The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

1:00Along the way, we're also addressing three sacred cows, which are found in these two chapters. Finishing the task, a carnal Christian, that is, a Christian who professes faith in Christ but does not bear the fruits of a Christian, and the least of these, my brothers. The focus of this three-week study is not on eschatology, eschatology being the study of end times, the study. Of last things. Rather, the focus is on these three parables. Last week, we found out that the disciples asked two questions of Jesus as they departed from the temple when Jesus had made the statement that the temple would not be left standing.

1:50The disciples asked, when will the temple be destroyed, and what will be the signs of your return? But as you learn last week, they thought that both events were the exact same event. And then Jesus begins explaining through most of chapter 24 that there are actually two events, and he began to describe those events. For example, in verses 4 through 14 of chapter 24, he answers the second question. Then in verses 15 through 25, he answers the first question.

2:29And in verse 26 through 31, he answers the second question, and so on. Last week, we also learned that a proper interpretation of pantata ethne, which is Greek for to all nations, in Matthew 24, 14, leads us to understand that making disciples of all nations is our task rather than finishing the task. And that finishing the task is not something that is an obstacle that must be overcome prior to Christ's return. Christ's return could occur today, or it could be a long way off.

3:19But in either case, these three parables teach us that we need to be first and foremost ready as if He could return at any minute. That was the parable of the faithful servant last week. We also must be prepared for His return. That's the parable in front of us, the parable of the ten bridesmaids. And then next week, we will learn that we need to be faithful because we're going to be rewarded for our stewardship. And next week, we'll cover the parable of the talents: readiness, preparedness, and faithfulness. Last week, we did focus on being ready for Christ's return. This week, we're going to be focusing on being prepared for Christ's return. Now, I think some of you could say, what's the difference between being ready and being prepared? And so, for purposes of our study, we're going to make a distinction. Readiness is a state of mind, it is a perspective.

4:29Being persistent, Prepared is something that is a specific plan of actions, a completed set of preparations. So, I'm a shout out to one of our firefighter friends here in the room to make a distinction between being ready and being prepared. Firefighters are trained to be equipped to fight fires. They know fires are coming, they just don't know when. They are ready at all times, but they are also prepared. When they sleep at the station, they sleep with their clothes already laid out that they need to get into. They don't have to dig through some type of wardrobe closet to find them.

5:20The fire engine is ready to go. It is filled up with gasoline. The tires are inflated. And the engine probably has been worked on and has been driven even that very day. Why? So, when the call comes, the engine is prepared to leave the station. And if they actually depart the station in a vehicle, they have radios with them so that they are prepared to pivot that vehicle back to where a fire is located. Firefighters are not only ready, they are prepared at all times.

6:00In this parable, we will find that Jesus teaches us about two types of people, those who are spiritually prepared for his coming and those who are spiritually unprepared for his coming. The central point of this sermon is now is the time to prepare for Jesus' coming. Then will be too late. So, in order to understand this parable, let me give you background on four different items. First of all, a parable itself. And how do you interpret a parable?

6:36First of all, a parable is an allegorical story with a single storyline. The elements of that story carry some type of symbolic meaning. So, the key is understanding these four items. First, what is the major storyline? Second, what is the allegorical meaning of that storyline? Third, we should dismiss omitted or exceptional details. And fourth, we should apply it to both the audience that hears it as well as to the audience that will read it in the future. So, to help you out, let me give you the four aspects of this parable and how it fits within that framework.

7:21The major storyline is pretty obvious: it is the preparedness or unpreparedness of. The bridesmaids. The allegorical meaning of this is: Are you spiritually prepared for the return of Christ, or are you unprepared spiritually for the return of Christ? We should not be concerned, third, with certain omitted or exceptional details. Where is the bride? Where is the groom coming from? Why in the world would five bridesmaids not be allowed entrance into the feast? These are omitted or exceptional details that we should not be concerned about.

8:12And then, last of all, we will then take this sermon and apply it to the original and to the present audience as we go through the rest of the sermon. So, those are the four aspects of this parable. Second, we need to understand the wedding process at the time that this parable is told. The wedding process at the time of this parable involved three separate steps: a feast, a barter, and a ceremony. Feast, barter, and ceremony. The feast would last for approximately one week, but the feast started without either the bride or the groom present.

8:57The second part is the The barter. On the first day of the feast, the groom would approach the parents of the bride to speak to them in order to get permission to take the bride to the wedding feast. As a sign of honor towards their daughter, the parents would drag out the process of giving permission. The groom would ask and set forth some arguments. The parents would say, that's not good enough. And they would go back and forth and back and forth. The longer the parents talked, the longer they stalled, the longer they denied permission, the greater the honor they showed their daughter.

