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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
A Day Late and a Dollar Short
There is no doubt that Jesus was and is the Master Teacher. His parables were a major factor in His success as a teacher. A parable, however, can make a very sharp point, teaching so effectively that the reader cannot avoid the object of the lesson. One example, in Matthew 25:1-13, is the parable of the five wise and five foolish maidens. Along with the parables of the talents and the sheep and the goats, Jesus emphasizes the need to be ready when He returns. Read the parable and then study with me the following major points:
“Behold, The Bridegroom Cometh!”
Just a short time before the telling of these parables, Jesus had given signs of the impending destruction of Jerusalem. However, there were to be no signs, repeat, no signs of His return, but there was a need for constant vigilance and preparedness for His coming, Matthew 24:36f. The wedding feast focused upon in the parable was quite unlike modern weddings. The bridegroom often brought the bride to the feast without giving any warning as to the time, so it was not unusual for some to be unprepared for his coming. While we know that Jesus is coming, we know neither “the day nor the hour of His coming.” When the trumpet sounds it will be too late to make preparation, 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Five of the young maids were ready; five were not.
Some Things Cannot Be Borrowed
While some were prepared, others were not. Five had not brought enough oil for their lamps and sought to borrow from others. But the principle of Galatians 6:5 (“Every man shall bear his own burden,”) demands that each person make his/her own preparation. You cannot borrow another person’s integrity, wisdom, respect OR their readiness to meet their God in judgment. The old adage, “Every tub must sit on its own bottom,” fits here as well. I cannot stand in judgment in my children’s stead, nor can they take the place of their children. Each person must be ready.
Unfortunately, many are playing a form of eternal “Russian roulette” with their own soul. I hear some say, “I’m just going to live the best I know how, and then take my chances that God will be merciful.” Sound good? Perhaps, but you won’t find that in the Bible.
How about you? Are you ready for that day to come?
“The Door Was Shut”
Another perspective of the ancient wedding feast was the fact that those who were not there and on time might not be allowed to participate in the feast. Jesus accurately reflected the custom of that day. It was not an accident or a coincidence that He climaxed the parable with the words, “and the door was shut,” for He also made a poignant observation concerning God’s viewpoint of our lives. This earth is not our ultimate home, but a pilgrimage, merely a temporary place of abode. The Bible speaks often of our “hope of eternal life,” Titus 1:2, John 6:68, 1 Peter 1:4, but even this hope must be understood in light of this principle of Jesus, “the door was shut.” Some day that door will be shut. There will be no warning, for “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,” 2 Peter 3:10.
Some may have their hope in the belief that God will ultimately relent, saving everyone, even those who have for years ignored their responsibility to God and others. But “the Lord seeth not as man seeth,” 1 Samuel 16:7, and God “cannot lie,” Titus 1:2. For God to ignore the mandates written by His inspired writers would be the ultimate injustice, yet God is the essence of justice, Deuteronomy 32:4. No, God is not going to just “save everybody” out of His grace. All will be “judged every man according to their works,” Revelation 20:13.
Others are waiting for a “more convenient season,” Acts 24:25. “My life is just not ready for that,” or “I’m not good enough to become a Christian,” or any number of excuses. While we wait for a more convenient time or occasion we are wasting valuable hours that cannot be regained. Felix, a Roman governor, heard Paul reason “about righteousness, temperance and judgment to come.” When he heard these things he trembled, but his heart was not willing to allow the gospel to take root. He said, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee,” Acts 24:25. Listen: Felix never had that convenient season! “The door was shut!” His time ran out!
Right now, the door between you and God stands open to your honest obedience to Him. But you should remember that this life is “but a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away,” James 4:14. Why wait? Obey Him now.
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Why Did They Reject Jesus
One of the real puzzles of the New Testament is the rejection of Jesus by His own followers. On various occasions in His years of public preaching, some of His disciples quit, gave up, or otherwise ceased to be a follower. Most of us cannot understand how anyone, having seen the miracles and the example of Jesus, could turn back and reject Him, but that is exactly what many did. The question is WHY? Was the path too hard to travel? Did Jesus fail to fulfill some prophecy? Was He a disappointment in some way?
The answer is found in a close study of the closing days of Jesus' life, before His crucifixion. A startling change of attitude seemed to take place between the events of Sunday - His triumphant entry - and the next day, Monday. The cries of the people shouting Hosanna" ("save us") on Sunday, changed abruptly to "Crucify Him"" on Friday, Mark 15:13-14. What happened to change their opinion of Jesus so drastically and quickly? Consider these thoughts:
- It seems clear that many of the common people did not really make so drastic a change. Even before Pilate, the cry of "Crucify Him," Mark 15:14, came from a crowd that was "moved" or persuaded by the chief priests. A typical "mob psychology" seems to have prevailed on this occasion.
- It could be that Jesus' triumphant entry on Sunday, Mark 11:1-11, triggered some memories of another event almost 200 years earlier in Jewish history. In 165 B.C., Judas Maccabees swept into the captive city of Jerusalem and drove out the hated Greek army, whose leader, Antiochus Epiphanes, had oppressed them for over ten years. In December of that year, the Temple was rededicated to God, and the Feast of Dedication was arranged to celebrate the event. It may be that the people expected Jesus to bring about political independence as Judas Maccabees had done, so when Jesus drove out the moneychangers instead of the Romans, many refused to receive Him as the long-expected Messiah.
- Certainly, it is obvious that the Jews were ignorant of what the Scriptures had promised in their Messiah. They preferred a man socially acceptable to the world. They desired a sovereign who would liberate them politically. They longed for a leader who would take them from poverty and submission to a place of power and prestige, and since Jesus was not what they expected or wanted, they looked (and they still look) for another.
The intense hatred of the chief priests caused them to do things otherwise forbidden. They even approached the grounds of Pilate's palace during the Passover season. They arranged a "trial" that was a mockery of their own regulations and statutes. They insisted on the release of Barabbas, a murderer and a thief, knowing that such was a contradiction of their own laws. They bribed witnesses to testify falsely.
This question is now appropriate: what if YOU had been present in that mob before the Gabbatha, Pilate's place of judgment? What would have been your response to his question, "What shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ?" Matthew 27:22. Would you have followed the crowd? Would you have stood up for Jesus, or would you have faded into the mob, overpowered by the influential leaders of the day? Would you have "followed afar off," Matthew 26:58, or would you have been a member of the "silent majority?"
Even more significant is today's question, "What are you doing now?" Christ is on trial every day in your own life. Do you "crucify…the Son of God afresh," Hebrews 6:4-6, or do you show by your example that you believe Jesus is the Christ? Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other," Matthew 6:24. So the issue is not dead, rather it is very much alive. Have you accepted Jesus, along with those responsibilities that accompany such a choice? Or will you reject Jesus, choosing the consequences of such a decision? The choice is yours
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