The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY
God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us
the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son
Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he
shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee
and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
¶
This Collect is to be repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent,
until Christmas Day.
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hen shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took
their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise,
and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil
with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the
bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a
cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those
virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise,
Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying,
Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that
sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came;
and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the doorwas
shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man
cometh. (Matthew
25:1-13)
As with all of the
Parables of Christ, I love this one. The Words of Christ are full of life! Each
time I read the Gospels, and especially the Parables, a new and meaningful
insight presents itself as it does with all Scripture. Once, again, the central
theme here is of a marriage supper an event extremely important in imparting
the importance God attaches to the estate of matrimony as well as to His Church
as the Bride of Christ.
The key thought in today’s
message is that of having enough oil on hand to light our lamps. Have you
considered the importance of Light, and of thanking God for the Light that He
has given us? Here is an old illustration on the importance of Light and how we
should be thankful for it:
Suppose the Sun Shouldn't Rise?
There is an
imaginative story of that morning when the sun did not rise. Six o'clock came
and no sign of dawn. At seven o'clock there was still no ray of light. At noon
it was as black as midnight and no bird sang. There was only the hoot of the
owl and the swoop of the bat. Then came the black hours of the black afternoon.
No one slept that night. Some wept, some wrung their hands in anguish. Every
church was thronged to its doors with people upon their knees. Thus they
remained the whole night through; then millions of eager, tear-wet faces were
turned toward the east. When the sky began to grow red and the sun rose once
more there was a shout of great joy. Now millions of lips said, "Bless the
Lord, O my soul." Why were these people so thankful? Just because the sun
rose after one day of darkness. The very constancy of God's blessings sometimes
seems to kill our gratitude. Whereas the wonderful thing about the mercies of
God is that they are fresh every morning and new every evening. —Henry Alford Porter
We observe in today’s text
two different kinds of character and two different outcomes that ensue from
each.
This is a Parable of the
Kingdom of Heaven. It is a picture, if you will, of the existence in the Church
of those who are burning and sincere followers of Christ, and those who are
only nominal Christians who make no preparation or study to be accepted of God.
These are the two different kinds of hearts that are depicted. The lamps
represent those hearts and the oil, the grace and love. The virgins represent the
purity of doctrine and faith in the church. The Bridegroom, of course, is
Christ. It is true that all of the oil in the world will not benefit us
unless we have used it to fuel the FIRE of our Light. There is a subtle
reference also to two doors: an open door, and a shut door.
Then shall the kingdom of
heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to
meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. So far,
we have ten virgins whose appearance seem very similar, but those qualities not
seen such as wisdom and fool-heartedness do not appear by simple
observation. Perhaps more than 50% (and most certainly so) of all
professing Christian fall into the latter category of being foolish. But they all
subscribe to the same faith and truth of the Gospel. They appear righteous.
They are good moral people
for they are virgins. The church is comprised of both wheat and tares. The
tares APPEAR to be wheat. They grow where the wheat grows. In every way, the
tares look like wheat in texture, in color, and in size. So many Christians may
have an intellectual assent of Christ, but they lack the oil and fire of true
faith. They look like Christians. They talk like Christians. They attend church
every Sunday. But they are lacking the testimony, love, faith, and grace of a
true follower of Christ. The only Bible they know is that read by the minister
or Lay Reader. They have hearts, but nothing to fuel the fire of faith in those
hearts. Both the true Christians and professing Christians go forth to meet the
Bridegroom. But five have a problem.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them. Can you
receive Christ in your heart but not love? These foolish virgins (professing
Christians) took their hearts to Christ, but they did not allow Christ to enter
those hearts. The oil that could have been purchased by Bible study and
faithful service is lacking. Those who seem to strictly keep the commandments
are often those whose hearts are the most devoid of love.
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. The wise virgins had
made preparation for this expected moment. They had purchased oil and carried
it in vessels to take with their lamps. We cannot follow Christ in darkness.
These wise virgins were not at all casual in their faith, but earnest and
sober.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. (Note that all ten
virgins slumbered and slept while the Bridegroom tarried.) Those of mild conviction
slept alongside those who took their faith seriously. We all need sleep.
Because of their lack of real faith, the foolish virgins were able to sleep not
expecting the Bridegroom. The wise virgins, because they DID have faith, slept
in peace because they had peace in their hearts toward God.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out
to meet him. The custom in Israel was for a man to seek a bride for his son.
When a suitable bride was found, a meeting would be arranged for the young man
and young woman to meet. They would meet at the home, and with the girl and her
parents, of the young lady. There would be a cup of wine prepared on a table
around which the company gathered. The boy and girl would chat a bit. After a
while, if the boy found the girl acceptable to his liking, he would drink from
the cup. The girl, if she found the prospective bridegroom acceptable, would
drink from that same cup! That exchange of sups from the cup formally signified
the betrothal of the couple.
The son would then go to
his father’s place and build a residence for his bride under supervision of the
father. This may consume a period of one, two, or more years. When the father
believed the provision constructed for the bride was acceptable, he would send
the son to fetch the bride.
The bridegroom would send
his groomsmen to fetch the girl. The hour was usually irregular for the sake of
surprise, and most often at, or after, midnight. One of the groomsmen would
sound a trumpet near the girl’s
home. This was the signal that the bridegroom had
sent for her. She and her bridesmaids would need to grab whatever bags and
provisions desired and rush out to meet the bridegroom.
