The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins: An Exposition of Matthew 25:1-13
Jesus is known for the many parables which He spoke. A parable reveals a truth in a way which is alive and vivid. It takes a story from everyday life and uses it to illustrate a greater truth. Those who were given the key to make the relationship between the two will understand its significance. For example, in the Parable of the Sower, it was not Jesus’ intention to give a lesson on agriculture. Rather, it was to show how the everyday work of sowing seed relates to the sowing of God’s Word. Some of the seed will take and produce fruit, and others would not either sprout or grow to maturity.
A common theme of Jesus’ teaching centered around weddings. We think of the wedding at Cana of Galilee. We remember John the Baptist calling himself the bridegroom who introduces the groom at the wedding feast. We have already had a wedding parable concerning the king who announced and invited people to come to the wedding feast for his son. Here we have another wedding parable concerning the five wise and five foolish virgins.
To better appreciate this wedding parable, we need to examine the customs of wedding feasts in Jesus’ day as they are in some ways different than ours. The biggest difference is that weddings were arranged by the families of the groom and bride. In Galilee, the men of one village were closel related to each other. The brides were sought from other villages. We see today that this is a good remedy against inbreeding. It also brought some degree of co-operation between villages. So when a son came of age, his father would take him to another village to get a bride. Negotiations were made with the father of a prospective bride, and the deal was sealed by an oath and a cup of wine. They were engaged, but the marriage could not be consummated until the son finished and add on room to his father’s house where he and his bride could live. He had to leave and prepare a place for them.
The engaged bride’s duty was to be ready for the time the groom returned to claim her. She had to choose bridesmaids to accompany her. Her garment had to be prepared. But unlike our weddings in which we have a set day to prepare for, the bride did not know when the groom would return. The bride, and indeed the entire village, had to be ready day and night. The best man would accompany the groom to the village. When they got there, he would blow a trumpet and announce the arrival of the groom. It would awaken the sleepers. Those who were prepared before they slept would follow. Those who were awake and prepared would follow. Those asleep or awake who were not would be left behind. The entire wedding party and the village had to be ready instantly to follow him back to the groom’s village where there would be a great wedding feast.
Having been enlightened to their customs, we are now ready to hear the parable. A wedding had been arranged by what appears to be a wealthy groom with a maiden of the town. This explains why there were ten bridesmaids. This added importance to the occasion. It was the bridesmaid’s duty to be ready. Because they did not know what hour the groom would return, they had to be always ready. The groom could come in the middle of the night when people sleep. Even then they had to be ready. They seem to also have served as ceremonial torchbearers for the bride. If the groom came at night, the light of the torches would light the path as well.
It is hard enough to prepare for a wedding on a set date. Just think of staying ready when the groom was a long time in preparing. They knew he was coming. In the case of this parable, they seem to have held that he would come that very night. Knowing this, the bridesmaids should have made sure they had enough oil. The bridesmaids lit their torches in anticipation. But only five of them had purchased extra oil in case the groom came later in the night than expected. The five foolish bridesmaids started to run out of oil. There was not a lot of places in the town at night where they could get extra oil. So they begged of the five bridesmaids who had brought enough extra oil. But they only brought the extra they needed. They did not have enough for the others. So the five foolish bridesmaids had to go out in the night to get oil. While they were getting the oil, the groom came and those in procession who were ready followed. They entered into the groom’s city. The gates were opened to the procession, but as the custom was, the gates were shut after them, not to open until morning. The wedding feast started. The five foolish bridesmaids managed to find the town, but too late. The gates did not open for them because they were unrecognized. The other guests were recognized because they came with the groom who was known. No one could enter apart from the son.
Jesus obviously had more in mind than to instruct the listeners of how they should conduct themselves in relation to a wedding. If one misses a wedding on earth, it might bring shame or the regret of having missed so great a party. But Jesus is talking about a far greater event. Jesus tells us this parable just a few days before he would depart. He would be arrested, tried, and crucified in a little more than a day or two. Before He left, He broke bread and passed a cup with His disciples. We remember that He related them to His broken body and shed blood. He was a faithful groom, even until death. He would die for His beloved bride so that she might appear spotless for the wedding. But He also mentions that He will drink the cup anew with them in the Kingdom, a kingdom ushered in by the marriage supper of the Lamb. After the supper, Jesus says that His Father’s house was great and had a lot of rooms. He was going to return and add another one. When He was ready, He would return. The trumpet will sound, and His bride shall follow. For since only Jesus knows the way, we have to follow Him. We can only gain entrance to the banquet when we are in His presence. There is no other way in.
No one knows, not even the Son, when that day will be. If we knew the day, we would certainly make sure we were ready. Some will wait until the last minute to amend their ways. The truth is that Jesus did give us some clues of the conditions here on earth that would signal His return. But there are those who will try to be more precise about the time of His return. What if they fall just short. People get weary and lose heart when the prophecy predictors again miss the mark. This causes us to lose faith. The faith which started the journey funs out. Perhaps we need to be more steady in our service for Jesus. We need to be faithful over the long haul. We can live a life of constant anticipation without having to burn out.
We confess that Jesus will return. We see the patterns of the sky and the signs of the times and think it soon. But we must remember that there was much anticipation in ancient Israel in the days of Jesus as well. Everyone was expecting the soon arrival of the Messiah. They knew the Scriptures. There were differences as to who this Messiah was, whether He was to be a priestly Messiah or a kingly Messiah. Some thought there would be two, Yet as they were speculating, their Messiah arrived in Bethlehem of Judaea unawares. They missed the first Christmas! And many in Israel continued to miss it until the day they crucified Jesus. So we must keep this in mind in our speculations. We need to have good and abundant oil for our lamps.
We soon come to the season of Advent, a season of our preparation for the return of Jesus. It should be a time of real but patient excitement. How should we prepare. Perhaps we should look at a man named Simeon. He was an old and godly man who is introduced to us in Luke. He had that type of steadfast endurance. The Lord had told Simeon that he would not die until he saw the LORD’s Christ. He was getting quite old, but he was confident in the promise of God. One day, that promise was fulfilled in the twilight of his life. After that, he was satisfied and ready to depart this life. Anna, was a widow of 84 years. We don’t know if that was her age, or that she had been a widow for 84 years which would make her even older. Not many people lived to be even 84 in those years. But the LORD preserved her for that day. Others like Moses had to see this day afar off in Mount Nebo. But these serve as examples to us. Jesus tells us to occupy until He comes. This means to continue to to our assigned duties such as evangelism or exercising other ministries gifted by the Holy Spirt. If we are doing our assigned tasks when He returns, all will be well with us. He can come suddenly, and all will be well. Would this not be better than constantly spending time in idle speculation about when the LORD might return?
In the meanwhile, may we be anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit. It is He who makes sure our oil will not run out. And Jesus is the Light of the World. It is He who will lead us home. But Jesus also says “Ye are the light of the world.” This can only happen if we are in Christ, and it is His light who shines through us. Let us call others and invite them to the feast. Let our lives shine as torches in the night so that others might ask for what occasion our lamps are lit.
