JESUS CALLS US TO BE SPIRITUALLY VIGILANT
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning… because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. – Luke 12:35, 40
Jesus calls His own. He invites us to be a part of His kingdom family for all eternity. He promises to one day return in glory to lead His followers home (John 14:3). Believers live life in light of this promise, this blessed hope.
The gospels record our Lord’s numerous calls for watchfulness and spiritual vigilance. For His return is a certainty but the time of His return is a mystery (Matthew 24:36). It will happen at an hour least expected. Will we be ready?
Many times, Jesus spoke of His Second Coming. The ideas He presented were perhaps too lofty for much of His audience, including His disciples. So He shared this parable to illustrate the need for spiritual readiness…
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. – Matthew 25:1
In biblical times, Jewish marriages were momentous events. The bridegroom journeyed to the home of his betrothed who expectantly awaited his arrival with her bridesmaids. Together, they formed a lighted procession to escort the bride to his home. The wedding then took place, followed by a celebratory feast, often lasting a week.
Jesus is teaching His listeners new facets of the kingdom of heaven. At that time refers to the end of the age and the return of the Son of Man. Jesus is the Bridegroom who comes to carry home His bride, the Church. He escorts His own to heaven for the celebratory wedding feast of the Lamb.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. – v. 2-4
The joyful procession of the Jewish wedding party commonly occurred after sunset… thus the necessity of lamps to light their way. The lamps signify profession of faith, while the oil is the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit and the accepted grace of Christ.
The virgins are differentiated as foolish and wise. The foolish are the outwardly professing Christians whose lamps have little oil or Spirit influence. They attempt to live the Christian life shining by their own power. Theirs is not a true commitment of the heart.
The wise virgins are the inwardly Spirit-led Christians who draw on the Spirit’s power to shine brightly in the world for Christ. They are ever watchful, ever prepared for the coming of their Lord.
The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. – v. 5
The bridegroom is unexpectedly delayed. Our Bridegroom’s return may appear to be a long time in coming, yet it is perfect timing in the mind of God. For He is merciful, wanting none to perish but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
The bridesmaids become weary in waiting and fall asleep. Too often, believers slumber in complacency, forgetting their charge to be spiritually vigilant. The world’s busyness and distractions can demand our attention more insistently.
Yet Jesus is warning us of the dangers of spiritual laziness. He longs for us to awaken from our slumber… to be alert, watchful lest we fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41). To live a life that honors Him so we are always ready to meet Him at His coming.
At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ – v. 6
At last, the bridegroom arrives. The return of Christ will be sudden, visible and unmistakable to all. There will be no doubt. Jesus likens the event to lightning flashing from the east to the west (Matthew 24:27)… seen universally across the world.
Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. – v. 7
Oil lamps require the wicks to be trimmed to allow the flames to burn brightly. Without this step, the lights are dim and often smoky. The virgins are making the most of the light they possess. Believers are careful to keep their lights shining brightly to the end as a beacon to the lost.
The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ – v. 8-9
The wise ones have a reserve of oil, the indwelling Holy Spirit. They are not living for the moment but for eternity, keeping themselves pure, devoted, prepared (2 Peter 3:14). Nor are they living in self-deception or hypocrisy like the foolish. This passage highlights the personal responsibility of salvation.
But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. – v. 10
Jesus invites everyone again and again to the wedding feast of the Lamb at the end of the age. Yet only the ones who accept, the faithful, arrayed in His robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61;10), are welcomed. For we are His own who dwell in the bounty of the Spirit… cleansed and continually filled anew, never coming up empty.
Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ – v. 11-12
Why did Jesus not know these bridesmaids? Because they were never truly His. They lacked the faith to believe.
This parable concerns the return of the Son of Man. Yet it also can be applied to the end of our lives… when Jesus personally calls us home. There will be no time or opportunity for last-minute repentance or conversion. Our readiness today will determine our eternal destiny.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. – v. 13
Be watchful, prepared, faithful. Be on guard against the pleasures and allure of the world. Be at peace with God. That is our charge. For the hour will come upon us all like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Will we be ready?
Eternal Takeaway – The spiritually vigilant will be ready for Jesus’ heavenly call
