78 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then shall the kingdom of heaven,.... The Gospel church state; [See comments on Matthew 13:24] either as it would be a little before the coming of the son of man to take vengeance on the Jews; or as it will be a little before his second coming to judgment: for the parable is manifestly connected with, and refers to the preceding chapter, which...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
This chapter continues and concludes our Saviour's discourse, which began in the foregoing chapter, concerning his second coming and the end of the world. This was his farewell sermon of caution, as that, John xiv. 15, 16, was of comfort to his disciples; and they had need of both in a world of so much temptation and trouble as this is. The...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. There did not seem to be much difference between...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, And five were foolish. What a division this makes in the visible Church of God! Let as hope that we are not to gather from this that as many as half the professors of Christianity at any time are...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And five of them were wise,.... The order of these words is inverted in some versions, as in the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel, which read, "and five of them were foolish, and five of them were wise"; but this is of no great consequence. There is a parable of R. Jochanan ben Zaccai (m), who lived before, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
They that were foolish took their lamps,.... The Vulgate Latin, and Munster's Hebrew Gospel, read, "the five foolish", whose folly is here exposed; and which lay not merely, or only in taking up the lamps of a profession in a wrong way, and upon a wrong bottom, but chiefly in what follows; and took no oil with them: by oil is meant, not temporal...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: They thought that, if they had the external, it would be quite enough. The secret store of oil, they judged to be unnecessary, because it would be unseen. They would employ one hand in carrying the lamp, but to occupy the other hand by holding the oil-flask seemed to them to be...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But the wise took oil,.... They were concerned for the true grace of God, being enlightened by the Spirit of God; they saw their need of the grace of God, and being directed by him where it was to be had, went to Christ for it; and having received it from him, through the power of the Holy Ghost, exercised it on him; and herein lay their wisdom:...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Oil in their lamps, and oil with their lamps. Lamps are of no use without oil; yet the oil needs the lamp, or else it cannot be rightly used. The light of profession cannot be truly sustained without the oil of grace. Grace, wherever it exists, ought to show itself, as the oil is made to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
While the bridegroom tarried,.... The space of time here referred to, is either from the ascension of Christ, to his coming to take vengeance on the Jews; or from thence to his second coming; or rather from the time of some general expectation by the saints, of the near approach of Christ, till such time he does come: for as there was a general...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. Oh, how sadly true it is that, sometimes, true saints as well as mere professors slumber and sleep! Even those who have the oil of grace are not always wide awake to serve their Master, and to proclaim the gospel as they should. There are, alas! sleeping believers and sleeping hypocrites...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. Both the wise and the foolish fell into a state which seemed alike in them both. In the case of good men, Christ’s delaying his coming often causes disappointment, weariness, and then lethargy, and even the true Church falls into a deep slumber. In the foolish, the mere professors, this...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And at midnight there was a cry made;.... Which is no other than the following notice of the bridegroom's coming, expressed in these words: behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him: which supposes that then all things will be ready for his coming: all things respecting this world; all the strange and surprising events that were to come...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. They were suddenly awakened, and they leaped to their feet,— Upstarting at the midnight cry, ‘Behold the heavenly Bridegroom nigh!’ They all trimmed their lamps. That was the first thing for them to do,...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And at midnight When things had come to the worst,—at midnight”— the coldest and. darkest hour, when everybody was asleep. Mat_25:6. There was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. That was a cry which startled everybody; none of the virgins could sleep when once it was announced that the bridegroom was coming. I wish,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then all these virgins arose,.... Not out of their graves; for the righteous and wicked will not rise together; the dead in Christ will rise first, and this first resurrection will not be till Christ is come; nor will grace be to be had, or be thought to be had after the resurrection; nor will there be any trimming of lamps then, in order to meet...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. They could not sleep any longer; they were fairly startled and aroused.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the foolish said unto the wise, give us of your oil,.... A graceless person may be able to see the grace of God in others, be convinced of it, and acknowledge it, as these foolish virgins did: they saw that the wise virgins had oil, that is, grace; this they knew by the bright burning of their lamps, by their readiness in trimming them, and...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. The modern rendering of this request is, “Send for the minister, and ask him to pray for us, for our lamps are gone out.” Take heed, I pray you, you who are bold professors now,— lest you should have to say at the last, “Our lamps are gone out.” It was too late...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; Ah, me! now they began to value what they had aforetime despised. They were foolish enough to think that oil was unnecessary; but now they saw that it was the one essential thing, so they cried to the wise virgins, “Give us of your oil.” And hear the dreadful reason: — Mat_25:8. For our...