There is not in the whole Bible a parable that applies more accurately to this congregation than this parable. Like the ten virgins, you may all be divided into two classes. Some of you are wise, I trust, and some, unfortunately, are foolish. Like the virgins, you all profess a great deal. And yet some have the gift of the Holy Spirit. And some lack him. And the day is fast approaching when you will be separated, the truly saved among you will enter in with Christ. And the rest will be shut out for eternity. That's how Robert Murray Shane opens his lectures on this parable. And I find that maybe there's no better introduction that is more fitting to this text of scripture than this introduction. This is a parable for the church. This is a parable that distinguishes those who are wise from those who are foolish. And you need to hear God's word today. So you are not deceived. Some of you are fools. But you're deceived into thinking that you are wise, that you are somehow prepared to meet with the Lord Jesus Christ. But you're not. And so may he give you grace today that you hear this word and you would be prepared to meet with him. And others of you are wise. And you need to hear this word too, that you may be mindful of where your wisdom comes from. For it is not within yourself. From the Holy Spirit. And the point of our text, it comes from the very mouth of Christ Jesus himself. Look at verse 13. Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. I would contend that the original Greek says something more like this, which is the point of our text. Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. So the first point, then, is this. You need to understand that the Lord is truly returning, that Jesus Christ really is truly coming back, just as he promised. If you were to read Matthew in an extended sitting, you would find that really from chapter 21 through 27, we're looking at what's called the Passion Week of Christ. that final week of his crucifixion, burial and subsequent or coming resurrection in the following week. And in chapter 23, Matthew is rebuking the Pharisees. Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites. He declares this curse seven times. But it's the conclusion of his sermon, really, to the Pharisees that is most striking, where he says to them, your house, meaning the temple, is left to you desolate. Jesus never calls the temple the house of the Pharisees. It's always his father's house. Now the spirit is departing. Now the glory is leaving. And so it's your house and it will be desolate. Well, as you continue reading in chapter 24, on the one hand, the apostles, the disciples are excited to hear this news. Finally, Jesus is getting some guts. He's actually declaring he's going to come and have some kind of military victory over these false teachers. But they are perplexed. Because they don't think that they're ready yet. They're looking around. Jesus, look at these stones. large, huge stones that the temple is built on. They're not simple bricks. They're really actually humongous stones. And Jesus, instead of saying, no, no, you don't understand, he says something better. He says, not one of these stones will be standing, but one will be lifted off the other. Not one of these stones is going to be standing. Almost more confusing. And so then what do the disciples do? They ask him, explain to us what's going to take place. Explain to us the sign of your coming, the sign of the end. Their thoughts are in regards to his military coming, his overthrowing of the Roman Empire. And what does Jesus begin talking about? He actually does begin talking about the event that will lead up to 70 AD, the destruction of the temple. And then he moves into the final judgment. We come to some of the most debated passages of all scripture. Debated, dividing the church, and in reality we just don't have any time at all to get into it. And that's not what this sermon is about anyways. But instead, near the end of that, Jesus explains to them what's going to happen. Near the end of that discourse, he has a string of six parables. And this is one of them. And there's a common theme that exists in all of these parables. And see if you can discern it. I'm going to tell you these parables quickly. See if you can discern what the theme is that connects them all together. In chapter 24, verse 36, Jesus says, No one knows the day nor the hour. And so then he goes into a parable about the days of Noah. And his point is, be aware the judgment is coming. Don't be taken by the cares of this life. And then he talks about a thief coming in the night. And his point is, be ready. The thief is coming. Don't be caught unexpected. And then he moves into a parable about the faithful steward versus the wicked steward. And he says, be diligent in your work for the master is coming. And if you hope in a delay of the master, you'll be put with the hypocrites. There's weeping and gnashing of teeth. And then we get to this parable, the wise versus the foolish virgins. And he says, be prepared for the groom is coming. Those who are unprepared will be shut out of the feast with the declaration, I do not know you. And then we move into the parable of the talents, which really is a parable between wise and foolish stewards. And his