Passage: Acts 1:9-11; Matthew 25:1-13

The Big Idea

Two thousand years ago, Jesus died on a cross, rose from the dead, and promised He would come back. Scripture speaks of His return again and again, and the Bible’s last promise is, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Many see the rebirth of Israel as a sign that the stage is being set. But Jesus’ parable of the ten bridesmaids teaches that what matters most isn’t predicting the date; it’s being ready. The oil the foolish bridesmaids lacked pictures a real relationship with Him. “I do not know you” is the most tragic sentence in the story. Are you ready? Do you know Him as your Savior?

Three Events That Change Everything

Two thousand years ago, some things happened that changed everything for you and me today.

1. Jesus died on a cross. An innocent man, condemned to suffer and die. Everyone who saw it was changed.

2. Jesus rose from the dead. He proved He is God by breaking the one rule no mere mortal can break.

3. He said He would come back!

Luke tells us that after Jesus said these things, He was lifted up while they watched, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. As they stood staring into the sky, two men in white stood beside them and asked why they were standing there looking up. This same Jesus who had been taken from them into heaven would come back the same way they had seen Him go (Acts 1:9-11).

This was forty days after the crucifixion. Jesus had spent that time with His disciples, teaching them.
At one point He appeared to more than five hundred people at once (1 Corinthians 15:6). What proof that He was truly alive!
I bet they were waiting for Him to start reigning as King. After all, He’s God! That’s what this messed-up world needs.
But, to their chagrin, He was taken up into heaven, and everyone just stood there staring up. Two angels basically said, “We’d better tell these guys what’s going on.”
So they told the disciples Jesus would come back. No one knows when. He’ll take His place as King, but we have to wait for the right time.

This isn’t the only place the Bible speaks of His return. There are hundreds of passages about it, in both Testaments.

Jesus Himself said He was coming back. And look how the Bible ends, as if God were saying, “This is the last thing I want you to remember”: He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20).

Signs?

God’s Word hasn’t changed in two thousand years. So why do we hear so much about the end of the world, the Great Tribulation and the rapture these days?

Are there signs of Jesus’ second coming?

Many Bible teachers point to the rebirth of the nation of Israel as one of the clearest.

Through Ezekiel, God promised that He would gather the people of Israel from the nations where they’d been scattered, bring them back to their own land, and make them one nation there, on the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 37:21-22).

Why is that so remarkable?

In AD 70, Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome.
For nearly two thousand years, the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world.
Then, after World War II, in 1948, the modern State of Israel was born, in the very land they’d been driven from nearly two thousand years earlier.
It’s hard to find any other people who were scattered for so long and kept their identity, let alone returned to their homeland.
God said He would bring them back, and He did.
God proves again that He keeps His word.

So why does that matter to us, decades later?

Since its founding, Israel has been at the center of conflict. Nations around it have gone to war against it, and it remains a focus of the world’s attention. Zechariah foretold that God would make Jerusalem a cup of trembling and a heavy stone for all the nations around, and that all who try to lift it would hurt themselves (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Ezekiel 38-39 and Zechariah 12-14 describe future wars centered on Israel, involving many nations.
Isaiah even foretells the destruction of Damascus (Isaiah 17:1).
Yet God promises to protect His people.

I believe these passages are setting the stage for the events surrounding Jesus’ return. But Jesus Himself told us not to obsess over the date. He told us how to be ready.

What does all this mean for us? We have jobs, families, friends and plenty going on. We might not know or care what’s happening in the world. So what does it matter?

The Ten Bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13)

Jesus told this story to teach us how to be ready for His coming.

Jesus said the kingdom of heaven would be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

A Jewish wedding in that day had three stages:

Engagement: a formal agreement, often arranged by the fathers.
Betrothal: a ceremony where binding promises were made.
The wedding itself: often about a year later, when the bridegroom came, sometimes at an unexpected hour, to take his bride home.

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones brought their lamps but no extra oil. The wise ones brought flasks of oil along with their lamps.

The foolish ones knew why they were there. They knew the groom was coming. But they were missing something crucial.
What’s the big deal about this oil?

The bridegroom was a long time coming, and they all got drowsy and fell asleep. Then at midnight came the shout: the bridegroom is here, come out and meet him!

A surprise. A shock, in the middle of the night.

All the bridesmaids woke up and got their lamps ready. The foolish ones begged the wise ones to share their oil, because their lamps were going out. But the wise ones said no: there might not be enough for everyone. Go buy some from the sellers.

The wise couldn’t give the foolish their oil. It’s not that they were being stingy, like kids who won’t share. They simply weren’t the source of the oil. Each person had to have their own.

While they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came back calling, “Lord, open the door for us!” But he answered that truly, he didn’t know them.

The foolish ones went off to try to fix their problem, and the groom came while they were gone.
They tried to get into the wedding, but heard the most chilling words: “I do not know you.”
That tells us what they were really missing. Not just oil. The oil pictures relationship, the Spirit-filled life that comes from truly knowing Him.

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

The summary: be ready, because He’s coming back and you don’t know when.
You’ll want to go with Him when He comes. You don’t want to miss it!

Is Your Lamp Full?

Put it all together: Jesus wants us to watch and wait for His coming by being in a right relationship with Him, by knowing Him.

Here’s the question: Is your lamp full of oil? In other words, do you have a real relationship with Him?

How do you know Him?

As the Creator? “Sure, I believe God made the world.”
As someone everyone talks about and has an opinion about?
Or as your Savior? That’s how I know Him. That’s how the Bible calls us to know Him.

“What do you mean, know Him as my Savior?” I’m glad you asked! Let me explain clearly.

1. Every person is a sinner. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have a problem. Every human being has sinned.

2. God’s penalty for sin is death. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). If we do nothing about our sin, or try to deal with it on our own, we face spiritual death that lasts forever.

3. In His great love, God has provided salvation for sinners. God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

To truly know God, you have to understand what He did for you. Jesus died on the cross for you, because sin demanded punishment.
God loved you so much that He took that penalty Himself. Instead of us facing judgment forever, He paid the price for our sin and took it all away.
And that freedom is now freely given to anyone who asks.

4. Each person must put their trust in Jesus Christ. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9-10, 13).

What does that look like?

You honestly admit you’re a sinner. You’re just agreeing with God.
You honestly admit you can’t save yourself, and that you need His death on the cross to pay your penalty.
You ask Him to be your Savior and the Lord of your life.
Then He promises to come and fill your life, like oil filling a lamp.

Through that relationship of trust, you’ll be ready, not only for His coming, but for the day you stand before God.

And on that day, if God were to ask, “Why should I let you into My heaven?” you’ll be able to say, “Because I know You. You’re my Savior. I trusted You and what You did for me.” And He’ll say, “I know you.”

Grace Takeaway

Jesus died, rose, and promised to come back, and history is moving toward that day. But the parable of the ten bridesmaids reminds us that the real question isn’t when He’ll come; it’s whether He’ll say, “I know you.” You can’t borrow someone else’s oil. Come to Jesus yourself, admit your need, trust what He did on the cross, and let His Spirit fill your lamp. Then you’ll be ready, whenever He comes.

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Jesus Is Coming Back: The Ten Bridesmaids