“Living For the Eternal Moment”
Matthew 25:1-13
In the name of the Father and of the + Son of the Holy Spirit
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… The point of today’s Gospel parable is that you are always to be ready for our Lord’s return. There were five wise virgins who were prepared to meet the bridegroom and celebrate his marriage, and there were five foolish virgins who were not prepared and, therefore, they were excluded from the festivities.
The foolish virgins brought their lamps but brought no additional oil beyond what was already in their lamps. But the wise virgins brought extra oil in containers along with their lamps. You could compare it in today’s terms to a flashlight. The foolish were the ones who went out with just their flashlights. But the wise were the ones who brought along extra batteries. They knew that the hour of the bridegroom’s arrival was unknown, and they wanted to be ready.
Our Lord Jesus is the bridegroom. The ten virgins are those belonging to the holy church. Their lamps are the Word of Christ, for it is written in the Psalms, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet.” (Ps 119:105) The oil in the lamps is the Holy Spirit, by whose power the flame of faith in Christ is created and sustained. The foolish are those who do not give proper attention to the Word and the working of the Holy Spirit. They forget their baptism; they ignore the Lord’s preaching and the Lord’s Supper; they merely go through the motions, and so their faith does not endure, and the flame dies.
The wise, however, are those who diligently attend to these gifts of the Spirit, and who therefore have an abundance of oil. Their flame does not die. They hold Christ, the Wisdom of God, in their hearts by faith, and they endure in that faith to the end.
Outwardly, all ten virgins appear the same. All are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom; all have lamps. But inwardly there is a big difference between the foolish and the wise. For the foolish, the arrival of the bridegroom is not the top thing on their priority list. Sure, they go to church if it fits into their schedule. But in truth their hearts are devoted to other things more than Jesus. There is money to be made; there are parties to go to; there are sports events to attend, there are trips to take… and a whole bunch of other stuff that is the real focus of their lives. Besides, they have their bases covered when it comes to spiritual stuff, they think. They have a little oil in the lamps. Why overdo it? Why burden yourself with too much oil? Lighten up! Live a little!
The wise virgins on the other hand act as if there is nothing more important as the arrival of the bridegroom and this wedding. As they tend to their daily duties and callings and enjoy the good gifts of creation, they do so always with an eye toward Jesus’ return. That’s what they’re really living for, and so they don’t want to cut it close when it comes to the oil in their lamps.
That is what it means to be wise. In the Scriptures, wisdom is not the same thing as having a high IQ or great learning. You can be wise without being very smart. In the Bible wisdom is seeing all of life from God’s perspective. It is to refuse to view things the way the world does and instead to look at everything in the light of God’s Word. Jesus once said, “Whoever hears these words of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Mt 7:24-25) Unlike the fool, the wise man knows that only a life built on the words of Jesus will endure. For even though the heavens and the earth will pass away, Christ’s words will never pass away.
Five of the virgins were wise. They didn’t live for the moment; they didn’t live for what only satisfied them now. They lived for that eternal moment, that unending time of joy that would come at Christ’s return. They didn’t know when that moment would arrive. But they knew that the bridegroom was coming and that they were his invited guests. And so their lives are lived toward that wedding, the very best wedding ever. Nothing takes precedence over that. They are prepared for the wait. Their vessels of oil are full.
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The foolish appear to be so much wiser, so much cooler, so much more carefree, not having to lug around those extra jars of oil. They’re not so “extreme” as to be preoccupied with the bridegroom’s coming. But then the call comes at midnight; time has run out. And the foolish are left in a panic, scrambling to get oil, banging on a locked door saying “Lord, lord, open to us!” and hearing the harsh words, “I don’t know you.” “Depart from Me” (Matthew 7:23)
All ten were invited. All slept. All were awakened. The wise rose to greet the bridegroom with joy, prepared to process into the banquet hall, lamps trimmed and burning, with oil enough to last forever. The foolish rose to greet the bridegroom with dread, finding out too late that there is no oil to share. For no one can believe for another. No one can be saved on the basis of their parent’s faith or their spouse’s faith. Their own lamp must be burning.
Like the ten bridesmaids, all people will rise on the Day Jesus appears, the living and the dead, believers and unbelievers. The wise will rise to enter the marriage feast of the Lamb which has no end. That is God’s gift, given in the divine service of His words and body and blood. The foolish will rise to be shut out forever in darkness and despair. That is their own fault.
Learn the lesson of today’s Gospel well. Jesus puts it very simply and clearly, “Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Watch, be alert. For “the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.”
To watch for Jesus’ return does not mean that we should be gazing up into the heavens or trying to calculate when it’s going to happen. No one knows when that is going to happen except God Himself. To watch for Jesus’ return is to persevere in the faith and in prayer even when the bridegroom is delayed. It is to give your attention to Jesus’ voice as He speaks to you in His Word. It is to devote yourself to His teaching and trust in His promises.
A church that ceases to watch like that will eventually lose the Gospel. Christians who become lazy or complacent regarding God’s doctrine are in danger of falling from the faith. That’s why the Apostle Paul wrote to Pastor Timothy and all pastors, saying “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (I Tim. 4:16). We are to be vigilant, especially since we are now living in that evil age of which Paul spoke when he said, “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from the truth to wander into myths” (II Tim. 4:3). The way we watch, then, is by holding fast to God’s Word, hearing it, learning it, and taking it to heart, and not letting anything else get in the way.
The good news in today’s Gospel is that there is still time for us, and for others. The Lord is delaying so that many might come to repentance and faith in Him. The oil is presently available to you in abundance at no cost, free of charge. It was purchased for you by Christ’s atoning death on the cross for your sins. There is no shortage in the supply of His grace and mercy. There is more of Jesus in His words and body and blood than you could ever fully grasp, more forgiveness and life than you could ever imagine – enough to keep your lamps burning until the Last Day, whenever that Day comes. And the more Jesus you get, the more Jesus you will desire, and the more ready and eager you will be to receive Him when He comes again in glory.
What awaits you now is something beyond your wildest expectations. It is the new heavens and the new earth where the former things of pain and sorrow and death will no longer even be remembered or come to mind. Our salvation will be wonderfully fulfilled in Jesus, who says, “Behold, I make all things new!”
Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has granted you to be the wise in this parable. The Holy Spirit has made you wise unto salvation through the Gospel of Christ the crucified. “Assuredly,” the Lord says, “I know you in your baptism. I have forgiven you and redeemed you and claimed you as my own.” Jesus is the One who day by day and week by week gives you His Word and Spirit, plenty of oil to burn for a lifetime of watching for His return. You are prepared for the wedding feast on the Last Day because Christ prepares you for it by giving you a foretaste of that feast each week in Holy Communion. He comes to you even here and now to comfort you with His love and fill you with His life. The Gospel cry rings out in this place today, “Behold, the bridegroom is coming! Go out to meet Him” at His holy altar! We will not be surprised or caught off guard at Jesus’ second coming because we’ve long been in the habit of going out to meet him in His divine service.
“You do not know the day or the hour of His coming.” But you don’t need to know. All you need to know that it is Jesus, your Bridegroom, who is coming, and that your times are in His hands. And so, we pray, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
In the name of the Father and of the + Son of the Holy Spirit.
