THE TEN VIRGINS
Text: Matthew 25:1-13
"Although Douglas MacArthur graduated from West Point at the top of his class, he continued to prepare himself for service to his country. He studied every military textbook he could get his hands on. He visited battlefields and personally reviewed the tactics which the victors and the losers used. While other young officers were playing cards or practicing their golf swing, MacArthur ignored the social whirl to make himself better prepared as a future leader. He even insisted on having his appendix removed just in case it would ever cause him to be incapacitated with an attack of appendicitis at a crucial time later in his career. Douglas MacArthur’s preparedness proved wise. As the key military leader in the Pacific theatre of operations during World War II, he had personally responded to his country’s call to duty years before the actual crisis of war by preparing himself to be a top general.
Each Christian can have that kind of commitment to Christ’s rule and prepare himself or herself for service. Are you preparing yourself to serve Christ? Are you responding to His call by being ready to lead?" (William P. Barker ed. Tarbell’s Teacher’s Guide. 86th Annual Volume. Elgin: David C. Cook Publishing Co. 1990, p. 123). One can only wonder how history might have turned out differently had not General MacArthur been prepared. He lived in the present and yet he always prepared for the future by what he learned from the past struggles of others.
Matthew 25:1-13 is a parable about two groups of maidens or virgins---the prepared and the unprepared.
THE ATTENTIVE IN ATTENDANCE
To be present but not paying attention is not a good thing. No one can go to school and be in attendance and expect to do well if he or she is not paying attention. Paying attention is what keeps us prepared for what is or what will come next. I once heard of a car accident that happened because the driver was too busy fooling with the car stereo while on the road. He wrecked because he was not paying attention and keeping his eyes on the road. The same kind of things are true in life and on the job, we have to do more than show up, we have to pay attention. If we are not paying attention then we will get caught off guard with our failure to respond the right way for what is coming next.
To be present and not be prepared is a bad thing. The motto of the US Coast Guard is "Semper Paratus" which translates from Latin into English "always prepared". That is the trouble with the five foolish virgins. They were present but they were not prepared. By the way the Greek word used for "foolish" is the same root word from which we get the word "moron". It is possible for someone to be educated and smart enough to know better and yet still be foolish because he or she were present but ill-prepared.
It was the tradition of the bridesmaids to be prepared to meet the bridegroom who might show up at any time. The virgins (bridesmaids) were supposed to have lamps that were lit for when the bridegroom might arrive in the evening. They were supposed to have oil that they would need to relight their lamps should the need arise. It was certain that the bridegroom was coming, but it was not always certain as to when. The virgins who had extra oil were always prepared. The virgins who were unprepared were foolish. In the actual custom, those without a torch would have been considered to be a "party crasher" or a (bandit) "brigand". (Kenneth L. Barker and John R. Kohlenberger III eds. Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary. Volume 2. D. A. Carson. "The Ten Virgins". Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994, p. 113). The sad thing was that while the foolish virgins in this parable went to go and buy some more oil, the door was shut before they got back (Matthew 25:10). They asked to be let in, but the bridegroom told them that he did not know them (Matthew 25:11-12). They had no one to blame but themselves. They wasted the opportunity.
SOME THINGS WE CANNOT BORROW
Everybody knows what a deadline is. We do not know when the deadline for Christ’s second coming will be, but we know that there is a deadline when the door will close (Matthew 25:13). To make the deadline we must always be prepared by the way that we live. We must always be watching while we are on the job in the kingdom of God. We are living in what someone has called the "between times". "Preparedness is the mark of those who live wisely "in the between times". This is exactly where we find ourselves today --- in between the first coming of Christ in the flesh and his final coming in glory. Since we do not know when that final day will be, we must live in a constant state of preparedness". (Richard Carl Hoefler. The Divine Trap. Lima: C. S. S. Publishing, 1980, p. 125). We must therefore seek the Lord while He can be found (Isaiah 55:6), because one day the deadline will come and the door will shut, whether we are ready or not.
We cannot borrow from the preparation of others. Preparedness can neither be transferred or shared (D. A. Carson, p. 113). Two other things that we cannot borrow from another are "faith and character" (William Barclay. And Jesus Said. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1970, pp. 137-138). That is exactly what the five foolish virgins tried to do. The foolish virgins were pretenders who waited till the deadline was about to pass to try to amend their situation. So when they went to buy oil for their lamps, the deadline passed (Matthew 25:9). We are all responsible for our own work in God’s kingdom. The five foolish virgins were excluded because of their own neglect to be prepared. When it comes to the second coming of Christ, it is obvious that Christ is the bridegroom and the church is the bride of Christ. One day Jesus is coming back and those who are not prepared for His coming cannot borrow from the merits of those who are prepared.
THE OPPORTUNITY IS NOW
As Christians, we are the light of the world. We are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16), when we let the light of Christ (John 8:12) shines in us and through us because of the way that we live and walk in His ways. Matthew Henry once likened oil in this parable to the grace of God that we possess. (Matthew Henry. A Commentary On The Whole Bible. Iowa Falls: World Bible Publishers, a late 20th century publication, p. 369). It is by the grace of God that the light of Christ, who is the light of the world, shines in us and through us. The opportunity to shine for Jesus is now. Christ will not be sending word about the precise time of His arrival. We already have the understanding that He is coming which is why way must always be living a life that is justified by faith and sanctified in and through service as we live outwardly what we believe.
Missed opportunities are only a picture of what it would be like when the door shuts after Christ comes in glory and final victory. There can be no such thing as pretenders in the kingdom of God if we are to worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24). A pretender is one who professes to have a fire that is burning for Christ, but does not abide in Christ who is the light of the world. The Bible refers to pretenders as hypocrites which was the Greek word for an actor. We know that there is a difference between those who play a part and those who walk and live according to the Spirit who have been justified by their faith in Christ.
"After a three-month summer recess, on October 3,1994, the Supreme Court of the United States opened its 1994-95 term. According to the New York Times News Service, the court’s legal business for that first day could be summed up with one word: no. The court announced it had refused to hear more than 1,600 cases. The names and docket numbers of the rejected appeals covered sixty-eight typewritten pages. For those cases, that was the last court of appeal, the final word.
There’s something terribly final about judgment. The Supreme Court says no, and that’s it. No appeals. No arguments. The books are sealed, and the decision is final.
On the great day of judgment there will also be a terrible crescendo of no’s. "No, you cannot enter my kingdom." And the doors will be shut forever. No appeal. No time to change one’s mind. Those who have rejected Jesus Christ will have forever lost their opportunity for eternal life". (Craig Brian Larson. ed. Contemporary Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers And Writers. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996, p. 122). The opportunity to get things right is now. We might know someone who is a pretender and who needs to understand that the time to get it right is now because the door is still open. When the door closes the foolish will be shut out.