9:51And given the fact that the bridegroom did not appear until almost midnight of the first day of this feast, we can assume that the parents chose to honor their daughter. I'm just glad that my father-in-law was not the one that I had to speak to, because it may take me two or three days to convince him to allow him for me to marry his one daughter. All right, that's the barter. So when the barter is complete, the bride and the groom then went to the feast and the ceremony. Would take place several days later. That's the wedding process at the time of this parable. Third, we need to understand what a lamp or lampus in Greek is. And children, this is real important for you all because in this particular case, the lamps that the bridesmaids carried were not these little dinky lamps that you would use inside.

11:00Rather, they were outdoor torches that were three or four feet in length. They had cloths tied to the top that would be dipped into a vessel that held oil. They would soak it up, and then you would light it. And that torch could burn for up to 15 minutes. For this reason, if you had a torch, you always had to carry a vessel or a flask or a jar with oil so you could pour that out into something to soak that cloth on that torch.

11:42The flasks would hold oil. And if you had a torch without a flask, that is as good as having a flashlight with no batteries. And fourth, what we need to do. Is to define the term nominal Christian. It will come up in this sermon. For purposes of this sermon, the term nominal Christian refers to one who professes faith in Christ but is not actually saved. The nominal Christian believes that their good works, that their church attendance, that their good morals saves them.

12:26The nominal Christian has the appearance of a believer, but lacks the fruit of a believer. In the past, some evangelicals created this new category of Christian. They called it a carnal Christian. A carnal Christian was someone who made a profession of faith in Christ, but then slid back into a lifestyle of immorality or never again walked in the faith. These evangelicals nevertheless said that carnal Christians are still Christians and they were destined for heaven. And they argued by misapplying a real true biblical truth, which is once saved, always saved. And they applied it to the carnal Christian.

13:22For purposes of this sermon, I want to be very clear. Both the nominal and the carnal Christian are. Are pictured by Christ in the parable of the soils. They are like the seeds that fall on rocky soil or in thorny ground. Those seeds, like the nominal and carnal Christian's faith, are burnt away by the trials of life or choked out by the cares of the world. The nominal and carnal Christian bear no fruit and are not true Christians. So when you hear me say nominal or carnal Christian, I'm referring to one who professes to be a Christian, but is in fact an unbeliever.

14:16Children, this part of the sermon is for you. I'm going to tell a story. I'm retelling the story that was read to you earlier. But I want you to pay attention because you're going to need to ask your parents to explain this to you at lunch today. There was a wedding where ten bridesmaids are invited to come. And the purposes of them is to bring torches, things about the size of a baseball bat, torches, and bring oil to light these torches because when the groom arrives, there's going to be a torchlight procession to take them to the feast.

14:58The problem was. The groom kept delaying and delaying and delaying. You know what the ten bridesmaids did? They all fall asleep. Then around midnight, there's an announcement: the groom is coming. And so the bridesmaids quickly arise. Five of them take their vessels of oil and pour it into a jar or container, and they start soaking their torch. Five didn't have oil, but they all light. The foolish bridesmaids' torches light real quickly, but there's not enough oil, and they burn out. The other five are burning.

15:40The foolish then say, Please, wise bridesmaid, let us have some of your oil. And they said, No, go get your own, go buy some. And while the foolish bridesmaids are gone, the groom arrives, the torchlight procession starts, and they're taken to the feast. Later, when the foolish bridesmaids show up, they now have oil and their torches are lit. They show up at the gate. They are denied entrance to the feast. And they said, Lord, Lord. And the owner of the feast, the manor house, says, I do not know you.

16:26So make sure that you ask your parents as we go through the rest of the day. Of this sermon. What does that mean? So, having paraphrased the parable, let's now unpack it. I'm going to borrow Liggan Duncan's outline for this parable: the character of the bridesmaids, verses 1 through 4, the care or carelessness of the bridesmaids, verses 5 through 10, and the consequences of the bridesmaids' preparation, verses 11 through 13. Their character, their care, and the consequences. In so doing, remember that now is the time to prepare for Jesus' coming. Then will be too late. In verses 1 through 4, we see the character of the bridesmaids. Then the kingdom of heaven will be like the ten bridesmaids who took their torches and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, five of them were wise. When the foolish took their torches, they took no oil with them. But the wise took flasks of oil with their torches. Very clear, there are two types of bridesmaids: the foolish and the wise.

