SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/24/2024 12:34 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-4 “The Bridesmaids”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
25:1-5
Message of the verses: “1 "Then the
kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and
went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were
prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4
but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while the
bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.”
I believe that I have mentioned that in using John
MacArthur’s commentaries to aid me in my Spiritual Diaries that there are times
when he writes a lot of “stuff” where there is no Scripture being used that is
Scripture from the text that he is writing about. When this happens I usually go ahead and
quote what he is writing and put it into my Spiritual Diaries because it is
worth quoting or he would not write it into his commentaries. With this said I will quote some things from
MacArthur’s commentaries.
“The
warning Jesus gave in this parable is repeated over and over in the gospel’s, a
continually recurring theme of His teaching.
He warns that professed believers are like wheat and tares; some are
genuine and some are false. They are
compared to various kinds of soils, some of which give initial evidence of
productivity but only one of which genuinely receives the seed of the gospel
and allows it to take root and grow. It
was not a popular message in Jesus’ day and is not a popular message today,
even in many evangelical churches.
“No
conclusion regarding the number who will be saved can be drawn from the fact
that the bridesmaids were divided evenly between the foolish and the
prudent. But the proportion suggests,
however, that a large part of the professing church does not belong to God. And the situation is obviously pervasive or
Jesus would not have spent so much time warning about it. It existed during Jesus’ earthly ministry, in
apostolic times, and throughout the church until the present. And it is evident from this parable that it
will also exist at the end of the Tribulation.”
We
can no conclude from the following statement that the bridegroom was delaying
actually reinforces Jesus’ teaching that His second coming will be unexpected,
something that we have talked about in a number of earlier SD’s. Now from the divine perspective it will not
be delayed but from the human perspective it will seem to be delayed. MacArthur writes “Because so much time will
have elapsed since His first coming, most people, including many professed
Christians, will be carrying on business as usual when He appears (see Matt.
24:38, 43). Jesus may also have been
giving the disciples a hint that He would not be returning as soon as they
anticipated (see Luke 19:11). But the
main thrust of the parable, like the main thrust of the entire discourse, is
directed to the generation who will be living during the later part of the
Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:34). Even
the short period of time that will elapse between the signs of His coming and
His actual appearance will cause some people to think the Lord is delaying His
return.”
I
have mentioned that this parable that Jesus is speaking has to do with the
Jewish wedding celebration, which is indeed different that weddings in our
country today, unless some of the Jewish people in our country follow this
plan, something that we have discussed in earlier SD since we began looking at
chapter 25. I have mentioned that the
couple is actually married when all the things that are going on in this
section are happening, as they are legally married, and if they decided to
break up they would have to get a divorce.
The sexual consummation of the union has not yet taken place and that is
what will happen when the groom comes to get his bride, that is probably after
a week of celebrating goes on first. So
the idea of being delayed and the brides maids getting sleepy supports the thought
that the bridegroom is delayed, thus the bridesmaids get sleepy. The sleep of the foolish bridesmaids might
suggest their false confidence, whereas the sleep of the prudent ones could
suggest their genuine security and rest in the Lord.
Looks
like one more SD on this subject will finish it for this section.
2/24/2024 1:04 PM
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