1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”
Alertness is the catchword of Jesus’ teaching on the Mount of Olives. Having already stressed this in the previous chapter (vs. 42), our Lord presented another illustration to drive His point home. His coming again, a primary theme of this sermon, is pictured as a bridegroom coming for the bridesmaids, called “virgins,” so they could enter the wedding feast. Some of them did not adequately prepare. Each brought her own oil lamp, but some not enough oil. When the bridegroom finally came, five of the women were gone, looking for oil, and thus missed out on the feast. Jesus finishes the story by warning His listeners to be alert, because the exact timing of His return will not be revealed. We need not get hung up on details of the parable, the point is that some were not alert when they should have been!
We conclude from this parable a number of things. First, Christ’s coming again will be sudden. Second, the exact time of His return is not known to anyone but the Father (see Matthew 24:36). Third, not being prepared is tantamount to not being known by Christ (vs. 12). This reflects the upper room discourse where eternal life is characterized as having a “knowing” relationship with Christ (John 17:3). Four, there comes a point after which no further recourse for salvation will be offered. If this teaching refers to the 2nd coming of Christ, then all that can be expected after this is judgment. If, on the other hand, the rapture is in view, we know from later teaching that there will be a minority who will come to Christ during the tribulation period, but at great cost! Either way, people must be alert to Jesus’ possible return at any time.
Lord, You have warned us that Your return will be sudden. It could be today, even before I finish this prayer. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev 22:20 KJV)
0 Comments