17:43Spiritually, allegorically, there are two classes of people at Christ's return: the foolish and the wise, the unprepared and the prepared, the unsaved and the saved. The delay of the bridegroom provides the opportunity for which we now understand which bridesmaids were and weren't prepared. Likewise, the delay of the return of Christ will show which people are prepared and which people are not. We will build on this throughout the sermon, but what's most concerning for those in this gathering room is that this story stresses the vital distinction between those who are Christians in profession only and those who truly believe in Jesus Christ, bear the fruits of the Spirit, and place their faith and trust in His work.

18:46Brothers and sisters, there was no difference on outward appearance of the ten bridesmaids. Likewise, there will be no clear difference between those who only profess faith in Christ and those who are truly saved. William Hendrickson writes: There is no way that all who read the Bible, belong to a church, sing the songs of salvation, make a public profession of faith, or even preach in Christ's name are going to share in the blessings of Christ's return. Some are sensible. Religion with them is not a sham or a pretense. They believe in being prepared. By faith in a Savior and living dedicated to him. But others are foolish. They have a form of piety, but they deny its power. They are unprepared to meet Jesus.

19:46Brothers and sisters, there is such a thing as a nominal Christian who will one day be denied entrance into heaven. Why can we be so confident that this parable is picturing the unsaved and the saved? Well, one reason is some of you might think, well, but the five torches of the foolish bridesmaid briefly lit before they burned out. It is true that they lit, but they didn't have sufficient oil to burn. And the text is clear where there's a difference between the foolish and the wise bridesmaids. The foolish bridesmaids did not bring any oil. Verse 3. When the foolish took their torches, they took no oil with them.

20:41Robert Deffenbaugh says this in a different way. It's difficult to interpret this parable if the foolish bridesmaids run out of oil. These foolish bridesmaids cannot represent those who were once saved, but Ran out of salvation. No, these bridesmaids were lost. They never had any oil. They were just empty lamps. That's the character of the bridesmaids. In verses 5 through 10, we're going to look at the care or carelessness of the bridesmaids. Look at verse 5. All of the bridesmaids became drowsy and slept.

21:28Why did they become drowsy? It was because the groom was delayed. And the plot of the story turns on that. What differentiates the foolish and the wise bridesmaids is not whether they became drowsy and slept. All ten became drowsy and slept. What differentiates the foolish from the wise was the failure of the foolish bridesmaids to face the possibility that the groom may come unexpectedly. They think that they would have time to get ready when they hear the announcement. The wise bridesmaids, on the other hand, ready themselves before the announcement is made.

22:21Should the wise have shared their oil with the foolish? Now, some of you would say, well, I know Mark lacks that gift of mercy, so his answer is going to be pretty obvious. So, yes, you're going to hear the obvious answer, but let me give you two reasons. No, you should not. First and foremost, the bridesmaids were given a single responsibility, and that was to lead the torchlight procession of the bride and groom to the feast.

23:03We have no idea what the distance was, but as I said earlier, the torches could only burn for about 15 minutes. If the wise had shared their oil with the foolish, it is possible that the whole procession would have had all ten burn out before they got to the feast. So the wise say, no, go get your own oil. Let me give you the spiritual reason why it should not have been shared. And this is more allegorical. Jesus is likely emphasizing a spiritual truth. Just as preparation is not transferable, saving grace is not transferable. Liggin Duncan asked this question: Are you prepared for the day of his coming? Your mother can't do it for you. Your father can't do it for you. Your brother can't do it for you. Your friends can't do it for you. Your spouse can't do it for you. Only you can make this preparation. Are you prepared for the day of his coming?

24:16Now is the time to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Then will be too late. That's the care and carelessness of the bridesmaids. And in verses 11 through 13, we see the consequences of the preparations of the bridesmaids. The wise bridesmaids are admitted to the wedding feast. The story is quite different for the foolish bridesmaids. The foolish bridesmaids find the door shut upon their arrival, and they say, Lord, Lord, open to us. But the Lord answers, Truly I say to you, I do not know you.

25:03Before you conclude that this is unreasonable, I must set the story in a modern context. So, those of you who are brides to be or recently brides yourselves, imagine you've invited 10 bridesmaids to be part of your bridal party. The night before, you invite them, and they're told, be at The wedding ceremony site two hours early. We'll get our hair done, we'll get dressed, and we're going to take pictures of the bridal party. Two hours before the wedding, five of those bridesmaids haven't shown up.

25:47Worse. The time for the wedding arrives, and those five bridesmaids still haven't shown up. What happens? The wedding goes on without them. And what would happen if an hour and 30 minutes later the five bridesmaids showed up, not with their hair done, not in their dressing, and all asking to sit at the bridal party at the front with everyone else? Would you expect that you would allow yourself to have them do that? I suspect that you probably would not.

