Who is 'He' and when will he say it? Jesus Christ in the 'He' and the 'when' is when Jesus Christ-- the Son of God comes to earth for the last time to bring salvation to his people--the people who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28) Will He say to you 'good and faithful servant' or will he shut the door and say, 'I don't know you'?

Now let's look at one of Jesus' many parables which dramatize the situation which all people are in. This parable is found in the first 13 verses of the 25th chapter of Matthew. 

"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, 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. `Sir! Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us!' "But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' (End of parable)

Our Lord who had been teaching for many chapters sums up the lesson of this parable: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." (v.13)

On this occasion the bride would be decked out with all the finest jewelry her family possessed or could borrow--Listen-- "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." (Revelation 21:2)

Listen to the language of the Lord as he addresses his people-- "Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments?..... Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number." (Jeremiah 2:32)

Perhaps the joyous character of this occasion is best conveyed by the very sad words of prediction addressed to the symbolic city of Babylon found in last book of the Bible--" The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again..". (Revelation18:23)

The part of the wedding festivities that this parable emphasizes is the procession. --It was customary for the the bridegroom with his companions to approach the bride's home and then for bridesmaids to go out to meet the procession of the bridegroom, and then to proceed in the full bridal procession back to the bridegroom's home.

As with any festive parade the procession would be watched by many onlookers from rooftops and doorways as it snaked through the town or village. Traditionally wedding processions were held at night. Therefore light was a vital, an essential element. In days before electricity and batteries it was imperative that the bridesmaids have an extra supply of oil to keep their lamps or torches alight.

When the bridegroom appears--What an awful time for bridesmaids to be unprepared!

                             [The larger context; the spiritual dimension]

While focusing on the historical aspects enables us to identify more vividly with the participants there is another dimension to this parable (as with all God's teachings) that makes it totally relevant to everyone who has ever lived upon earth. This is God's world. All of us are necessarily living in God's world or God's creation.

And we (believers) know from the bible that God's control includes both this life and the portion of existence which follows physical death. This latter portion of life is of unending duration. God's teachings about his world are relevant to us whether we like it or not. An individual who steps out of a window on the 20th floor learns the relevance of God's laws very quickly. God's teachings about his eternity are equally relevant to us whether we like it or not. Whether we like it or not it is a fact that "He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed." (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10)

In the case of the foolish virgins--presumably some of the bridesmaids--the end result of their not being prepared was reaching the location of the wedding banquet and finding the door shut. Is this what awaits any of us?

Has God given any instructions to us? Have any of God's words to us revealed what we need to be doing to be prepared? What should I be paying attention to -- while with joy-- I wait patiently for the arrival of our God and savior? The New Testament is full of instructions about how believers should be living.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 we are told: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders  nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

In Titus 2:11-14 we are told: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very
own, eager to do what is good."

In countless ways and on countless occasions our Lord has given us instructions on the kind of behavior he desires to see.

In his word (the Bible) God has taught believers what kinds of 'behavior' are inadequate to please him. For us to be saying or thinking the proper words now or in the past is not enough to come up to God's standards. Even doing what we think are 'good works' can be totally inadequate. The Bible says so.

Jesus made this point very clearly in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he 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 perform many miracles?'  Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23)

How similar are these words to the words which the 5 foolish virgins heard at the door of the wedding banquet when they arrived there after they had gone to purchase extra oil for their lamps-- "Later the others also came. `Sir! Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us!' But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'" (Matthew 25:10-12)

The biblical context makes the message of this parable stand out even more.

The biblical context I am referring to is especially clear in this case. It is the parables or teachings which precede and follow the parable of the 10 virgins. They all make the same point--that we don't know when our Lord is coming back and that we should be diligent in always being ready for his immanent return. The parable that follows the one of the 10 virgins is the parable of the 'Talents' where the Lord or master of the estate goes to a distant country leaving his different servants with varying gifts or resources to work with. "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them." The Lord or master indicated his view of what the various servants had done with the talents he had left with them when he went away.

"The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' "His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "The man with the two talents also came. `Master,' he said, `you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' (Matthew 25:20-23)

To see what the Lord did with the unfaithful servant (which parallels the destiny of the 5 foolish virgins) read (Matthew 25:24-30)

Another biblical teaching which this parable brings out and which is taught explicitly or implicitly in many places in the Bible is this-- Don't look at actions you have done in the past as evidence that you are ready for the return of the Lord.

