Matthew 25:1-13 - Ready to Go

We'll be focusing in chapter 25.

You can begin opening in your Bibles to that section.

And just a word for those that may be new here to New Hide Park or maybe you're visiting with us.

What you will notice kind of right away about uh our fellowship here is that we typically preach through entire books of the Bible verse by verse.

And for about the past three years now, uh our church has been studying the gospel of Matthew together.

Specifically over the past couple weeks, we've been looking at uh an extended section in this book which records for us a discourse or a sermon that Jesus spoke to his disciples outside of Jerusalem.

And our particular passage this morning from chapter 25, uh, this is really coming towards the end of that discourse.

And it's a parable, it's a short story which serves as a sort of sermon illustration.

So if you're already there, uh allow me to pray for us once again, and then we will get started into our text this morning.

Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus, and we ask that you would have your way with us this morning, Lord.

We ask that you would uh allow the Spirit to move in power and to impress upon us, Lord, to convict us of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

Lord, we ask that you would uh direct and motivate us to live more for your glory, Lord.

That we would, having heard the word of God this morning, that we would leave and apply it to our lives, and that we would be that much closer to shining brightly in a world of corruption and sin.

Lord, for those that are faint-hearted, we pray that this word would bring strength and encouragement to them.

Lord, for those uh that that are struggling in an area of their life with sin and discouragement, we ask, Lord, that you would lift them up and that you would make known to them the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ.

For those, Lord, that that that have difficulty in their witness, I pray, Lord, that today's message would move powerfully in their life and that they would be be drawn into thoughtful self-reflection.

Lord, we ask all of this in Jesus' name, knowing that your word is mighty.

Amen.

I'm gonna give a sort of extended overview of the previous teaching thus far.

And the reason is is because this parable in chapter 25 is serving as a sort of sermon illustration at the end of a longer discourse, I want to have fresh on our minds the main idea of the sermon that we've been hearing for the last couple weeks.

If you remember chapter 24, where the discourse begins, Jesus is answering a question.

His disciples ask him when the temple will be destroyed, what will be the signs of his coming, and what will be the signs of the end of the age.

Now, if you were with us uh over the past previous weeks, you would have heard Pastor Doug and Pastor Micah highlight the fact that Jesus' answer to the disciples' question, it wasn't exactly clear.

Uh, it wasn't direct and to the point, or at least not in a chronological sense.

Jesus' response to the disciples uh follows some of the prophetic style that we see in many other parts of the Old Testament that sort of blends the immediate and the far off.

And his purpose in this was not to give the disciples a timeline of the future, but to help bring their thoughts and their assumptions, their hopes and desires into a greater conformity with the will of God.

And so he gives them both purpose and perspective.

Here's what I mean by perspective.

Jesus tells the disciples that before they die, there will be much deception, false prophets, wars, famines, natural disasters, and persecutions.

We see this in chapter 24, in verses four to seven.

Jesus replied to them, Watch out that no one deceives you.

For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Messiah, and they will deceive many.

You are going to hear of wars and rumors of war.

See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place.

But the end is not yet.

For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

And then again in verse 9, he explains, There will be tribulations, betrayals, and some of the disciples will be murdered.

Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you.

You will be hated by all nations because of my name.

How's that for perspective?

Jesus is telling them that all these things, the deceptions, uh, the false teaching, the wars, the intrigue, the persecutions, this is the context and the setting in which the disciples are to live out their faith until they die.

In verse 34, Jesus tells the disciples, they will experience all these things.

Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place, meaning all these tribulations and sufferings that surround the temple destruction in 70 AD.

Now we understand from history, and even more importantly, we understand from the book of Acts that Jesus was absolutely correct.

All of those things marked the context and the setting by which the disciples lived and eventually died, awaiting Christ's return.

But these same tribulations, these same persecutions, these same earthquakes and famines and wars, those are things that also characterize the time after the disciples.

It characterizes the time beyond the disciples, and it leads many of us to understand that, like much of the Old Testament prophetic literature, there's a bit of an and both in what Jesus is revealing.

