“Watch” (Matthew 25:1-13)

¹[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹²But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. ^{(Matthew 25:1-13)}

 

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Lutheran Commentator Kretzmann offers an instructive summary of key points from the Gospel reading before us today, that of the 10 virgins who wait for the Bridegroom.  In his Popular Commentary, Kretzmann writes,

“This parable is connected very closely with the preceding admonitions of the Lord, urging watchfulness and faithfulness, faith and love. The nearer the time of His departure, the more earnestly He strove to impress upon His disciples the need of the Christian virtues which are necessary for a living, active Christianity.”

Continuing, Kretzmann then quotes Luther,

“‘Therefore this parable, to summarize, does not indicate anything else than that we should watch and not be too secure, since we do not know when the day of the Lord is coming…All of it is spoken against our carelessness, the accusation being that we are far too secure, and always think; There is no danger, the last day is not coming for a long time. Against this Christ and the apostles cry out, bidding us take heed for that day, watch, and be in lasting fear, lest it find us unprepared. Therefore those that watch will receive the Lord with His grace, those that are secure will find Him a merciless Judge.’”

Take heed, and remember the Words of our Lord on the night of His betrayal, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41 NKJ).

It is not those who say that they’re Christian and are not that receive the Lord with His grace.  Rather, it is those who continue waiting on the Lord, finding their security in Jesus alone and sure of His mercy and favor, in the present, and until He comes again in all of His glory; these are they who properly watch, having “no confidence” whatsoever, “in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).

They who “wait on the Lord,” (Isaiah 40:31), these shall renew their strength, because it is the Lord Himself who strengthens them.

And how does the Lord do this? By the very means that He provides for the certainty of your salvation, that He “strengthen and preserve you steadfast in the truth faith to life everlasting”.

Therefore, believe the Word of the Lord, to you, of sins forgiven, of peace with God, of His favor.  He washed you of your sin by water and Word.  He gives you life through the means of Christ’s very body and blood.  He upholds you by means of the preaching.  He sustains you by His Word, and there, calls you.

“A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Pet. 2:9-10 NKJ)

Those who deny the blessed gifts of our Lord show that they are not His, for those who are of the Lord “hear His voice” and “follow” Him (John 10:3).  They demonstrate the carelessness and the false security that Luther spoke about concerning the Gospel.  They really do not expect Jesus to return soon, nor do they heed the warning that the danger is here, now, the danger of impenitence and the Lord’s judgment upon sin, to be fully met upon them on the Day of Judgment.

Continuing with Kretzmann on Matthew 25, he writes what is true and according to the teaching of Holy Scripture.

“When the Kingdom is preached, these are the results: Some receive it with all their heart and are serious about it, believe the Word, make the most strenuous efforts to practice good works, let their lamps shine before the world; for they are well provided with lamps and oil, that is, with faith and love: these are represented by the wise virgins. Then there are some that also accept the Gospel, but are sleepy, are not serious about it, think they can succeed with their works, are secure, and believe it can be paid for with works; those are indicated in the foolish virgins. In Scripture those are called foolish that do not obey the Word of God, but follow their own mind, will not be taught, accept no opinion but their own. But it will happen to them at last as it here happened to the foolish virgins. These two kinds of people are in this Kingdom, namely, where the Gospel and the Word of God is preached and there should be exercise of faith: some follow, some do not follow…”

Jesus gives this warning to all who claim security in themselves and their own faith and not the faith of Christ, “Not everyone who says to Me,`Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matt. 7:21 NKJ).

The truth is, we don’t know the timing of our Lord’s return at the “End of days”.

What we do know is that we are to watch, and in the watching, we wait on the Lord, believing His Word.

Therefore watch! Watch what you hear and watch what you do.  Pay close attention to the “doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:16).  It is your salvation.

Be ready for the Lord’s coming, having the oil of faith, that you endure to the end.  Only those who are prepared will enter the wedding feast when the bridegroom is to come.  Then the door will be shut where none else can enter.

You are prepared, present and future tense, as you are and continue in the Lord’s doctrine and in the true faith, the faith that Jesus is God’s Son, that He died, and that He rose again, for you.

This is the Gospel, the Gospel which is front and center of all preaching and teaching that is Christian, the very life of the church.

Because of this Gospel, because of Christ, we hold God’s Word to be sacred, we gladly hear and learn it, and we receive the Lord’s Supper for the strengthening of our weak souls.

The central teaching of Christ’s church is that the sinner is justified, declared righteous, before God on account of Christ through faith.  If this teaching be weak or nonexistent in the church, the faith of the people will also be weak or nonexistent.

All teaching of the church affects this one saving doctrine, and vice versa.

It is necessary for the church always to be vigilant in her preaching and in her teaching according to the Lord’s Word and not to cower due to oppression by culture, or by persuasion by people.  Rather, she is to be immovable and steadfast to her Head at all times and in all places.

It is also necessary for hearers to hear, and to keep hearing, the good news of sins forgiven, for their eternal well-being, and to distinguish that doctrine which is faithful and true by means of the Holy Word of God, and to avoid that which is false and according to man and the devil.

If one says to you, ‘you are not a sinner in need of forgiveness,’ or another says, ‘your sin is not that bad’, you can boldly say, ‘Christ died to save me from my sin.  Since this is so, I know that I am a sinner, because Christ truly died.  And I still sin.  Therefore do I still need His forgiveness.  And graciously does He give it to me on account of Christ, because of Him and none other.’

Having this confession, you are ready for the Lord’s return, whenever that may be.

Eternal life is not dependent upon you, but upon Christ and Christ alone, even as St. Peter says, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Christ might seem to be slow in coming, but it is as St. Peter writes, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Though “scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:3-4), Jesus will come in His own time, not ours.

The Lord’s timing is different from our own.   To Him, “one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8; Psalm 90:4).  To us, a day is a day, and so we believe that God created the world in six literal days as recorded in the creation account of Genesis.

God sets the time for our sake, not for His, that we abide by what He says and not be led astray by sinners who think they know better than God.

The Bible tells us that, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

And, “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

When the time has come for the Lord to return, return He will, for all to see.  Though wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes have been going on for years, and will continue to do so until the Lord’s arrival on the Last Day, these in no way indicate that the Lord misspoke His Words of readiness (Matthew 24:6-7).

The ‘not natural’ disasters of our day point ever to the final judgment.  A ‘Mother nature’ does not exist.  God the Father Almighty is maker of heaven and earth.  Not one sparrow falls to the ground without Him knowing of its falling (Matthew 10:29).

“Thy will be done, O Lord.”

His will is your salvation.

This “world is passing away, and the lust of it; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

The will of God is this, that you believe in Him whom He sent (John 6:29).

For this reason God has His Word declared to you in your hearing, proclaims to you your Savior Christ, and feeds you with the heavenly bread and drink of His body and blood.  By these, receiving and believing, what your Lord gives, as He gives, you are truly ready for Christ’s return.

Thus do you watch, standing in the faith of those who were before you, and waiting for your Savior to descend in the clouds, just as He has promised.

Look to no other.  “Be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8 NKJ).

“Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” (Ps. 27:14 NKJ). Amen.

 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, keep our eyes on Jesus, that we not be distracted, but be ready and prepared, always, believing your Word.  Amen.