Every young girl has this deep wonderful desire to have the perfect wedding. I do not want to crush these desires for these young ladies, but I do not believe there is such a thing as a perfect wedding.
That is, you can:
• Bring the pros in to conduct the wedding
• Spend thousands of dollars on flowers, clothing, and photography
• Bring in great musicians
You can put forth every effort to make it a great wedding, but you can depend on something unforeseen happening.
Illus: Such was the case with Dr. Odell Belger, who was performing a wedding for a couple that attended his church. They planned every detail of the wedding months in advance. The rehearsal time came, and after having prayer, everyone went though the ceremony 3 or 4 times because they wanted this to be the perfect wedding. The wedding time had arrived, and Dr. Belger could tell the groom was very nervous, but the groom assured him he was all right. Once the wedding got started, the processional was perfect. Everything was going as planned, until, after a few words, the pastor looked at the groom and he was pale, and then he hit the floor. Needless to say, the bride was shocked as well as the many folks who were attending the wedding. The pastor stopped the ceremony of course, and knelt down beside him, and the groom regained consciousness and assured everyone he was fine. The pastor started the ceremony again, and only got a few words out of his mouth when the young man hit the floor for the second time. After working with him, he regained consciousness and the Pastor asked that they bring him a chair to sit in, and instructed them to place a cold rag on his forehead. By this time everyone, including the bride, began to have a small grin on their face. They proceeded again, with him sitting in the chair with a wet wash rag on his forehead. But the pastor only got a few words out of his mouth and the groom passed out again, and almost fell out of the chair. If someone had not caught him, he would have hit the floor again. The pastor recognized that this young man couldn’t take the pressure of a marriage ceremony, so when he regained consciousness this time, the pastor said to him, “Say, I do!” He said, “I do” and the pastor said “You are married”. A big grin appeared on his face, and he stood up and kissed his bride, and everything was fine from there on!
Weddings are always exciting, because you never know exactly what to expect.
Illus: Edward Vanderhey, in the Christian Reader, tells of an unusual wedding also. He said that the Saturday wedding took place on a hot June day, so the front door to the church was open. The bride, who lived a few houses from the church, arrived not realizing she had been followed. Her German Shepherd came in the door and walked to the front of the sanctuary, lying motionless at her feet during the ceremony. After the benediction, the couple embraced. Immediately, the dog leaped up and grabbed the groom's pant leg, ripping it with a snarling tug. The newlyweds wisely postponed the kiss as the three of them recessed down the aisle. (Edward Vanderhey, Red Bank, N.J. Christian Reader, "Rolling Down the Aisle." )
But speaking of unusual weddings, in our text we read of a very unusual wedding in this parable of the Ten Virgins.
For us to fully appreciate this parable let’s look at -
I. THE CUSTOMS
The weddings we have today are not like the weddings they had then.
As you go from country to country, the cultural differences becomes obvious immediately. Some of these cultural differences are good, and some of them seem absolutely ridiculous to us.
Illus: For example, a tourist that was vacationing on the sunny and hot Mediterranean island of Malta was appalled by the chaotic traffic. Cars and buses were darting every which way with no apparent order.
The tourist asked his hotel keeper why it was so disorderly.
"Well," the hotel keeper replied, "In some countries they drive on the right side of the road; in others they drive on the left: Here, we drive in the shade." (Rusty & Linda Wright, _500 Clean Jokes _, p. 26.)
The story of the wedding feast, in this parable of the ten virgins, seems very different from any wedding that we have ever attended.
But while the wedding of the ten virgins might seem odd to us, the audience He was addressing when He spoke this parable knew exactly what He was talking about.
That is, according to wedding customs in ancient Palestine:
• Extra preparation was required for every one involved
• The bride and groom did not go away for their honeymoon, but celebrated for a whole week with their family and friends
• It was the custom for the groom to come at his discretion and get his bride, and bring her to the wedding party
If he came at night time, lamps were required by necessity.
To show up for a wedding party at night without proper attire, such as a lamp and a wedding garment, would be like showing up for an important event today which requires a reservation and a ticket, and having neither.
We have looked at THE CUSTOMS of this wedding, but let’s look at -
II. THE CALLING
When the Bridegroom came, the messenger went before him and announced his coming by saying, “The Bridegroom cometh.”
In this parable, When the announcement was made that “The Bridegroom cometh”, five of the virgins were foolish because they were not ready.
The purpose of this parable is to instruct the believer to watch for the Lord’s return. He must be wise, not like the foolish virgins.
Any time we deal with a parable, we must be careful not to read anything into that parable that the Lord never meant for us to read into it.
The parable of the ten virgins is probably one the most POPULAR parables, but it has been ABUSED more than any other parable in the Bible.
