Jesus was sitting atop the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem as the sun set into the west. The disciples had approached Jesus and commented upon the splendid glory of the Temple, with its white marble walls, gold and brass pilasters. The magnificent structure shown brightly in the setting sun as though the walls were embedded with sparkling diamonds and other radiant and precious jewels.
Jesus’s reply stunned the disciples – when he said that the Temple would be destroyed. ? Now three famous questions were asked by them: “Tell us, when shall these things be? What shall be the sign of thy coming be? And, when is the end of the world?” Matt 24:3.
Jesus answered these questions. The disciples were so stunned that they just quietly sat and watched the sun fade below the horizon.
The evening sacrifices were complete and the sun has settled below the horizon. Little lights throughout the city slowly appear as the people of Jerusalem finish up their meals and prepare for bed. In the southern part of the city, you can see continuous activity. Jesus and his disciple’s gaze was attracted to a bustle of activity It was a pending happy event, preparations were being made for a wedding. Observing the activity you note the bride’s home and excited activity is coming from the family and the bride’s ten best friends. They were anxiously awaiting the groom.
Then you hear your Master’s voice again. He points towards the little party below and begins a story … The story of the ten virgins…
“1 Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, 4 but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. 5 When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’
7 “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. 8 Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
9 “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. 11 Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
12 “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
13 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return. (Matt. 25:1:13 NLT)
Symbols
Today, I want to have a family conversation with you. Visitors, you are welcome to listen in but I want to talk to the members of this church today.
Before that, let’s go through the meaning of the symbols. Then let us see if we can glean some interesting truths from this story.
Ten:- Does anyone know why Jesus chose 10? Why not Church number. It is the minimum number of men to have a synagogue.
Virgin:- Women represent a church, Rev 12, a pure woman represents a true church. Rev 7, harlots represent the apostatized church.
• I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate [woman]. (Jeremiah 6:2) People in the Church
Bride and Groom:- Jesus and His Church - 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[a] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. (Eph 5:31-32 NIV)
Lamp and Light:- Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105 NIV)
1. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life (KJV Proverbs 6:23).
2. Notice Solomon further defines the definition of the lamp and the light. He tells us it is the commandment and the law. Not just the word.
Oil:- The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor… (Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4:18 NIV)
Oil is used for:
a. Consecration – anointing of the sanctuary, priests and kings;
b. Healing – good Samaritan.
c. Illumination – these people understood and reflected the Word.
Delay:- While these girls were helping the bride prepare, the Bridegroom would meet with the father of the bride to negotiate and settle the dowry. The process of settling the dowry could take some time as the negotiations were often argumentative. Once the dowry was settled, then the Bridegroom could go and get his bride and the wedding party. Our dowry has been settled and the price has been paid...
Party:- Heaven A wedding typically lasts between 3 to 7 days. So to avoild strangers from disturbing the party, the doors are usually locked after the bride and grooms enters. And no one is allowed to enter.
Points and Applications
Here are some things that you may not have noticed about this story but are very important:
Jesus is still answering the original question about the last days. I feel we are fast approaching the end of the world, so this message definitely applies to me.
All the virgins have lamp, light, and oil. In other words, this is a description of the people that have the Spirit of God, the Word of God and their Light is Shining. These are active Christians. This is a description of us. This is not a description of backsliding Christians or people that have a shallow belief system or someone that does not live out their Christianity. This story is about us today.
All the ten virgins fell asleep while waiting for the Groom. In other words, all the people in God’s church relaxed when the God did not come back when they thought He should. They became complacent and were not as enthusiastic as they should be. Does that look like the church today? Most Christians today have “fallen asleep” they no longer exhibit joyous first love they experienced when they first became a Christian.
Oh, their light continues to shine, but it is a bit dimmer and is starting to flicker. Not one of us is awake. Yes, our light is still shining. Yes, we still have the Word of God with us. Yes, we still have the Holy Spirit with us, but we are asleep. Our initial enthusiasm has disappeared and we are just treading water. It is time to wake up and evaluate yourself.
