Jesus is a fan of His disciples being prepared for whatever comes their way and teaches them—and us—to be focused upon Him at all times.
“Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” 1
“But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 2
So it is settled that there will be a lot of things happening that distract but Jesus tells us ahead of time so we are not disrupted in our mission in Him:
Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives. 3
Rather than distracted by all the big stuff happening around us, we remain focused upon Jesus recognizing the opportunity He is placing before us to Witness for Him! We are to ‘settle it in our minds beforehand’ this is of Him and is opportunity He provides. We are able to go through, ‘by your endurance you will gain your lives’ for in Him nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Jesus does cement this teaching with the Parable of Ten Wedding Attendants. Each is invited to be part of the wedding party, each accepts the role but five prepare and five do not. The wise prepare what will be needed to see them through the dark times but the foolish only drowse away their time of preparation.
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. 4
Does it seem harsh that the unprepared are shut out? Did they not have time to prepare but didn’t? Did they not disrespect the bridegroom by not preparing for their opportune time? Should they have expected more time than they already had to prepare? Did they not know the commitment they had made to the Lord of the wedding?
Do we take the time daily to stay prepared for whatever the LORD brings our way for the sake of His Name and His Kingdom? Shall we?
