Wise or Fool
Matthew 25:1-13
NOte: Some materials of this sermon are taken from sermoncentral.com
Now, let’s continue on in our series on the Parables of Jesus. Let’s open our Bible to the book of Matt.25: 1-13, and study the Parable of the Ten Virgins. The main emphasis of this parable is the importance of preparing ourselves for His Second Coming.
On April 1988, a photographer who was also a skydiver jumped from a plane along with several other skydivers and filmed the group as they individually dove out of the plane and opened their parachutes. After he filmed each member of the crew jumping out and then pulling their rip chord so that their parachute opened to the wind, he reached for the ripcord to open his chute. But he realized he was free falling without a parachute. Up until then, he was enjoying himself and was absorbed in what he was doing. But tragically, he was unprepared for the jump. It did not matter how many times he had done it before or what skill he had. By forgetting the parachute, he made a foolish and deadly mistake. Nothing could save him, because his faith was in a parachute which he had never taken the trouble to buckle on. He was not ready. He was unprepared. It would do no good to try and borrow a parachute of someone else on their way to meet the ground. He was not prepared and he passed the point of no return.
In our parable this morning, Jesus tells us the story of the five foolish virgins who forgot to bring something very important and necessary. Ten virgins were waiting for the groom to come. They were to join him in the procession to the place where the wedding ceremony and banquet would be done. Usually, wedding at that time was done at nighttime. This is obvious here as we can see that each of the virgins brought a lamp with them. Both knew the groom was coming or was about to come, but five were found unprepared when the groom finally came. They tried to fix their unpreparedness, but it’s too late. Their efforts were useless and their pleadings were never heard.
Through this parable our Lord teaches us important points that have something to do with His second coming:
A. SPIRITUAL PREPARATION IS A MUST
Jesus consistently and continually preached that we need to be ready. Over and over again we hear him say, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” The coming of Jesus will be at any moment. Therefore, to be ready is not optional.
First of all, don’t let the normalness of things deceive you. These virgins saw and attended so many marriages already. The five foolish virgins thought this marriage was no different from the previous ones they attended. They thought there’s nothing special and everything seems normal, so there’s nothing to care about it and there’s no need to do some special preparations like the five wise virgins had troubled doing. Today, many people live their lives just like the five foolish virgins. They think everything will continue as they are and nothing in the future to care about.
The Lord described the second coming this way: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37-39). Friends, we should not be caught up in the routine of the world and forget that things are not always going to continue as they are. There is a new day coming. The five foolish bridesmaids slept the sleep of sloth and indifference —the wise virgins slept the sleep of peace and security, knowing they had prepared for the bridegroom’s coming.
Then next, don’t let appearances fool you. Spiritual preparation is more than mere appearances. In the parable the bridesmaids all appeared to be alike. They all thought of themselves as bridesmaids. They all dressed alike. They were all expecting the bridegroom. When the bridegroom was delayed they all fell asleep. They all had lamps. All of them trimmed their lamps. They all wanted to be a part of the wedding feast. But not all of them were prepared.
Be sure that you are truly prepared, because it is possible to look just like everyone else, talk like everyone else, carry a Bible and desire to go to heaven, think of yourself as a Christian, yet ultimately be unprepared. It is possible to know about Christ and not know Christ. It is possible to know the Bible and not living for the God of the Bible. It is possible to be a nice person and know all the right doctrine, yet have no relationship with God. It is possible to look like everyone else, and have your Christianity on the surface, while never allowing it to penetrate who you are and change the way you live. Friends, when the Lord Jesus warns us to be ready of His coming, it has to do with doing the right things. Being ready meant actively living in faithfulness to God. It is more than just calling yourself a Christian. There are many folks today who wear a sign saying they are a Christian, but they fail to live as such.
And another thing, don’t let complacency and indifference contain you. The five foolish virgins saw the preparations of the other five virgins, but they did nothing. They’re not only complacent with what they have, they were also indifferent about what they do not have. They had no desire to be something better than what they had at present. They did not mind if they have enough oil for the occasion.
