Saints Triumphant Sunday (Third Sunday of End Time)

 Sermon Text: Matthew 25:1-13

 Other Readings: Ezekiel 37:15-28 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

  1. This account is a parable. How would you explain what a parable is to someone?
     
  2. Parables often have one main truth that they are teaching. (There may be other truths, but usually only one shines through.) Use one sentence to sum up this parable’s main point.
     
  3. Why does Jesus picture himself as a bridegroom in this parable? (Confer Ephesians 5:25-27.)
     
  4. Evaluate this statement: The reason the bridegroom says, “I don’t know you,” is because the virgins really didn’t know him.
     
  5. Examine the painting (The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins [1822] by William Blake). In what ways does it capture the details and truths of the parable?

(Bonus: Can you find a connection to our Second Lesson from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18?)

 

 

  1. Here’s a possible way of explaining a what a parable is: “A parable is a made-up earthly story which teaches spiritual truths.”
     
  2. Jesus explanation in verse 13 is good. Said another, the meaning is, “Those who are prepared in faith will do everything they can to plan for the Savior’s return.”
     
  3. Jesus “married” himself to the Church (that is, to the community of all believers in him) when he gave himself up on the cross. He sacrificed himself in the way that husbands give themselves up for their wives.
     
  4. This was the comment which a church father named Augustine (d. 430 AD) made. Jesus warns us that superficial knowledge about Jesus and his teachings is not the same as saving faith.
     
  5. Among other things, it has the same number of women who all have lamps. It’s set at night. The wise women have a look of quiet confidence on them while the foolish women have panic-stricken looks on their faces, as reflected in verse 11. The angel flying above and blowing a trumpet might remind us of 1 Thessalonians 4:16 which tells us that when the Lord (our bridegroom) returns, he will do so with “with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.”