Tag Archives: ten virgins

The Kingdom of Heaven/God – IS LIKE

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The IS LIKE post continues my study of Kingdom. IS LIKE is the phrase that will be my focus, most verses with this declaration occur in Matthew. The word like and relate terms are numerous in the Gospels, so I have included some links to allow you to go further. I will be honest, add your leaf and ink concordance, my Strong’s/Vines Concordance gave me some thoughts that were not in the electronic versions. But I do enjoy the resources I have found on-line.

ὅς | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

ὅμοιος | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Strong’s Greek: 3666. ὁμοιόω (homoioó) — To make like, to liken, to compare

You find IS LIKE verses in Mark and Luke also, I may just reference them as many are repeats of the ones in Matthew. John did not have any that I could find, but he had a term that was great and I will talk about it. Some of this needs to be “repeats” so I will cover them now.

  • Matthew has the most references to kingdom. He uses “of heaven” the most, with just a few “of God” when the leaders were being addressed. I think this reflects his primary audience. I do not think that there is a difference in what he is talking about because the other writers use the same parables, they just use “Of God”. Look at the Lord’s Prayer.
  • Mark and Luke use “of God” when it is needed. Luke has many verses about the kingdom.
  • John does not have many verses with the word kingdom in them. That is probably because he was focused on the King and showing Him as the Son of God. He does use “my kingdom” when Jesus is talking to Pilate. See Chapter 3 and 18 for the times he brings kingdom into his Gospel.

In Matthew the first message about kingdom is “repent for it is near”, both John the Baptist and Jesus shared this word. Jesus added healing as a witness that He had come and was bring the kingdom.

Matthew 6 and Luke 11 have versions of The Lord’s Prayer; it is also known as The Our Father. The reason I bring this up is who the kingdom belongs to, and where it/He is located. Our Father is in Heaven and we are asking for His Kingdom to come. I found Psalm 9:7-11 as an Old Testament verse that lends itself to the Prayer’s terminology.

Parables, proverbs, and stories are very much a part of Hebrew literature, remember Proverbs and Judges 9. The thing I like about them are there is more than one level to them for us to ponder. Even the ones that Jesus explained to His disciples may have more in them. I like His explanations and don’t usually try to go deeper, most of the time I can barely absorb His teaching about them. But I have found that as you grow in the Lord, the more you may see. However, if your later insights cancel the simple ones, it may be time for more study.

These “IS LIKE” parables are very much like that. My Strong’s/Vines points out you may have to view or consider the whole and all the parts and characters to get the most out of them. I know I have added thoughts to many of them. Sometimes you need to really look at what the IS LIKE is talking about. An example is the humble or little child parables, looking at the circumstances for Jesus’ words are just as important as the little children.

Matthew 13 

  • 24 – a man who sowed good seed
  • 31 – mustard seed (See Luke 13:18+19)
  • 33 – yeast (See Luke 13:20)
  • 44 – treasure hidden in a field
  • 45 – merchant looking for fine pearls
  • 47 – net that was let down and caught all kinds of fish
  • 52 – owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom (teacher of the law)

Matthew 18

  • 4 – a humble child is the greatest in the kingdom
  • 23 – king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants

Matthew 20:1 – a landowner who is looking to hire labors to work in his field

Matthew 22:2 – king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. This was taught on the Temple Mount before the leaders and the people.

Matthew 25:1 – will be like ten virgins with their lamps going to meet the bridegroom. This was on the Mount of Olives to the disciples. (Sadducees asked a question about marriage while He was on the Temple Mount) This further enforces the Palm Sunday ride into Jerusalem was a part of a marriage contract for paying the bride’s price.

  • 14 – man on a journey

AS I REFLECTED ON THE ABOVE PARABLES IN MATTHEW, I NOTICED HOW THAT LIST WOULD ALSO SERVICE AS AN OUTLINE FOR JESUS’ LIFE AND MINISTRY HERE ON EARTH.

Mark

  • 4:26 – 29 – a man scatters seeds on the ground
  • 10:15 – the little child receiving the kingdom

Luke

  • 13:18 – a mustard seed planted in the garden (See Matthew 13:31+32)
  • 13:20 – yeast (See Matthew 13:33)
  • 18:17 – a little child receiving the kingdom

John – 3:3 born again God, 3:5 born of water and the Spirit God, 18: 36 Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (MY KINGDOM). He was talking to Pilate.

Woke Up

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Woke Up is a consideration of seven individuals who woke up in the Bible. I arranged these into three categories. I used the NIV Bible for this study. The reason for this is the term woke is not in the KJV. You will find awoke, awake, arise, and several other terms. Matthew 25:7 is the parable that started my study. Those virgins that woke up supplied many insights about the Kingdom of God. 

Several Greek terms are translated woke in the NIV and have various definitions and are applied in a variety of ways. I will look at some of the Greek terms. MOUNCE Reverse Interlinear Bible helped me with my Greek; I need it. This is not an exhaustive review of everybody who slept in the Bible or those who rose or got up.

