Parable of the Wise & Foolish Virgins

In the parable of the unwise virgins, Jesus makes a rather frightening statement. I do not know you may know their names. They know where they live, and maybe aware of their preaching their service and all the rest. Jesus I had never knew you saving away what was missing in the lives of the virgins were salvation, saving faith, welcome to Renewing Your Mind of this Thursday on the imagine for a moment you would feel when Jesus spoke those words to you. You would assumed you were living for God doing all the right things, only to having say.

I do not know you, something we all need to consider this Dr. RC scroll explains the parable of the foolish virgins at the end of the 24th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, Jesus gives a sober warning to those who are with them about being prepared for his comment where he says in verse 44 therefore be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Immediately following this warning, Jesus gives three parables. First of all, the parable of the faithful servant and the evil servant than then next the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, and then after that, he concludes with the parable of the talents were going to look in this series. At the last two of these three beginning now with the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, which I personally think is the scariest of all of the parables of Jesus that are recorded for us in the New Testament so let's look first at the content itself of this parable is found in Matthew 25, beginning in verse one, then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard. Behold, the bridegroom is coming go out to meet him than all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out the wise answered, saying no less.

There should not be enough for us and you would rather go to those who sell, and buy for yourself while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us but he answered and said assuredly, I say to you I do not know you watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. This lamp was an actual lamp from Palestine from the first century type of lamps that were characteristically used at events such as our recorded here in this parable and this lamp is only about the size of the palm of my hand.

That's how large these lamps where they were fairly flat and that there is a empty space in there for a bit of oil and the wick floated on the top and the wick would then be ignited and the lights would be used. To see in the dark. Nothing could possibly be more useless to lighten one's way in the darkness than a piece of pottery called a lamp without any oil in it. It's like having a beautiful modern electric lamp, but no light bulbs to put in it. So were told this story of a wedding, and there are 10 virgins who were described here. Five of being wise, and five being fully but what we know about these virgins is this, that this was not a parable like we saw with diabetes and Lazarus of the difference between a beggar and a pagan wealthy person. Rather, all 10 of these women were invited to the wedding and in the ancient world this would be the case where they would be invited to by the bride herself and these women would be like ladies in waiting, and they would help prepare the bride for this glorious moment when she would be united in marriage with her bride groom and obviously it was a joyous occasion would be celebrated to a great extent and to have an invitation to the wedding was an honor, but they were not only invited to the wedding, but they were part of the bridal party so that there status at the wedding was the inner circle.

Obviously this parable is speaking about the coming of the bridegroom, who is the master who is the Son of Man. He is Christ and the coming of the bridegroom to celebrate his wedding with his church is, I think the basic point of the parable with the problem is half of these women who are in the inner circle of attendees are deemed to be foolish, as distinguished from the wise one, and the reason they are foolish is that they came on prepared to this wedding only to stop for just a second and again emphasize what kind of people are being described here. These are clearly people in the church, people who were part of the congregation of the people of God in order to be a member of the church. For the most part throughout church history. A person has to make a profession of faith in Christ.

So I think it's safe to assume that all 10 of these women had made their profession of faith in Christ, so that were talking now about professed Christians inside the church, not pagans out on the street people who were try to crash the wedding party people from other nations. These again. Our friends of the bride and they are here expecting to participate in this joyous wedding feast. When the bride groom, again, the basic difference between the two groups is that the wise virgins brought not only lamps but they also brought oil for their lamps. As I said, nothing is more useless than a lamp andwithout oil, the others brought their lamps but did not bring the required provision of oil and as it turned out, the wedding was delayed as the groom did not get there at the expected time and while they were in this interim, they were waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom who was delayed, they fell asleep. And at midnight they were roused by the public announcement behold, the bridegroom is coming and the story says that the five virgins who were wise immediately trimmed their lamps. They were ready to move into wherever the ceremony was about to take place. It was inside of a building of some kind, but the foolish virgins realize that they did not have what was needed which was oil for their lamps. Now, throughout church history, there been all kinds of attempts to interpret this parable as an allegory, and when we first started our study of the parables. I said that there were occasions where Jesus himself gave an allegorical interpretation to a parable such as the parable of the sower, but for the most part, the safest way to interpret parables is to look for one poignant meaning of the parable and not get lost in trying to assign a particular significance to every detail in the story. If you do that you will usually end in serious confusion. Nevertheless, when it's obvious that at the center of the story. There was a significant lack in one group that was not in the other group and the lack in the story is defined as the oil for the lamps people want to say, well, what is the significance of the oil.

Historically, the Roman Catholic Church is identify the oil with good works that are necessary to be added to faith in order for a person to the say Protestants in many occasions have looked at the oil as a symbol of the Holy Spirit because in biblical literature. Oil is frequently used as a symbol for the Holy Spirit and the idea here is what these foolish virgins were missing was the Holy Spirit know whether there is an allegorical point there or not.

