Weddings, wedding banquets, and marriage are exceedingly important to God, not something to be messed with. Marriage is a theme that runs thick and strong all through the Bible, and it's the preeminent paradigm that describes our relationship with God. The Bible begins with a wedding-that of Adam and Eve when everything was good. The Lord Jesus 'ministry begins with a wedding where He turned water into wine at Cana. And the Bible ends with the marriage of the Lord Jesus, the heavenly Bridegroom, and His Bride, the Church, and the eternal wedding banquet with the best of meats and the finest of wines. That is one of the few pictures of heaven that we have... a party, with the best of everything, going on eternally, and the Lord God as the host. That is the real marriage that all of our marriages imitate. 

           Today, as Jesus comes to the end of His earthly ministry, He speaks about the end of the world, the end of our earthly time. There are three parables in the 25th chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel all dealing with the end times, a time of judgment and settlement. Today, we have the first, which deals with faithfulness and wisdom. It is not spoken to unbelievers but to Christians, believers, and the people of the church. "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps." 

         We have here a big Jewish wedding. Groom and bride have been betrothed by the parents, which has made them man and wife. They are Married. This is different than our engagements today where two people only promise to get married, to become man and wife, at some future day. A short time after the Jewish betrothal, on a certain evening the groom, accompanied by his friends, would proceed in a festive procession to the home of his bride in order to bring her to his home for the consummation of the marriage with days of wedding festivities.

         And in the midst of all of that are the ten virgins. "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins." All the virgins or bridesmaids were in the house. They all had lamps. They all were in the party. They all looked to be ready, dressed with lamps in hand. 

       Now, every parable has a point. And the point of this parable is not extra virgin olive oil, but rather, virgins with extra olive oil. The point of the parable is preparation. "Watch, therefore, "Jesus says, "For you know neither the day nor the hour." Five out of the ten bridesmaids knew that they needed oil for the hour of the bridegroom's coming. They were prepared ... wise. The opposite of wisdom is foolishness. The other five did not prepare. They had no oil ... foolish. 

     And When the time came, these ten virgins were to take their lamps and go to meet the bridegroom. When the groom brought the bride out of her home, these virgins were part of the procession with their lighted lamps and had their part in the feasting and the joy of the wedding celebration in the groom's house. 

       Now, when Jesus told this parable to the people, anybody who knew anything about anything at all knew that the bride's attendants - the virgins of the bridal party with the lamps- would have had oil. That was an essential part of their role, as much as being there in the first place. To forget the oil is bizarre, absurd. Who knows why they completely disregarded the importance of the oil until it was too late?  A foolish action has no sensible explanation. That is the trouble with all folly - spiritual folly, too; it cannot explain itself. 

    Parables are always a puzzle, always a challenge, and sometimes very tricky. This parable of the ten virgins calls for wisdom. In the Scriptures, wisdom does not mean having a head full of facts and figures. To be wise is not necessarily to be smart. The smart are not always wise, especially when it comes to the things of God. Conversely, the wise are not always smart, particularly when it comes to the things of this world. 

       So, remember what we learned from the explanations from the small Catechism of the Apostles' Creed? How our heavenly Father created us, sustains us, and protects us. How the Lord Jesus "has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness," And how "the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." And how He does this for the whole church on earth. 

     And here is where it all comes together. There is that little part we say in the Creed about our Lord Jesus, " He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence, He will come to judge the living and the dead." Or, with this parable in mind, we could say, From thence, He will come to judge the wise and the foolish." That is what this parable is about. Jesus is talking to us and about us, the Church, the body of believers of all times and places. 

    And as you hear this parable about the wedding and virgins, about the wise and the foolish, beware lest you become smug and confident. After all, many a one-time faithful Christian has fallen away, made shipwreck of their salvation, making a mess of it all with no hope at the end. And how did that happen? Well, some people aren't happy and content with the Word of God. They want to change it. They don't like it. They know better and are even offended by it. And then, there's the church. The worship service is too long... that pastor is boring... the sermons are not relevant... the music is out of date... those old-fashioned rituals like Baptism and the Lord's Supper take up too much time.... there's a lack of money and people... and the list can go on and on. And all the while, the oil is spilling out onto the ground as a person goes from being wise to foolish. And what will that mean in the end?

    Well, as the parable says, "Afterward the other  virgins came also, saying, "Lord,  lord, open to us. 'but he answered, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.'" And right there some of the harshest and hardest words that Jesus ever speaks as parable and reality meet. They are the people who have despised God's grace and thought that they could enter glory without grace, thus carrying their original foolishness to its ultimate conclusion. 

     Jesus is speaking with all truth and authority as the great Bridegroom- "Truly, I say to you. " That would be also to you, to us, to His Church of all times and places. His coming " to judge the living and the dead" will happen; the day draws nigh. But so many carelessly and foolishly let the day of grace pass by until it is too late. 

        This parable is most certainly a warning and a sad reality for so many who harden their hearts in their foolishness. But there is also great hope for you right now. For today this forgiveness of sins and eternal life that we learned about in the Creed is again proclaimed to you. How the Lord Jesus "has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness."

      And as that word is spoken and heard there the Holy Spirit is at work calling " you by the Gospel, enlightening you with His gifts, sanctifying and keeping you in the true faith"... replenishing your heart and mind with the oil of faith, making you truly wise; so that when that day or hour of our Lord Jesus' coming takes place you will indeed be ready, and so go "in with him to the marriage feast." Amen. 

Sermon Read by Elder John Cox 

November 12, 2023