Sermon - Matthew 25:1-13 - Parable of the 10 Virgins - Littleby Baptist Church - November 17, 2019

Last week we wrapped up Matthew 24 and as we move into chapter 25, we find that Jesus is still talking about His second coming. Over the next couple of weeks, we will see that He emphasize key behaviors expected of those who follow Him.

Matthew 25:1-13

“25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil with them; ⁴ but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. ⁵ When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 “The wise ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’ ¹² “He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you!’ ¹³ “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.”

Today we have a formal wedding ceremony, exchange vows, which is all normally followed by a celebration with family and friends. In Jesus’ day, an agreement was made between the bride’s father and the soon to be husband. Once that agreement was made, the bride and groom were married in all ways except for that which leads to children. They would be betrothed, typically they would wait 1 year but could be as long as seven years.

The groom was to build a home for he and his wife and get everything ready. Once everything was ready and the wedding day came, the groom and his groomsmen would run and celebrate all the way to the bride’s house. The bride and her bride’s maids would be waiting for them to show up without any real idea when they would show up. They had to be prepared at a moment’s notice.

In this parable, we find the bride and her bride’s maids waiting for the groom. Some of the ladies were prepared and some were not. The wise ones had their oil ready and were able to accompany the bride and groom to the wedding feast. Some of them were not prepared and were not able to join the celebration.

In this parable, the groom is Jesus Christ. The delay represents us not knowing the day or hour of His return. All 10 of the virgins thought they were ready but when the groom was delayed, some were not as ready as they thought.

All 10 of the virgins were waiting for the groom. All 10, the wise and the not so wise ladies, knew enough to expect that Jesus was coming. I would say they all believed in one form or fashion. They had enough knowledge to know that He would be returning. All of them may have even believed that He was God, but not all of them were truly following Him.

There are a lot of people in the world today who say they are Christians. Here in the mid-west, the vast majority of people will tell you that they believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Pretty much all of them will tell you that He died on a cross to pay for our sins. Everyone of them believe at one level or another, just like all 10 of the virgins in this parable believed.

Matthew 25:6-9

“⁶ “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ “Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ “The wise ones answered, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves.’”

If the lamps of the foolish virgins are going out, they had light to begin with.

Throughout scripture we find that a light or a lamp is symbolic for someone who believes in Jesus. All 10 of the virgins were expecting Jesus to return, all 10 of them had lamps that were burning, at least initially. All believed, but not all were prepared.

Another thing that points to each one of these ladies being believers is that each one of them had oil, which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Some of these ladies had very little oil. Today we might think of these as those who think they have fire insurance because they said a prayer. They learned enough about Jesus to have an idea of what might be going on, they may have half heartedly repented of their sins, but never let the Holy Spirit work in them.

The foolish virgins represent those who say they are Christians, but you can not tell by they way they live their lives. I am not talking about the different between ‘super saints’ and the rest of us. I am talking about those who say they are Christians, but still are truly living in the world. They may wear their Sunday best now and again, but that is as far as it goes. They say the words and like the label of being a Christian, but do not let the Holy Spirit work in them.

I think the apathy and all those who are falling away from Church today, are like the foolish virgins. The were Christians in name only.

The other 5 ladies who had plenty of oil had cultivated a personal and deep relationship with Jesus. A relationship that withstands the test of time, one that moves in their hearts, and is life changing. A relationship that has filled them with the Holy Spirit as they truly follow Jesus. Their lives look different, because they are different.

If we were to look at both of these groups of people, we may give them the benefit of doubt when they say they believe. We would see that they all say the right things and wore the right clothes. They all looked the part.

There are many in the world today that look the part, but the point that Jesus is making with this parable is that looks don’t matter. All 10 looked like believers, all ten initially acted like believers, but only five were prepared.

What was the difference between the five who were ready and the five that were not?

1 John 5:20

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one. We are in the true one—that is, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

Five knew about Jesus and five KNEW Jesus.

It is one thing to know who Jesus is and to even attend church. It a something completely different to KNOW Jesus and to live your life following Him.

We can have all the book knowledge there is about who Jesus is, but never truly know Him. Truly knowing Jesus means we are ‘In’ Him and He is ‘In’ us. We have submitted to Him, letting Him into every aspect of our lives. If we truly Know Jesus, we will let His light shine even in the deepest and darkest corners of our lives. We will let the Holy Spirit pinpoint our sins and help us to turn from them.

If we know Jesus, His light is shining brightly through us so all can see it and the Holy Spirit is working to help us endure till we stand in His presence.

How come some endure to the end and some do not? The Parable of the Sower gives us some insight.

Mark 4:13-20

“¹³ Then he said to them: “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand all of the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ Some are like the word sown on the path. When they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word sown in them. ¹⁶ And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away. ¹⁸ Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word, welcome it, and produce fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.”

The five faithful or wise virgins were like those where the seed is sown on good ground. They were able to endure the delay and the trials of the world. The five who fell short would have been like those who seed is sown on rocky ground or among the thorns. They began the journey with Jesus, but other things got in the way. Their faith never grew, so when they Groom was delayed the were not prepared.

This is why we need to spend time with our God. We need to talk to Him regularly, spend time studying His Word, and fellowshipping with His people. Without truly submitting to Christ and letting the Holy Spirit lead us our roots will be shallow; they will get chocked out. Without truly following Jesus we will not be able to endure the trials we will face.

Matthew 25:10-12

“¹⁰ “When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the rest of the virgins also came and said, ‘Master, master, open up for us!’ ¹² “He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you!’”

Philippians 2:9-11

“⁹ For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— ¹¹ and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

There will be a day that everyone will recognize that Jesus Christ is Lord, but sadly for some it will be to late. They will wake up from their slumber. They will realize that their faith has been shallow, their eyes will be finally opened, but judgement day had already come. They will plead with the One True God and He will tell them “I don’t know you!”

Words that none of us sitting here this morning ever want to hear. To know that Jesus is Lord of All and to spend an eternity without Him, there would be no greater agony.

Matthew 25:13

^“13 “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.””

There is no telling how long we have until we stand before our Lord, so we need to be prepared. It is not enough to know about Jesus, we need to KNOW Him. We need to submit our lives to Him. We need to spend time talking to Him and reading His Word. If we are truly following Him, our lives will be changed. We will have light and we will have oil. Our roots will grow deep and their will be fruit in our lives.

It is better to bow before Jesus and declare Him as Lord today, then realize the truth before it is to late. If Jesus is your Lord, continue to reach out to Him so that the roots of your faith will grow deeper. If you do not know Jesus, I want to invite you into His family. If you are ready to repent of your sins and to follow Jesus, please come forward and I would love to help you take those first steps.  

God Bless,

Robert