Preparation or being ready is a biblical teaching. In Matthew 24-25, Jesus teaches using various parables to explain His return or second coming. Jesus warns His disciples not to be deceived but rather to be on guard, watch, pray, and serve one another as they await His return. Preparation is necessary to be ready for Jesus’ return.
Your first step to prepare for Jesus’ return is to get right with God.
Have you placed your faith in Jesus as God, receiving His forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God? The apostle Paul in Romans 8:10-11 teaches that Jesus provides the way for you to be right with God, and just as God raised Jesus from the dead, God will give you life through His Spirit.
After you have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus, you must remain connected with Jesus every day.
You prepare for Jesus’ return by daily putting in the energy, time, thought, and effort to remain connected to Jesus through prayer, worship, Bible study, but also by obeying Jesus’ teachings found in the Bible. You may not like, or even want, to invest in being prepared for Jesus’ return, but Jesus encourages you to prepare now and be ready.
In Matthew 25:3-4, the foolish person in the parable made no preparation, but the wise person did. The fools had no oil available for their lamps at the time it was needed, while the wise had prepared by saving oil that could then be used for their lamps. This comparison shows how the wise person had to make an initial decision (i.e., salvation) to save oil for this future celebration but also ongoing, daily decisions (i.e., obedience) to save oil in preparation for this coming event (i.e., Jesus’ return). The foolish are not called “good or bad” in a moral sense, but rather, they are called foolish because they did not prepare (i.e., no saving faith). They believed or convinced themselves they would have time to purchase oil at the last minute or borrow from others. Therefore, they made no decision or preparation to save oil for the upcoming celebration.
The parable Jesus uses to teach His disciples includes a bride and groom, not just oil and lamps. There is a customary waiting period as the bride and groom prepare for life together. Similarly, there is a waiting period as Jesus’ followers anticipate His return. The time of waiting should not be wasted. This time is for preparation. However, many people allow this waiting period to desensitize them to Jesus’ saving work on their behalf. They get busy living life without God, or just get lazy and slothful putting off important decisions until later – they “got drowsy and fell asleep” (Matthew 25:5).
The preparation now – first, salvation, and second, daily obedience – is worth your time, energy, and investment because joining the celebration of Jesus’ return will be eternal satisfaction for your soul – when you see Jesus face to face – to be in His presence forever.
Did you know that there were people at Jesus’ crucifixion who told Jesus to come down from the cross if He was truly God (reference Mark 15:29-32)? What a demand! Who did they think they were telling Jesus (God, the Son) what, when, and how to accomplish salvation for humanity, and how Jesus should reveal that He was God?
When you demand that Jesus act on your timeline for you to believe that He is God you undermine the very nature of faith in God. More importantly, you fail to acknowledge who God is and His authority to do as He sees fit, including the way He makes you right with God and the timing of His redemptive work on your behalf.
What is your practical response to Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 24 and 25?
- Reconcile with God through saving faith in Jesus today!
- Share with others who do not know God so that they make preparation to be right with God now through faith in Jesus.
- Help others understand the customary waiting period for Jesus’ return so they do not waste their lives by putting off getting right with God.
- Encourage followers of Jesus to be ready for His return by focusing their lives on daily obedience to Jesus’ teachings found in the Bible.
