Matthew 25:1-13

{Prayer}

Whenever there is a celebration, there is the invite list. It doesn’t matter if you’re celebrating a birthday or hosting the family Thanksgiving dinner. Who do you want to be there? Parents? Grandparents? Siblings? Your crazy uncle? Sure. You want them there.

Jesus in Matthew 25 tells the story of a wedding. The groom is coming and ten young women are waiting to welcome him and join the celebration.

As you hear this story, I want you to think about the people you love. Think about your child. Your grandchild. A sibling. Your spouse. A friend. These are all people you want to be a part of the celebration.

All ten young women have lamps. But only five have brought extra oil along with them.

The groom is delayed. We don’t know why, but the wait grows long. All ten become tired, and eventually fall asleep.

All of a sudden, the announcement goes out: the groom is coming! Everyone wakes up and gets their lamps ready. But five discover that their lamps are going out. They haven’t brought enoiugh oil.

While they leave to go buy more, the groom arrives. Those who are ready greet him and enter the celebration with him. And the door closes.

Later the other five come back begging, “Sir! Sir! Open the door for us!” The groom says, “I tell you the truth, I don’t know you” (Matthew 25:11-12).

Now … picture someone you love among those standing outside. Your child. Your grandchild. Your friend. … Suddenly, this story becomes painfully personal. You want them there.

Scripture clearly says Jesus is coming back. The disciples are told after Jesus ascended into heaven by the angel, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Paul wrote in our Epistle reading from 1 Thessalonians 4, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven” (4:16a).

So, the question is not, “Is Jesus coming back?”, but rather, “When is Jesus coming back?”

Someone in every generation has said that Jesus was coming back in their lifetime. But yet, here we are. What we assume is Jesus’ delay makes His coming seem distant or very unreal. Like it isn’t going to happen in my lifetime.

Prime example of this is how we live our lives. We make plans and assume that there will be another day, another opportunity, another conversation. But in this parable, Jesus is bringing the future before us now. He is coming and we don’t know when.

But before we worry about who is going to be on the outside, who isn’t going to be there … we need to hear Jesus addressing us. He says, “keep watch” (Matthew 25:13).

Being related to a Christian, knowing someone who is a Christian is not the same as you trusting in Christ. Neither is being a member of a church or one who attends a church.

In the parable Jesus tells, all ten of them were there to greet and welcome the groom. But not all of them were prepared. Not all of them had enough oil.

We need to be ready. But what does that look like?

Comparing ourselves to the people around us and to our culture … we look pretty darn good at times. Looking at our lives through the lens of the Bible … saying that we are sinful and unclean, that we are poor, miserable sinners … we desperately need to repent. We need to ask for forgiveness. Not just from God but also from our neighbors and our families. And with confessing our sins, we receive absolution, we receive forgiveness.

In order to confess our sins, we need to recognize them. And that takes humility. Jesus talks about how easily we notice a speck in someone else’s eye while overlooking a whole plank that is in our own eye. We can point out everybody else’s sins. But are we willing to acknowledge our own? Are we willing to stop making excuses? Are we willing to say, “Lord, I have sinned. I need your forgiveness”?

That is how we wait for Jesus. Humbly. Repentantly. Trusting in His mercy.

With humble, repentant lives, we follow Jesus where He leads. Not just when the times are good but always. We persevere when things become difficult.

You can’t borrow someone else’s faith in order to be saved. Nor can the people you love borrow your faith in order to be saved.

The One who is coming is the One who saves you. Faith receives His mercy.

Jesus speaks this warning of being prepared because He wants you there with Him.

And to bring you there, He stepped into this broken, sinful world. Out of His great mercy, Jesus came to take upon Himself all of your sin, suffer a brutal beating, and die an excruciating death upon the cross! He gave His life for you! He poured out His innocent, precious blood for you!

And He rose from the dead for you! Your coming Savior is alive! The One who bore your sins has conquered death, and He promises you life with Him!

Why!?! … Because Jesus wants you to be there with Him in eternity. …

And Jesus wants your children, grandchildren. Jesus wants your spouse, your siblings, and your friends.

But you can’t believe for them. You can’t repent for your child’s sin. But what you can do … is tell them about the Savior who loves them so much He voluntarily died and rose for them.

You want your family, friends, and other loved ones there with Jesus when He returns … then you need to talk with them.

Tell your grandchild about why it is you trust in Jesus.

Tell your friend who is suffering, who is burdened by their sin, and who thinks there is no way God could love them about the amazing love and forgiveness that Jesus has for them.

Invite someone to come with you to church to hear God’s Word.

Go back and have a conversation with the person you keep brushing off because you aren’t ready or you don’t think they’re ready.

We don’t need to have an answer for every question before we speak to someone of Christ. And you can’t control their response. But you can faithfully give them His Word and continue to pray for them.

Some of you have been having these conversations for years. Keep praying. Keep speaking about His promises as opportunities come up. Their salvation rests in Christ’s power … not your ability to find the perfect words.

The groom is coming. Jesus is coming. Jesus gives us this warning while there is still time to hear it. Today, His promise is proclaimed. Today, you can receive His gifts and speak of His mercy.

You want them there. Tell them about the One who is coming. Amen.