‘At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, 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. ‘At midnight the cry rang out: “Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” ‘Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.” ‘ “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.” ‘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. ‘Later the others also came. “Lord, Lord,” they said, “open the door for us!” ‘But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.” ‘Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Matthew 25:1-13 NIVUK
Weddings are always tremendous. It doesn’t matter what culture you come from or what their rituals are, they are always important and, when they are expressions of love, wonderful occasions.
I’ve been to more weddings in other countries than I have in my own. My first one in Romania always sticks in my mind.
I was serving a Baptist church in Mediaș and I has been invited to be part of the groom’s party, which was such a privilege. I had to be round at his house bright and early – around 8am. I remember showering and dressing really quickly that day, running like mad to his apartment and then arriving, in true British style, bang on 8am, when I was greeted by someone with a glass of soft drink and some cakes.
Obviously, as a young guy in my early 20s, being greeted by soft drinks and cake first thing in the morning was not something I was opposed to.
Half an hour later, I was in a car, speeding through the small city to the Town Hall, in a car bedecked with streamers, in a convoy. We were beeping our horn loudly all the way. The other cars in the convoy were doing the same. As were other cars on the road. It was such noisy, joyous occasion.
After the fifteen minute legal ceremony, we got back in the car, rejoined the beeping convoy and arrived at the church.
After a two-hour service, including communion, we all headed into the basement, where we consumed a seven course meal that took five hours to polish off, accompanied by singing, funny speeches and all manner of happy malarkey.
It had been a roasting hot summer day. I remember leaving that basement, my stomach fit to burst, and saying to myself, ‘Well, that was fun. Couldn’t eat another thing, though...’
Until I saw an ice cream stall...
Jewish weddings were a lot different. No beeping cars. No Town Halls. No two-hour long services.
But they did have their rituals and traditions, which Jesus uses here to illustrate how He will return, as well as how and why we should be prepared.
Before we go into the detail of the message of this parable, we first need to understand what is going on and why Jesus chose this particular event to illustrate His point.
As I said, Jewish weddings two thousand years ago were a lot different to ours. It had three stages:
· The engagement, when the fathers agreed to the union
· The betrothal, when the future man and wife made vows to each other (and not in the modern, American sense where they just make a declaration of love – these vows were binding promises to each other)
· The marriage, around a year later, when the bridegroom came at an unexpected time to take his bride
In this parable, the couple are on the cusp of moving from the second to the third stage.
As part of the ancient rituals and celebrations, the groom would be met by younger women, all single and all virgins (so, candidates for marriage) who would lead the bridegroom to the bride’s chamber and join in the marriage festivities.
It is that sequence of events that we see here.
And the fact that there were ten of them? Commentators believe this was simply the number of young women who took part in this ritual.
So let me say firstly that this is a great privilege. Of course it is! Being invited to play a role in such a significant event in the life of a friend or family member – how could it not be a privilege!
Another Christian writer is not slow in using an ancient wedding as a picture to help us understand something of the eternal mysteries. John speaks in Revelation of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9), and how those who are invited to it are blessed – or happy, or privileged.
But do you know something? I think we Christians have forgotten how much of a privilege it is to be a member of Jesus’ bridal party. I think we have become so bogged down with duty and routine and habit that we have lost the joy of what it means to be a follower of Jesus and what it means for us to be invited to the wedding banquet for His union with the church.
We are robbing ourselves of a great joy by doing this. A great, eternal joy.
So today, let this simple thought seep into your mind: there is a great and wonderful wedding that will last for all eternity, and you and I – we are invited!
But this leads us on to the second point, that this great privilege was also a neglected privilege.
You see, Jesus divides these bridesmaids up into two simple groups: five wise and five foolish.
The five wise bridesmaids realise that the groom could come at any time of day or night, and so they are prepared. They bring with them jars of oil – likely clay jars and not the easiest things to carry – in case the oil in their lamps burns dry.
The foolish bridesmaids, of course, do not. Their commitment to their task is half-hearted.
They do not want to be burdened with the extra oil.
And it is these foolish bridesmaids who are neglectful of their privilege. They are too relaxed about it. They do the minimum expected and believe they can coast through. They tick the box, show face, do their bit and then go home.
That is why they don’t have enough oil to last.
Light from lamps is an important image in the Bible. In the Tabernacle and Temple, for example, the lamps should burn all night long (Exodus 27:21).
Jesus also talked about a lamp that should not be hidden (Matthew 5:15). He exhorted us to make sure that it shines:
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 NIVUK
Light, you see, represents good deeds and a clear conscience. It represents integrity and transparency (1 John 1:5-10). It represents unashamed obedience that talks about our transformed life through the Gospel before we open our mouths.
