In this parable of the Ten Virgins Jesus is continuing the
solemn declaration of the uncertainty of the time of His return
and of the necessity of being ready for such an event. This is
why the opening word "then" is important. It is the
link binding the previous chapter and this one together. There
was no break in our Lord's discourse. In the preceding chapter
the certainty and the suddenness of the Lord's coming has been
solemnly stressed.
Delay has often the downfall of countless individuals and nations.
An army delays its attack an hour and loses the battle. As Douglas
MacArthur once said, "In war all tragedy can be summarized
in two words, 'too late.'"
Shakespeare once said, "Delays have dangerous ends."
In early 1874 an inventor named Elisha Gray transmitted a few
musical notes over a telegraph wire. He thought to himself, "If
I can send music, perhaps I could send the human voice."
The NEW YORK TIMES reported predictions of a "talking telegraph",
and the public began to grow eager for it.
Just one-year later Gray believed he had the answer. Tin can like
voice chambers connected by a wire in a liquid that could turn
vibrations into signals is what came into his mind. However, he
did not put his idea on paper for two months. After finally making
a sketch, he waited four more days before he went to the patent
office.
When he arrived, Mr. Gray was told that just two hours earlier
a school teacher had come through that same door with his own
sketch and had already applied for the patent. His name was Alexander
Graham Bell.
When you compared the sketches, the voice chambers, the wire,
and the liquid everything was identical.
The reason we know the name Alexander Graham Bell and until today,
never heard the name Elisah Gray is simply because one man seized
the opportunity when he could. The other one waited until it was
too late.
Man’s history is filled with the wrecks of delay. ONE MOMENT'S
DELAY MAY USHER IN AN ETERNITY OF REGRET.
Delay poses so serious a threat to mankind that Christ offered
up this parable on the danger of being unprepared at the coming
of Christ.
I. The CERTAINTY OF HIS RETURN
Matthew 24:3 “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the
disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall
these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and
of the end of the world?”
By preaching and by parable the Lord granted thier request and
insturcted them regarding His return. In the end of the parable,
Jesus sums up the reason for the parable. “Watch therefore,
for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man
cometh.” This is the scope and design of this whole parable.
This is the great truth Jesus wished to stress, and all parts
of the parable are to be interpreted in reference to this admonition.
JESUS IS COMING AGAIN.
A. There is the importance of the truth
The second coming of Jesus Christ is the greatest prophetic event
of the ages. Now there are many things that are important in the
Bible such as the new birth, but it is only mentioned nine times.
As Baptists, we believe baptism is important, but baptism is only
mentioned twenty times. You cannot be saved apart from repentance,
but repentance is mentioned only seventy times . However, one
out of every twenty-five verses in the word of God says, speak
about the coming again Jesus Christ
B. There is the ignorance of the time
1. His Coming Is Imminent
Jesus can come at any moment. He can come at any time. He can
come at any time.
2. His Coming Is Inevitable
All of Biblical revelation can be summarized in three simple statements,
"He is coming, He has come, and He is coming again."
To some it could be a SHOCKING reality; to others it may be a
SAD reality; to the saved it will be a SWEET reality, but to all
it will be SURE reality. Jesus is coming again.
“I will come again” is His personal promise.
G. Campbell Morgan, a preacher from the last century said “The
second coming is the perpetual light in the path which makes the
present bearable.”
II. The CONDITION AT HIS RETURN
Mt 25:1,2 “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto
ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.”
Here are two classes are seen in bold contrast. All ten virgins
believed in the coming of the bridegroom, and hoped to be present
at the marriage reception. The entire party waiting for the this
glad event, but five were found unprepared.
Some would say (and I would agree) that this parable describes
the condition of the church at the second coming.
Jesus is warning us in this parable that there will be a many
who look like Christians, who associate with Christians, and who
even think they are Christians, who will be shocked to learn that
they are not saved at the return of our Lord. What a sobering
thought.
This text is not seeking to create uncertainty and doubt in the
heart of the Christian. It is not seeking to rob the Christian
of his assurance. But it is seeking to warn those who have a false
assurance but not salvation. At the coming of Christ, there will
be those who appear to be Christians but are not.
Observe verse 5.
A. The delay in His coming
Why is Christ delaying his coming? II Peter 3:9; 2 Peter 3:15
“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.....”
God delays His coming cause He loves men and wants them to be
saved.
B. The drowsiness at His coming
How sadly true it is, that, in the history of the Church, genuine
saints and mere professors have often "slumbered and slept"
side by side! Those who have the oil of grace are not always wide
awake to serve their Master and watch for His appearing. In the
case of even true believers, the delay in Christ's coming often
causes weariness and laziness, when we ought to be watching for
the Lord.
The foolish virgins remind of the vast multitudes who will not
be ready for his appearing. Even the wise virgins were content
to sit at ease and slumber when at their side were people in urgent
need.
Ten in the Bible is the number signifying responsibility. All
ten went to sleep. As to living up to our responsibility many
believers have gone to sleep.
It is not enough to be believe in Christ’s return, we must
be ready for it.
