I'm confused about these verses.
Matthew 25:10
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Luke 12:36
And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
The context and the content of each of those verses are different.
In Luke, the Lord is simply making reference to his second coming after a long absence to those Jewish believers who were there during his earthly ministry (and those who will be on earth at that time in the future). He is warning his little flock to be faithful and to endure and continue on in his word (and not the Anti-Christ's, as will be the case in the future) until he comes.
Notice here, that the Lord of these servants comes from a wedding, not to a wedding. So this wedding is not the marriage supper of the Lamb. In Jewish custom, prominent men would be invited to numerous weddings throughout the year
John 2:1-2
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
Many of these men had wealth, including servants, and they would leave their servants in charge of their business. Unlike in our culture, these Jewish weddings were very long festivals that would last for days and days, and the master never told his servants how long he would be gone.
John 15:15
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
While that master is gone, his servants are to conduct his business as if he were still there in the house because when he gets back they will have to give an account of themselves to him
Luke 19:12-13
He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
Then they would either be rewarded or punished accordingly. You see the parallel in James and Revelation.
James 5:8-9
Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Revelation 3:20-21
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Notice Revelation 3, above, is similar to this passage in Luke…
Luke 12:37
Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
Instead of this master sitting down to be served of his servants, he will be the one doing the service unto them—a type of the Lord giving them the kingdom, as seen in John 13.
John 13:4-5
He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
So the Lord used the picture of a wedding with these men because they would then grasp the fact that when he would leave, he'd be gone for A long time (tohHeaven)! This is different from his return to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb when he will marry Israel to their land (Isa 62)!
Isaiah 62:4
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
This passage again has to do with Jewish wedding customs…
Matthew 25:10
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
In fact, this is probably where we get our tradition of bride's maids...
Matthew 9:15
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
Mark 2:19-20
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
Luke 5:34-35
And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
…and groomsmen too....
John 3:29
He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
The Lord likens the kingdom to ten virgins
Matthew 25:1
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps [light], and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
These virgins were the "honorable women"
Psalm 45:9
Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
…who were taken in to minister to the bride and groom at a wedding.
Judges 11:37-38
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
The whole point of this parable is to be there at the wedding...inside the doors...part of the celebration!!!
Matthew 22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.
All a type of the faithful in Israel getting inside the kingdom when the Lord comes! So the virgins are not the ones getting married, but they are a part of the ceremony. (Why would there be 10 virgins and not just one if they were the ones marrying? The groom was not going to marry 10 women).
Anyway, the Lord uses different things well known in the minds of these Jews to describe his kingdom…
Matthew 25:14
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
…the delay in it, and how to endure to the end to get in! If these virgins (those who were not defiled by Anti-Christ/Apostasy in that day), are to get in, they had to continue on in His Word (“lamp”/[light] as in above]), or they won't get in!
Psalm 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
A lot of these things that the Lord makes reference to is Jewish, so thank God He gave us a gentile message through Paul in Romans through Philemon. And, it is that doctrine—Paul’s sound doctrine—that we should know best!
Hopefully this helps!
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Do you have a question
for Pastor Ron?
…more on the Marriage Supper yet to come.
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