Matthew
25:1-13
Jesus
Tells About The Ten
Bridesmaids
Matthew
25:1
"Then the kingdom of heaven will
be comparable to ten virgins, who
took their lamps and went out to
meet the bridegroom.
2
"Five of them were foolish, and
five were prudent.
3
"For when the foolish took their
lamps, they took no oil with
them,
4
but the prudent took oil in
flasks along with their lamps.
5
"Now while the bridegroom was
delaying, they all got drowsy and
began to sleep.
6
"But at midnight there was a
shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom!
Come out to meet him.'
7
"Then all those virgins rose and
trimmed their lamps.
8
"The foolish said to the prudent,
'Give us some of your oil, for
our lamps are going out.'
9
"But the prudent answered, 'No,
there will not be enough for us
and you too; go instead to the
dealers and buy some for
yourselves.'
10
"And while they were going away
to make the purchase, the
bridegroom came, and those who
were ready went in with him to
the wedding feast; and the door
was shut.
11
"Later the other virgins also
came, saying, 'Lord, lord, open
up for us.'
12
"But he answered, 'Truly I say to
you, I do not know you.'
13
"Be on the alert then, for you do
not know the day nor the hour.
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is
meant to change the way that we
think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
Are
We Ready With Our
Lamps?
- Weddings
were major events during
Jesus' time just as they are
today. However, the Jewish
tradition at that time was a
far cry from the ceremony we
see nowadays.
-
- The
groom would go to the bride's
home on the day of the wedding
and there would be a huge
celebration and feast. But,
unlike today's event, the
celebration would many times
last up to a full
week!
-
- The ten
virgins were similar to
today's bridesmaids and were
allowed to take part in this
festive occasion. I'm not
exactly sure of the meaning of
the lamps, maybe just to give
enough light for the
celebrating couple to sustain
them for the week-long event.
It's not really important that
we know why.
-
- All ten
virgins brought their lamps
but only five brought enough
oil to last.
-
- So,
when the unprepared foolish
five ran out of oil, they had
to "go to town" so to speak to
purchase more. In other words,
they weren't
prepared.
-
- The
story goes on to say that the
groom came while they were
gone and the door was
shut.
-
- This
was a great disappointment to
the five girls who were not
prepared.
-
- The
question is, are we prepared?
Christ could return at any
time and no one knows the day
or the hour.
-
- The
best we can do is to live our
lives as if He is returning
today and make sure we don't
have to go out for oil or have
Him say; "I do not know
you."
-
-
-
- Love in
Christ
-
Bob
If you have
never made the commitment to
receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus
Christ, please take a moment to
go
here
and take the first
steps
to salvation.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
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This
article about the 10 bridesmaids
may be freely reprinted or
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reproduction.
Bob
Verses are from New
American Standard Bible
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
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