In Jesus Holy Name November 12, 2023
Text: Matthew 25:10b,13
“The Missing Bride at the Wedding”
This is a great parable about the danger of being unprepared. I know there have been weddings that I officiated, but the “bride” was 30 or 45 minutes late, so everyone just waited. Grooms have fainted but I’ve never had a bride cancel. Is this story really about a “missing bride” or one that is late? First, there is another story that needs to be told.
There is tremendous unrest in our world today. Streets are crowded with thousands of protestors waving flags. A Congress woman has been censored because of her words. Jewish students have been assaulted on college campus. If you are carrying a Jewish flag your life could be in serious danger. It seems that much of the news wants to bury the horror of the last 30 days of war and the events of October 7th in Israel.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was the supreme Allied Commander during WWII liberated the concentration camps. He had to visit a few just to see and understand the devastation of humanity to humanity. He writes:
“The same day [April 12, 1945] I saw my first horror camp. It was near the town of Gotha. I have never felt able to describe my emotional reactions when I first came face to face with indisputable evidence of Nazi brutality and ruthless disregard of every shred of decency. Up to that time I had known about it only generally or through secondary sources. I am certain, however that I have never at any other time experienced an equal sense of shock.
“I visited every nook and cranny of the camp because I felt it my duty to be in a position from then on to testify first-hand about these things. The belief or assumption that `the stories of Nazi brutality were just propaganda can not stand.
He went on to say: “At every one of these concentration camps I want you to find every photographer possible, then bring every citizen of the nearby towns to see the horror…..the evidence should be immediately placed before the American and British public in a fashion that would leave no room for cynical doubt.”
General Eisenhower knew instinctively that you had to document the atrocity, because if you didn’t’….. people would say…let’s move on. He realized that some things are so hellish, there is no getting past them. You must remember them. Some things are so straight out of the “gates of hell” that you can not get past them. Like September 11th . Like October 7th . Some things you just can not get past nor forget. (Thoughts from Leonard Sweet Youtube LenTalk 187)
Christians can not get past this one reality. Jesus was a Jew. Jesus is telling us that His Father is making preparations for a wedding banquet. We all know this story. We have the bridegroom, we have the guests, but did you ever ask the question: “Where is the “bride”? This is a story about the “kingdom” of heaven. The bridesmaids are present and waiting. Their lamps will provide light for the bridal procession.
The great Wedding banquet is being prepared for Himself and His bride, the Church. The warning is simple and straight forward. “Don’t be late for the Wedding Banquet. If you are late, the door will be closed!!!.
In the 1st century, in the Jewish culture, and still in some cultures today the marriages are arranged by the family. Two fathers get together and make arrangements for their kids. Once the arrangements were made the father of the groom would build on to his house an extension where the newlyweds would live. The groom would usually continue to work in the same trade of his father.
In every family compound there was a “bridal chamber”. This was a place that was prepared for the bride and groom. It was decorated with flowers. When this room was not used as a bridal chamber it was probably a guest room or maybe a storage room inside the family compound. There were always visitors and so a “guest room” was needed. Remember when Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem there was “no room in the guest room”. (Katalema)
We have a bridal procession, and we have ten bridesmaids who went out to meet the bridegroom. Remember this is a story about the “kingdom”. Jesus is the kingdom. It is not a story about lamps. It is not a story about a wedding. It is not a story about oil. It is a story about the bridegroom who is Jesus.
The five foolish bridesmaids are more worried about the oil than the bridegroom. The problem is not that lamps going out, but when the bridegroom comes you must be able to get through the “door”. Five bridesmaids were distracted about other things in life and missed the wedding of the bridegroom to the “bride”. The “bride” is not missing. The “bride” is the church.
This is a warning for us not to be distracted by other things that would take our focus off Jesus. It doesn’t matter if your house is clean, if your wick is trimmed. It doesn’t matter if your oil lamp, your bank account is full. What matters is when the door is open are you ready to step across the threshold?
Like the Wise and Foolish virgins, we are waiting for the bridegroom to return from heaven. Jesus is coming back and we should not be unprepared. His return is certain. Shortly before returning to Heaven Jesus told His disciples that someday He would come back to take His church home.
