Matthew 25:6 - Exposition

At midnight. When sleep is deepest and awaking most unwelcome. The Lord will come "as a thief in the night" ( Matthew 24:42-44 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:2 ). There was a cry made ( γε ì γονεν , hath been made ) . The cry comes either from the watchers or from the advancing company. We are told by the apostle ( 1 Thessalonians 4:16 ) that "the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." The suddenness of the event is indicated by the tense of the verb—"there hath been," "there is," a cry. The bridegroom cometh! The best manuscripts omit the verb, which omission makes the expression more graphic. The bridegroom is Christ; he comes now to judge, to punish and reward; and Christians have to meet him, and show how their duties have been performed, and how their personal preparation has been made.