And so the context that surrounds the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, it becomes rather emblematic or typological to what would define the ebb and flow of all history before the time of Christ's return.

This means that Jesus was not only offering uh the disciples some needed perspective, but that he was also providing this same perspective for all of his future disciples, including us.

Deception, false teaching, wars, intrigue, famines, natural disasters, persecutions, betrayals, and even the murder of God's people.

This is what defines the environment in which the church will serve out her purpose until the end.

We all need perspective, not chronology.

It's God's will that his people should suffer and endure for his name's sake.

Philippians 1 29.

For it has been granted to you on Christ's behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him?

That's perspective.

And in addition to perspective, we have purpose.

And so we should ask the question: why does Jesus leave his bride, the church, to endure such tribulation and hardship before the end of all things?

Well, why do we have 2,000 years of church history and wave after wave of suffering, martyrdom, tribulation?

What's the purpose of it?

I thought that if you love somebody, that you are supposed to keep them safe, that you're supposed to keep them comfortable, and you're supposed to make sure that they avoid hardship and difficulty and suffering.

Isn't that what love is?

Well, thank God that the father's love is not so narrowly defined.

We are told in a number of scripture passages that the father loves the son.

Yet in love, he sends the son to suffer and die so that rebel sinners might be brought into the father's love.

That's deep.

God also loves his people.

Jesus loves all whom the Father has given to him.

Love is behind the sending of the Son, and love is behind the Son's going to the cross.

And in turn, according to the mystery and infinite wisdom of God, the suffering and death of God's beloved people, it serves a purpose that actually magnifies and deepens their experience of his love.

It does this by joining them to the Son and joining them to the Son's purpose to redeem sinners from every tribe and tongue and nation.

We can see this good purpose of God to manifest his love through suffering, alluded to in chapter 24, verse 13 and 14.

Have a look.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved, and this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Did you see that?

Did you see the connection that was there?

This gospel will be proclaimed in all the world to all nations.

That's not a command here, that's a fact.

God will do this.

But that gospel proclamation will come through the multitude of God's faithful elect who willingly bear witness to his excellencies and worthiness by holding fast to his word in the face of suffering and tribulation and hardship, even unto death.

The gospel will extend to all peoples and places, and it will be extended through people that look like their savior.

The one who endures to the end will be saved.

What end is that?

He's talking about their death.

Because his people have first received God's love, they hold fast to his word to the end, and this becomes the testimony to the world of God's love.

The Lord calls his people to join him in his redemptive work in all the world by demonstrating the power and beauty of his love in the face of suffering and hatred.

And so from the ascension of the Lord to his glorious return, the name of Jesus Christ will be magnified in all the world, but it will be done through a suffering people who bear his image.

I mean, anyone can worship a God who gives you health and wealth and fame and reputation.

That's easy.

Wow, a new car, that million-dollar house.

Thank you.

You're the best God ever.

But the testimony of God's people throughout all of church history is that you can beat us, you can slander us, you can persecute, you can enslave, we can be stripped of everything.

And we will still praise him.

We will still delight in our God who loved us and by his death granted us eternal life in his presence.

That's our testimony, church.

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ, in him, we have already received something the world and no false God and no false gospel could ever offer.

In Christ, the love of the Father has sent the Son.

The love of the Son took our sins into himself.

The sins that we deserved to experience wrath for.

And he opened our eyes and he made known to us this grace.

And our testimony then on earth is that in Christ alone we already have everything.

That's the gospel.

And it's this gospel that shines brightest in a world where people faithfully endure suffering and hardship and even death with the words on their lips, He is worthy.

Beloved, that's purpose.

His beloved people displaying his glory in all the earth.

And over the past couple weeks, Pastor Doug and Pastor Micah have repeatedly exhorted us to turn our eyes away from seeing this sermon of Jesus as some kind of future prediction to decode and instead to look at it as an application for us to heed.

Last week, Pastor Micah gave three points of application.

They're worth repeating.

As we wait for Christ's return, we are to be anchored in his word.

We are to be alert to his coming and we are to be active in his service.

Now that that's a very long introduction here, but but I think that is going to help us to best feel the kick of this parable from Jesus.