How like that is the
manner in which Christ will return for His Bride! Behold, I shew you
a mystery; We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Cor 15:51-52)
The point here is that the true worshippers must be ready at all times to go
with Him. There will be no time to set our affairs in order once the trumpet
sounds.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. See how similar are the
actions of both groups of virgins! They BOTH arose, and they BOTH trimmed their
lamps the foolish virgins were going through the motions still of being
prepared, but they were NOT!
“And the foolish said unto the wise,
Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.” Those who are lazy and slovenly will
always beg to enjoy the fruits of preparation of others. But in actuality, the
wise virgins could not share their oil. There was only enough for themselves.
That is true of faith. The faith of the most faithful mother in the world
cannot be granted to a son to save him. We must all come to Christ by grace
through that faith! But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not
enough for us and you. The wise will always ensure that their faith is
sufficient to receive sufficient grace.
“But go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.” “Buy
the word and sell it not!” This is the approach the AOC has
always taken toward the sharing of the Gospel – we share it without cost to the
recipient. Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea,
come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1)
The wise virgins knew that
it would be too late to purchase the oil and still meet the bridegroom, but
they answer courteously and out of sympathy. If they did share, they knew that
the oil would run out and both would be lost.
“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were
ready went in with him to the marriage.” Only those who are ready will
go with Christ when He comes. It will be then too late to study, to nurture
faith, to love more, and to trust God. These wise virgins went into the marriage
through and open door. That door will open for those who are worthy through the
imputed merits of Christ. “..and the door was shut!” The door was
open for those who were prepared and ready, but shut immediately behind them.
Now we come to the SHUT DOOR! “Afterward came also the other virgins,
saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. How seemingly tragic that many
Christians will sit in church week after week and appear real and true Christians.
The church door has always been open to them but, now, the door is shut in
their faces at the end. They have put up a good front. They have worshipped God
with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him.
Who shut the door? Was it the wise virgins? No, it was not. It was God who shut
the door. Man has not the authority to shut the door of salvation on any man,
but only God. Remember Noah and the Ark God commanded him to build. When the
time was come, the Lord commanded Noah, not to GO into the Ark, but to COME
into the Ark. Do you notice the important difference? Where God is, that is the
place of safety. Where the bridegroom is, that is the place of blessing. “And
the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee
have I seen righteous before me in this generation.” (Gen 7:1) So Noah
went into the place of safety - the Ark. Then, after Noah entered the Ark, what
happened? Did Noah shut the door of the Ark? No, man has no authority to close
the doors of mercy on mankind - that is the prerogative of the Lord. “ . . .and
the LORD shut him in. (Gen 7:16b)
“But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
If we do not take the effort to know Christ very well as intimate friend,
Savior, Redeemer, and Sovereign, he will not know us either. For friends
to be close, each party must know the other intimately. How tragic will it be
to hear those words from the mouth of Christ!
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the
Son of man cometh. There are a lot of pseudo-prophets today attempting
to determine the exact day and time of Christ’s return. Why is it so important
to them? Perhaps it is the money they make in selling books with such
sensational predictions. But, perhaps a more important reason is that they do
not desire to serve God presently. They prefer to hedge their bets and live
according to the lust of their flesh for now, and then, as their presumed day
arrives for Christ’s return, they will clean up their act, so to speak. It is
the will and intent of God that we know not the hour or day of His return. We
are to watch and pray in our lives each day as if that were the day of His
Coming.
I like what Horatius Bonar, an old-time minister and hymn writer of the Free
Church of Scotland, says about this Parable:
THE oil is the Holy Spirit. To oil he is likened
throughout all Scripture, though in some places to fire and water, to wind or
air. But it is as the light-giving oil that he is specially spoken of here; and
the lack of him, as such, makes the difference between the foolish and the wise
; having not the spirit. (Jude, verse 19.) Thus a man may be very like a
Christian, and yet not be one. He may come very near the kingdom, and yet not
enter it. He may have all the outward features of a Christian, and be lacking
the main one. He may have the complete dress of a saint, and yet not be one. He
may have a good life, a sound creed, a strict profession; he may be one who
says and does many things excellent; he may be a subscriber to all the religious
societies in the land, a member of all their committees, or a speaker at all
their meetings, and a supporter of all their plans; he may profess to be
looking for Christ's coming, and going forth to meet the Bridegroom, and yet
not necessarily a Christian. He may lack the oil the Holy Spirit. A religion
without the Holy Ghost profiteth nothing. There is the religion of the
intellect, of the sense, of the fancy, of the flesh, of the creed, of the
liturgy, of the catechism, of nature, of poetry, of sentiment, of mysticism, of
humanity; but what are these without the Spirit. Christianity without Christ
what would that be ? Worship without God what would that be? So religion
without the Holy Spirit what would that be ? Go to them that sell, and buy for
yourselves. Not to men, or churches, or ministers, but to Christ. Go to him. He
is exalted to give it, and he will. Apply to him ere it be too late.
Do we possess this oil? Do we have fire to cause the oil to provide light? Are
you aware of the precious oil available in God’s Word to be replenished daily
by your study? Perhaps we should all be better Scouts!
Be Prepared!
