Sunday, November 8 · Christ Church NYC
The Destiny of the Wise and the Foolish
Jesus tells a parable about ten young women waiting for a bridegroom, and half of them are shut out of the wedding because they were not ready. The sermon presses the certainty of final judgment, the lasting cost of folly, and the call to be ready now rather than at the last minute.
The passages
“Then 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. Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Matthew 25:1–13
Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,…
Hebrews 9:27
For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God?
1 Peter 4:17
Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
Matthew 10:28
The foolish woman is loud, undisciplined, and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, to call to those who pass by, who go straight on their ways, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.” As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him, “Stolen water is sweet. Food eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Proverbs 9:13–18
Therefore don’t be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is well pleasing to the Lord. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light. Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:7–17
Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
John 1:12
Go deeper
Why does Jesus make ten young women the center of a parable about the kingdom of heaven?
In that world a respected teacher did not build his teaching around girls, who carried the least standing of anyone in the room. Jesus does it anyway, and the story he tells ends with half of them shut outside the wedding. The women are not scenery in the parable; they are the point of who gets invited and who is expected to be ready.
“Then 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. Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Matthew 25:1–13
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28
Soon afterwards, he went about through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of God’s Kingdom. With him were the twelve, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; and Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others who served them from their possessions.
Luke 8:1–3
What separates the five wise women from the five foolish ones when the bridegroom is delayed?
All ten show up on time with lamps lit. The night runs long, they all fall asleep, and only then does the difference appear: five brought oil for a wait they did not plan for. The parable turns on foresight, not on how the women looked when the evening began.
“Then 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. Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Matthew 25:1–13
The foolish woman is loud, undisciplined, and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, to call to those who pass by, who go straight on their ways, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.” As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him, “Stolen water is sweet. Food eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Proverbs 9:13–18
Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, don’t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Ephesians 5:15–17
Why does the bridegroom refuse to open the door for the women who arrive late?
A village wedding would never shut out invited guests for being minutes late, and the sermon leans on how shocking that is. The groom in the story answers their knocking with a denial that he ever knew them, which turns the wedding into something far more solemn than a party.
While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
Matthew 25:10–12
“Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ then he will answer and tell you, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.’
Luke 13:24–27
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
Matthew 7:21–23