What happens here is that the two groups of bridesmaids represent two different groups of Christians: one who keeps going to the end, undeterred by the darkness, and the other who stops receiving the vigour and energy they need from the Word of God and the Holy Spirit and who surrender to the darkness.
No picture could possibly be truer of the church in its current state.
We cannot ignore the challenge to do everything we can to keep our lamps burning.
But there is another aspect to this that we cannot ignore, and that is the aspect of deeds – we must do something.
Jesus has just been teaching His disciples about watchfulness. He uses two separate short parables: one about a house owner who needs to protect his house from a potential thief (Matthew 24:42-44), and another about a servant who manages the house in his master’s absence (Matthew 24:45-51).
In both short parables, the main character hasn’t just got to believe something, they must also do something: keep watch in both cases; obey the master and take care of the house in the latter. Now Jesus has added a third action: to ensure that your light burns brightly.
Perhaps we are puzzled by this. After all, why would Jesus talk about good works when we are saved by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)?
The answer to that is quite simple: Faith produces works. It must or faith is not genuine.
Worse than that – James tells us that it is dead:
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
James 2:26 NIVUK
The light that we shine is not just our words, but our deeds, as Jesus said:
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 NIVUK
So what we are talking about here is not just keeping our faith alive, but allowing that faith to express itself through deeds that shine out in the darkness.
Those who truly understand the enormous privilege we have in following Jesus will take great care to ensure that the light of their faith and their works will shine, and continue to shine, no matter how long we have to wait for Jesus to return.
Those who treat their Christianity as nothing more than eternal assurance policy will gradually see their light dim, flicker and go out as the darkness sets in – much like the seed that fell among the rocks in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:18-19).
Let’s do everything we can to never be among their number.
The last section of this parable, in verses 6 to 13, would likely have drawn a gasp from the audience that heard it the first time. You see, after a great privilege and a neglected privilege, we see a lost privilege.
And it is, to be honest, quite shocking. You see, the group of ten bridesmaids falls asleep since the groom is late in coming.
His arrival is announced.
The bridesmaids wake up. Five of them have enough oil to light their lamps; five of them do not. The five who have enough perform their role and lead him to the bride for the wedding feast to begin. The five who do not run to buy oil first and miss out on the procession.
But it's what happens next that is truly shocking. Not only do they miss the procession, they also miss the feast! The bridegroom won’t let them in! He even tells them that he doesn’t know them!
Let that idea sink in a bit.
When you’re arranging a wedding, particularly one that takes over a year to complete, you’re going to get to know your entourage quite well, aren’t you? I mean, that would be normal.
You always get some chancer looking to get himself an invitation because he wants a free feed. We had that at our wedding.
But for the bridegroom to say he doesn’t know five bridesmaids and prevent them from sharing in his happiness seems a tad harsh.
Or is it?
You see, there is also this passage:
‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
Matthew 7:21-23 NIVUK
The deciding factor is not those who ‘play the game’, or who can be the most religious, or who had the most church or Sunday school or youth meeting attendances. No, it’s who ‘does the will of my Father in heaven.’ It’s who keeps their lamp burning till the end.
Now here, again, we could get confused. We could wonder why it seems that these bridesmaids are like people who lose their salvation when salvation cannot be lost (John 10:28).
But that is a huge misunderstanding. These bridesmaids do not represent lapsed Christians.
No, they represent fake Christians – people whose faith is only ‘half measures’, who go along for the ride or to look good, but have no desire at all to follow it through to the end.
This is the difference.
So we need to be aware of this: God will not be mocked. He will see through the thin disguise. He will give everyone what they deserve.
This parable is deeply challenging.
For many, the very idea that God could shut anyone out of Heaven is unthinkable. And yet this parable teaches that it is true.
So how do we avoid this terrible fate?
We go ‘all in’ for Jesus. We commit ourselves to daily private times with Him and corporate times of praise and Bible study. We grab the Christian life with enthusiasm and we don’t let go.
That is how we stay watchful until our Bridegroom comes.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I find it shocking that anyone could possibly forget what a privilege it is to follow You. Help me never forget. Guide me as I look for ways to make sure that my light is always burning brightly for You. Help me to be vigilant and watchful. Amen.
Questions
1. Why was it important for the bridesmaids to remain watchful?
2. Why did the foolish bridesmaids not have extra oil with them?
3. Do you find it shocking that the bridegroom shut the foolish bridesmaids out of the wedding feast? Why/why not? What was Jesus trying to say?
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