Matthew 25:1-13

Among the Jews in Jesus' day, parents arranged the betrothal of their children at which, by mutual consent of the man and woman, they were married.  After this the bride and groom waited a certain time before they lived together as husband and wife.  Finally the wedding celebration took place and the bridegroom went to take his bride home with him.  Maiden companions of the bride would meet him and escort him to his bride.  They took their lamps to light the way.  Jesus uses this festive occasion as an example of his Second Coming.  He is the Bridegroom coming to take his bride, the church, home with him to heaven.  The ten virgins in his parable are those on earth who are waiting for his return and desiring to join him at the heavenly feast.

The bride and her attendants were certain that the groom was coming, but they did not know exactly when he would arrive.  This is the same with Jesus' return.  He will come back just as he promised.  There is no question about the certainty of his coming.  What is unknown, though, is when he will return.  

With this parable Jesus emphasizes the need to be ready for his coming.  He describes five foolish and five wise virgins waiting the bridegroom.  They all took their oil lamps.  But five took no oil; they had only that which was in their lamps.  That was foolish.  The supply wouldn't be enough while they waited.  Five were wise; they had a good supply of oil and thus were ready when the bridegroom arrived to burn their lamps for the festive procession to the house.

The lamp oil represents faith in Jesus as Savior.  "Wise" Christians have faith which endures to the end.  They do so in the only way possible: hearing and learning the Word of God.  By the energy of his Word, God causes the flame of faith to burn in their hearts.  Not so with the others who will foolishly claim to be Christians at Christ's return but lack faith.  Perhaps they once started strong in the faith; their lights burned brightly and they were excited in the anticipation of the glory which the returning Christ would bring them.  But Jesus has tarried a long time, and in that period of time the oil of faith in these people has been used up.  

So Jesus says to us, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."  Since we cannot know the time of Christ's final coming, the spiritually wise course for us is to be alert and watchful at all times.  We will fill ourselves with God’s Word, and by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we will be ready to meet Jesus at the all-decisive hour of his return.  Then we will rejoice because Jesus our heavenly bridegroom will welcome us to the feast of eternal joy!

1 Corinthians 1:20,25

How did the dinosaurs become extinct?  Recently forty-one scientists from various countries collaborated to study that issue, and an online report from csmonitor.com shared their conclusion after collecting and reviewing research together for twenty years.

“A giant asteroid smashing into Earth is the only plausible explanation” co-author Joanne Morgan noted.  “It triggered…earthquakes measuring more than 10 on the Richter scale, and continental landslides, which created tsunamis.  Geological records show the event that triggered the dinosaurs' demise rapidly destroyed marine and land ecosystems, and the asteroid hit is the only plausible explanation for this.”  According to this research team, this unique devastation happened 65 million years ago.

Hmmm…continental landslides?  Phenomenal earthquakes?  Devastating tsunamis?  A one-time catastrophe during which the entire planet’s marine and land ecosystems are rapidly destroyed?  I think there is another plausible explanation.  Sounds like the flood at the time of Noah, doesn’t it?  That’s when, the Bible says, “the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened...The waters rose, increased greatly on the earth…and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet…Every living thing that moved on the earth perished…Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark (selected verses from Genesis 7).”

So did the Flood make the dinosaurs extinct?  We don’t have all the details – for Scripture doesn’t share them all – but we do know some of them.  We know that the massive extinction wasn’t 65 million years ago, but about 8,000 years ago, according to the age of all creation that the Scriptures lead us to believe.  We know that a worldwide flood, not an asteroid, killed the vast majority of dinosaurs, birds, animals and humans as well, except those spared within the safe confines of the ark that God commanded Noah to build.  We know that the flood was so devastating, how could it not have caused major changes in the earth’s landscape?  We know God promised to never send something like it again.

As we wonder and explore for answers to a question like how the dinosaurs became extinct, rather than allowing science to shed light on the Bible, we let the Bible shed light on science.  It doesn’t matter if 41 or 4,100 scientists research this for decades.  It doesn’t matter what “only plausible explanation” they decide.  We have God’s changeless, flawless Word.  Man’s wisdom, research and reasoning will always fall short compared to that.