Why? Because people try to pull things out of this parable that the Lord never intended to be pulled out.
Let me give you two examples of pulling things from this parable that the Lord never intended for us to pull from it.
(1) SOME HAVE TRIED TO USE THIS PARABLE TO SUPPORT THEIR ERRONEOUS TEACHINGS OF A PARTIAL RAPTURE!
It is foolish to build a doctrine from a parable, because you can read all kinds of things into a parable, that the Lord never intended for us to read into it.
And those who try and use the ten virgins to teach a partial rapture, violate other scriptures that teach a complete rapture, not a partial rapture.
But some folks study the scriptures with an agenda. They are looking for scriptures they can twist to fit their agenda. So since they can not find scriptures to support their agenda, they then start to draw things from parables that never were intended to establish doctrine.
The Bible does not teach of a partial rapture, and certainly not of a rapture where people are accepted on their merits.
Illus: Dr. J. Vernon McGee says it this way, “All of us will be leaving because of the grace of God. He saves us by grace; He keeps us by grace; He will take us out of this world by grace; and when we have been there for ten million years, it will be by the grace of God.”
(2) SOME HAVE ABUSED THIS PARABLE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT STUDY THE ETYMOLOGY OF CERTAIN WORDS IN THIS PARABLE.
Some have stated that the ten virgins represent Christians because they were all virgins.
But what they fail to understand, that is the word “Virgin” here is the word, “Parthenos” (Pronounced as Par-then'-os), and it means a maiden, an unmarried daughter. A girl can be a maiden and still not be pure.
So it would be wrong for us to say that because they were all virgins that means they represent Christians who are pure.
Any time you study a parable, you have to discover what the central message of the parable is.
The motive behind the Lord teaching the parable of the ten virgins, is a continuation of the previous chapter when he was asked a question.
Look at Matthew 24:3, “What shall be the sign of thy coming.”
These ten virgins represent Christendom today, and the Lord is showing us that when He returns, everybody who claims to be saved will not be ready for His coming.
• They may look like Christians
• They may sing like Christians
• They may give money like Christians
• They may profess to be Christians
They are like the ten virgins that were all similar in so many ways, but the Bible states the one difference was that five were wise and five were foolish.
Illus: Dr. Oliver Green states it this way, he said, “These ten virgins represent Christendom today. Among the untold millions of church members and religionists, there are true believers and there are those who profess Christianity but do not possess Christ in their hearts. Like the ten virgins, they are so outwardly alike that it is often impossible to distinguish the real from the counterfeit.”
There is no significant external difference in the ten virgins.
• All ten were virgins
• All ten had lamps
• All ten waited
• All ten went out to meet the Bridegroom
But yet, there was one major difference. Five were WISE and FIVE WERE FOOLISH!
HOW CAN YOU TELL A GENUINE CHRISTIAN FROM A COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIAN?
The Lord said, in Matthew 7:16, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
When we look at the lives of many who profess to be saved, we can not help but wonder if half the people today in our churches could be classified as foolish virgins.
WHAT WAS IT THAT SEPARATED THE WISE FROM THE FOOLISH?
It was a matter of PREPARATION!
WHAT KIND OF PREPARATION WAS REQUIRED? The lamps had to be filled with oil.
WHAT DOES THE OIL REPRESENT?
It is obvious in this parable:
• The Bridegroom is Christ
• The virgins represent all those who say they are Christians in the church
• The lamps represent the lives of those in the church
But these lives are empty until they are filled with the Holy Spirit. In the Scriptures, the oil represents the Holy Spirit of God.
Without the Holy Spirit of God it is impossible for us to be saved.
John 6:44, we read, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Look at John 3:3-5, we read, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Our churches are filled with people who profess to be saved, but there is no real evidence that the Holy Spirit has empowered them.
Conclusion:
If a person is one of these foolish virgins, they are in for the shock of their life.
These verses are astounding. Look at verses 7-10, we read, “Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.”
Notice two things the foolish virgins did:
(1) THEY REQUESTED THE WISE VIRGINS GIVE THEM OIL
When the Lord comes back for His church, every one will have to answer for themselves. They can not turn to family or friends and say, “Help me!” Why? Because when they had a chance to receive help, they rejected it.
(2) THEY REQUESTED THE DOOR BE OPEN UNTO THEM
They knocked on the door, but the Bible says, “And the door was shut”
The disciples wanted to know what sign they would receive of His coming. He told them that they needed to… BE LIKE THE WISE VIRGINS, NOT THE FOOLISH VIRGINS!
I. THE CUSTOMS
II. THE CALLING
You can hear Dr. Odell Belger preach on Youtube. Please type Youtube Lykesland