And the parable has one main point.

Christ's return will expose kingdom impostors.

Christ's return will expose kingdom impostors who are not anchored in his word, who are not alert to his coming, and who are not active in his service.

Jesus is informing us through this parable of the reality of the kingdom of God as it exists between his ascension and his return.

That right now there are many who profess to be Christian and are not.

Let's look at our first verse in this text, chapter 25, verse 1.

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom.

Verse 2 five of them were foolish and five were wise.

Now Jesus is building on his previous statements that we've gone over here.

He's explaining that at that time, at the time of his return, when the Son of Man returns at an hour which you do not respect, this is what the kingdom will be like.

There will be kingdom citizens and there will be kingdom imposters.

Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

And we have here an imagery of a bridal party.

These virgins or bridesmaids, they had a serious responsibility.

They were invited to the wedding and they were given the task of being put on display.

They were to be a beautiful procession.

And so their respect and their honor towards the groom's invitation is going to be revealed by their preparedness for this task.

Their job is to make the wedding celebration known to all the people in the community.

Now, in saying that there's ten of them, there may be some intention here by Jesus to highlight the sense of completeness of this group, right?

Ten can be often be used in scripture in a figurative way.

There's ten commandments, that's sort of uh the the gist of the law.

You have ten plagues in Egypt.

Uh, that was really their complete undoing.

You have uh Daniel asking the Babylonian captives for 10 days where he'll eat the grain and avoid uh the pagan food, and 10 days is sort of the complete time for which uh that testing would be revealed.

So there may be some intention here to say uh that here is a picture of all the people who appear or claim to be God's people.

Just something to consider.

In our day, there are many people that say they follow Jesus, there are many people that say they follow God.

We have Roman Catholics, Jehovah's Witness, Mormons, Jews, even Muslims, and of course, there are many so-called evangelical Christians.

Are they all God's people?

How do we know who is really in Christ?

How do we know who are the real God followers?

Well, we learn in this parable that it will be revealed in the end that Christ's return will expose kingdom imposters.

Earlier in Matthew's gospel, he records Jesus speaking this phrase in Matthew 11 19 wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.

All will be revealed in the end.

Now we're still in verse 1, and it's important to note here that all ten of these bridesmates are active, they're not just sitting around.

And this is helping to hammer home one of the key points earlier in Jesus' message about being active in service while waiting.

And yet, five of them are imposters.

Don't be deceived.

Not everyone who is active in service are genuine kingdom citizens.

Not everyone who does Christian things are necessarily Christians.

Verse 3.

When the foolish took their lamps, they didn't take oil with them, but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps.

When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

Jesus has the bird's eye view here.

Jesus knows what's going on.

This is his story.

And he knows right away who the wise ones are and who the foolish ones are.

And yet, within the story itself, there's no hint or suspicion.

The wise bridesmaids are not suspicious.

They're not obviously aware that these other ones are foolish.

It's not clear to them.

Additionally, the big question I think everybody wants to know is what does the oil symbolize?

The difference between the impostors and the genuine bridesmaids is this oil.

The oil burning brightly in the lamps was necessary for the bridal party to be distinct, to be noticeable, to be beautiful.

It was what made them faithful to their responsibility.

They are a procession to be on display and to bear witness to the beauty and the significance of the wedding, as well as the importance of the groom.

So this goes back to the purpose that we spoke of earlier.

True believers not only have a purpose, but they are prepared and they are equipped for that purpose.

They have ample supply.

What do we need to faithfully fulfill our purpose and demonstrate the honor due to our Lord in a corrupt and hostile world?

Well, we need many things.

We need courage, we need boldness, we need patient endurance, we need wisdom.

The list could go on and on.

And the point here is not to try and assign one thing to the oil, but to highlight the fact that the foolish bridesmaids lack.

They are not.

Concerned with the purpose or the honor of the groom.

They're not concerned with endurance.

They're not concerned with extended faithfulness.

And church, we know where to get the kind of courage and strength and endurance that is needed to fulfill our purpose, don't we?

We get it here.