One thing is absolutely clear what they were missing. Weather was a Holy Spirit or something related to the Holy Spirit. We know that whatever it was that they were missing one exclude them from the wedding feast again on the surface. It's oil but Jesus, of course, was speaking more deeply about that because of the grim conclusion he comes with respect to those foolish virgins after the bridegroom arrives after midnight. The wise virgins. As we read trimmed their lamps and were able to go in to the sanctuary or wherever they marriage patient was being held, whereas the foolish virgins lacking what was needed. Try to negotiate with the wise virgins and say how about letting us have some of your extra oil because wave plumb Ron out here will be stumbling around in the dark and let you give us some of your oil, said sorry there's not enough for us to keep our lamps lighted and to give you enough to get your lamp sponsoring perfectly. The only thing you can do is to hurry up and go into the town and find somebody that sells oil and quiet and then come back and hope that you make it back before it's too late. And so the foolish follow the advice of the wives at that point, which is an extraordinary thing distant mentioned because that doesn't usually happen and they went their way to go and purchase oil in the moment of truth K and the person of the bridegroom. He came, he went into the wedding. When this was the custom, the doors to the outside were closed shot walked in these people who were supposedly part of the honored guests were shut out, of this joyous wedding celebration and when the foolish virgins came back and realize that the wedding had started.

They found that the door the try to get in the door was locked and knocking on the door and there shouting through the door, interrupting the marriage ceremony site.

Lord Lockhart open to us. Years ago I preached a sermon at St. Andrews on what I call the double marks which was an occasion where there about 15 times in all of sacred Scripture or somebody is addressed by the repetition of their name Abram labrum Jacob. Jacob, my father, my father Elisha says to Elijah and throughout the Scriptures, Martha, Martha, Saul, Saul, what he persecute me Absalom and Absalom, so that when the name is repeated. It was a Jewish idiom to express personal intimacy. So when the foolish virgins, and the door is locked. They don't just cry in the night Lord, but they say Lord, Lord, you're my Lord I wanted to be here expected to be here for your wedding in your my Lord will you know me, I have an intimate knowledge of you a close personal relationship with you. Again, I'm not a gatecrasher alien or foreigner trying to come into this wedding has a success assuredly. Certainly I do not know you.

Bridegroom said you may have invitations you may have lamps without oil and you call me Lord, Lord, I don't know you know you just go back earlier in Matthew's gospel to the sermon on the mount that ends in a similar manner where Jesus says in chapter 7 verse 21. Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven. Many, but a few but some large number will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, haven't we prophesied in your life. I was a preacher. I was a schoolteacher.

I was an elder. I was a deacon. I did all these things cast out demons in your name. The many wonders in your name and then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. You see the parallel here at the wedding. The bridegroom says I don't know you here earlier the end of the sermon on the Mount, Jesus said he will say I never knew you felt like I knew you, and then cut you for my Christmas card list or forgot your name but you were never known by me, but obviously when the bridegroom says this represents Christ is not talking about the absence of cognitive information in the mind of the bridegroom is not like Jesus is saying I never was acquainted with you, I never saw your name on the list of the church and run the role thereof is using the word to know here not simply in the cognitive sense than the personal filial sense the redemptive sense. He may know their names may know where they live. He may be aware of their preaching their service and all the rest.

Jesus I had never knew you saving only what was missing in the lives of the virgins was salvation.

Saving faith obviously didn't have the regenerative power of the Holy Ghost. If they lacked saving faith because if they had saving faith even if they would've been late or delayed. The Lord would've said.

Shame on you for bring light. Shame on you for being so foolish to forget your oil but he wouldn't say I don't know who you are. This parable friends, not about pagans. It's about professors and by professors I don't name people who teach in the University talking about those who have made a profession of faith but who do not possess what they profess. If we tie this to Matthew seven.

Jesus says this is not going to be a handful of exceptional people who have made false professions with their number will be many. So in the time that I have left in the session, I have to ask you by way of application which group you identify with.

If your church members.

If you've made professions of faith. It would be natural for you to identify with the wise versions and maybe even looking the staying at the fools who didn't bring any oil in the what if you're one of the foolish thing is so clear about this, and this morning that Jesus gives us that when the door shut. It's too late, and he's talking about his coming, which can be in one of two ways is final coming where there will be people in the church. He won't know. But if he delays another 50 years or 100 years or hundred and 10 years. Which one of us will have a private judgment. Chris appointed wants to die and then the judgment so the question is when I close my eyes, and death and breathe my last breath on this earth. Next place I will see will be that of Jesus, and he may say who are you outer darkness. It's too late. The doors shut for my plea with anybody. Here's my voice and this parable that you will take the weight of it very seriously and examine yourself to make sure that you have saving faith and that you manifest the fruit of that saving face that are not just relying upon church membership or being in a Bible class or even involved in Christian service. Everyone who makes a profession of faith is invited to the wedding face of the land. Not everyone will enjoy it.

This is a scary scary parable called to wake us up if we have a false sense of security. Think about that for a moment. Church membership doesn't save us serving others doesn't save us Bible study doesn't save us. This is a sobering message from Dr. RC Sproul today on Renewing Your Mind and and I echo Marcy's plea here. We should all examine ourselves to see whether were in the faith. We are studying the parables of Jesus here on Renewing Your Mind and that they provide us with insight into the kingdom of God.

We learned about how were to live outward to prioritize our lives and what we can expect in the judgment to come.

This series covers 12 of Jesus parables and would like to send it to you in a two DVD set for your donation of any amount you can reach us by phone at 800-435-4343 or you can go online to make a request@renewingyourmind.org.

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