• Matthew 25:1-13
Years ago, while my husband was at seminary, we received a unique job offer—house-sitting a multi-million dollar mansion. Needless to say, it was an offer we couldn’t refuse.
We were given full run of the house, and all we had to do in return was keep the place in show condition. The rules were few and simple. We weren’t allowed to invite anyone into the house. We only were allowed to keep our personal belongings in our bedroom. And if anything needed attention, we should notify the owner’s mother, Mrs. B, in Arkansas.
And one other thing. Occasionally, Mrs. B would drop in from Arkansas to ensure all her instructions were being carried out.
We never knew when Mrs. B would arrive. But our job—and a cushy job it was—depended on fulfilling her expectations. So as you can imagine, we were meticulous about keeping the mansion clean. Before going to work, we would do a walk-through to ensure the house was in order. After dinner, we’d do a white-glove test on the kitchen counters. No laundry went unfolded. And no mess was ever left for the next cleaning day. In short, every day was cleaning day.
During our years at the mansion, I grew to appreciate Matthew 25:13, “Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” A day is coming when our Lord will return. On that day, we must be ready.
The image of the wedding
Most often, when Jesus refers to his second coming, he uses the image of a wedding feast. To our modern ears, these references are pretty, but not very meaningful. For Jesus’ audience, however, this image made perfect sense. You see, our eternal relationship with Jesus is based on Jewish wedding customs, so the language Jesus used to describe salvation and his second coming were words his audience used in their everyday lives.
During that time, when a man wanted to marry, he would draw up a wedding contract outlining the terms of the marriage. In it, he would describe how he intended to provide for his bride and the bride price he would offer for her. He would then go to his intended’s home and offer this contract to his intended bride and her father.
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The man would pour a cup of wine. If the bride accepted his offer, she could drink from the cup, and the covenant would be sealed. He would give her gifts and tell her, “I go to prepare a place for you. I will return for you when it is ready.” Then he would leave and they would not see one another until he came for her on their wedding night.
The betrothal was as binding as a wedding is today. Although the relationship was not consummated until later, the couple was considered married. During this interim period, the bridegroom and the bride got ready for the wedding feast. She was ceremonially cleansed. She purchased expensive cosmetics and learned to apply them. If she went out in public, she wore a veil. And each night, she and her attendants would get their things ready in case that was the night the groom would appear.
Meanwhile, the bridegroom built a honeymoon room for his bride. While he had full responsibility for building the room, the decision that it was finally complete belonged to his father. The groom’s father held his son to the highest standards during these preparations and only gave his approval when he felt those standards had been met.
When the father finally gave his approval, the son would gather his attendants and go to his bride’s house. Usually, we would arrive in the middle of the night, his attendants announcing their arrival with blasts of a ram’s horn. This allowed the bride to gather her belongings and her attendants to light their lamps. Only invited guests were allowed to celebrate with the couple, and any attendant not ready would miss her opportunity to participate.
Jesus’ covenant with us
Jesus came to earth, our home, to introduce a new covenant, the marriage contract. John the Baptist verified this when one of his disciples asked about Jesus’ ministry. “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete” (John 3:29).
The bride price Jesus offers us is his own life. 1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us, “You were bought at a price.” And 1 Peter 1:18-19 explains that our bride price wasn’t paid with silver or gold, “but with the precious blood of Christ.” Our bridegroom paid the highest price possible for his bride, the church.
And having poured the cup of communion, Jesus waits for us to accept his offer. When we become Christians, we essentially become betrothed to Jesus. From that moment it is our responsibility to guard our purity and make ourselves beautiful to him. (Fortunately, God values the beauty of our hearts, not our faces.) Having accepted Jesus’ covenant, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and we may receive Jesus’ promise that he is preparing a place for us. Some day the Father will tell Jesus the honeymoon room is ready, and our bridegroom will come for us. We must be ready.
How the parable applies to us
In today’s parable, the bride is the church and her attendants are the members of the church. But by “church,” we mean the universal church, which resides in our hearts. In essence, we can learn from both the bride and the attendants. They each have a lesson for us.
What can we learn from the attendants? We must be prepared. Rather than assuming Jesus will not return soon, we should look for his return daily. Rather than waiting until our last hours of life to get right with God, we should live right each day. “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:44).
We can learn from the bride how to prepare. The bride in ancient Israel prepared for the wedding feast by being ceremonially cleansed; we are baptized after accepting Christ as our Savior. To ensure purity and modesty, she wore a veil in public; we put on a spiritual veil when we separate ourselves from worldly indulgences. She learned to apply cosmetics to make herself beautiful; we study and pray so we can develop a heart for God. She readied her things every night in case that was the night her bridegroom would arrive. We too must live each day as if that is the day Jesus will return.
Packing for Jesus’ return
When we talk about preparing for Jesus’ return, our minds turn to full-time ministry, missions and evangelistic campaigns. We tend to think of great works we could perform. But preparing for Jesus’ return isn’t necessarily a physical work. “Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent’” (John 6:28-29). When we prepare our lamps, our preparations must be spiritual: faith, obedience and developing a heart for God.
And our preparations must be made daily. Let’s face it, we live in an uncertain world. Though none of us like to think about it, our lives hang on a thread. All it takes is a simple accident or sudden illness to cut a healthy life short. That’s why we must live in a state of readiness. So the question of the day is this: If you had to face your Maker right now, would you be ready?
Discussion questions
• If you knew Jesus was returning in exactly one week, what would you do to prepare?
• Is there any reason you shouldn’t begin making those preparations today?
• Why are faith and obedience so necessary as we prepare for Jesus’ return?
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