Matthew 25:1-13--The Parable of the Ten Virgins

​Matthew 25:1-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
LISTEN:  https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Matt.25.1-Matt.25.13
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

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Remember that we are still in the Olivet Discourse all throughout chapters 24 and 25, so the context here is still Jesus answering the question from His disciples about how they will know that the end has come.  They wanted to know the signs so they could recognize them.

The "then" at the beginning of verse 1 seems to indicate that this is connected to everything that has been said in chapter 24 and is chronologically after it or at least should be taken as "in that time that you are asking about" (the last days).  Remember that we've compared our relationship with Jesus as if we are in the betrothal period--we are technically married, but we are waiting for Him to return from His Father's house where He is preparing a place for us that is worthy of us upon His Father's inspection and He will come without much warning with the blast of trumpet and the harbinger proclaiming, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh," and the bride and her attendants and the guests need to be ready, even if this happens in the dead of night, because He will wait no longer to have His bride and to consummate the marriage.  This is the context of this parable--a Galilean wedding just like I described above.

This story is going to tie directly into the last teaching of Jesus from Matthew 24 asking how the master will find His servants at the time of His return.  Unlike today's culture where everything is about the bride at the wedding, in that culture and at that time, everything was about the groom, and it was the job of the bridesmaids (these 10 virgins) to assist the bride in always being ready for her groom to show and to remind her that His return was imminent and not to lose hope or to lose heart.  She was to be ready for Him the moment that He returned.

Five of these virgins were foolish because they acted as if the coming of the bridegroom was a long ways off and that they had lots of time to get ready and they lived in such a way where they would have failed to do their duty to encourage the bride of Christ to always be ready for His return, but five of the virgins were wise and prepared and trimmed the wicks of their lamps and made sure they had plenty of oil--oil in the Bible is usually a symbol of the Holy Spirit--so this is sign that they did not put off repentance and conversion and were filled with the Holy Spirit.  They were dressed and ready for the groom to come at any moment, even if He came in the middle of the night and they needed their lamps to be ready.

The foolish virgins not only did not prepare their lamps (their hearts) and did not fill them with enough oil to last through the long night.  Their belief system (their religion they had) was insufficient to last the test of time--they are probably like the seeds that sprouted up in rocky soil or among the weeds from the Parable of the Sower.  Not only did they not fill their lamps (their hearts) with over-abundant supply of oil that comes from the Holy Spirit, but they became complacent, even to the point of becoming drowsy and falling asleep and forgetting to tend to their lamps or be ready for the bridegroom's coming.

In the dead of night, the harbinger or herald came proclaiming the coming of the bridegroom and those who had been asleep asked if they could borrow some of the oil from the wise virgins, but true faith is not something you can just borrow from someone else in the moment of crisis or in this case at the second coming of Christ.  No one will be able to say, "Quick, take me with you" and no one will get to say "I should get in because I was really good friends with that guy."  Remember the last parable that Jesus told about a wedding?  Those without an invitation and without the right wedding clothes (dressed in His righteousness alone) will be kept outside and if they somehow try to sneak in, they will be cast out.

The wise virgins answered that there was not enough oil to share--they only had enough for themselves (their decision they made was only for them).  They told the foolish virgins they needed to go buy for themselves (make their own decision).  While the foolish virgins were away in the marketplace of philosophies, ideas, and worldviews trying to find a suitable substitute to fill their hearts with instead of the Holy Spirit, they ran out of time, the bridegroom came and the door was closed behind Him and no one else was allowed to enter.  At some point there is going to be a point of no return and those who have chosen not to wisely repent and believe will lose that opportunity.  It seems consistent with the entire Biblical narrative to say this will happen at the time that Jesus comes which is referred to as "the rapture" when believers will be "caught up" (the Greek word for this is related to the word "harpoon" but the Latin word for this is where we get the word "rapture" from) together with Him in the air.  When exactly this event takes place is a question lots of people want an answer to, but if we are asking that question, we are like the foolish virgins who are trying to not always be ready for the imminent return of the bridegroom.  It is not for us to know the time of the return of Christ--even Jesus said that only the Father knows.  We should be faithful and obedient to the revelation we do have instead of asking for new and additional revelation.  We probably know from evangelism that most people who say "If you could only answer this one objection for me, then I'd believe." really don't mean that.  They have some underlying condition that makes them not want to believe (usually some underlying sin issue that they love more than they love God).  They understand that repentance means a change of heart and a change of life and they are not willing for Jesus to be both Savior and Lord.  In the same way some who say they are Christians don't want Jesus to return because they want to "play" for a little bit longer (or in the case of this parable, sleep for a little bit longer).

The actions of these five foolish virgins showed their true nature and what was (or wasn't) inside their lamps and that they did not belong inside the wedding banquet hall (heaven).  No matter how much they bang on the doors and cry and plead, the doors will not be opened for them--they have made their choice.  Just like the verses from Matthew 7 the impostors who rely on their self-righteousness and the works they have done (even the ones they have done in the name of Christ) who had no relationship with Him are case out and not allowed into God's eternal Sabbath rest for His people.

Let us be wise like the five wise virgins and prepare now, even if it is a long wait, because we do not know the time He is returning and it could be any second now that He appears and the time for preparation will be finished in the twinkling of an eye and no one that has foolishly delayed will get a second chance--they have made their choice to love the world more than they loved Christ.