point is, be faithful with resources for the master is returning. And if you don't use God's resources the way you're supposed to, you will be put into outer darkness again, where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. And then the sheep and the goats, where these two classes will be divided. And the point is, serve the king by serving others in need, because the king is returning. And those neglecting the needy will go into everlasting punishment. So what's the connecting theme? Did you hear it? There's a truth and an application. The truth is, Jesus is coming back. He is returning. Therefore, there are things to be done in preparation for his return. Let me ask you, do you think about the coming of Jesus in this way? Are you thinking about Jesus Christ returning and therefore I need to live a certain way, I need to think about things in a certain way? Is the return of Christ a reality to you? Is it something you think about often, or is it something that's easily forgotten or pushed aside by the cares of this world? No, the reality is that our attitude and our approach to the second coming of Jesus is something less than reality. On the one hand, there is a confusion that's associated with the second coming of Christ. And just go into any Christian bookstore and look at all the books that have been published on the topic and how much they disagree with one another. No, we say, I don't know anything about that. I'll stick to the five points of Calvinism. I'll stick to the shorter catechism. We don't study the second coming because of the confusion. Or there is an ashamed or there is a shame. I should say we are ashamed. There is a shame that's associated with it. Almost an embarrassment because of things like left behind series, really fiction that is touted as theology. It was one of my favorite things when I worked at Baker Book House to have people come in and ask for the left behind series, and I got to point out to them it's not in the prophecy section, it's in the fiction section. But we're almost ashamed to study the second coming of Christ in eschatology as a whole. Or there is a third approach. We're obsessed with it. We just study it with every moment we have to study theology and actually to the neglect of other important and more primary doctrines. Our attitude towards the second coming is all these abuses. But we do have to appreciate the Lord's attitude that really He's saying that His coming back, His return is the New Testament hope. It is associated with really the completion of His work of redemption. He's given us six successive parables, stories in order to make this point. Think of all the things that are associated with this. Resurrection. judgment, eternal life, eternal damnation. It's an important topic for the Christian church. And so that moves to my second point, then, what does this parable teach us about the Lord's return? Look at verse one. Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to the bridegroom. Does that make any sense to you? The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins with lamps going out to meet a bridegroom? What? No, see, we have two challenges with this particular parable. And the first challenge is this, that there is a cultural disconnect. We simply do not understand the practice of Jewish wedding processions. So we're kind of confused by this and we move on to the next parable. The reality is in regards to Jewish weddings, you have to think about a bride's father. Bride's father, he comes to the house of the bridegroom and they sit down and they get into negotiations. They start talking about a dowry with the groom. Well, how, groom, how are you going to provide for my daughter if you become unfaithful? If you give her one of those letters of divorce? Or what if, God forbid, you die? How are you going to provide so that my little girl will be able to be safe and secure for the rest of her life? And so they would sit in negotiations. And that's usually what caused the delay of the bridegroom. You can appreciate that, right? You've got to work some stuff out. Well, that being the case then, it was not uncommon. It was not something that caught the attention of the first hearers of this parable. Like, oh, the virgins are sitting around waiting for the bridegroom. That'd be normal. And when those negotiations were done, what would take place then is that the groom would go to the bride's house and declare, hey, your father has given his blessing. And so then they would all go together, bride and groom, and a whole procession of people, they would travel through the town back to the groom's house where they would have the actual wedding and the feast and everything. And so, with that procession, there are all these different participants, and there's different ways of displaying all the wonders and the glory of marriage. There are the perfumers, and they walk around with perfumes and scents that are associated with marriage. And there are instruments, and there are these lanterns or these lamps of oil that are lit. That's not too uncommon from the way that we do weddings today. You think about weddings. Oh, well, let's see, there's the flowers, there's the cake, there are these other kinds of arrangements, there's the wedding party. Why do