Matthew 25:1-13 “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 ones, 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. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
There is a lot to unpack here. We have five wise virgins and five foolish virgins. What made the five wise one wise? They understood their assignment to be light bearers for this very lengthy wedding processional. They took oil and were ready to fulfill their assignment. The foolish ones, however, took their lamps but didn’t take any oil with them. There was no way they could fulfill their assignment without having oil. They understood that. They knew what was needed to be part of the wedding processional and after that, the wedding banquet, but they failed to get ready to execute their assignment.
Maybe they thought, “We’ve got time to get oil. The groom is often away for even longer than a year. We’ll get around to getting oil at some point, but there is no need to hurry to be ready for the task. The foolish virgins didn’t have a sense of urgency about the groom’s arrival.
The parable says that the groom announced his arrival at midnight. When they heard the sound of the shofar, the foolish virgins panicked and asked the wise virgins to share their oil, but they didn’t comply. They had taken their assignment to provide light for the wedding party very seriously. If they gave some of their oil away, they might be able to light the foolish virgin’s 5 lamps, but what if that meant they all ran out of oil halfway to the ceremony? Five lit lamps were better than none, and they weren’t going to miss the feast.
The wise virgins told the foolish virgins to go and buy some oil. I guess Walmart was open 24 hours a day back then because they left to get the oil. What that says to me is that there wasn’t a shortage of oil. It was accessible, even at midnight. The fact that they left at midnight to get the oil tells me it wasn’t a money problem. They had the funds needed to procure the oil. They simply put off doing what they should have done as soon as they had been selected to be the bridesmaids.
The parable has a tragic ending. Once the door was shut, there was no more opportunity to be part of the wedding banquet. The opportunity was missed. Because the foolish virgins didn’t enter with the rest of the bridal party, they weren’t given the privilege of attending. Beyond missing the celebration, however, is an even sadder reality because the parable is about the return of Christ and what the book of Revelation calls the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. When it is time for that celebration, there will be no more time to get in. When the foolish virgins get to the door, they cry out, “Lord, Lord, open the door for us!” But He said to them, Truly, I tell you, I don’t know you.”
“You don’t know us? We thought we were on the guest list! We have the lamps like the rest of the bridal party! We look the part! We got our dresses at David’s Bridal! We have our bouquets! We hung out with the bride until we had to go get some oil! We look like we fit in! We look like we belong with everyone else at the marriage feast! What do you mean you don’t know us?”
This parable teaches a sobering reality. It teaches us it is possible to look ready and to not be ready to meet Christ. You can look the part. You can carry your torch. You can talk a good talk. You can blend in. You can be religious. You can attend church and hang out with the Bride of Christ. You can even know who Jesus is, but if He doesn’t know you, you have a big problem! There will come a moment when the door is closed, when the opportunity is gone, when the trumpet sounds, at the midnight cry and your opportunity to get oil has passed!
The foolish virgins wanted to borrow oil from the wise virgins, but that wasn’t possible. The wise virgins needed the oil for their lamps to get them all of the way to the banquet. Can I just be very blunt this morning? When Father God turns to Jesus and says, “The mansions are ready, go get your bride,” you won’t be able to borrow the faith of your spouse or your parents or your grandparents or your friends who are in Christ. You have to have your own oil!
Y’all, you can hold a torch for Jesus, but if there is no oil in it, if the Holy Spirit does not reside in you, you don’t belong to Christ. Romans 8:9 says so.
Believer, you can start with Jesus, Church, but if you don’t keep your torch lit, if you start chasing the things of the world instead of the things of the Spirit that add oil to your torch, eventually your torch can burn out. You may have grown up hearing that taught differently, but I can’t read this passage and many others as well, without coming to the conclusion that if I do nothing to add oil to my lamp, and if I do the things that intentionally put the Spirit’s fire out, what the Bible calls, “grieving the Holy Spirit,” I am in danger of not being known by God when the trumpet sounds.
Church, as we anticipate the return of Christ, we need to make sure that not only is their oil in our lamps to start with, but we need to make sure we are chasing the things of the Spirit, to make sure we are frontloading the Word of God, to make sure we are praying for help to stay connected to the bridal party, to make sure that we can make it to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb without burning out. I’m not talking about “losing salvation,” because I don’t think it can simply be lost, but I do believe it can be forfeited. If we make a choice for Jesus, but on down the road, we make a choice for other things in place of Jesus, we aren’t living ready to meet Him. The Bible teaches that we need to live ready.
Romans 12:11 is my life verse. It says, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord.” -Romans 12:11
Where is the spiritual fervor of the Church? What is the temperature of the Bride of Christ? Are we waiting in expectant faith with passionate zeal? Are we serving the Lord as if today could be the day of Christ return?
So, the ten bridesmaids hung out for months together, waiting for the groom to come. I’m guessing they did a lot of wedding talk. They probably talked over details. They probably helped the bride dream of her wedding day, but I wonder if they talked about oil. I mean, there is usually at least one responsible bridesmaid in the lot. You know the one. She makes sure everyone knows what time they are supposed to meet at the church. She is the one who remembers the steamer for everyone’s dresses. She thinks ahead about the need for safety pins and bobby pins. She brings the lint brush and even has a roll of duct tape for a quick wardrobe malfunction. I just wonder if any of the wise virgins were warning the foolish ones of the elapsing of time. Some people aren’t good at keeping track of time. Some people miss great opportunities because they can’t take necessary steps before time runs out.
Church, I believe that part of us living ready for the return of Christ is that we are busy, and I mean busy, telling people how to get their oil.
Jesus more than adequately prepared His Church for His return. He told us He was going away. He taught us how to follow Him. He told us He was preparing a place. He gave us a vision of Heaven. He told us He would return in a cloud of glory, just the same way He ascended. We have all of the information we need to live ready. We have all of the inspiration we need to live ready. We have all of the incentive we need to help others live ready! We have been commissioned to be His witnesses. We have Holy Spirit help to be the light we need to be, and we need to take it seriously because once the door is shut, friends, it won’t be opened again.
Living as if the midnight cry could be today! Live ready. Live to warn other people about their need for oil! Live ready. He came once just as He promised He would. He is coming again, just like He promised He would. History proves Jesus is a promise keeper. He made a lot of them. He has kept almost all of them. There are just a few yet to fulfill. He said He is coming back. Why would He break His promises now? Live ready.
