The Wise and Foolish at the Bridegroom’s Coming (Part Two)
Text: Matthew 25:1-13
OPEN WITH PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING
Well if you remember from last time, we began looking at the ten virgins. Five were wise and five were foolish. All then had their lamps, and we talked about how those lamps are a lot like a profession of faith. But the oil is the actual faith – the oil is saving faith. And only five of those ten had oil. They were called wise, whereas the those who didn’t have the oil are called foolish. And I can think of nothing more foolish than thinking that God is going to let you into heaven without having received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Thinking “Oh, God will let me in because I’m a likable person… because I’m special, because I’m rich, because I’m popular, because I did something, or said something, or acted and behaved in a certain way.”
THAT IS FOOLISH!
God’s Word tells us that Jesus is the way (the truth and the life). It tells us that “no one comes to the Father except by and through Jesus!” Jesus is the Door we must enter through. It’s not by your might, or your power, or your wit, or your charm. It’s not based on ANYTHING you have done, or will do. Salvation belongs to the Lord. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone! The five foolish virgins didn’t have that. They had made a profession of faith, but lacked the faith they were professing.
So this morning, we’re going to continue on with this passage here in Matthew 25:1-13, and pray that God would speak to our hearts through His Word, and open our eyes so that we can see the wonders within His Word. (READ TEXT).
Now remember; just before this, in Matthew 24, Jesus had been talking to the disciples and He told them about the destruction of the temple. This naturally caused some anxiety in the disciples, and so they asked Him some questions. They asked Him, “When will these things, be? What will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3). And Jesus answers their questions, He tells them what to look for when the temple is to be destroyed (which happened in most of their lifetimes – 70 AD), and also the signs of His 2nd Coming. But He closes that conversation with a warning. First He tells them (Matt. 24:36), “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” And then Jesus warns them about falling asleep… or becoming lax… He warns them about falling into the trap of thinking that He’s not actually coming back. And that is actually what leads us into our text here in chapter 25 about the wise and foolish virgins.
So if we go back to our text in Matthew 25, we see in verses 5 and 6 that the virgins should have heeded the warning. Verse 5, “As the Bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.” But look at verse 6, “But at midnight there was a cry ‘Here is the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him.’” Now really quickly; compare that with Matthew 24:31, “And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Now keep your place in Matthew 25, but turn over to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” In all three of those passages we see a shout, a cry, trumpet blasts… some kind of announcement – the Bridegroom is coming! And then what happens? Those who are His go to meet Him.
Now I don’t know about ya’ll but that’s exciting to me. To think that we are close to the Bridegroom’s coming, makes me really – super – excited!
But what’s the point of Jesus’ teaching here? What are we supposed to do with this knowledge? Well; let me just say this – the purpose of studying eschatology isn’t so that you can write a best-selling novel, or make YouTube videos speculating about the end times events. It isn’t so that you can hide yourself away in some fortress, stockpiling ammo and non-perishable food items.
It isn’t so you can become the next David Koresh – you know… create your own little church, where you are not accountable to anyone, and you can “preach” whatever you like in the comfort of your own home. In-fact; the Bible warns against such things. One of those warnings pertaining to the last days, tells us, “Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as is the manner of some, but instead exhort one another, especially as you see that Day approaching.” – that’s Hebrews 10:25. So as we see the signs of Christ’s return we’re supposed to gather with the Church. We’re supposed to assemble ourselves together. It doesn’t matter if there’s Covid – we are to assemble. It doesn’t matter if the state outlaws it – we are to assemble. Do you see THAT DAY approaching? Then we especially need to obey the Lord and assemble! So the purpose of studying the end times, and studying the Bible in general isn’t so you can talk to people with itching ears about Black Hawk helicopters. It’s so that you can make sure that you’ve got oil in your lamp! And so that you can tell others that they need oil in their lamps as well! It’s so you can watch therefore and be ready, for you know not what hour the Lord will return. It’s so that you can repent while there’s still time.
I urge you – turn from your sins and be reconciled to the Lord! Stop lying. Stop stealing. Stop fornicating or committing adultery. Stop lusting. Stop coveting. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, repent of your sins, and be saved. TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!