Both the wise and the foolish virgins were asleep. So being asleep
was not the problem.
The wise virgins prepared before they fell asleep. They were ready
for whatever might come when they woke up. But the foolish were
caught unprepared. They should have gotten oil for their lamps
while they had the opportunity. Their false security let them
sleep through the day of opportunity.
1. The visible appearance which was similar
“ten virgins” - their characters were without reproach.
They were blameless in the sight of men. There was not five virgins
and five harlots.
2. The vital difference which was spiritual
“they that were ready went in” verse 10.
III. THE CALAMITY (tragedy) UPON HIS RETURN
Matthew 25:6 begins, "At midnight there was a cry made."
Apparently the bridegroom tarried a long time. Midnight is a late
time to start a wedding. Now, the point our Lord wanted to make
is that He will return at an unexpected time. We now understand
why the bridesmaids fell asleep: most people are asleep by midnight.
No one would expect a wedding to start that late. Interestingly,
we learn from Exodus 12:29-33 that the deliverance of Israel from
Egypt took place at midnight.
Midnight is a late hour. As 1 Thessalonians 5:2 says, Christ will
come as a thief in the night. The world will somehow be lulled
into complacency, and the Lord will come at an unexpected moment.
The bridesmaids knew the wedding was near, but five of them wasted
their opportunity to be prepared. Then came the cry at midnight--the
cry that announced His approach.
Those who didn't have oil now realized they were unprepared; they
didn't anticipate the bridegroom would come when it was too late
to buy any oil. They were unprepared. When the bridegroom arrived,
the truth was revealed: they were unprepared.
A. The plans that were commendable
All the virgins planned on meeting the Bridegroom and share in
the marriage feast.
Intentions are not good enough. No man intends on going to hell.
B. The predicament that was inexcusable
Five of the virgins forgot to take oil with their lamps. The Jewish
lamp was a shallow vessel filled with oil, on which the wick floated.
These virgins had oil in their lamps when they started but had
no oil to replenish them.
They had just the oil enough to make their lamps burn for a while,
but no cruse or bottle of oil with them to refuel if the bridegroom
tarried.
Seldom did Christ use so harsh a word of condemnation and call
someone a fool or foolish. But one of those rare occasion for
which Christ reserves the usage of the word is in this case where
a person who knows full well what he ought to do delays doing
it until it is too late. "Tomorrow is a period nowhere to
be found - unless in the fool's calendar."
C. The pronouncement that was unchangeable
The foolish hurry away to buy oil, and while they are away the
bridal party arrives, and the door is shut. "They that were
ready went in."
"They that were ready went in" --not they that intended
to be ready, or they that were in the process of getting ready.
Death or the return of Christ terminates all possibilities of
getting ready. Once the door was shut, there is no hint of a second
chance to get ready.
To delay is to run the risk of being rejected because of the imminence
of Christ’s coming or the suddenness of death.
The church is filled with people who are not ready. Jesus gives
a warning to such people in Luke 13: "Strive to enter in
at the narrow gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter
in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is
risen up, and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand outside,
and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and
he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not from where ye
are.”
In Matthew 25:11-12 we read, "Afterward came also the other
virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said,
Verily I say unto you, I know you not." There's no second
chance. The only way you can make sure you are ready for the Lord's
return is to be ready every day. You never know when you might
die or the Lord may come. If you are caught unprepared, the door
of heaven will be forever closed to you.
See verse 8,9. Salvation is non-transferable. No one can give
you salvation. You have to go to God on your own.
The foolish virgins could have gotten oil, but not at midnight.
They had the opportunity, but they slept it away.
In our text, the five foolish virgins are not given the time to
reverse their folly, once the groom has come. They had their opportunity,
and they lost it. Now it is too late.
Jesus taught repeatedly that there are multitudes of people attaching
themselves to the church who are unprepared to face God. They
are self-deceived about their status with God. When they finally
realize they are unprepared, it will be too late to do anything
about it.
Sinner, don't waste the opportunities that you have today. Saint,
do not waste the opportunities you also have today.
Conclusion
Don't be caught unprepared. That's the message in the parable
of the ten virgins.
Now this parable is intended to teach us about the suddenness
and unexpectedness of the Lord's coming. It calls for us to be
prepared for that unknown day.
A young lady busied herself getting ready for a blind date. This
was not just dinner and a movie; her date had planned dinner at
an exclusive downtown restaurant with live music. Wanting to make
a good first impression she had taken the day off work. She cleaned
her apartment; she went out that afternoon to have her hair done
and get a manicure. When she got home she did her makeup, put
on her best dress and was ready for her date’s arrival. His
expected arrival came and went, but she continued to wait patiently.
Finally after waiting over an hour she decided she had been stood
up, so she took off her dress, let down her hair put on her pajamas,
gathered all her favorite junk food and sat down to watch TV with
her dog.
Sometime later there was a knock at the door; it was her date.
He looked at her surprised and said, “What I gave you an
extra two hours and you’re still not ready to go!”
Jesus is coming again. Will you be ready for His return, or will
He catch you unprepared?