Are you the type of person who tends to wait until the last minute to take care of important things?
• Do you wait until the last minute to study for an exam?
• Do you wait until April 14 to file your income tax return due on April 15?
• Do you postpone going to the see the doctor until you are in great pain?
In this passage, 5 bridesmaids failed to think ahead and made adequate preparation.
• They waited until the last minute to take care of something important.
• It was a wedding event but they were not prepared.
Both the wise ones and the foolish ones were tired after the long wait, and they “all became drowsy and fell asleep.” (v.5)
• But what made them different, what made one group wiser, was that they had brought with them extra oil.
• They were prepared for the longer wait. They were ready when the bridegroom came.
It is important that we plan and prepare for what lies ahead? Yes.
A worker was injured in a construction site and filed for insurance. He was asked to explain how he injured himself. This was what he wrote:
“It would have taken too long to carry the bricks down by hand, so I decided to put them in a barrel and lower them by a pulley which I had fastened to the top of the building. After tying the rope securely at ground level, I then went up to the top of the building and began to load the barrel with the bricks. I swung it out over the ledge for the descent.
Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it securely to guide the barrel down slowly. However, since I weigh only 63kg, the 200-kg load jerked me off the ground so fast that I did not have time to think of letting go of the rope. I met the barrel coming down. This accounts for the bruises to my arms and shoulders.
The barrel went all the way down, pulling me up to the top, where my hand became jammed in the pulley. This accounts for my broken thumb.
At the same time, however, the barrel hit the ground with a bang and the bottom fell out. With the weight of the bricks gone, the barrel weighed only 15kg. Thus, my 63kg body began a swift descent, and I met the empty barrel coming up. This accounts for my sprained back and bruised leg.
At this point, I fell to the ground. I let go of the rope, and the empty barrel came crashing down on me. This accounts for my head injuries.”
A simple mistake can lead to grave consequences.
Jesus uses this parable to highlight the need to be prepared for something that is important – our eternity.
• If this world is not our eternal dwelling place, then we need to consider what Jesus says. He said He will come back one day and bring us back to our heavenly home.
• But are we prepared for that? Do we know that the ‘bridegroom’ is coming, in the first place?
Jesus wanted to highlight a few things with this parable.
1. HE IS COMING AGAIN
Jesus likens Himself to a bridegroom, coming for his bride.
• 25:1 says “the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.”
• The focus of everyone’s attention is on the bridegroom. Not the bride, but the bridegroom.
• The Bible depicts Jesus as the bridegroom. And He is coming. They are going to meet Him.
• Jesus has promised that He would come again. Matt 24:30-31 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
2. IT WILL BE SOON
The signs of the times are all pointing in the direction that His return is very soon.
Jesus started off saying: “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like…”
• What time was He talking about? He was referring to the end times.
• This parable was told in the middle of a long discourse that started in Chapter 24.
• It started with the disciples asking Him privately in 24:3 “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
What are the signs of the end of the age? When are you returning? How would we know you are coming soon?
• And in 24:6-8 Jesus answered: “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.”
• This was said more than 2000 years ago. Jesus foretold that there would be more wars and earthquakes in the end times.
• Just as He prophesied, we are seeing that today. We are seeing more earthquakes and in greater intensity recently. We had earthquakes in Australia (Christchurch), China, Japan and Myanmar.
The entire chapter 24 was devoted to the signs of the end times. But knowing the signs is one thing. What is really important is, “Are we heeding those signs?”
• Jesus’ concern is that people are unaware of this. People are living for the here-and-now, and not prepared to think about their eternal destiny.
• A small neglect can bring about grave consequences. People need to prepared to face God one day. They need to put their trust in Jesus and be prepared for His return.
More than 2000 years have passed. We are much nearer to His return today, than when Jesus said it.
• Jesus says in Matt 24:36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
• We do not called to know the exact day or time (24:36); we are called to be prepared for it.
III. WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR HIS COMING
Jesus concludes His long talk with these words in 24:42.
42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
This was the reason Jesus said this parable. This story reinforces His point.
• He ended the parable with the same line: “Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (25:13)
The WISE bridesmaids, not only took their lamps but jars of oil too.
• They think ahead and plan ahead. They do not know the exact time but made preparation so that they would be ready to meet the bridegroom at any time.
• Even if it takes longer than expected, they are prepared for it.
Jesus says this is important. We need to be prepared for what lies ahead.
• A student needs to prepare for his coming exams. When we see dark clouds, we will bring in our clothes or take an umbrella with us when we go out.
• We need to prepare for our eternity. We need to be prepared to face God.
So how can we be prepared?
(1) If you do not know Jesus, then you need to take time to know Him and put your trust in Him.
• Jesus came to save us from our sin, so that we can know God and be reconciled back to Him. He wants to bring us home, to be with our God.
• To face Him with confidence, we need to place our faith in Jesus as our Saviour.
• Do it while you still can, before Jesus comes again.
The steamship Central America was on a voyage from New York to San Francisco when it sprung a leak in mid-ocean. A ship seeing her distress signal came to her rescue. The captain called out, “Let me take your passengers aboard now.”
But it was night time and dark, the commander of the steamship was afraid of sending his passenger across in the darkness, and thinking they could keep afloat a while longer, replied, “Lie by till morning.”
About an hour and a half later there was a blackout. The leak cracked.
Many perished, because they thought they could be saved better at another time.
Don’t wait until the last minute to get right with God. There may not always be the chance for us to do so.
• If you believe that Jesus is God, He came to save you and die for your sin, receive Him into your heart right now. Experience God’s forgiveness and a new life.
(2) If you already know Jesus, then we need to be involved in the work of His Kingdom.
• Jesus explains in 24:45-46, “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.”
• This is what ‘keeping watch’ means. It is not to live our daily life on tip-toe, or to look up the sky always to see if He is returning.
• To be watchful is to do what we are supposed to do as good servants of God. To be faithful and involved in the work of His Kingdom.
In the next parable after this – Jesus shared another story right after this, the parable of the talents.
• In that parable, He said we are to be the “good and faithful servants”. This is what makes the Lord (the Master) happy.
• In order words, I have not forgotten about Him and His concerns. I am mindful of what He wants and I am actively involved in His work today.
CONCLUSION
Let me close with this wise saying, from Proverb 30:24-25
“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.”
The writer chooses 4 simple creatures, small and unattractive to highlight the wisdom we need today.
• He says the ant knows what time it is. It has little strength, yet the ant works hard to store up food in the summer, because winter is coming.
• This work is important, because it’s survival in winter depends on the preparation it makes in summer. Even though it is of little strength, the ant works today to prepare for tomorrow.
The ant knows what time it is, do we? Do we have such wisdom?
• We must know the times. We must prepare for tomorrow.
• Not just for our daily needs or for our retirement, but for the world to come.
• Jesus says in Matt 6:19-20 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
• This is a wise thing to do.
We are aware that all things will pass away except the things of God. So invest in those things of God.
• Serve Him in any ministry, pray for the sick, lead others to Christ, and help the needy, share God’s love with those who are sad… and the list goes on.
• Therefore Paul says in 1 Cor 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