we do all that? Some of it is because we're trying to display, well, some of it is just tradition. We don't know why we do it. But some of it is to display something of the glory of this institution of marriage. And so if you are not involved, if your job is to be a perfumer and you don't bring the perfumes, if your job is to be the lantern holder, the torch holder, and you don't bring the torch, you're robbing from the glory of marriage. If I can make an illustration, it would be something kind of like this. We don't have an exact contextual, we don't have an exact context, but something like this. Imagine if the wedding party arrives and everyone's getting dressed up, and then all of a sudden they come down marching through the aisles. And here comes, out of the ten bridesmaids, five of them wearing street clothes. That's weird. That's completely out of place. Who would think it would be to the horror of the bride? But really, there's something being said. It's actually robbing of the glory of this wedding. Not everything has to be perfect, but there is symbol in all of this. And so, now you can see maybe why it's such a shame that these virgins don't have the oil in preparation for carrying the torches. It would look silly to carry a lamp without any kind of torch. Well, the second challenge is this. Because this meaning is lost on us, therefore, as you read down through the commentators of church history, there are tons of allegorical interpretations of this parable. Allegorical interpretations abound. So what does the lamp mean? And what does the oil mean? And what does it mean that they slumber or rest? Every character, every event has to be somehow symbolized within the context of spiritual persons, or places, or things, or ideas, and it won't work. I'm here to tell you today that the oil is not faith, the oil is not the Holy Spirit, the oil is oil. Because there's not a direct one-to-one correlation here. That's not the intention of Jesus. is giving you a picture to really hit the main point. Think about it for a minute. If the foolish virgins obtain oil at the time that it's too late, so what? They get the Holy Spirit, but it's too late now? They can't come into heaven? Or all of a sudden they have faith, but it's too late? Understand, there will be a day and a time when everyone will see Christ Jesus, but it will not always be of faith. Faith is The substance of things hope for the evidence of things unseen. This piece will be seen. It will not be faith anymore. It will be. Now we know our eyes have been opened. And so the point is simply to say that the oil is oil. And how do we then interpret a parable like this? Well, it's best to start with the punch line and move our way backwards. What is Jesus's point in this parable? And then we'll know. And his point is in verse 13. Watch, therefore. For you know not neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. See, the groom is coming to lead us into a wedding celebration, so you need to be prepared. That's the point. Be prepared. And we need to be careful. This word watch is used in the New Testament very often. It's actually in the Old Testament, too, but mainly in the New Testament. And it has a multitude of applications. In fact, it's very often used in regards to our maturity and our holiness and our growth. Watch so that you may grow. Watch so that you may cultivate holiness. Watch so that you may put sin to death. Watch so that you may storm the gates of heaven. Watch so that you may, as the Puritans say, pray prayerful prayers. But this is not talking about A watch that's needed for sanctification. This is a watch that is needed for preparation. For preparation. We are called to prepare for Jesus's return. And the way we prepare is we believe. This is really a call to faith. We prepare by believing and endeavoring to walk in new obedience, faith and repentance. This is an evangelistic watch. This is a gospel watch. This is a watch that is saying to you, did you know? Were you aware that there will be an event that will end all events? That there will be one thing that will come that will end everything? And that is the coming of Jesus. Well, finally, before we get to the third point, it's important to say that this is a comparison parable. We do hit the punchline and we move backwards, and we also recognize that we're to compare two things. Foolish virgins and wise virgins. And so, therefore, the safe pattern is to ask, how are these virgins alike, and how are they different? That's the first question. How are these virgins alike? Look again at verse one. Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Down to verse five. Now, while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout. Behold, the bridegroom come out to meet him. And all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. How they're alike is, first of all, they're all anticipating a wedding celebration. They're all looking forward to being involved in this procession. They have been invited to participate in this parade, really. They're part of the wedding party, therefore they're probably close friends of the bride or groom. And they're gathered together for celebration. And what is the spiritual significance of this? And this is important to ask this question, what is the spiritual significance? Because on the one hand, like I warned, we don't want to be allegorical and make everything something spiritual. But there are spiritual significances that do show up in this parable. And here's the first one. That this is a picture of the visible church. That all of us are anticipating the return of Jesus. That all of us are gathered together and expect in celebration. That's why you're here today. This is us holding our lamps, waiting for the bridegroom to come. And yet some are wise and some are foolish. Secondly, they're all supposed to prepare for the wedding procession. They're all supposed to prepare for the wedding procession. Make sure you have enough oil. Why? Because you're the decoration. You're the thing that gets to beautify this procession. You get to be, in a sense, the trophy. It might sound weird in regards to the context of an actual bride coming. She's supposed to be the center of attention. But how is she the center of attention is partly in what you bring individually. The spiritual significance of that is that there's both a corporate aspect to the Visible Church and an individual aspect to the Visible Church. God has prepared each one of you. He's given each of you gifts to be involved in this community. All for what? The glory of God. You get to be a decoration, an ornament of His grace. All for His glory when He returns. But let not your confidence be in the seat that you're sitting in. Just because you're gathered here today doesn't mean that somehow you're in. That's not the point. Well, how else are they alike? Well, they're all alike in that they were all delayed by the groom. They all had to wait until the father and the groom sorted out the details. They all had to wait around, getting to spend time together and passing their time together. And what does it say that in verse six, no, verse five, they got drowsy and began to sleep. The spiritual significance of being delayed by the groom is that Jesus delays, but we're all still here. Jesus has caused us to have to wait upon him, and that's what we're waiting for is the completion of his redemption. The fulfillment of His Word. And fourthly, how are they alike? They all rested. This is controversial. Just like the oil, the spiritual significance of resting, of becoming drowsy and sleeping, has nothing to do with the call to watchfulness. This is not a lack of holiness. This is not spiritual drowsiness. This is not even death. No, it's just part of the story. It's common to get drowsy when you're sitting around waiting. It will be significant and important, and there is spiritual significance in it, but it's not in the fact that they're sleeping. In fact, it is to highlight the unexpected coming of the dream. And so, the spiritual significance of the fact that they all rest is that the kind of preparation in this parable, the kind of preparation that we're called to, is followed by a peaceful, restful waiting. So they're alike in many ways. They're alike in so many ways that externally you may not have been able to distinguish the fools from the wise ones. But what makes them different. It's striking. It's a matter of life and death difference. So we ask, fourthly, how are the virgins different? Well, look again at verses two, verses two through four. Five of them were foolish, five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them. But the wise took oil and flasks along with their lamps. Jump down to verse eight. The foolish said to the prudent, give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out. The wise answered, no, there will not be enough for us and you too. Go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves. While they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast and the door was shut. So how are these virgins different? Well, first in their preparation. The oil was needed in order to do their part, in order for them to be involved in this procession. And what were the wives thinking? The wives were thinking, I want this wedding procession to be beautiful. I want it to be special. I want it to be memorable. So I'll bring my oil. This procession, you see, was to display the glory of the reality of marriage. And what were the fools thinking? You know, there'll be enough oil there. As long as I bring my lamp, that should be good enough. They were thoughtless. They were careless. They may have even imagined that, you know, even if I don't, even if there's not enough oil here, and I don't carry the torch, that's alright. The bridegroom will still understand. He'll still let me be involved in the procession. He'll still let me come in. You see, they did not see the task as important because they didn't value the glory of the marriage. And the spiritual significance of this is that some of you are fools. Some of you do not see Jesus for who he is. He's the bridegroom. And he's married to an unworthy bride. Just read the scriptures, read the Old Testament. Go to Hosea chapter 1, 2 and 3. Go to the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah and Ezekiel. And how they speak about this unworthy bride. One who went after other lovers. One who turned her back on her true love. One who idolized other gods. Who forgot how this This lover came and delivered her from her