about who they are and their need for Christ and the gospel. And then we have to back up. And it can be hard. And second, lost opportunities can be in no way regained. One of those five foolish virgins left with no oil and the bridegroom returned. It's too late. They reason that the door of the banquet, but it was too late. Lost opportunities for salvation are gone and they're never to be returned. Now yes, someone may have many, many opportunities to repent and come to faith in Christ. Well that's God's business.

But there will be a day when that last opportunity has been offered and it's gone and it's too late. Now this is where we can't play God. I've had people criticize me for allowing people who are not members of the church, who are in open sin, continue to attend. I've had people say that that ruins the reputation of the church. I say otherwise. Jesus has never shown sinners. If you look at who He's shown, He's shown the religious leaders. And see, we never know how God's working. We never know how God's working in the heart and the life of that person who sat there and heard the gospel over and over and over and over.

We don't know God's timeline, but we do know that there is a timeline. And lost opportunities can in no way be regained. Well then third, Jesus is coming and He's coming without warning. Look how this applies in two ways. We can apply this to physical death. You know death is coming and when it comes, usually it comes without warning. Now we might be told that we have cancer and we have a certain amount of time to live. But even that announcement is without warning. So death is coming and that comes without warning. But more specifically, specifically from these verses, this applies to the second coming.

Jesus is coming no matter how you view your end times. Jesus is coming. He is coming. And we can believe this as fact. Look, we can even read the times and study the scriptures, but He comes without warning. If anyone tells you they know when Jesus is coming back, you need to run because you're looking at a cult leader. Or a Christian that's in here. But then fourth, Jesus is revealing. I mention this at the introduction of the message. Here in this parable, He is revealing who is wise and who is foolish in regards to these particular things. Some here are wise and He is revealing that to you. Isn't that comforting?

But some of you here are not born again and you know it. Christ is revealing to you that you are foolish. You could be horribly foolish. Now an application, if this is you. Look, if God is showing you that you're lost and you're without Christ, you have to do all that you can do to pursue salvation and pursue Christ and seek after Him. You can only do so much. But I would warn you as a pastor, do not relax. Do not just sit back and say, "Well, God's just going to do what God's going to do. I can't do anything about it." No, that's a foolish attitude. So Jesus is revealing. And then fifth, Jesus is asking.

Here in this parable, in this message, He is asking you to be honest. He is asking you, "Are you wise?" He is asking by work of the Spirit, "Are you foolish?" He is asking so as to bring you to a crossroads of decision. He is asking and I am asking, "Are you foolish?" Or, "Are you wise?" Do you have oil in your lamp? Or if Christ were to return tonight, you would have to say, "I have no oil." But then sixth, Jesus is charging. Here in this parable, Jesus is charging us to take heed to this warning. And the charge is this, "Look, watch, be ready. Don't be foolish.

Be spiritually prepared because you do not know the day, the hour, or the time when the bright green will come. And He most definitely will come." Now, what's the title of the message? The title of the message is in the form of a statement and a question. The title of the message is, "The Wise and the Foolish Virgins." I think we've seen pretty thoroughly the wise, and I think we've understood pretty thoroughly the virgins. I mean, the not-so-wise. I think we've come to understand who the wise are, the wise virgins, and who the foolish virgins are. And we even understand the cultural skeleton that this lesson, these lessons are painted on.

But the rest of the message is a question. Are we ready for Christ's return? If we are truly ready, we need to live ready. And if we're truly ready and we live ready, we will live a little bit different, maybe a lot different. So the wise and the foolish virgins, are we ready for Christ's return?