This week we’re focusing on the final table in our series, the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. The idea of God as a groom and his people as his bride is well established in Scripture. We see it in places like Isaiah 54:5 where the Lord says to Israel, “For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” We also see it in the New Testament where it is Jesus Christ who is depicted as the groom who is coming for his bride, the church.
In a series of three parables that Jesus uses to teach about his second coming, he encourages his disciples to prepare for his return. In the first, he insists that his followers need to be ready, because his return will be unexpected. In the second, he emphasizes that they will be held accountable for their actions in his absence. In the parable we are reading today, we see that his followers also need to be prepared for a long delay.
Read
Matthew 15:1-13 (NIV)
1 “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.
How does Jesus describe the two groups of women? What do they do that earns them that description?
Reflect
Jesus invites us to consider the story of a wedding procession where some members of the bridal party were prepared, and others weren’t. Weddings in the ancient near east were often long affairs that involved the parties traveling to multiple locations. The maidens in this parable may be attendants of the bride, or servants in the bridegroom’s home, or perhaps friends and neighbors and “are waiting to escort the bridegroom in festal procession, probably in the last stage of the ceremonies, as he brings his bride home for the wedding feast.”[1]
In a world without street lights, these young women are charged with lighting the way for the procession. All of them bring their lamps for the task (many commentators note that they were probably more like torches), but only half bring oil. For a reason that is not explicitly stated, the bridegroom is delayed. He is such a long time in coming that the girls fall asleep waiting.
When word comes that he is almost there, they all wake up and light their torches, but the ones who didn’t bring additional oil are panicked. The girls who were prepared cannot share their oil without leaving everyone in the dark, so the foolish maidens must go off to buy some more. They return too late. After the doors are shut and the banquet has begun, the bridegroom will not let them in. In fact, he treats them as if they are strangers.
Jesus is emphasizing the importance of being prepared for his return. Jesus is contrasting the wise with the foolish and inviting the listener to decide which they’d rather be. The wise are prepared, the foolish are caught unaware and unequipped.
Nearly 2000 years have passed since Jesus ascended into heaven, and we are still awaiting his return. Yet, over and over Scripture tells us that our bridegroom is coming. How can we take this parable’s message seriously and be ready? How can we persevere through the long wait?
Jesus left us with important things to do. We don’t wait idly, twiddling our thumbs. We have been commissioned to share the good news that Jesus is Lord, to make disciples, and help people see that God’s way is the better way. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can love people with Christ’s love. By inviting people into our church family, we can alleviate their loneliness. We can pray with them through their anxieties and addictions and help them find resources that can help. By pointing them to the Word of God and being willing to learn alongside them, we can discover more and more of who God is and what has done, is doing, and will do for us.
In doing all of that, we are showing that we are ready for Christ’s return, whether he comes tomorrow or in the next millennia. By making his priorities our priorities, we demonstrate that we are ready for the kingdom life that awaits us upon his return.
[1] R. T. France, 354.
Respond
- What can we do to show those who are at the margins of our society that they are welcome at God’s table?
- How can the idea of meaningful conversations help with this? When is the last time you really talked to someone different from you to find out about them as a person?
- Pray about the types of people you tend to favor or show honor to. What does that reveal about the way you see people?
