Matthew 25: Wise and Foolish (2)
Pray Psalm 53. 5,6.
There they are in great fear
Where no fear was,
For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you;
You have put them to shame,
Because God has despised them.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.
Sing Psalm 53.5, 6.
Leoni: The God of Abraham Prais
The wicked flee in shame; their ways our God rejects.
Renew Your people in Your Name with great effects!
Let great rejoicing sound once we renewed have been,
and let salvation’s Word resound from us again!
Read Matthew 25.1-13; meditate on verses 10-13.
What does “be on the alert” mean for you?
Prepare.
1. What happened to the virgins who were not ready for the bridegroom’s return?
2. What lesson did Jesus teach from this parable?
Meditate.
Why didn’t the foolish virgins prepare? We can only speculate. But this much seems clear: They were not sufficiently eager for the bridegroom’s arrival to take the necessary steps to be ready to meet him. They went too late to buy more oil for their lamps (v. 10). When they finally arrived for the wedding, “the door was shut.” And that was that. When they appealed for admission, the bridegroom disavowed any knowledge of them whatsoever.
Jesus applied this parable to His return, again, emphasizing the importance of being ready by being good stewards, wise servants, and virgins ready for His coming. The idea of virginity is frequently applied in Scripture to those who have no mixed motives or divided affections in their love for the Lord. Indeed, Jesus revealed that only such virgins will finally have a place in His Kingdom (Rev. 14.1-5). The foolish virgins may have been virgins in the flesh, but their hearts were not fully engaged with the promise of the bridegroom’s coming. And where Jesus is concerned, the heart is the heart of the matter. When the bridegroom showed up unexpectedly, their distractedness—often considered in the Old Testament as a form of adultery—was their downfall.
Jesus is coming again. Do we look forward to this with such a sense of eagerness and preparation that our hearts are pure and undistracted in fulfilling the calling He has appointed to us? Are we ready to join Him at the marriage feast of the Lamb (Rev. 19), or will we still be trying to get our act together when He comes?
Put another way, with respect to the Lord’s return, are we wise and ready, or distracted and foolish?
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Prepping is a thing and many people do it.
The earth is full of preppers.
These are those who are in the process of preparing something or preparing for something.
These folks create plans, gather resources, and develop skills to overcome
emergencies, disasters, and survival situations. Good for them! It is a worthy program.
Is prepping for Christ’s return also a thing? And do many people do it?
Jesus continually commands us to do so.
“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24.42).
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour
in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matt. 25.13).
When Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem were repairing the wall around the city,
they learned that some of their enemies were planning an imminent attack.
So, what did they do to be protective preppers?
“Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God,
and because of them
we set a watch against them
day and night” (Neh. 4.9).
“Blessed are those servants whom the Master, when He comes, will find watching” (Lk. 12.37).
Then, because we know and believe, that Jesus is coming again,
and we are watching day and night for His return;
we are called to warn others to become preppers as well.
As God said to Ezekiel, so He says to us, “…I have made you a watchman…
therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me…
warn them for Me” (Ezek. 3.17; 33.7).
The wise prepped carefully for the occasion of the Bridegroom’s appearance.
Thus, we are also warned to be fully prepared, for we do not want the door shut against us.
“But you be watchful in all things,
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist,
fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4.5).
“See then that you walk circumspectly,
not as fools but as wise,
redeeming the time,
because the days are evil” (Eph. 5.15).
“Blessed is he who watches…” (Rev. 16.15).
Prep carefully and persuasively—lives depend on it.
For now—physically. Extra food and water, a flashlight, and some matches will be quite helpful.
For later—spiritually. Eternally, salvifically, imperatively, for a ready entrance to the wedding (Rev. 19.7-9).
Reflect.
1. What should we be watching for? Or over? Or against?
2. How can believers help one another in preparing for the Lord’s return? Whom will you help today?
3. How would you counsel a new believer to become a daily prepper?
At length it follows that the door of the heavenly kingdom will be shut against all who have not made provision, because they failed in the middle of the course. We must not enter here into minute inquiries, how it is that Christ says that the foolish virgins WENT TO BUY for it means nothing else than that all who shall not be ready at the very moment when they shall be called will be shut out from entering into heaven. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 25.10
Pray Psalm 53.1-5.
Pray for the lost people of the world, especially those in your Personal Mission Field. Ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to talk about His salvation today.
Sing Psalm 53.1-5.
Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God at all!”
Corrupt are they in whole and part, unjust and small.
Not one of them does good; God sees their wicked ways.
None understands the Word of God or gives Him praise.
Have all these wicked men no knowledge of God’s grace?
The Church they hate with passion and seek not God’s face.
LORD, strike their hearts with fear, where fear was not before.
And scatter all who camp so near Your holy door.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast features excerpts from the book, Patrick: A Devotional History. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column continues our study of “Everyday Christianity”. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
