“Prepared for the Moment”
Matt. 25:1-13
BePrepared! (vv. 1-7)
Let’s takea look at these ten ladies and their actions and see how they illustrate the main point Jesus makes in this story. This story would have resonated with the hearers of Jesus. It was very common for a bride to have ten bridesmaids who were her friends. These bridesmaids would have been with the bride at her home as they awaited a procession to the groom’s home or to the home of his parents where they would spend their wedding night. The delay in the appearing of the groom to escort them to the banquet would have also been familiar to the hearers of the story because the banquet was often delayed due to negotiations about the dowry between the parents of the bride and groom.
Five of the women had oil flasks to refill the lamps and the other five did not.
Their torches would have become useless after just 15 minutes. Suddenly the groom appears and five of the ladies realize they did not make adequate preparation for his arriving. They had no oil. Without oil, they were not prepared to meet the groom and begin the banquet. So, the main point of the story is: Are you ready to meet Jesus when he appears?
Why SomeAre Not Prepared:
They Give No Thought Past the Moment
They rush out the door and don’t think that the groom might possibly be delayed and that they will be in for a long night. They’re only living for the moment. It’s tragic when we live our lives with no thought for the end. If we live by “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we will die” we will be unprepared. Take inventory of your life right now. Is your time and passion consumed by temporal things? Are you solely living for the next thrill or item on your bucket list?
They AreDistracted
What distracts you? What is going on in your life that would keep you from being ready to meet Jesus today? What if Jesus returned in the next five minutes? What would he find in your life that makes you short on oil?
They Are Not KnownBy the Groom
Link this to SOM- “Lord, did we not…” and Jesus says in Matt. 7:23, “I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”
A relationship with Jesus is demonstrated by the fruit that is born in one’s life.
If the fruit of your life looks like a person who is more absorbed with self and worldliness rather than Christ and holiness- that’s because you are that person.
The Critical Moment Reveals the Fruit
We often times don’t know who is prepared to meet the Lord until you squeeze them with the crises of life.
YouAreResponsiblefor Your Preparation (vv.8-9)
A relationship with Jesus is not something that is transferable- a person cannot get by on another’s faith. When the unprepared girls realize they have no oil, they ask the prepared girls for some of theirs. These girls say that they will not have enough to share and that they must get their own. We might think that these girls should have shared their oil because that would be the selfless thing to do. But Jesus is teaching a spiritual lesson here. On the day of his coming, every person must stand on his own.
Some people think they have genuine faith because they have been exposed to Christianity all of their lives, their dad was a deacon in the church, or they were on the “cradle roll.” But “spiritual osmosis” does not exist. You cannot get into heaven just because you spent your whole life close to believers. You must have your own, personal faith in Christ. Neither can you make the excuse to God that you didn’t have faith because of the hypocrisy of others. We are all responsible for ourselves to be prepared!
Lost Opportunities Cannot BeRegained(vv.10-12)
The foolish women went out to buy the oil, but while they were gone, the groom appeared. They were too late. The time to have bought oil had come and gone. They come to the banquet anyway and knock on the door, but the groom will not allow them in. So it will be when Jesus returns to the earth. Those who are prepared will be allowed into the banquet for all eternity, but those who are not prepared will be shut out for all eternity.
You may think you have time, but then again you may not.
Are you prepared? If not, the time to get prepared is now.