Nero, as mentioned in one of our recent blogs, was the emperor of the Roman Empire and was responsible for a highly decentralized system of authority. Nero eventually killed himself.
He became famous for the burning of Rome and for blaming and persecuting all the Christians, including Paul and Peter, two of the most prominent Christian leaders of the day.
Paul was beheaded in Rome, and Peter was crucified, as was Jesus. Peter was crucified upside down because he believed he was so unworthy to die in the same way as his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
They were both executed horribly under Nero's rule. He authorised and provoked a series of civil wars, which threatened and weakened the Roman Empire severely, and also caused a lot of misery and death.
Peter was once just an ordinary fisherman before he got to know Jesus, and Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, as he was known before his conversion, was an influential, highly respected, educated Jewish Pharisee and also a Roman citizen.
He certainly persecuted the early Christians, and of course, as mentioned in a previous blog, he was present at the stoning of Steven, an ardent follower of Jesus. Paul was out to get Jesus, but had a miraculous conversion, and then his life following Christ changed dramatically.
Paul and Peter and so many others, following Jesus Christ, gave their lives, certainly due to persecution. Even today, so many people are being persecuted for becoming Christians and following Jesus,
Jesus also gave his life to pay for all of our sins, and the most amazing and beautiful thing about Jesus' death was that he rose again, and all we have to do is accept his great gift to us.
In the Bible, in Matthew 24 and verse 44, it says, "You must be ready, because the Son of Man (Jesus) will come at an hour when you do not expect him." In other words, we all have to be ready because actually none of us know when Jesus will return BUT he will! Jesus knew he was going to pay the price of all of our sins.
When he was here on earth, Jesus told yet another parable, this one about ten young virgins, and at the end of the story/parable, he said to the disciples to keep watch because you don't know the day or hour when things will happen. You can read it for yourself in the Bible in Matthew 25:1-13.
So here we have ten young ladies who are waiting to accompany a bridegroom to the bride's home as part of the traditional procession. Apparently, that used to happen in those days. The story goes as follows in my words only:-
There were ten young girls, all with lamps, and thinking they were ready to light the lamps for the bridegroom to make a procession to the bride's home. The groom was long overdue, so they were all drowsy and went to sleep.
Suddenly, the bridegroom turned up, but only five of the young girls were prepared with extra oil for their lamps. The unprepared young ladies attempt to get oil from the others, but knowing that they'll run out, the prepared girls refuse to hand over their oil. So the oil-less girls run to purchase fuel, but they miss the bridegroom and are unable to attend the wedding.
They yelled through the door, " Lord, Lord, Open the door for us!" But the bridegroom says, "Truly I tell you, I don't know you."
What Jesus is saying here is that his followers and those who believe in his name are actually the ones who are prepared for his coming. None of us knows the time or the day when Jesus will come again.
Are you prepared for his coming? Do you have any idea how Jesus paid for your sins and mine?
We must all be ready for the coming of Jesus. We can get so involved in our lives here on earth that we really never ever consider that Jesus is alive and could come back at any second.
We have to put Jesus first in everything we do. He has to take first place in our thoughts and all of our actions.
All Nero could think about was himself and what he could achieve. Unfortunately, so many of us are exactly the same today. The reality of what Nero did to Paul and Peter was to try to promote himself to everyone. He thought that if he could put them down, then he would promote himself. So many times through life, people promote themselves and make sure that they put others down. It's like a ladder, you walk on everyone else to climb to the top.
In the parable of the ten virgins as above, Matthew really wants to bring home to us Jesus's point in the story/parable that the end of the world can come and come quickly, and so we must make sure that we are ready.
Jesus talked to his disciples about the parable of the ten virgins when he said to them to make sure and keep watch, because you will have no idea about when the Son of Man will come. Obviously, when we least expect it.
In the story Jesus told, I guess we are the bridesmaids, those waiting for the Bridegroom, who is Jesus, and then he will lead only those of us who are waiting for his return to the wedding, which is eternal life.
When that day finally comes, will you be one with your lamp all burning bright, or will you be one of many trying at the last minute to get your candle lit?
Putting Christ first in your life is really the most important decision you will ever make. That decision will have eternal consequences.
God bless you this week, and I hope to see you next time.
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