This week we continue looking at passages from the Olivet Discourse. Today we will look at the parable of the “Wise and Foolish Virgins:”
25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour (Matthew 25: 1-13).
Commentaries tell us that the imagery represents all the bridesmaids as believers. The five who brought flasks with extra oil represent bridesmaids who are true believers. And while the other five profess to be believers, they represent people who do not truly know the Lord and as a result will not be prepared when Christ appears. The foolish bridesmaids’ lamps have burned out and when they hear the bridegroom is coming they find themselves without oil. They are caught completely by surprise because the faith they profess is only insincere, impermanent, and artificial. The parable is warning us against a superficial faith. Today, let’s search our hearts to ensure we are not consumed by immediate things, rather let’s keep our sights on the eternal “giving ourselves fully to the work of the Lord.”
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand
firm. Let nothing move you. Always give
yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because
you know that your labor in the Lord is not in
vain (1 Corinthians 15: 58 NIV).
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