The Ten Virgins

May 16, 2011 Monday Message:

Set the Wayback machine for 2000 years ago, and let’s go to a wedding. It’s different than nowadays…

To start the marriage process, the groom’s parents would search for a suitable bride for their son. Next, everyone would meet, and agree that this marriage would be a good thing. Then the groom’s family would give a considerable sum to the bride’s family, to finalize the marriage.

Here’s where it really gets weird – then the groom leaves. That’s right – he takes off, but it’s to get everything ready for his new bride. They’ll need a house, furniture, a supply of food, and a plan for employment. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to do this all by himself. The groom’s family and his groomsmen-friends all pitch in to help meet the goal.

While he’s gone the bride, her family and her bridesmaid-friends have a parallel assignment. They make clothing and linens, and procure all the other household essentials. This assignment was not to be taken lightly – each bridesmaid had a specific task to complete, her piece of the puzzle.

When the groom had everything prepared, he would return to claim his new wife. But the women didn’t know in advance the exact time of the groom’s return. So they had to be intentional in their work, and always on the lookout, ready to go at any moment.

The bridesmaids who were diligent in their duties and committed members of the wedding team would wind up knowing a lot about the new groom and his family. They were involved. But those who were lax in their assignments would not possess this information. It’s easy to tell them apart. The diligent ones had oil for their lamps, because they cared about the impending wedding, while the lax group did not. The lax group hadn’t completed their tasks for the groom—therefore they didn’t know much about him, and when it was time for the wedding he didn’t know them either.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins is just that, a parable, but it has eschatological implications. Jesus is the Savior who came, and the judge who will come again. His bride, the church, has tasks to complete in his absence, and each one of us is a piece of the puzzle. Those who helped prepare for the wedding will be guests at the wedding. But if you do not know Jesus, he may not know you either.

Norton Lawellin

I’ll be teaching the Parable of the Ten Virgins in a lot more detail this Friday at New Hope Center, 7PM.