My dad worked for Wal-Mart for 26 years, and for about half of that he was a store manager. I remember when I was kid that at certain times he would be stressed and tense. Sometimes he was this tight because there was a lot of work to do, but typically it had to do with a visit from a supervisor. It was one thing for his direct boss to show up, but it was a whole other thing when he expected a regional or corporate visit anytime. At least he had some warning; he knew the parameters—that the visit would be within certain dates and that they would be looking at certain aspects of the store. Nevertheless, those weeks, he was ready, worked more hours, and had the store in its best possible condition. He was ready.
For this big section of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:36-25:30), Jesus talks about what it looks like for his followers to be ready for his coming. They keep watch, they do their master’s business, and today, we’ll see that his followers are prepared—they’re ready.
Matthew 25:1-13
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
A first century Palestinian wedding was a little bit different than our modern ones. The wedding ceremony was performed at the bride’s house while a wedding banquet was held at the groom’s home. The bridesmaids had the job of waiting for the groom at the banquet, so after the ceremony, they would go and wait along the way. However, no one knew for sure how long this would take—could be a few minutes or could be a few hours.
In this parable, the virgins—the word literally means young woman—were doing their duty of waiting for the groom, but some of them had failed to prepare by purchasing enough oil for their little lamps. These were small bowls that held only a teaspoon of oil, so it was necessary to have extra oil if you expected a long wait.
When the virgins were awakened (don’t read anything negative into this), some were ready and prepared for his coming since they had enough oil while the foolish virgins weren’t. The wise/prepared virgins went right in with the groom to the banquet while the foolish ones were excluded.
Don’t read too much into the parable. Jesus was making a simple point: his followers are the ones ready and prepared for his coming. If you’re not ready, you’re foolish and left out of the banquet. Mark Moore says, “Their lack of preparation betrays their lack of love.”
The question that keeps coming to me as I meditate on this passage is, “How do I live a ready and prepared life?” I long to live a wise life that reflects the readiness a follower of Jesus should have. So how do I do that? How do you?
The temptation is to over think the answer and make life complicated. Another temptation is to obsess over his coming, always reading the signs and guessing about the times.
I think the answer is quite simply to be about what Jesus is about in all that we do. As he said back in chapter 22: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ And ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Love God and love others. Simple.
If we’re doing this when he appears, we’ll be found prepared. Are you ready?
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