own sin and misery. And in Hosea we find this picture of a woman who's been so used and abused by herself and what she's given herself to that she's not even worth the price of a slave. He pays the half price of a slave. That is, a slave who's been maimed and is useless. He buys her, he purchases her back, and he woos her again to love him again out of his love. This is the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, who entered into her very depths of sin and misery in order to drag her out and bring her home. The adulterous woman. The woman who ought to be divorced. The woman who's not worthy of love. Who finds love. That's Jesus. And so their preparation makes them different. We ought not to be fools, but to see Jesus for who he is. A second way in which these virgins are different is their right to rest. And this is where we find the spiritual significance of the drowsiness and sleeping. You see, they all rested. But some of them didn't have a reason to rest. Some of them didn't have a right to rest. Some of them were not prepared. The wise, they were prepared. They brought enough oil to sustain their torches. And they had, therefore, assurance that when He came, they would be ready and they could rest. That's what we do week after week. When we look at Jesus Christ and we know what He's accomplished for us, we rest in Him. That's what the Sabbath day is about. And this is a day full of assurance, assurance rooted in our security in Christ Jesus. And it is a precious assurance. It's a patient and hope-filled and peace-filled assurance. The house of the Spirit of God. At any time, just crawl right up into His lap and tell Him your concerns. You know that you will receive full redemption and therefore you can be free of anxiety and fear and depression and misery. You can fully rest. But the foolish unprepared. They had the time to go out and get the necessary oil. They should have come and seen the wisdom of these wise virgins that said, oh, I need to go get some oil. And left. But no, they slumbered. They slumbered. They should have been restless. So they secured what was needed. And the spiritual significance of this? is that some of you have no reason to be assured of your salvation. Maybe you think, I was baptized. I believe in reformed theology. I'm involved in all kinds of mercy ministry. Maybe you think I made my profession of faith when I was 13, 14. I'm OK. I was discipled by Pastor York. I'm a good person. I'm a 10th generation Covenanter. I believe in biblical worship. I try not to judge other people. And you know what? All those things are good. And none of those things will save you. All those things are great things, and none of them are intended to be what you put your assurance in. All of those are the blessings and benefits that come from knowing Christ Jesus. And the foolish virgins think, at least I brought my own lamp. It should be good enough. You have nothing to offer to God. And if you think you're going to heaven because of any of these things that I've listed or something else besides Jesus, then you're unprepared. Thirdly, the way in which these virgins are different is their relationship with the groom. The wise virgins, because they are prepared, they participate. They were known by the groom. Because they were known, they were welcomed into the wedding celebration. And what a celebration, friends, it will be. A celebration where we'll be given new garments, and new names, and a throne, and new knowledge. What a celebration it will be. Our names will be read from a book of life. No one will be missing. No one will be suffering. No one will be fighting. No one will be hurting. There will be no enemies. There will be no night. There will be no tears and no pain and no fear. There will be no death in that celebration. We will sit and eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, with Mary and Martha and Lazarus, with Peter, James and John and Moses and David and Christ Jesus himself face to face. It will be a time of worship without sin, without distraction, without any human weakness. And it will go on forever. And we will never grow tired of it. It will be an eternal celebration. But the foolish virgins, because they were unprepared, they're left scrambling at the last minute. Really at a time when it's too late to prepare. Really at a time when they should be thinking about, what have I done? You foolish virgins. You had all this time to prepare. You need to wake up, foolish virgins. You need to wake up and go and get the oil now. Be prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ. There is no time to delay. There is no time to sit and to slumber. You have no right to rest. Get up! Wake up! And go and pursue Christ Jesus. That's what this parable is about. But foolish virgins don't value the bride. They don't value the groom. They just care about getting into that feast. And the feast is not the point. The spiritual significance is that some of you just don't know Jesus. You may know about Jesus. Maybe you know some of his friends. Maybe you know some of his followers. But do you know this room? Do you know this savior? Do you know this Jesus? Do you catch yourself talking with him in your day? Oh, I was just talking with Jesus. Do you think what would Jesus