Church listen… please listen… I just read a story in the news the other day about a young, college football player, who died suddenly. Guy was in great physical shape, 23 years old, didn’t drink or smoke… and he went out for a jog, and dropped dead – literally. There wasn’t any time for him to buy life insurance. There wasn’t any time for him to tell his mom and dad and brothers and sisters how much he loved them. And all of his hopes and dreams of making it to the NFL were gone in an instant! It was sudden! There was no time for him to get right with God – I pray that he was right with the Lord, but if he wasn’t – he didn’t get to make a death-bed confession. It happened in an instant. He was here, and then he was gone. And Jesus tells us that His coming will be sudden – like a thief in the night. People will just be going about their business, doing whatever it is they do – marrying and being given in marriage – going to their jobs, going to school – thinking about the football game on Friday – thinking about that date on Saturday night, or that car they want to buy, or that vacation they want to take, eating, drinking, doing whatever it is that they do day in and day out – and then SUDDENLY, the Lord will return!
And when that happens, it’s too late to fill your lamp with oil. When that happens it will be a time of great joy for some, and great terror for others. Remember – that oil represents saving faith, and we know that those foolish virgins lacked faith because if they truly believed that the Bridegroom was coming, they would’ve gotten their oil. They would’ve been prepared. Sure they didn’t know what time He was coming – none of them did, but the wise virgins were ready regardless of the time He came. Think about it for a second… had the Bridegroom come during the day, the foolish virgins still had no oil… they were sitting there with their lamps, but had no oil whatsoever. And I see people all the time say, “Oh yeah, I believe that Jesus is coming soon.” And yet they go on sinning, thinking that somehow they’ll escape – thinking that surely God will make an exception for them. He might not for Joe Blow down the street, but surely He’ll let me in to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Turn with me to 1 John 3:2-6… we actually looked at this last time as well, and we’re going back to it again today, because I want you to see this… John writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. AND EVERYONE WHO THUS HOPES IN HIM PURIFIES HIMSELF AS HE IS PURE. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. NO ONE who abides in Him keeps on sinning; NO ONE who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him.”
“But Pastor Ken, I thought it was by faith, not by works?” It is by faith – all of faith. But true saving faith always gives evidence of itself. For the wise virgins, they believed that the Bridegroom was coming, and their belief was made evident by the fact they had oil. The foolish virgins had deceived themselves. They had fooled themselves
And the same is true for many who have made a profession of faith today. They are claiming Christ but living in sin. They profess Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him.
In 2 Corinthians 6:14 the Apostle Paul asks a hypothetical question of those who would think they can go on living in sin, yet profess to know Jesus… and we usually look at this in the context of marriage, but it goes beyond just marriage. He says, “Do no be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
James says it like this in James 4:4, “You adulterous people! Do you now know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” What is adultery? It’s unfaithfulness. James is saying that those people were cheating on God… they’re having an affair with the world.
Please don’t tune me out… if you’re hearing this, and it’s upsetting, ask yourself why it’s upsetting? Why is it making you angry, or mad, or uncomfortable? I’m not “coming at you”, I’m not attacking you, I’m not singling you out. I have no idea where you are with the Lord… I’m just reading the Word of God to you, and explaining what it says… Don’t harden your heart against the Word of God. Instead ask the Lord to search your heart. Examine yourselves to see if you’re in the faith. It very well might be that the Holy Spirit is convicting you – and if so – that’s GREAT news, because the Lord chastens those He loves. It might mean that you need to repent. You might need to say, “I’m done cheating on God. I’m done trying to be friends with the world. I’m done having fellowship with darkness, because my Savior is the Light of the World.” It might be the Lord drawing you to repentance and faith in Himself. In the Book of Revelation, just before the Lord returns He cries out “Come out from Babylon My people – come out from among her.”
The Day of His coming will come suddenly… and I believe soon. Will you be able to celebrate and rejoice on that day, or will you be filled with fear and dread?
Let’s Pray
CLOSING