WOKE UP FROM DREAMS THAT OFFERED GUIDANCE  

Genesis 41:4 starts the story of Pharaoh and his dreams about cows and wheat. He woke up three times at the start of this narrative. When he woke up in the morning, his dreams troubled him and no one produced an answer about the meanings of the dreams. I have to imagine that his counselors offered ideas. Their explanations did not appease the dreamer. God had definite plans for these birthday dreams of Pharaoh, so only a God-inspired answer would do.

Two years earlier the Chief Cupbearer also woke up with a dream that troubled him. Joseph, a convict, helped the fellow out with a God-answer. God caused/allowed these dreams to raise Joseph up. Please remember that Joseph paid a severe price to interpret those dreams. 

Joseph also woke up that morning. It would be a sure bet that his bed was not as nice or smelled as good as Pharaoh’s. Joseph woke up every morning believing in God and that there was something better in his future. Remember, Joseph also woke up from his own dreams and held fast to the God of Abraham.  

Pharaoh woke up and realized his dreams were important. God graciously informed him about an issue that he could not see at that moment. The mercy of God saved the land of Egypt and helped Joseph, Israel/Jacob, and his family.

Matthew 1:24 is another story of waking up and realizing you heard God. Joseph woke up from a dream and took Mary to be his wife. That was a rough night’s sleep for the man. But Joseph heard God, so he accepted the dream to bring Mary home without questioning it. This confidence in God and His messages directed Joseph several times for the safety of his family.

Joseph and Pharaoh shared one thing in common. Once they realized God gave them those dreams, they acted on the message they received.

WOKE UP AND CALLED TO ACTION 

Matthew 8:25, Mark 4, and Luke 8 feature a sleeping Jesus and nervous disciples. This story takes place early in Jesus’s ministry. He has just started teaching about His Kingdom and training the Disciples. In a short time period, Jesus has gone from the Mountain and the Sermon to healing a leper and the Centurion’s servant, restoring Peter’s mother-in-law to health, and healing the people of Capernaum. He deserved to be tired and asleep in the boat. The disciples had no peace in the boat because they did not know the Man in the boat. The disciples called Him Lord, but did they believe He was Lord of all Creation?

Jesus woke, got up, and rebuked the storm. He then rebuked the disciples. So, was he a Master Teacher or grumpy Jesus, you judge. The Greek word for woke is egeirō, Strong’s #1453. This is a well-used word with many uses or definitions, it means to raise up or cause to arise.

Psalm 74:22 Arise O Lord and defend your cause. Did this story fulfill this verse? 

Act 12:7 has a sleeping Peter waking up by a slap on the side from an angel. He escaped guards, cell doors, strong gates, and a mean ruler. While he walked out of the fort, he imagined all of this being a dream. Maybe he woke up twice: in the jail and out on the street. Peter had grown in his faith because of the miracles worked by his hands, but this was too much for a sleepy Peter. This supernatural encounter woke Peter up to the reality of Jesus’ protection over his life and angels.

Acts 16:27 Paul’s guard woke up because of an earthquake. He drew the wrong conclusion and his sword. Waking up is hard when events are going bad. It took a friendly word from Paul and Silas and proof of God’s love to wake him and his entire family up to salvation in Jesus. 

Frightened disciples, an angel with an attitude, or an earthquake; God will use anything to wake you up when you have to act for Him.

WOKE UP TO THE PROPHETIC

Zechariah 4:1 has an angel waking Zechariah up during a string of visions/dreams. This series of dreams starts in 1:8 and finishes with chapter six. Many of these themes we see repeated in Revelations. This waking up takes place in between a vision for Jeshua/Joshua (the high priest) and Zerubbabel (a descendent of Jesus and the governor of Judah). 
Joshua and Zerubbabel build the Second Temple. Zechariah’s visions and preaching will help get this finished. Jesus and Revelations are all over these visions and words from the Lord in these first six chapters.

His being woken up by the angel makes me reflect on Peter. The line between our reality and angels may be thinner than we realize. Both men encounter angels that appear to have been in both realities.

Matthew 25:7 is the story of the ten virgins or young girls. The wise five woke up and prepared to complete their season of waiting to follow the bridegroom into the feast. The foolish five harassed sleeping business owners to get what they lacked. They never made it into the marriage. Jesus is love, but He is also righteous. 

In biblehub.com, I noted an interesting fact. The term woke in this story is ēgerthēsan. It occurs twice in the New Testament; they are Matthew 25:7 and again in 27:52. Chapter 27 is telling about the dead who rose to life and went back into Jerusalem.   

https://biblehub.com/greek/e_gerthe_san_1453.htm

After musing on 25:7 I did a second post to keep this one short. 
As a retired teacher, I feel a study should answer your initial question and reveal new items for future inquiry. This investigation did both. I guess you might say I woke up during the parable.