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PARABLE: the wise and foolish bridesmaids

 {PARABLE} the wise and foolish bridesmaids_ 

Matthew 24:36 – 25:13 

 
It is the classic love story... The bridegroom is called away from the bride, the love of his life. He asks her to wait for him. He asks her to believe he will come back for her no matter how long it takes. He asks her to trust that he will come back because of his great love and devotion. The bride is grief-stricken but promises that she will wait for him and not give up hope. But the years pass and the hope fades. She begins to question his promise. She begins to distrust his love. Until one day she realises that she is no longer waiting for him. 

 
[Group discussion starter] Think of an example of when you waited a long time for someone or something important to you. What was the waiting like? What helped you maintain hope? 

 

In the series of short parables that Jesus presents in this text, he calls us to not give up hope. He calls us to trust his love and his promise that he will come for us one day. He calls us to wait in expectation for his return... 

 
[Read Matthew 24:36 – 25:13] 

 
List the parables Jesus uses here. How do they compare and contrast? 
 

 
Put yourself in each parable. How would is change the picture if you, as the character, were waiting with expectation for “the coming of the Son of Man”? 

 
In Matthew 24:36-41, how will the coming of the Son of Man be similar to the days of Noah? 
 

 
Christ’s main point wasn’t to warn against “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage”. So what is he emphasising? 
 

 
[Activity] Jesus compares his coming to a thief breaking into a house (24:42-44) and a master returning home (24:45-51). What does each story emphasise about; 
(a) the nature of the Lord’s return_ 
 

(b) our responsibility_ 
 

 
In Matthew 24:45-46, if the Lord returned today, what would he hope to find us doing? 
 

 
In the verses we’ve just focused on (24:36-51), would you say Christ’s illustrations about his coming were joyful or fearful events? Explain. 
 

 
In biblical times the bridegroom would come to the bride’s home, after dark, where the bridesmaids (virgins) were also waiting, and then would take her (and them) in procession to his home for the wedding feast. In Matthew 25:1-5, what are the similarities between the wise and foolish bridesmaids? 
 
 

 
In 25:6-12, how did the bridegroom’s long delay reveal differences between the wise and foolish bridesmaids? 
 

 
According to this parable, what constitutes wisdom in relation to Christ’s return? 
 

 
It has been more than two thousand years since Jesus promised to return. 
What negative effects might this have on us? 
 

 
What can we do to overcome these negative effects and wait with expectation and hope for his return? 

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