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Wow.
I finished a Bible group with a few other young adults a while ago – and, as can happen even after reading the same Scripture so many times over the years, I felt like I got something revealed to me that I’ve never noticed.
And of course, being a part of the Catholic Church – which has over 2,000 years of faith-filled people praying and studying – this probably is something someone else has already realized and written about. But I haven’t read it so here we go:
Today’s Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13) is the Ten Maidens/Ten Virgins parable. At the end, the bridegroom says, “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.”
In our group, this verse stood out to me for some reason. The bridegroom represents Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ is saying “I do not know you” to someone. When I first read that I was like, man Jesus is a little sassy, giving attitude.
And then another verse from Scripture came to mind. Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”
So we have God, knowing us from the beginning of time, before we were were conceived. Then we have Jesus (aka God!) not knowing a person because they failed to be prepared.
So as I thought about it more Jesus isn’t being sassy. Jesus is speaking words into existence. In Genesis, God’s Word brings life into existence. Maybe Jesus’ words do the same here – by saying I do not know you He is saying that you no longer exist in God’s presence, and therefore go to the place where God doesn’t exist – hell. Not in an act of condemnation, but out of recognition of what you chose to not accept – Him.
Damn.
Or maybe no one has written about this because this is completely wrong.
