The Wedding Feast

When you’re a preacher, people think you know everything. For example, a woman recently said to me. “I was watching television the other day, and that guy was on—I can’t remember his name, but you know the one—who was talking about the End Times. He was explaining Revelations, and it was very interesting. Who was that man? I explained as nicely as I knew how, that I didn’t know who she was watching. I couldn’t know. Actually, I knew a lot of preachers it could be, but it would be impossible to pick out which one. Cable television and AM radio especially are full of preachers who have “figured out” revelation. What I wanted to say, but did not dare to say at the time, was that she should be careful about such preachers. God left Revelation obscure for a reason. That’s because he wants us to know the outcome of the End Times, but not the date of it. Some very smart men in history, including people such as Sir Isaac Newton, spent a lot of time trying to figure out the dates of the End Times based on Revelation. But every prediction they made proved wrong. If men like that can’t figure out the End Times, what chance to you and I have? Nevertheless, preachers keep trying. The reason they do has less to do with knowing the will of God than it does with attracting a crowd. One of the secrets of preaching is that if you want to attract a crowd, preach on one of two things—either the End Times, or other people’s sins. The End Times attracts the frightened, while other people’s sins attract the judgmental. There are plenty of both in the church. There are many who ask why God would deliberately give us a picture of the end that is obscure? The reasons are set down in this parable. He does it to keep us on our toes. God wants us to expect his return at any time, and be ready at any time. The day we stop thinking the end is near is the day He is most likely to come. Matthew 24 is Jesus’ End Times speech. He and his disciples were near Jerusalem and they were looking at the magnificent temple of the Lord being constructed by Herod As they talked about how beautiful it was, Jesus said. “Do you see all this? I tell you the truth, not one stone of it will be left on another. All of it will be thrown down” This of course caught the interest of the disciples. They wondered, “When will this be? And what will be the sign of your coming at the end of the age?” They wanted to know when the End Times would be, just like we do. In the speech that followed Jesus listed several events which were not the sign of the End Times. Unfortunately, many people have misinterpreted His words to indicate that they were signs. . Wars and rumors of wars are not a sign of His coming. Natural disasters, such as earthquakes and famines are not a sign either. People will be wicked, but that is not a sign, either. People will always be wicked. There will be false prophets. People will point in many directions at what they think will be a sign, but they will be wrong. Jesus also gave a couple of signs that were problematic. He mentions the “abomination of desolation” and even though we know that this is the desecration of the temple, we cannot be sure what he meant by that. His ales tell the parable of the fig tree, which many interpret to be about the rebirth of Israel--but again it is not clear that He, meant this. No, the only sign that Jesus gives that can be certain is in verse.14, on which we all agree; “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” People point to all kinds of End Times signs, but this is the only one that Jesus actually and definitely gave was one which we cam something to do about. If we want to see Jesus come, get the Gospel out, that’s the only reason we’re still here. Once the job is done, we’re done. The disciples were concerned with the future. Jesus is concerned with the present. In the light of the End Times, how do we live today? Again, this concern is reflected in a parable. In Matthew 24:45-51, Jesus tells them. "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth; he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to him, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So Jesus wants us to stay on task. We must watch constantly and carefully for the second Coming, and be prepared to give an account of ourselves when He comes. But what Jesus does not say is this—what precisely are we supposed to be doing? What does it meant to watch and wait for Jesus? He gives us a hint in the following parable. Matt 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. 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. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for you.' "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. "Later the others also came.’Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” A wedding in Jesus’ day was not like a wedding in our day. A wedding feast included all the rituals and gatherings we have leading up to a wedding into one enormous blowout—the showers, the groom’s dinner, the bachelor party, and many we never thought of having. It was a huge occasion. One of the highlights of the wedding was something that happened the night before. There was a party at the home of the bride. All the family gathered and partied, except for the groom. The groom and his groomsmen processed through the streets. As they did, the young women of the town followed them, carrying lamps or candles to light the way, until they came to the bride’s house. It must have been a beautiful procession. Now, Jesus tells of ten girls. They were virgins, which meant they were of marrying age, but had not yet found husbands. They are not interested in the bridegroom. but the unmarried groomsmen in the procession. When they got to the hall, they went inside, the door was shut, and they partied most of the night. It was the only place where they could mingle without the social restrictions of the time. So these women knew their futures could depend upon being in that party. Five of the women have a problem--not enough oil in their laps. This is a disaster, they think. . So the girls go to the next street to buy oil. While they were gone the procession comes. These girls are literally left out in the cold. The point of the story is this—we must be ready for the End times--but how? Here’s where I think much of the preaching on this passage is wrong. Many of interpreters focus on the oil. Oil is sometimes used as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. So they interpret it to mean that we should keep full of the Spirit when Jesus comes. But this is really not about the oil or the Spirit. There’s no doubt that we should keep full of the Spirit until Jesus comes, but that’s not the point of the parable. Another interpretation says that oil is a metaphor for obedience. These girls were lazy, and did not keep a sufficient supply of oil on hand for the evening. That’s possible, but I do not think it is right either. If we think that it is our disobedience that can mess up those who wait, then which act if disobedience is it? Smoking? Drinking? Not going to church? Is it neglect of religious rituals such as baptism? It doesn’t seem consistent with the Gospel that those who watch and wait for the Lord’s return will be excluded because of some temporary or unwitting lapse in obedience. There is a better interpretation. This is not about the oil. It’s about being present. What made these five different was not that they did not have lit lamps, but when the party came they were not there. They were under a mistaken impression that the lamps mattered. When it comes to Jesus, we can be equally impulsive. In our desire to be ready, we can overlook the most important thing—we go by God’s grace. Jesus is not trying to trick us into disobedience. He accepts us by His grace, not by our obedience. Those who miss out are those who become obsessed by proving themselves worthy. Let’s talk about a modern day version of one of these virgins. A man is very religious. He reads the Bible, especially Revelation. He knows the Lord is near, and when God comes, we will be judged. So he prepares himself. He learns the Bible, witnesses, and tithes. But he never feels like he does enough. He wants by his effort to be secure in his position. In the process, he misses out on the one thing that will get him to heaven—God’s grace. This man misunderstands the heart of God. It is not about preparation. It is about watching and waiting for Jesus to return with expectation and joy. You have a place in heaven, if you wait for it. Look to Jesus for your salvation, not to what you do. Keep looking, and waiting, and live a live in preparation and you will go with Him in the end. Preparing for the End Times Matthew 25:1-16