Spiritual readiness, preparation and growth come as a result of intentional habits built into one’s life. You cannot depend on a once-a-week service to provide all your spiritual needs. You cannot depend on a once-a-week fellowship to provide you with spiritual development. It comes through routine, mundane attention to ordinary spiritual disciplines — making sure you have enough oil: spiritual fuel. It comes by taking time for prayer and being alone with God; reading God’s Word; acts of service to others; moral faithfulness and loving obedience. It comes through spending time with other Christians for mutual prayer, study and encouragement. These are the things which enable a person to grow in Christ and be prepared for Christ’s coming, as well as the normal difficulties of life. Without these things you will not be prepared. It cannot be hit and miss. It cannot be postponed. You cannot procrastinate or it may be too late. You need to develop some holy habits in your life which take precedence over other interests and claims on your life. As these habits become developed, they cease to be a struggle and begin to be a source of strength and blessing. They make your life powerful against the onslaught of the world.
B. SPIRITUAL PREPARATION IS INDIVIDUAL
The story of the photographer who dived from a plane and died was tragic. If only someone could wear a parachute in his place. But it doesn’t work that way. NO one could do it for him. Likewise, in spiritual preparation, you need your own. No one can do it for you. The foolish bridesmaids saw that they did not have enough oil, and they asked their wise friends to loan them some of theirs, but that was not possible. This means that another person’s faith will not cover you.
Being reared in a Christian home or being in the church with other people of faith does not necessarily mean that you have faith. It will not rub off just by sitting next to someone who has a vital relationship with Christ. You cannot “catch” faith like you catch a cold. You cannot borrow it from your friends, and you cannot get it from your parents. God has no grandchildren, only children. Every spiritual birth comes directly from him. Your faith must be your own. It is good for us to sing “Faith of Our Fathers,” but it is also necessary to be able to sing, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine!” You may have a great heritage, but you need to make that heritage your own personal experience.
Don’t try to borrow someone else’s oil, be sure to have some of your own. Character cannot be borrowed. Neither can a relationship with God be borrowed. William Barclay says, “We cannot always be living on the spiritual capital which others have amassed. There are certain things we must acquire for ourselves.”
In the story, the foolish bridesmaids did not realize their need of oil until the bridegroom appeared. They were told to go out and buy oil, but they found that impossible. This means that a relationship with God cannot be bought at the last minute at any price. There are many, as Matthew Henry says, “who care not to live the Christian life, yet want to die the death of the righteous.” The Bible simply says, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9). Jesus said, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35-36). The wise bridesmaids said to the others, “Go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.” God is the dispenser of oil, and you need to come to him while there is still time. Don’t let the moment of death to be the thing that alerts you to your own spiritual poverty. Don’t be like the parachuting cameraman who reached for a rip chord that was not there.
C. SPIRITUAL PREPARATION IS NOW
Verses 10-12 tell us that "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.’ "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Someone asked about this parable: “Why was the ending so harsh? Shouldn’t the wise ones distribute a little to others? And why didn’t the King just show a little mercy and pity to foolish ones?” Sounds logical? There’s nothing harsh here. Harsh is letting no one in, but God let the right people in and kept the wrong crowd out. Harsh is letting one person in, and keeping nine people out. Harsh is letting everyone in, but keeping one out. Harsh is forcing good people out and compelling bad people in. Harsh is kicking out people that are in. Harsh is barring people that do right from entering and embracing people that do little or nothing. God didn’t do anything like that.
Mind this: the romance of heaven is that it is a wide door; the reality of heaven is that it is a narrow gate (Matt 7:13). Jesus says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt 7:13-14). The romance of heaven is that it is open to strangers. The reality of heaven is that it is not open to trespassers. The romance of heaven is the belief in a benign, humanitarian, and liberal God, but the reality of heaven is that He is sovereign, just, and patient. His love, forgiveness, and salvation are not extended to sinners beyond death and this life.
There is a time called “Too Late.” Someone had this right comment: “Jesus viewed history as a straight line with a beginning and an end. Many people, even church people, do not care for that view. They do not want to be reminded, even though they know its true, that someday there will be a day of reckoning.” The foolish bridesmaids did not make the right and sincere preparation to enter. They cried for the door to be opened to them, but their cries fell on deaf ears. Friends, because there is coming a day when the future will be a thing of the past, we are therefore to live in constant expectation. We must do the right preparation for the day of His coming. God has given us the rest of our lives to get things right and turn things around. Life without God and life outside the will of God is a risk no one should take.
There is no bigger day than your appointment with the Lord. Are you ready? Time flies when you are having fun and having a good time; before you know it, your time is up. Preparing for life on earth is a honeymoon compared to preparing for life in heaven. If you are not prepared for life today, how are you going to be prepared for tomorrow’s destiny?
CONCLUSION
In closing, let me quote Hebrews 3: 12-14 that encourages us with these words: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.”
