BE READY WHEN HE COMES
In
recent years, there has been heightened alertness and renewed interest in the
end times. We Christians frantically connect natural catastrophes and certain
global events to the end-time prophecies in the Bible. “U.S. politics continue to be a chaotic subject, and a new
poll finds that most Americans are rapidly losing faith in their country’s
leaders. Over seven in 10 people say no one they trust will save them from an
end-of-the-world event.”[1]
“Nearly four in ten Americans say we’re
“living in the end times,” says a poll taken against a stark backdrop of
climate change, the pandemic, nuclear brinkmanship, and doomsday cults. A Pew
Research Center survey of more than 10,000 adults, conducted in April of 2022,
found that 39 percent called these the “end times,” while 58 percent were
assured that humanity was not moving swiftly towards catastrophe.”[2]
Many have predicted when the world will end.
But none of those predictions have
come true. For followers of Christ, wars and catastrophic events shouldn’t
frighten us. We can face them confidently because our Lord Jesus Christ
forewarned us and gave us signs that would signal the end times. Today’s
scripture passage of the parable of the ten virgins will help us address these
crucial questions of when the end of the world occurs and when Jesus will
return to the earth. Given His glorious second coming; how are we to Be
Ready When He Comes? Matthew 25:1-13.
The discourse on the end of the age
began when Jesus left the temple and was walking away. His disciples drew his
attention to its buildings. He said, “Not one stone here will be left on
another; everyone will be thrown down. The disciples asked him privately, “When
will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and
of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:1-3). He gave them not one but several signs
to alert them about His second coming to the earth.
I. The
Final Sign of Jesus’ Second Coming to the Earth
In front of our eyes, the end-time
signs of famines, earthquakes, wars, increased wickedness, and people turning
away from the faith are happening. Like the birth pains of a woman, they will
only increase. The final sign is yet to happen: the sign of the Son Of Man’s
(Jesus Christ) appearance in heaven. Matt 24:30. Let’s imagine what that might
look like.
When Jesus first came to the earth,
he entered as a helpless baby. His birth was a relatively obscure event in the
little town of Bethlehem. Apart from the vast numbers of angels, it was first witnessed
by Mary and Joseph, his parents, and a few shepherds. But Jesus’ second coming will not be a small event. It
will be a glorious return that will impact people of all nations. The whole
world will see it. All major and minor news networks will cover this
spectacular event. This was how the prophet Daniel predicted His coming. Daniel
7:13-14.
“In my vision at night, I looked,
and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of
heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all nations and
peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion that will not pass away, and his Kingdom is one that will never
be destroyed.” Jesus will fulfill this prophecy on his return.
Jesus explained how his return would
be witnessed by many. Matthew 24:30, “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And
then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the
Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”
These two prophecies will help us understand that Jesus will come as a King
with the power to establish his Kingdom and judge all nations with authority.
No one can predict the
date of his return. All Christ said about his return was, “That day or hour, no
one knows.” He told the parable of the Ten Virgins to prepare his disciples for
his imminent yet unexpected return.
II. The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-31)
This parable affirms the intimate
relationship of God as a husband with his people, Israel, in the OT and the
relationship of Jesus with his bride, the Church. Isaiah 54:5, “For your Maker
is your husband the Lord Almighty is his name the Holy One of Israel is your
Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” The gospels depict Christ as
the bridegroom. (Jn 3:27-30, Matt 9:15, Mk 2:19-20). The apostle Paul compares
the Church to the bride of Christ (Eph 5:25-32).
In the Expositor’s Bible Commentary,
D.A. Carson describes the setting of the parable as a first-century Jewish
wedding: “Normally the bridegroom with some close friends left his home to go
to the bride’s home, where there were various ceremonies, followed by a
procession through the streets after nightfall to his home. The ten virgins may
be bridesmaids assisting the bride; they expect to meet the groom as he comes
from the bride’s house. Everyone in the procession was expected to carry their
torch.” [3]
(Show the slide and the Lantern).
In the parable, we see a bridegroom
and ten virgins. Five of them were wise, and the other five were foolish. They
all went to meet the bridegroom, who was delayed in coming. As they awaited his
arrival, they fell off to sleep. The bridegroom’s arrival was announced at the
least expected hour. The five wise virgins with extra oil were ready to meet
the bridegroom.
The foolish ones pleaded with the
wise to give them some oil. They were sent away. As they were on the way to buy
oil, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the
wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later, the others also came, saying,
Lord, open the door for us! But he replied, I don’t know you.” Then Jesus made
this profound statement, “Therefore keep watch because you do not know the day
or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13).
III.
Be Ready When He Comes.
What
is the significance of the parable of the ten virgins for us today? The
bridegroom in the parable represents Jesus Christ. The ten virgins represent
the believers or the Church. The five wise
virgins with the extra oil represent the truly born-again believers full of the
Holy Spirit. In the scriptures, the oil often represents the Holy Spirit.
(Hebrews 1:9, Psalm 45:6-7, Gal 5:22).
The five foolish virgins without the
oil represent false believers. As Timothy would say, “They have a form of godliness but deny
its power.” II Tim 3:5. They are not full of the Holy Spirit. They want to
enjoy the benefits of being in a Christian community but do not want to follow
Christ and prepare themselves for His
imminent yet unexpected return to the earth.
The central theme of the parable is that Christ will come
back at an unexpected hour and that His people must be ready whenever that
happens. What does it mean to be ready when He comes? First and foremost, being
prepared begins with surrendering our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ,
which means not simply saying Lord, Lord, but knowing and doing His will.
How do we know what Christ’s will is
for our lives? The apostle Paul, in Rom 12:1-2, urges us to offer our bodies as
a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God and not conform to the pattern of this
world but be transformed by renewing our minds. Then, we can know and
do God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will for our lives.
What would being ready practically
mean? It does not mean we keep gazing into the skies 24/7, wondering when Jesus
would return. It means fixing our eyes on our bridegroom, Jesus Christ, who
gave himself up for us to make us holy, cleansing us by washing us with water
through the word. He will return to take us as his bride without stain wrinkle,
but holy and blameless. (Eph 4:25-27). Being ready means keeping our hearts
filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit and abiding in Christ. (Read Eph
5:15-20). Will you be found ready when He comes?
