35. Matthew 23-25 (3)
Matthew 25:1-13: The Parable of the Bridesmaids “In the Middle East, to this day, there are some places where the customs at a wedding are quite similar to the ones described here. In the modern West, people don't normally get married in the middle of the night! But in that culture torchlight processions, late in the evening, are certainly known, and it seems as though the proceedings might have several stages, with the bridegroom likely to be delayed at an earlier venue before he arrives for the banquet itself, to be greeted at last by the bridesmaids.” Thus Tom Wright sets the scene for us Westerners for whom this scene is unfamiliar and seems more than a little bizarre. [1] But what’s its point? It’s the difference between sleeping (v.4) and staying awake (v.13). The foolish and the wise (v.2). Readiness for a great event and being taken by surprise by it. By now it should be clear that Jesus refers here to the great crisis in Israel evoked by his coming ...