(Matthew 25:1-13 KJV) Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. [2] And five of them were wise, and five [were] foolish. [3] They that [were] foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: [4] But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. [5] While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. [6] And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. [7] Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. [8] And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. [9] 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. [10] 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. [11] Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. [12] But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. [13] Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Are You Watching For Jesus?

As I prepared this message, I studied a sermon “The Ten Virgins” developed by a dear saint now with Jesus, Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843). He could be known as the Billy Graham of Scotland. Though he only lived to be two months short of 30 years old, he loved the Lord Jesus with all his heart. He glorified Jesus in his life, and went to be with Jesus unexpectedly … just as we all will go. Jesus told us:

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

When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven in this parable, He was not talking of the future Heaven every believer in Christ will be in. He was speaking of the Kingdom of God on the earth, the Church. This message is a message to the assembled Church. Jesus told His Church to “WATCH”. To watch for His return. To be diligent. In Matthew 24:42 Jesus warned:

“Watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. … Be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect Him!”

When we get to Heaven, we will glorify Jesus for all eternity. The Church should be watching, and be always ready to worship and glorify Him. John the Revelator looked into Heaven, and saw this picture …

(Revelation 5:8-13 NKJV) (they) … fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS. [9] And they sang a new song, saying: “YOU {JESUS} ARE WORTHY to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, [10] And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” [11] Then I looked, and I heard the VOICE OF MANY angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the NUMBER OF THEM WAS TEN THOUSAND TIMES TEN THOUSAND, AND THOUSANDS OF THOUSANDS, [12] saying with a loud voice: “WORTHY IS THE LAMB WHO WAS SLAIN TO RECEIVE POWER AND RICHES AND WISDOM AND STRENGTH AND HONOR AND GLORY AND BLESSING!” [13] And EVERY CREATURE which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power [Be] to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

When the Church gathers, those who are truly members of the Kingdom of Heaven gather to worship Jesus. He saved us. He gave us life and grace. We praise Him.

The parable that Jesus speaks to us today is the Parable of the Ten Virgins. It is very much a parable for every Church today. In the parable Jesus shows us a gathering with two classes of people. In every Church gathered there are two classes of people. Those who are gathered – the Ten Virgins – profess to serve the Bridegroom. The Church belongs to Jesus. The Church exists for Jesus. The Bible says:

Ephesians 5:25 … Christ LOVED THE CHURCH, and GAVE HIMSELF up FOR HER

The Ten Virgins are the gathered Church. But we read:

Matthew 25:2 five of them were WISE, and five [were] FOOLISH.

The “WISE” are those who know the Bridegroom by faith. They have heard the Scripture. It is the …

2 Timothy 3:15 … Holy Scriptures, which are ABLE TO MAKE YOU WISE FOR SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS

The “WISE Virgins” have heard the Gospel message, and believed the Scripture as honest and true. The “WISE” have entered into a New Covenant with Christ Jesus (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Luke 22:20; Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24).

But then there are the “FOOLISH Virgins”. In the Bible, the word “FOOL” or “FOOLISH” is not an insult, but a diagnosis of the unbeliever. The “FOOLISH Virgins” were in the same gathering with the Wise who were saved. The Bible says:

Psalm 14:1 The FOOL says IN HIS HEART, ‘There is no God’

Outwardly the Foolish Virgin attends the meetings, but they never apply the Word of God to their lives. Jesus says:

(Matthew 7:26 ESV) … everyone who HEARS THESE WORDS OF MINE and DOES NOT DO THEM will be LIKE A FOOLISH MAN …

When you say “I believe”, yet your actions declare “There is no God”, this is the life of the Foolish Virgin. Jesus called the rich man who, prospering under the blessings of God, worshiped money rather than the Lord Who allowed him his riches. God told that rich man, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you. Who will now enjoy your riches?” (Luke 12:20).

In every Church around the world in every age, there are WISE and FOOLISH. None of us know when the Bridegroom will come. If He comes in the next ten days, the next ten hours, the next ten minutes, the next ten seconds …

Will Jesus receive you as a Wise Virgin,
Or lock you out of Heaven saying
I know you not

Let Us Heed The Bridegroom’s Call And
Let Him Make Us Wise Unto Salvation

Matthew 25:2 And five of them were WISE

Those who are God’s children by faith in Christ are the Wise Virgins in this parable. They have heard the call of Jesus. They have heard the message of Calvary. The world rejects the message of the Cross. The Bible says:

(1 Corinthians 1:18-21 LSB) For the WORD OF THE CROSS IS FOOLISHNESS TO THOSE WHO ARE PERISHING, but TO US WHO ARE BEING SAVED, IT IS THE POWER OF GOD. [19] For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.” [20] Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? [21] For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not [come to] know God, God was well-pleased, through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe.

There is the wisdom of God, and
there is the wisdom of this world.

The WISDOM OF THIS WORLD says “You are enough. God loves everyone just as they are. All people are God’s children. You need not repent – just live your life the way you want. If you are a “good person”, God will let you into Heaven. The Cross of Calvary was a mistake. Jesus Christ was unjustly martyred, and His death accomplishes nothing!”.