26:29But there's really a spiritual application to this story. There is a time coming when the Lord will return and say to the unprepared, I do not know you. And I want you to know that the word to know is filled with biblical importance. In 2 Timothy 2:19, Paul tells us that the Lord knows those. Who are his. In Genesis 18, 19, we are told that the Lord knew Abraham. In Exodus 33, 12, we are told that the Lord knew Moses.

27:16In Nahum 1:7, we hear that the Lord knows those who fear him. And of course, in John 10, 14, and 15, Jesus says he's the good shepherd, and he knows his own, and his own know him. Thus, for Jesus to stand and to say, I do not know you, means he does not acknowledge you as one of his people. The consequences of a lack of preparation on the part of the foolish bridesmaids is being denied entry to the marriage feast. The consequences of a lack of preparation of the unbeliever and the nominal Christian will be a denial to attend the marriage feast of the Lamb. The unbeliever and nominal Christian will suffer eternal separation from God.

28:18Those are the consequences of the bridesmaid's preparation. Let me close this morning by answering one final question. Are you prepared for Christ's return? One of the warnings embedded within this parable is that there are a number of people who will look like Christians, who associate with Christians, and even think they are Christians, but who will be shocked to learn they are not saved at the return of Christ. They will say, Lord, Lord, let us in. I do not know you.

29:09The parable is not seeking to create uncertainty and doubt in the heart of a Christian. The parable is not seeking to rob a Christian of his or her assurance, but it is seeking to warn those who have a false assurance of their own salvation. Unfortunately, the call for self-examination sometimes afflicts those who struggle with the assurance of salvation rather than afflicting the ones that don't know Christ but think they're Christians. So let me provide you with just four tests that will allow you to examine if you're prepared for Christ's return.

30:01Do you believe that your salvation is based on your works? That is, you believe that if you are nice, that you're a member of the church, that you work in preschool, that you give money, that you commit no crimes, that will save you. If you do, you are not saved. True salvation is not based on your works, but it's placing your faith in the perfect work of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that your salvation is based on your faith?

30:54I want to use the analogy of Noah's Ark. Do you believe that if you have enough faith and you drive a peg into the side of the ark, and if you hold on long enough in your own power, that you will be saved from the ravages of the flood? If you do, you are not saved. True salvation is not based upon the strength of your faith. True salvation is based on your strength. On the object of your faith, Jesus Christ. Let me use the analogy of Noah's Ark again. One is not saved by driving a peg into the side and holding on with your own strength.

31:45It's believing that the ark can save you and you put yourself into the ark. The object of your faith, the ark is what saves you. The ark saves, not you holding on. Do you believe that your decision to accept Christ, you're walking down the aisle, the raising of your hand saves you? That is, that your one-time action acts as an insurance policy to save you? If you do, you are not saved. There are seeds, brothers and sisters, that sprout in the parable of the soils, but bear no fruit. True salvation is evidenced by the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

32:55And the last question is: do you believe that there is time? To put your affairs in order. That is, there's time for you to stop your habitual sin. There's time for you to get serious about studying God's Word. There's time for you to stop pursuing the pleasures of the flesh. If you do, then you are not saved. You are no different than the foolish bridesmaids who thought there would be time to get prepared when the announcement of the arrival of our bridegroom, Jesus Christ, occurs. True salvation is evidenced by a hateful struggle with sin, a desire to read, study, and apply God's Word, and a desire to invest in heavenly treasures rather than earthly treasures. Brother and sisters, are you prepared for the return of Christ?

34:03Now is the time to prepare for Jesus' coming. Then we'll be too late. Let us pray. Father, this is a very sobering sermon. There are those. Who believe that they are Christians, but they have placed their trust and hope in their work, not in the perfect work of Jesus Christ. There are those who believe that there's time to clean up their act before Christ returns. There are those who can check a box and point back to a time where they made a profession of faith in Christ, but they no longer really believe it and they clearly aren't living it.

35:17There are those who believe that they will be admitted to the marriage feast of the Lamb and they will call out, Lord, Lord, open the door. And they will hear, I do not know you. It is my prayer this morning that if there is a single person in this room who is placing their trust in their works or in a one-time event, that they will immediately be alarmed and realize. That they need to place their faith in Jesus' work on the cross, to repent of their sin, and to make the decision to walk with Christ and begin bearing fruit.

36:18May we also be bold in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world, to a world that is struggling with pandemic, and to a world that is struggling with racial tension and individuals not being treated fairly. The only hope is the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must answer that question: Are we prepared for Jesus' coming? It could be this very day, or it might yet be delayed, but we must be prepared if we are a true believer. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

37:20Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at New Life Baptist.com. CS dot net