Matthew 25: Wise and Foolish (1)
Pray Psalm 143.1, 2.
Hear my prayer, O LORD,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no one living is righteous.
Sing Psalm 143.1, 2.
Divinum Mysterium: Of the Father’s Love Begotten
Hear my earnest prayer, O LORD! Give ear to my pleas for grace!
In Your faithfulness and righteousness, look upon me with Your face!
Enter not to judgment with Your servant, LORD, with Your loving servant, LORD:
None can stand before Your Word.
Read Matthew 25.1-10.
What would a trimmed lamp look like in your life?
Prepare.
1. Who were the wise and who were the foolish virgins?
2. What does it mean that the wise virgins were “ready”?
Meditate.
It will strike us strange that ten virgins are preparing to meet the bridegroom (v. 1). Do they all intend to have him as their husband? To be his wife? Yes, they do; and immediately we realize Jesus is not talking about human marriage. He has a larger wedding feast in mind, that which is coming as described in Revelation 19, when the Son of Man will welcome His bride as an uncountable multitude from every nation, tribe, and tongue, to join Him in the eternal feast of the Lamb.
In the parable, the groom arrives at an unexpected hour (v. 6), just as Jesus said in chapter 24 that He would come when no one was looking for Him. The oil in the virgins’ lamps is a symbol of readiness. The wise virgins are described as having their lamps filled with oil and then some, so that they would have the light they would need when the groom arrives. When he finally did, the wise virgins were ready; they trimmed their lamps and hurried to meet him (vv. 7-10).
Believers must maintain a state of readiness for the return of the Lord. We are lights in the darkness, and we must make sure our lamps are perpetually burning with good works of love and good words of truth. Strive for consistency and continuity, so that, in whatever you are doing, the light of Christ is evident in some way.
The question might be asked: Why didn’t the wise virgins share oil with the unwise? To spend too much effort on this distracts us from the point of the parable: Each of us has a stewardship for which we are ultimately going to give an account. The wise virgins knew that, if they shared with the unwise, none of them would have enough oil for their lamps. They had fulfilled their stewardships; the unwise virgins would have to look elsewhere for oil. Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit are the defining radiance of the Kingdom, and of the coming King. Make sure these are always lit and glowing in you; and build up your reserves against any situation that might diminish your light, so that when the King returns, you will be ready.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Five of those waiting for the Bridegroom used their lives to prepare for His arrival.
Five did not. Five were “spiritual gym rats”; the others, not so much.
In churches today, not enough importance is placed upon sanctification.
Without sanctification, we do not grow.
Not growing, we are unprepared to face trials and tribulations;
to say “no” to sin; and to stay faithful to God, until the end.
As Pat Hunter used to say, “We arrive in heaven in the same receiving blanket we were born in.”
We are still infants, when by this time we ought to be teachers. Instead, we still need someone to teach us again the first principles of the oracles of God; and still need milk instead of solid food (Heb. 5.12).
“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5.13, 14).
To be an unprepared, unsanctified “waiter for the Bridegroom”, likens us to those whom Paul lambasted with these words: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” (1 Cor. 3.1-3). Like unwise folks without back-up oil.
But knowing that maybe, perhaps, we could possibly be tending in the direction of the five unwise waiters, is half the battle. We are in process. If we are longing to be prepared, then we most assuredly can be.
The psalmist Asaph struggled a bit with this:
He knew that truly God is good…to such as are pure in heart. However, he opined:
“But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped…
my heart was grieved, and I was vexed in my mind.
I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You…until…
I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood…” (Ps. 73.1, 2, 21, 22, 17).
Asaph knew his condition—unprepared to face dilemmas—but he also knew how to remedy it.
How to move from being unprepared to being prepared—to go from
having a dearth of oil to having so much that “my cup runs over” (Ps. 23.5).
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thess. 4.3).
Sanctification is defined as: the process of being set apart for God’s special use and purpose,
which involves becoming more holy and Christ-like over time.
It is a transformative journey that begins at salvation and continues throughout a believer’s life—
exhibiting gradual growth in holiness and godliness.
The Holy Spirit empowers this growth and transformation;
but believers are called to actively participate in the process
through obedience and faith.
This is how we arrive at our meeting with the Bridegroom fully prepared—with a well-trimmed lamp and extra oil— “those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding; and the door was shut” (Matt. 25.10).
Make a big deal out of your sanctification; make it important.
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God Who works in you
both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2.12, 13).
Be one of the wise five (Matt. 25.4).
Reflect.
1. Readiness: That’s the issue explored in this parable. What does readiness require of you?
2. How can believers help one another to be ready? Whom will you help today?
3. How would you describe a “trimmed lamp” to a new believer?
Towards the close of the former chapter, our Lord specially required [a] steward to be wise, (Matthew 24:45) for it is reasonable, that the heavier the charge which any man sustains, and the more important the matters in which he is employed, the wisdom with which he conducts himself should be the greater. But now He demands wisdom from all the children of God in general, that they may not, through inconsiderate rashness, expose themselves to be the prey of Satan.. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 25.2
Pray Psalm 143.3-12.
Meditate on the Lord and His works, then call on Him to refresh your soul, teach you His will, and prepare you for the day ahead.
Sing Psalm 143.3-12.
Divinum Mysterium: Of the Father’s Love Begotten
See, the enemy pursued my soul; he has crushed and cast me down.
He has made me sit in darkness, LORD, like those dead and in the ground.
Thus my troubled spirit faints within me, LORD, faints within my weary soul,
and my heart is no more whole.
I recall the days of old; on Your works I meditate—
all the wonders of Your mighty hand, works both small, O LORD, and great.
LORD, my thirsty soul cries out to You! To You, LORD, I reach my hand
in a dry and weary land.
Answer quickly, O my LORD! Do not hide from me Your face!
For my spirit fails and I am like those who do not know Your grace.
In the morning let me hear Your steadfast love; LORD I trust You, show my way!
I lift up my soul and pray!
Rescue me from all my enemies! LORD, I refuge seek in You.
Let me know Your will, O LORD my God; make me know what I must do.
Let Your Spirit lead me on to level ground; save my life! Preserve my soul!
Rescue, LORD, and make me whole!
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 continues on St. Patrick 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 new study of “Everyday Christianity”. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
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.