But the WISDOM OF GOD says something else. The devil and the world will lie to you, but the Bible will not. God says that apart from Jesus Christ we are all sinners, separated from God. We are born into this world “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Every righteous act that we try to do for God on our own is considered by God to be “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). The Bible condemns humanity at large, saying …

(Romans 3:10-12 LSB) … THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; [11] THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; [12] ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME WORTHLESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.

The worldly religious person looks like a Wise Virgin, but they are in fact Foolish Virgins. They – like Nicodemus – thought that their Biblical education brought them into union with God. But this is not true. As Jesus told Nicodemus,

(John 3:3, 6 LSB) Truly, truly, I say to you, UNLESS ONE IS BORN AGAIN he cannot see the kingdom of God. … 6 That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit … You MUST BE BORN AGAIN

We are born into this world Foolish. We must be born again. We must hear the Gospel message. We must come to Calvary, realizing we need to be re-created. It is God the Holy Spirit Who causes us to be born again. The Bible says:

(1 Peter 1:3, 23 LSB) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has CAUSED US TO BE BORN AGAIN to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, … [23] for YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, [that is], THROUGH THE LIVING AND ENDURING WORD OF GOD.

It is the Word of God, the Gospel that you must hear. You must hear the CALL of JESUS. It is the Lord – the Bridegroom – Who calls us out of this world and into His Kingdom. Our Lord Jesus said:

(John 6:44, 65 LSB) NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS THE FATHER WHO SENT ME DRAWS HIM; and I will raise him up on the last day. … [65] And He was saying, For this reason I have said to you, that NO ONE CAN COMER TO ME UNLESS IT HAS BEEN GRANTED HIM FROM THE FATHER from the Father.

God awakens us to our need. God defines us as Foolish, but calls us to the Wisdom of God. The Cross of Jesus draws people to the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who are Wise Virgins have seen Jesus “LIFTED UP, DRAWING ALL MEN TO HIMSELF” (John 12:32). We are called out of the foolishness of this world and into the Kingdom of Christ. Paul wrote:

(1 Corinthians 1:26-31 NKJV) For you see YOUR CALLING, brethren, that NOT MANY WISE ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]. [27] But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; [28] and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, [29] that no flesh should glory in His presence. [30] But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption– [31] that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

God calls the broken. He calls the less than. He calls the disenfranchised. He calls the poor. Didn’t Jesus say in

Matthew 11:5, “The POOR have the Gospel preached to them”.

And again, Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the POOR IN SPIRIT, for THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

The broken are those who come to Jesus. Those who believe they have it all together, the rich of this world, the lovely, the best the world has to offer are the foolish Virgins. Jesus chose “the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen”. These are the wise Virgins, the ones who will be in eternity with Christ. But those who seek religion, who divide their hearts, who are politically correct, who have great numbers of followers on social media – they think they need nothing. Refusing to repent and call upon the Name of the Lord, they pridefully refuse the Word preached. Jesus prayed:

(Matthew 11:25 NKJV) … Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from [the] wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.

To those willing to humble themselves and REPENT, coming to Jesus, God will save them by His Holy Spirit. There can be no salvation without the Holy Spirit, and there can be no Holy Spirit without humble submission to Jesus. Jesus stood up and cried out:

(John 7:37-39 NKJV) … If anyone thirsts, LET HIM COME TO ME AND DRINK. [38] “HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME, as the Scripture has said, OUT OF HIS HEART WILL FLOW RIVERS OF LIVING WATER.” [39] But THIS HE SPOKE CONCERNING THE SPIRIT, whom those believing in Him would receive…

The Wise And The Foolish Have Lamps
But ONLY The Wise Can Serve The Bridegroom

Matthew 25:3-4They that [were] FOOLISH took their lamps, and TOOK NO OIL with them: [4] But the WISE TOOK OIL IN THEIR VESSELS with their lamps.

As I said before, in every Church there are WISE – who are saved by grace, born again of the Holy Spirit – and FOOLISH. The FOOLISH are much like the Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, and Chief Priests who attacked Jesus and His disciples when He walked the earth.

Preach! The FOOLISH are self made people. They study the Bible, and know much scripture – but they do not know its Author. They know the Law of Moses, but not the Son of God. They take Communion with us in a sanctified manner, but in their hearts they are just eating hard bread and grape juice. They may have gone under the waters of Baptism, but they never saw their baptism as a death to self and a commitment to the Resurrected Christ. They sing the hymns with us, perhaps with beautiful voices. But their hearts do not praise Jesus in the singing. The Foolish Virgins are more concerned with someone sitting in their seat than they are with the visitor’s eternal destiny. Like Judas Iscariot, they appear to walk with Jesus. But they steal from God’s mission just as Judas did (John 12:6). When I was in the military we always had to be on the lookout for IEDs, “Individual Explosive Devices”. Hidden in the sand of the desert, or along places where soldiers could walk, these IEDs if met with could kill. Many of my fellow soldiers have fallen under IEDs. The devil has IEDs – Foolish Virgins – he plants in the Church. The Foolish do not love people, nor the Lord Jesus. They love their own comfort. They love how they look. Jesus said of these IEDs:

(Matthew 23:27-28 LSB) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. [28] In this way, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but INWARDLY YOU ARE FULL OF HYPOCRISY AND LAWLESSNESS.