It is possible to think we are prepared as the foolish virgins thought when we are, in fact, not prepared. We should be examining ourselves and demonstrating to ourselves that we have been delivered from the realm of darkness--demonstrating that sin is no longer our master--or as the Bible puts it--making our election sure        (2 Peter 1:10).

What does the Bible tell believers (us) to do? "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

The apostle Peter speaks of the kind of preparation believers should be making, --"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:10-11)

And what are these things that we should be doing? What the apostle enumerated in the preceding verses--" For this very reason, make every effort to

add to your faith goodness;
and to goodness, knowledge;
and to knowledge, self-control;
and to self-control, perseverance;
and to perseverance, godliness;
and to godliness, brotherly kindness;
and to brotherly kindness, love.

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." (2 Peter 1:5-9)

The apostle Paul summed up the godly attitude which we should have in these words: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14)

What you believed in the past has no weight today; What you believe today and to the end of your life on earth is what matters. To see this idea as the Bible puts it forth we would say, He who perseveres to the end will be saved. "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:22) In the 3rd chap. of Hebrews this truth is set forth in the clearest terms: "We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." (v.14)

Does a participant in a race who does not persevere to the end and who does not cross the finish line get the prize?

What does the Bible say to us, "We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.  We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." (Hebrews 6:11-12)

So let us not be like the foolish virgins who were not prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom

Another truth which the parable of the 10 virgins sets before us so vividly is that although all the virgins looked alike and believed that what they were doing was adequate there was a vast between them--between professors of religion and those who are really looking forward to the coming of the bridegroom.

Some individuals get into the wedding banquet and other do not. What this parable brings out so vividly is that this vast difference does not show up until the last act of God--in this case the arrival of the bridegroom. Only when the door is shut, -- only when all the chosen guests have already entered into the wedding banquet will the vital difference between mere professors and genuine believers be evident to us and to everyone else --although that difference has been known to God all along.

An explanation is needed at this point. To avoid sewing seeds of confusion this last assertion about --God knowing all along the difference between professors of religion and genuine believers -- should be made clear. This sermon is not dealing with God's knowledge of anybody's spiritual condition; it is dealing with the subject of human knowledge and human responsibility.

Our actions don't earn us an acceptance by God; they don't change our relationship to God; they only reveal to us what our relationship to God is. The Lord's knowledge of us in this room is perfect. He knows those who have been saved--those who genuinely believe in Jesus; He knows those who have been washed in the blood that Jesus shed on the Cross. As the Bible says, "God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his" (2 Timothy 2:19) He knew those who were his from eternity past. The Bible is clear, saying, "he chose us in him [that is, in Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will." (Ephesians.1:4-5)

While God's knowledge of us and our condition is perfect we on the other hand-- do not have such perfect knowledge even about ourselves; we in this world who are still attached to our yet unredeemed bodies (Romans 8:23) can be deceived and we can deceive ourselves.

-- Therefore we are to examine ourselves whether we are in the faith.

-- Therefore in parables like that of the 10 virgins the Bible is continually telling believers--telling us--to make our election sure --to our own minds.

-- Therefore the Bible is constantly exhorting believers to behave in ways that are "worthy of the calling [they -- or rather we] have received." (Ephesians 4:1)

[Conclusion]

Christ is coming a second time to bring salvation -- but only to certain people--the people who are waiting for him. That is what the Bible says. "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:28) Are you one of those people?

The foolish virgins were fooling themselves about their readiness--but they were not fooling God.

When our Lord returns to this earth what will he say to each individual here? Will he says "good and faithful servant" or will he say "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23) or, as he said to the foolish virgins when they tried in vain to enter the wedding banquet, "I don't know you"?

I'll close with the words of the apostle Peter and the apostle Paul:

"But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." (2 Peter 3:13-14)

"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." (2 Corinthians 7:1)

 

 

(If you appreciate what you read here please tell your friends about this URL and sign my guest book on the homepage. Also, if, as you read any of the meditations, you feel you know of a situation that beautifully illustrates any of the points made I would be delighted to learn of it. I might incorporate it.)   mailto:camppp21355@comcast.net

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