think? What would Jesus say? What would Jesus do if you were here right now? Do you find yourself Almost accidentally, not intentionally that is, keeping his commandments. Because you love him and because you're motivated out of a love for him to love others. Those are all fruits of knowing this Jesus. Some of you don't know him. But what's worse is when Jesus declares, I don't know you. We need him to know us. He's given to us his very words that we would come to him. With all of that, then we ask this final question, how can we be prepared then for the Lord's coming? We read in Revelation three, this these words of Jesus to the church in Sardis, let me read them for you again and hear them afresh with this parable in mind. The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, I know your works, you have the reputation of being alive, but you're dead. Wake up, wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received. and heard. Keep it and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief. You will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white for they're worthy. The ones who conquer. Will be clothed in white garments, and I will never blot out his name. out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Jesus will say to the Father, I know this one. Friends, it is easy to be a member in the American church. It's easy to be a member of the American church. But it is hard With all of the things, with all of the influences of the world, we've got every flavor, every brand of Christianity. And the reality is that most of it's poison. It's poison. Trying to be a better you. Caring about other people's lives. helping people, but not rooted in what Christ has accomplished. It's full of all kinds of isms. Moralism, and liberalism, and conservatism, and social gospelism. Poison. Not the gospel. And because, therefore, sin is not in me, then I don't need salvation. And therefore, I don't need grace. That's where we're heading. That's where we head. That is the gospel of many evangelical churches in this nation. So then what does it mean to prepare? I told you at the beginning, it means faith in Christ and repentance unto life. That's what this is a call to. Faith in Christ. Faith is so simple. God has made it so simple. You receive Jesus for what he has done and you rest upon him. You receive him and you rest upon him. A child can do it by God's grace. And repent and send to light. Repentance into life means that you're walking and all of a sudden your eyes are open and you see that you're headed down destruction lane into this abyss. But your eyes are open now and you turn around and you start walking to the celestial city. You start walking in the way of God because of his grace, because of his deliverance, because of his opening your eyes. turning away from sin, walking toward God and loving obedience. This is what John says, By this we know that we have come to know God in Christ. You ready? We keep his commands. Your life of loving obedience is a demonstration, a sign that you know Christ. The Shorter Catechism would add a third thing. to those two would say, the diligent use of the means of grace. That's how we prepare. Sabbath celebration, the reading of scripture, prayer, psalm singing, baptisms, Lord's Supper, the preaching of the word. All of these things expose us to the gospel. And they are the things that the Spirit of God uses to convert us, and to reconvert us, and to reconvert us. We are being prepared for the groom to return. And when we have confidence, because Jesus keeps His Word, then we have a right to rest, just like those wise virgins. See, there are no negotiations between the Father and the Son. Instead, the son intentionally and purposely delays. And he delays so that all of his people will be saved. Maybe he's delayed for you today. But this would be a day of salvation for you. He bids you to come to this bridegroom, to come prepared, to watch for his coming. So our parable distinguishes between who's wise and who's foolish, between who's prepared for Christ's return and who is unprepared, for who is known by the groom and who's not known, and who is welcomed into the wedding feast and who is shut out forever. And I'm pleading with you, wake up and receive Christ Jesus before it's too late. before he returns, or before you unexpectedly die. Isn't that the way people die often, is unexpectedly? You do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Therefore, be prepared. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we give you thanks and praise that you do love us despite who we are. And you demonstrate your love for us and that while we were yet sinners, enemies, Christ came and died for us. And you've given to us this word, this warning, but also this word, this assurance. You will come, you will return and you will make all things right. Lord, grant to us grace that we would be on that side of being made right. Being with you instead of being on the other side where we will be put into eternal damnation and judgment. Lord, I pray for each to hear this prayer. You would convert. You would correct, that you would draw to yourself sinners. for your glory and for the sake of Christ Jesus, who did shed his precious blood for sinners. In his name we pray, Amen.