Matthew 25:6
“But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’”
What does Matthew 25:6 mean?
In Jesus' parable of the ten bridesmaids, this midnight cry marks the sudden, unexpected arrival of the bridegroom. The bridesmaids had been waiting through the evening, and most had fallen asleep, but the announcement jolts everyone awake to prepare for the wedding feast. The cry captures that moment when something you've been waiting for suddenly becomes real and urgent. Jesus uses it to speak about readiness: some bridesmaids had prepared (brought extra oil for their lamps), while others hadn't. The point isn't about being anxious or fearful, but about the importance of genuine spiritual preparation while we wait. We don't know when that moment will come, so living with attentiveness and faithfulness matters more than trying to predict the timing.