In this word.

This is where we find our strength to fulfill our purpose, to endure to the end.

Amen.

How sad that these five virgins care so little about that purpose given to them.

They sure want to be seen as part of the bridal party, but they want things to be wrapped up quickly.

They don't want to be burdened.

They want to avoid inconvenience.

They just think too little of the groom.

They have some oil.

They would rather masquerade and look the part for a short time than to confess their true lack and go back to the source.

Friends, this book will mess you up.

This will mess up your life.

Many people who claim to be Christians or claim to have God in their life, they don't understand this book.

You can twist it, you can bend it, you can make the Bible say just about anything you want it to say.

But to go back and to humbly read it, to apply yourself to understand it and to sit under its authority is uncomfortable.

It will shipwreck all the lovely dreams and plans that you had for an easy and comfortable life and wonderful retirement.

Because this book is primarily not about us.

It's about Christ, it's about his glory, it's about his majesty, not ours.

And when we are gripped by this word, when we have been so humbled by it that it drives us to not just live for ourselves, but to live for this purpose that He has given us, that He has given us His life and blood in order that we should fulfill this purpose.

And when we humbly submit ourselves to this word, we accept that purpose and we joyfully endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they too may know Christ, that they may see the glory of the groom in our lives.

But that's a stumbling block for many, isn't it?

Because we live in an age where many would rather wear the name of Christ, but flee from any chance for bearing the stars and the sufferings which conform us to his image.

Imposters have no courage, no boldness, no seriousness to the call to shine brightly in a fallen world and to put themselves on display.

Many take the passive view of what it is to be a witness for Jesus.

You'll hear things like, well, you know, if the Lord brings suffering, I hope to endure it.

Is that our approach?

To pursue comfort?

But if consider Paul's command to Timothy as an example for the community in Ephesus, he writes this in 2 Timothy 1.8 don't be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, his prisoner.

Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.

Share in the suffering.

He's not suggesting that Timothy go off and do street preaching in Saudi Arabia.

That's the extreme.

But he's not suggesting the passive approach where you just sit back and pursue comfort.

And maybe if suffering walks through the door, we address it.

He's talking about being intentional in ordering our lives in such a way that our witness bearing results in some degree or another of backlash.

Let me say it another way.

If the choices that we are making with our lives, where we invest our time, our money, our energy, if those choices don't distinguish us from the world in such a way that outsiders take notice and maybe even offense, then we are not part of the bridal procession.

There's a point at which we can know great theology and we can recite wonderful confessions of the faith, and we can call ourselves by his name and yet be about ourselves, our image, our comfort.

Brothers and sisters, the true Christian is not suffering averse and comfort-oriented.

The only distinction that we see here between the wise and the foolish are that the wise ones take oil.

They are taking the groom and their purpose seriously.

Verses 6 to 8.

In the middle of the night there was a shout.

Come out to meet him.

Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.

The foolish ones said to the wise ones, Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.

The wise ones answered, No, there won't be enough for us and for you.

Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.

The groom appears, and all is revealed.

Christ's return will expose kingdom impostors.

The wise virgins cannot help.

It's not that they're unwilling or that they're stingy.

The point is that it's too late.

You can't give away what you need in order to be faithful and remain faithful.

We can't remain faithful if we give away the very essence of that faithfulness.

But we can tell people where to go.

And I'm just gonna add this here.

Brothers and sisters, we need to keep telling people where to go.

We need to keep telling everyone that we love, whether they're Christian or non-Christian, that they need to go to God's word.

They need to go to Christ, they need to trust in this word and this word alone.

And please don't ever give up letting them know where the source is.

Verse 10.

When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.

Later, the rest of the virgins also came and said, Master, Master, open for us.

He replied, Truly I tell you, I don't know you.

That's the kick, isn't it?

The permanence of this parable is meant to be shocking.

The time for the foolish ones to go and buy oil and to be anchored in God's word, to confess their sin, to repent, that time for them has finished.

It's past.

Now we don't know how long this bridal procession was walking and how long they were sleeping, but it gives us an indication that there was time.

There was time for them to go back.

