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The Sermon for Sunday, November 8th, 2026, the Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity
The Lessons: Psalm 70; Amos 5:18-24; Matthew 25:1-13
The Text: Matthew 25:1-13
INTRODUCTION
Unlike other countries that have a pay-as-you-use toll system on major roads, Switzerland expects drivers using its autoroute system to pay an annual fee of 40 Swiss francs. When you pay, you get a windshield sticker you display for the rest of the year.
Traditionally, traffic police give motorists the whole month of January to purchase the sticker. There is no penalty for driving without it during that month — it is a month of grace. But when the first days of February come, expect to see the traffic police on the autoroute exit ramps checking for cars without the sticker. No more excuses are accepted; no more time is given.
The grace period has ended.[1]
— Alan Wilson, Nyon, Switzerland
In both our First and Second Lessons, we encounter warnings against spiritual carelessness concerning readiness for the Day of the Lord. We do not know when the grace period will end.
The Gospel Lesson today is the first in a series of three lessons on Matthew 25 that begin today and culminate in the Festival of Christ the King. The three lessons feature the parables of Jesus in Matthew 25. The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in our Gospel Lesson today follows the Lord Jesus Christ’s warnings to disciples that they must be prepared for his Second Coming and not exploit others, thinking that the Lord will either never come, or that his coming is delayed so long that there will be no consequences for their evil actions.
The ten virgins of this parable were bridesmaids whose responsibility at a Jewish wedding in the first century was to escort the newly married couple from the bride’s home to a wedding banquet at the bridegroom’s home, some time after the wedding ceremony had taken place. Since lamps and torches light the way of the procession, all the bridesmaids had to take enough oil to keep their lamps burning for as long as necessary. The fact that there are equal numbers of wise and foolish virgins does not imply that the number of those in the kingdom of heaven will be equal to the number of those in Satan’s kingdom. The bridesmaids all have to wait longer than anticipated for the procession to the bridegroom’s home to begin. Everyone falls asleep, and all are awakened by a cry at midnight when the bridegroom comes and all the bridesmaids must go out to meet him. We must regard the midnight cry as the trumpet call referred to in Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52; and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (the last verse refers to both trumpet call and shout). The foolish bridesmaids ask the wise ones for oil, since they have not brought enough, but the wise ones know that if they share their oil, all of them will run out of oil. Instead, they tell them to go to the stores to buy more oil for themselves. On such festive nights, the stores would stay open for people to buy what they might need for a wedding. The bridegroom in the parable represents the Lord Jesus Christ at this Second Coming, and the oil represents the spiritual preparation that all the faithful must make in persevering to the end. We must all be ready to meet the Lord Jesus Christ whenever he chooses to come. The Parable teaches that spiritual preparation and watchfulness are not transferable to others. Each individual is responsible for his own readiness to meet with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The oil should not be allegorized to refer to good works, faith, grace, or the Holy Spirit, since none of these can be purchased.
But the errand of buying more oil takes too long, and while the five foolish maidens delay, the bridegroom comes, and the wise maidens accompany bride and groom to the wedding banquet. Then the bridegroom’s door is closed and locked to keep intruders out. In ordinary life, the bridegroom would probably have allowed the latecomers into his home, but this is a parable, with a spiritual meaning. The bridegroom refuses them admittance, saying, “I don’t know you” (Matthew 25:12).
We may ask if this is a case of Christians losing their salvation. Some commentators deny that such is the case, pointing out that the bridegroom’s reply indicates that he has never known the five foolish bridesmaids. It could be argued, though, that the saying, “I do not know you” does not imply “I have never known you,” but simply, “I do not have a relationship with you now.” This means that Christians who have stopped living the Christian way of life, and have not persevered in the faith, will find themselves excluded from God’s kingdom, because they never repented, never turned back to the Lord, and they assumed that their past good standing with the Lord will serve them well now.
CONCLUSION OF THE PARABLE
The Lord ends the Parable with what is clearly a warning to his disciples: “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13, KJV).
The Greek word used for “watch” is the same word from which the English name “Gregory” derives. It really means that one must be spiritually watchful, prepared, and ready to meet the Lord Jesus if he should come suddenly. Of course, we think primarily of the Lord’s Second Coming that we must be ready for, but when we die, we meet with the Lord, and we must be prepared to meet with him, whenever we pass from this earthly life. How shall we be ready? By repentance, prayer, continuing faith, continuing reading and studying of God’s word, by increasing love for the Lord and zeal to do his will, and by listening daily to what his Holy Spirit may be saying to us.
[1] p. 166, Craig Brian Larson & Phyllis Ten Elshof (General Editors): 1001 Illustrations that Connect. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, Christianity Today International, 2008.