Jesus warned that Satan would try a final attempt to halt God’s work through a massive onslaught of evil. We have seen with our ears of an evil onslaught in Israel. It has been verified. Our world is no stranger to evil; but some evil is so “hellish” it takes your breath away. Are we on the verge of WWIII?
People want to know when the end of the world is going to come. Understand, this kind of question isn't confined to religious speculators. Using a mixture of information gleaned and gathered from sources as diverse as Nostradamus, planetary alignments, the Hopi Indians, the ancient Mayans, and Chinese "I Ching," a lot of folks are speculating.
Will we be washed away by a tsunami, fried by global warming, or frozen by global cooling? Will some degenerate, desperate despot decide he wants to go down in history as the fellow who punched the red button which began the nuclear war to end all wars? People of the world want to know. (thoughts by Rev. Ken Klaus 11/15/2009)
The disciples wanted to know. Matthew records their question in Matthew 24. Jesus and the disciples had just left Jerusalem and were on the Mount of Olives and they asked: When will the end come and what will be the sign of your arrival? They were curious and they wanted to be prepared. The story of the “bridegroom waiting for His bride is part of His answer.
But Jesus did offer some clues. There will be the arrival of false prophets. There will be wars and rumors of wars - nation rising up against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed. Check. That happened about 40 years after Jesus was crucified and rose. False prophets? Check. Wars? Check. Rumors of wars? Check. Earthquakes? Famines? That's a double check. Persecution? Check. Martyrs being put to death? Check. Oh, I forgot, Jesus said the "Gospel had to be proclaimed to all nations."
It's not all that important if you know when the end of the whole world is going to happen or when Jesus is going to judge the living and the dead. The truth is, the Bible is clear; you're never going to know that unknown hour. What is important is for you to be prepared for that moment when your personal end comes; for you to be ready. Five bridesmaids were prepared, five were not.
As the story concludes, the rejected bridesmaids are standing outside the door asking for admission, but to no avail. They have been shut out from the wedding banquet. It is a sad, strange ending to what should have been a most joyful occasion.
One striking feature of the parable occurs when the foolish virgins ask the wise virgins to borrow some of their oil. The refusal may seem selfish and unkind unless you understand the situation. To loan the oil would mean that no one would have enough oil. And the larger point is clear. No one can “borrow” another person’s faith. You can’t get into heaven by living near a saved person. You can not enter to doorway of heaven on the faith borrowed from your grandmother. One day you will stand before the Lord and he will say, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” What answer will you give? Will you say:
“My mother was a godly woman,” “And that’s why she’s in heaven,” the Lord will reply, “but what about you?” “My dad was an elder,” you say. “Fine, but that’s not why he’s in heaven, and anyway his eldership won’t do you any good,” the Lord replies. The wedding invitation has been sent how will you respond?
There is no “second-chance” beyond death for those who had no time for
Jesus in this life. Once you die, the door is shut forever. Either you go through the door while you are alive or you will never go through at all.
The story of the missing bride is both a warning and a promise. Jesus has been patient with the religious leaders. He has healed thousands. He has raised people from the dead, including Lazarus. The religious leaders know this is true. But there comes a day when His enemies threw caution to the wind. They bribed one of the Savior's friends to betray Him; paid some witnesses to tell lies about Him; and raced Him through a series of illegal trials.
At one of those midnight meetings, Jesus was asked, "Are you the Christ, God's promised Messiah, the world's Savior, the One who is sent to save us?" Jesus might have tried to sidestep the question; He might have tried to turn the tables. He might have, but He didn't. He answered. “I Am”. Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has uttered blasphemy. What is your judgment?" They answered, "He deserves death."
They made sure the Romans would finish the task of removing Jesus. They spit in His face and struck Him. And some slapped Him (Matthew 26:65-67). Later they crucified Him on a cross between two thieves.
The answers Jesus gave nailed Him to a cross. On Calvary's cross He died so all who believe on Him might live. Nailed to a cross He put an end to the condemnation of sin and the claims of Satan. Nailed to a cross Jesus gave Himself as the ransom price for our deliverance. Then, on Resurrection Sunday He let the world know what hell had already discovered: death had been defeated. The cross is what Jesus endured so we might be members of the heavenly kingdom.
He is the bridegroom, Let us watch and be always prepared. We look forward to His return and then we will celebrate at the wedding banquet.