But they pressed on.

They just pressed on.

Maybe they they were hoping that no one would notice.

Maybe they felt embarrassed.

Maybe it was pride that destroyed them.

I don't know.

I imagine it's not easy to stand up and say to a congregation, you know, I've been coming to church for 20 years, or I've been volunteering and helping out in ministry my whole life, but you know what?

I don't really take God's word that seriously.

I'm just kind of living for myself.

I'm checking a few boxes.

That's not easy.

Or maybe they had the feeling of, you know, I'm just not really looking to suffer and do this whole enduring witness thing.

I like Jesus.

I don't want to go to hell, but I'm not willing to make my whole life about it.

Every part of my life.

But this is certain Christ's return will expose kingdom impostors.

This message is for those who sit in churches.

Right now, there are many who profess to be Christians and yet are not known by Christ.

This isn't a message for those outside of the church.

There are those that claim to know the groom, but the groom doesn't know them.

These foolish virgins, uh they're not unbelievers outside of the church.

They look like Christians, they talk like Christians, they may even serve in ministry.

They have some oil.

You want to know how far you can get in looking like a Christian and yet be unconverted and be unsaved and unknown by the groom?

You need look no further than Judas.

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus said, One of you will betray me.

Not a single disciple was like Judas, totally Judas.

They went around one by one.

Surely not I.

Surely not I.

Judas was among those, if you remember, who Jesus sent out to preach the gospel, to heal the sick, and to cast out demons.

On that day, many, many will say, Lord, did we not proclaim the gospel and cast out many demons?

And Jesus will say, I never knew you.

Depart from me, you doers of iniquity.

That's heavy.

Let me close with this.

To those of us who profess to be Christian, are you in Christ?

Are you in Christ?

Are you prepared for his coming in that you take seriously the honor of the bridegroom and the purpose with which you have been entrusted?

On the day of his return, will you, as a result of your faithful witness, have endured suffering and tribulation of some degree or another for his name's sake?

Now again, I'm not saying everyone needs to be a blood martyr.

Some will endure more, some will endure less.

But will you have testified to the magnificent love of God by holding to his word in a fallen and corrupted world to such a degree that persecution, slander, mockery, and evil of some kind has entered into your life because you have followed Christ.

Throughout the New Testament, faithfulness to God's word is inseparably tied to suffering.

Second Timothy 3:12.

2 Timothy 3:12

In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

So I asked you again: are you in Christ?

What occupies and defines your whole life?

Are you caught up in the deceptions of the age, the culture wars, the conspiracies, the false hopes, the messiahs, the politics?

Is that what you're about?

Or are you equipped by and anchored in his word and active in the purpose so that by your death or at his return, you will be found shining brightly and on display in the procession?

Are you anchored in his word?

Are you active in his service?

Are you awaiting his return?

Are you shining brightly in the procession, beloved?

And I know many of you, and you are doing exactly that.

You shine brightly.

Thank you for that.

Thank you that we come home and we can see the procession here.

You keep going because you are beautiful, and Christ sees you, and the groom is honored, and they mock you, and and your and your marriage suffers, and it's hard.

And there are hardships that you endure in order to be faithful and anchored in His Word, in this culture, in this place, and beloved, you are beautiful for that.

It takes wisdom to shine, the wisdom to see before us in all of the options and choices of our life.

How can we use everything that we have to make the groom known and to make the glory of the wedding known to all around us?

It takes wisdom.

It's hard.

How do we use our money and our time?

Where do we choose to live?

What do we choose to do for recreation?

It takes wisdom to know of all of our life's choices and all of the options before us, which of those will bring most maximum glory to Jesus Christ?

Which of those will put us on display as those who can say he is worthy of all things?

And here's a good test for us.

Somewhere between those two extremes I talked about, right?

Right, we're gonna go and street preach in Saudi Arabia.

Don't do that.

And somewhere between, I'm gonna I'm gonna sit and I'm gonna be comfortable and I'm gonna pursue comfort and I'm just gonna wait for suffering to come battering down my door.

Somewhere between those two extremes, we are to live.