1. Isaiah 60:1-3 (NIV) - 1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
When the midnight cry comes: “The Groom is arriving!” ? The virgins wake up and discover that their light is flickering. They started to prepare their lamps but five discovered they don’t have enough oil. They ask their friends to help but their friends just have enough oil and none to share. ? We will we be awakened when a cry of His coming goes through the land? There will be no mistake when this happens. ? All God’s faithful will wake up and try to strengthen their faith, but some will have Faith and Spirit to spare and some will run out.
Wise vs. Foolish – Notice the comparison is wise vs. foolish, and not good vs. bad nor righteous vs wicked. The differentiation is between wise and foolish. This means, all of them have accepted the invitation to meet the Bridegroom – but only five are valiant. So, why were the wise, wise? ? And the foolish, foolish?
The foolish virgins knew they did not have enough oil with them. Yet all the virgins trimmed their lamps as soon as the mid-night cry went out. All of them thought they were ready.
The foolish virgins believed they were entitled to enter the party, having received an invitation and making the effort to await His arrival, they thought all was well.
The Bridegroom was delayed, the foolish virgins realized in spite of all their outward demonstrations of piety, they had failed to prepare sufficiently.
No one can enter the Party without having light in their lamp. The lamp must be shining. It is not enough to just know and believe in the saving grace of Jesus. A person that is truly saved shines.
When the cry the “Groom is coming!,” goes out we still have a little bit of time to prepare. but not enough time to go out and buy more oil if we do not already have it. It is important that we have oil in reserve. Do you have oil in your reserve?
Responsibility to Others
You know what is sad? All ten of the virgins were friends. They knew each other well, yet they did not make sure each other had enough oil.
It is our responsibility to help keep remind our brothers and sisters of their oil supplied. Not when the midnight cry goes out, but when we are preparing for the Coming. It is our responsibility to support each other so we all make it.
Rick Jackson
Rick taught me how to drive in college. We would go driving in his beetle. This car was so old that you could see the road through the floor board, but he was gracious enough to teach me to drive.
During finals, he roommate, my roommate, he and I would go out for late night ice cream.
At the end of his junior year, he decided that he wanted to go to Medical School. Being a Chemistry major, all he needed was biology to take the MCAT. That summer he took general biology and sat for the MCAT. He received a very high score and was accepted to Loma Linda University.
We graduated and all four of us ended up in Loma Linda. I went to work and the three of them entered their first year of Medical School.
One day, Rick came by the house I was staying and asked if I wanted to go for a drive in his car. By that time, I had bought a new sports car. So I had no desire to drive his old beetle. Instead of going driving with him, I wanted to watch football.
A day later he turned on that very same car, closed the garage door and went to sleep.
There was a hand written note that said: "Sorry for all the trouble..."
I saw the signs but did not recognize it. Many of my friends also saw the signs, but we did not recognize it. So my friends, I am determine that it is not going to happen again. We need to make sure we help each other in situations like this. But more importantly, we need to make sure each other’s salvation is secure.
Christian Excellence
I want to do all I can to make sure I will see you at the Heaven’s Pearly Gates, but beyond just us in this room, we have a responsibility to our friends and family. Especially the ones that God has place in our paths. We need to be attentive to their needs and problems so that what happened to me 27 years ago doesn’t happen again. This year is going to be a year of revival for this church. And that revival starts with you. Fix your wick and make sure you have reserve oil in your lamp. Then help your neighbor with their wick and their oil.
My definition of a good Christian is someone that has faith, the Word of God and lets that Word shine through him/her by their deeds. But Christian excellence is more than that; we need to have a reserve of faith for difficult times and be willing to help each other when it counts. When the trouble arrives, it is too late.
Christian excellence extends beyond our beliefs and our faith. We need to exhibit excellence at work, at play and at church. We need to help each other be better.
Are you ready? Are the people setting next to you ready? Are the people behind you and in front of you ready? We are a family and we need to act like a family.
Time has come to watch each other and build each other’s faith. Let us make sure each other’s oil is plentiful and all the lamps are filled so we can all go to Heaven.