In Jesus’ parable, please note that both the FOOLISH AND THE WISE took lamps with them:

Matthew 25:3-4 They that [were] FOOLISH took their lamps, and TOOK NO OIL WITH THEM: [4] But THE WISE TOOK OIL in their vessels with their lamps.

But the FOOLISH “TOOK NO OIL WITH THEM”. What does the oil represent?

The “OIL” represents the Holy Spirit of God.

In the Old Testament Priests were anointed with oil, symbolizing the Holy Spirit sanctifying and separating them to God’s service (Leviticus 8:12). Oil was symbolic of the blessing of God’s Spirit bringing unity among the congregation of Heaven. The Psalmist wrote:

(Psalm 133:1-2 LSB) Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For BROTHERS TO DWELL TOGETHER IN UNITY! [2] It is like the GOOD OIL UPON THE HEAD, Coming down upon the beard, Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

Our Lord Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit Who indwelt Him as “ANOINTING ME”. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because HE HAS ANOINTED ME” (Luke 4:18). The Apostles said:

Acts 10:38 God ANOINTED JESUS OF NAZARETH WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT and power

The Christian is “Wise” because God saved them. Repenting, We call on Jesus for salvation. Hearing, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to us, causing us to be born again. The Spirit of God inhabits us, and will not leave us. He is the Oil in our lamps, an Oil that the Foolish rejected when they refused the call of Christ to salvation.

Robert Murray McCheyne said in a sermon before he passed into glory:

“God is light, and in Him is no darkness. Those of you who have fled to Christ are becoming like God. You have got His Spirit. You are being changed into His image. You have one will with God. You fall in with God’s purposes in this world. His joy is your joy. You that are mere professors have none of God’s likeness.”

Those who are Christ’s have oil in their lamps. The Holy Spirit indwells them. The Apostle said,

(Romans 8:8-9 LSB) … those who are in the flesh are NOT ABLE TO PLEASE GOD. [9] However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU. But if ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE DOES NOT BELONG TO HIM.

The Holy Spirit teaches the wise Virgin the Word of God. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 14:26 But the Comforter, WHICH IS THE HOLY GHOST, whom the Father will send in my name, HE SHALL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 16:13 when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH

The Holy Spirit assures the wise Virgins that they belong to the Bridegroom. The Spirit leads those who are Christ’s.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THEY ARE THE SONS OF GOD.

Are You Wise Or Foolish? Today Is The Day To Come To Christ. Today Is The Day Of Salvation.

The Bridegroom tarries, and we do not know when He is going to come. Some of you may not be with us tomorrow. Are you ready? Let’s look at the parable once more:

Matthew 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, THEY ALL SLUMBERED {nystazō, were on the nods} AND SLEPT.

Both the WISE as well as the FOOLISH Virgins “SLUMBERED AND SLEPT”. They were supposed to be waiting and working for the Bridegroom, shining their lamps for the world to see. But the Foolish had no oil, and the Wise got groggy. They stopped serving as they should. They began to nod, to get comfortable, to enjoy their Church status, their soft seats. Like the church at Ephesus they forgot that their purpose is to love Jesus and to willingly serve Him until He calls us home.

(Revelation 2:4-5 LSB) But I have [this] against you, that you have left your first love. [5] ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and DO THE DEEDS YOU DID AT FIRST. But if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent.

If we love the Bridegroom, we must not slumber. We are to “redeem the time, for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). We are to keep our lamps lit, serving Jesus through the power of His Holy Spirit and His Scripture. We are not to be “weary in well doing” (2 Thessalonians 2:13), but are to “do all things heartily, as to the Lord” (Colossians 3:23).

But even the Wise Virgins slept. But if we fail Him, He remains faithful. We read:

Matthew 25:6-8 … at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him. [7] Then ALL THOSE VIRGINS AROSE, and trimmed their lamps. [8] And the foolish said unto the wise, GIVE US OF YOUR OIL; for our lamps are gone out.

The Wise Virgins had oil. The Foolish had no oil, and demanded oil from the Wise. Beloved, I cannot save you. I cannot give you of the Holy Spirit. I have to tell you, “go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves”. You have to call upon the Name of Jesus for salvation. You have to repent NOW, THIS DAY. If not, one day you will stand at a Great White Throne. You will depart that Throne, and step into a Lake of Fire that burns forever. I can’t save you from that. I can only tell you to repent, and throw yourselves on the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ RIGHT NOW. Tomorrow may be too late. The Foolish Virgins waited too long. When the day of salvation was passed, they cried out “Lord, Lord, open to us. But He answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”

May God the Holy Spirit move on your hearts today. Amen.