And here's the test if in your witnessing for Christ you are pursuing self-promotion or attention, your lamp is not shining.

And on the other hand, if self-preservation and comfort is what's driving your lifestyle choices, friend, you ain't shining.

Now I I'm I'm struggling for illustration here.

Because I don't want anybody to think that that that Pac Kevin, sorry, that's what they call me in Indonesia, Pat Kevin, Pat Kevin is not judging anybody here.

But I'm picking an illustration here.

If you have the means to buy a brand new car and you have a choice between, you know, the souped up, super safe, you know, expensive $70,000 car or the beater, what's driving your decision between the two?

Is Christ part of that?

Is the honor of the bridegroom part of that decision making?

Is his desire that you would shine brightly in this world part of that decision-making process in your life?

Because I can tell you, as one who grew up in this culture, the top of the list for my decision making for many years was what's most comfortable, most efficient, and safest.

Friends, those are anti-gospel categories.

What would it look like if we called one of the elders to sit down with us and have us walk through our personal budgets and finance in order that our financial lives would be better aligned with a kingdom focus?

Ooh.

Kevin, you're crazy.

That's private.

What are you asking us to do?

Uh sort of act like children and call an elder and go through our finances?

Maybe.

But maybe that's an expression, a way in which we take serious our purpose to glorify the groom.

Maybe we need outside eyes to help us, to guide us, to put their finger on things in our life and say, hey, have you considered this?

Hey, maybe this.

That takes real humility.

And we live in a culture that seeps its way into our thinking and doing at every turn.

We need help, brothers and sisters, from one another because the culture around us is constantly trying to get us to be more like them.

But he has appointed us to be on display.

Are you in Christ?

And look, maybe some of us here, uh, you're not in Christ.

And you're here this morning and you don't claim to be a Christian.

First of all, I'm so glad you came.

And I want to point you to Jesus.

I want you to know that following Jesus is really hard, but it's worth it.

And you can experience in Christ a love and a peace that is beyond anything that this world can offer you.

So come and talk to me or pull aside one of the elders of the church after service.

Let us share with you more about what it means to repent from your sins and to trust in Jesus Christ.

I promise you it is glorious and it is painful.

Or maybe there's some sitting here today that profess to be Christian.

But in the hearing of this message, in the hearing of these words from Jesus, it's got you thinking, maybe I'm the foolish virgin.

Maybe that's me.

If I'm being totally honest, maybe I'm not all that serious about Jesus or the calling of a disciple.

Look, I want you to know something.

No one in this building will condemn you.

You will not be ashamed.

You will be lifted up, you will be loved.

You can expect to be surrounded by people that love you and want to point you to Christ and want to celebrate your confession.

Don't wait until Christ returns to examine and to confess the condition of your heart.

Don't wait until it's too late.

Christ's return will expose kingdom impostors.

Brothers and sisters, God has ordained that his church endure and await for his coming in a world full of corruption and hardship.

If we are truly in Christ, we will share in those sufferings to some degree or another.

And if we are faithful to his word, we will be moving in that direction.

And so we wait.

And while we wait, we are to be anchored in his word.

We are to be alert to his coming and we are to be active in his service.

I'm going to pray for us in just a moment, but I want to read for us this verse 13.

And I want us to listen carefully to the final words of this parable.

Therefore, be alert because you don't know either the day or the hour.

Let's pray.

Lord, your word is powerful, and your spirit does bring conviction of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

Thank you for Jesus.

Lord, I pray that you would take this word this morning and that you would seal it on our hearts.

That we would not be the same, Lord, that we would desire to move in the direction of more brightly shining for your glory.

I pray, Lord, that we would move into the direction of displaying.

The riches and glory of the sun all around us, that we would take seriously, Lord, our calling as witnesses, and that we would take seriously that we shine brightest when we are being pressed and stripped and harassed.

And yet we still cry, worthy is the Lamb.

Create in us, Lord, hearts that are pure.

Show us the power of the resurrection.

Allow us, Lord, to enter into the fellowship of his sufferings.

Do this for your glory in Jesus' name.

Amen.