DON'T MISS THE WEDDING

BURIED TREASURE: Exploring The Parables Of Jesus

by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.

Life In Christ Center, 3095 Cherry Heights Road, The Dalles, Oregon 97058

(541) 296-1136

The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this article, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.

*Permission is given for publication of excerpts and condensed versions.

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27.

DON'T MISS THE WEDDING

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom, cometh; go ye out to meet him.

Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

--Matthew 25:1-13

DON'T MISS THE WEDDING

The Lord's public confrontation with the religious rulers was over. The countdown to the cross was on. Jesus was ready for His great ordeal. But first He must impress an important truth upon His disciples.

So He took them to the mount of Olives for a special discourse about the future, including His second coming.

In the course of His teaching, Jesus gave them several parables. All have one central theme: keep awake and ready. Some time could elapse before the Master returns. There would be a tendency to become lax and careless, a tendency that must be overcome at all costs. But the Lord will return, and suddenly. It could be at any time; so be ready, for only the ones who are ready will enter the kingdom.

First, there is the parable of the porter (gate-keeper), recorded in Mark 13:34-37.

For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

The message of this parable is that we are to be ready always and at our post of duty.

This is followed by the parable of the man returning from the wedding. It is recorded in Luke 12:35-38.

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

Again, the message is the same: be awake and ready to receive the Master whenever He arrives, no matter what the hour.

Then Jesus gave the parable of the master of the house, who kept constant vigil because he did not know when the thief might come. We find it in Matthew 24:43-44 and Luke 12:39,40. Here is Luke's account:

And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.

Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

This parable continues the same message: be vigilant the Lord will return when least expected.

Then, at some length, the Lord dealt specifically with the problem of abused authority in the parable of the good and evil servants (Matthew 24:45-51 and Luke 12:41-48). Again, here is Luke's record:

Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that be will make him ruler over all that he hath.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

And that servants, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whosoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

In this parable Jesus warned the disciples--and us--of the danger of misusing long-term positions of leadership. This danger arises when we lose sight of the imminence of the Lord's return. The message is especially for the clergy--do not take leadership authority in the kingdom for granted, and do not assume it to be your personal possession to be exercised in an autocratic manner and for your own indulgence.

Ministers must keep constantly mindful that they are accountable to the true Lord of the Church, who could come at any time. It could be that Peter was remembering this day and its parables when later on he wrote to ministers, "Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3).

Subsequent history has demonstrated how appropriate and necessary is our Lord's warning. From Diotrephes (see 3 John 9,10) on down through centuries of oppressive religious authority to present-day opportunists, many evil servants have begun to beat their fellowservants and to eat and drink with the drunken. This should cause any minister to think twice before yielding to the temptation to abuse God's people and misuse his ministry for his own gratification.

These parables all lead up to the parable of the ten virgins and the parable of the talents. In these the message is driven home with dramatic force--"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 25:13).

Let us examine specifically the parable of the ten virgins.

Perhaps more than any other, this parable has been abused by over-interpretation. We must remember that parables are intended to convey one central message. So is this one. "Be ready" Jesus is saying.

The setting is a wedding, a time of joy, and excitement. It should have been and could have been a happy occasion for everyone.

We notice that the bride is left completely out of the picture. This fact should caution us not to press the details of the parable.

Jesus tells us that there were ten virgins in a wedding entourage. Five were wise; five were foolish. The foolish five were foolish not because of what they did. They did what they did because they were foolish. They were thoughtless girls and they were behaving accordingly.

The wise ones took extra oil with them so their lamps would not go out, just in case the bridegroom did not appear as soon as expected. Smart girls!

The foolish made two mistakes (and the foolish are still making them). They did not get enough oil to last until the bridegroom came, no matter how long that might be. And when they should have realized that they might not have enough, instead of going out and getting what they needed in time to be back and ready with lamps burning, they just went to sleep with the rest.

If they had taken enough, they would have been ready. If they had been awake and thoughtful, they could have gone and returned in time. They did neither. So they were doubly foolish.

All slumbered and slept. The wise slept, but at least they had made a decision that would carry them through. The foolish slept, even though they had not prepared adequately. Someone has said that they were not unprepared, but under-prepared. They were like the man who set out to build, but did not sit down first and count the cost (Luke l4:28-30).

It is easy to stay awake if we know the big event we are anticipating is going to happen right away. Temporary enthusiasm is sufficient in such cases. But when time goes by without anything happening, when the necessities of daily living push us into a routine and occupy our time and attention, the tendency for all of us is to get sleepy. Then, as Calvin says, perseverance is what succeeds. And, we might add, perseverance depends on preparation.

Now, what was the main reason the foolish virgins missed the marriage feast? They were late. When the bridegroom came, they were not present and prepared to welcome him. And why were they not present? They did not get enough oil in the first place.

Many who profess to be Christians are merely fooling around. They are playing with God. Unless they wake up, they will find themselves on the outside, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us." The foolish in heart will never make it.

When the heavenly Bridegroom is announced it will be time right then to go to meet Him. After the midnight cry there will be no time to secure what we need and no place to get it. And we cannot get it from someone else, for there is no second-hand experience with God. Get it for yourself. Get it now and get what will carry you through until Jesus comes. Get the real thing! Keep walking in the Spirit. Continue in the grace of God. Stay put and stay awake!

Jesus said, "And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut" (verse 10). It will be too late after the Bridegroom comes. "Behold, now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

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28. Use It Or Lose It

Buried Treasure index

introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Bibliography