Look at the verses for today.  God says, “Where is the wise man?  Where is the scholar?  Where is the philosopher of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?...For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom; and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”

Humble yourselves to the flawless Word of God.  Stop trying to overrule God with your opinions.  Ask the Lord to teach you wonderful things in his Word and to lead you to accept everything that he says in the Bible.  Then listen to his promises and know that his “weakness” is stronger than your strength.  Know that he has saved you, not by any plan of yours but by his own generous, wonderful gift of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 24:45-51

In this little parable of Jesus, the man going away is the Savior himself.  He came to this world to establish his kingdom on earth by means of his sufferings, death and resurrection.  Then he left his "house on earth."  He ascended to the position of all glory and power in heaven.  But like a man who before he leaves his house or business gives instruction to those managing his affairs, so Jesus gave instruction to his managers, his servants before he left for heaven.  They are to carefully conduct his spiritual household and faithfully manage the affairs of the Savior as they wait for his return.  The servants of Jesus are to use the Word and Sacraments as Jesus directed, to live as children of the heavenly Father, and to spread the gospel at every opportunity.  

Jesus is speaking to those who believe in him.  Each one of us has the responsibility to be about the work of our Savior as we wait for his return.  Believing in Jesus and treasuring the salvation that he won for us, we’ll dedicate our lives to serving him and faithfully fulfilling his will.  God’s Word makes it clear, though, that it is not our activity that prepares us and makes us ready to stand before God on the Last Day.  It is only by faith in Jesus that we can stand in the final judgment, that we are saved from the condemnation of eternal death.

A man who was on trial for a criminal offense stood trembling before the judge. “Don’t be afraid,” he was told, “you’ll get justice.” “I know,” replied the offender, “but that’s just what I don’t want!” Nor do we want justice when we stand before the Judge of heaven and earth. Justly we sinners deserve to be condemned forever. What we want and need is mercy. And that’s what God graciously gives to us in Jesus. How foolish it would be to turn away from Christ and count the things of this world, which will be destroyed, more important than Jesus. Our Lord warns us to watch out so that we aren’t drawn into thinking that we can live apart from God and ignore his Word.  The Day of Judgment is coming!

Oh what great expectation we have in the promise of our Lord that he is coming back! His coming is nothing for us to fear, for by faith in Jesus we look forward to a new heaven and new earth, the home of righteousness. Confidently by faith and with joyful anticipation, we now keep careful watch on our lives and stay on the task that Jesus has given us, to spread his saving message.

Luke 15:11-21

Could you imagine what this man’s neighbors might have said?  “Parents just don’t raise their kids like they used to.  First the boy runs off with the inheritance, and now dad’s running out to welcome him?  I tell ya, if that were my kid it would be a whole different story.  He’d have to come crawling back on his knees.  I’d tell him quite frankly, ‘You blew it! The shame you have brought on this family, you don’t even deserve to stand on my doorstep.’  Maybe, just maybe, if he straightened his life out, stopped partying, and showed up for work every day, I’d think about letting him live in the old shack down by the gate.  But to welcome him back like that?  Never!”

The love of this father goes far beyond what we would expect.  It is reckless, maybe even foolish.  But that’s how God loves us.  He loved us even though we were dead in our transgressions and sins.  He sent his one and only Son to die for us while we were still sinners.  Why?  Because he was filled with compassion for us.  His love goes far beyond anything we could expect or imagine.

This reminds us that we can always return to our heavenly Father.  Whether we have been living in open rebellion like the lost son, or we have been rebelling with secret sins that lurk deep within our hearts, we can always say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you,” and be confident that God in his grace will run to us with his arms wide open.

Exodus 3:7,8

“Nobody cares.”  What a terrible thought!  Whether it is the teenager who feels he has no one to talk to or the widow who feels that everyone is too busy to bother with her, the thought that no one cares is dreadful.  Although the person who feels this way may not be aware of just how much people do care, the most important thing to know is that God cares.  He ALWAYS cares.  When his people cried out to him from slavery in Egypt – God cared.  He was concerned about their suffering, and he came to their rescue.  He used Moses to deliver them from their bondage and bring them to the Promised Land.

God cares about you.  He ALWAYS cares about you.  When you cry out to God in your suffering – God cares.  When you doubt that he cares, when the circumstances of your life seem to say that he doesn’t care, just look at Jesus suffering on the cross.  He went to the cross to free you from your slavery to sin and death.   He promises to bring you to heaven one day.  The One who cared about you enough to do all of that certainly cares enough to deliver you from whatever other trials you are facing.  When you are tempted to think, “Nobody cares,” look to the cross and be certain that the LORD cares.