The Wise or Foolish Virgins
Matthew 25:1-13
Are you ready for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ? This is the theme of the parables we are studying in Matthew 24 and 25. We are in the middle of Jesus teaching His disciples on the Mount of Olives about the destruction of Jerusalem and about His coming and the end of the age (Matt. 24:3). In Matthew 24, Jesus made it clear that the end would not come immediately, but only after some general and specific signs that would precede His coming. And He commanded His disciples to watch and be ready because no one knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man will come (Matt. 24:42,44).
To exhort us to readiness for His return, Jesus then taught three parables. Last time, from the parable of the wise or wicked servant we learned that readiness for Christ’s return includes faithfulness. If you want to be ready for the Lord’s coming, be faithful to serve your Master while He is away. We said that being ready for Christ’s return means that we watch expectantly, serve faithfully, and live holy.
Now, as we turn to Matthew 25, Jesus will teach two more parables and then describe the judgment that follows His return. The theme that ties this section together is separation in judgment. when Jesus Christ comes again, the saved will be separated from those who are lost. Whether it is the wise virgins separated from the foolish virgins; the wicked servant separated from the faithful in the parable of the talents; or the sheep separated from the goats in the judgment, this is the point that Jesus emphasized. His second coming is a day of reckoning when those who are not ready will be separated from those who are ready.
Jesus previously taught this aspect of the kingdom of heaven in His parables of the wheat and the tares and the dragnet in Matthew 13. Jesus said about the wheat and the tares that grow together in the field of the world,
40 “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt. 13:40-43).
And in the parable of the dragnet Jesus said,
49 “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:49-50)
Jesus’ coming will be a time of judgment when the righteous are separated from the wicked. That is the theme of Matthew 25.
Today’s passage is the parable of the ten virgins or bridesmaids waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. It is a parable to teach a truth about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” (Matt. 25:1).
In order to catch the impact of this story, we need to know something about first-century Jewish wedding customs. In those days, young people got married in three stages. First, there was the arrangement or engagement, The two fathers would make an agreement as to what the dowry, obligations, and arrangements would be. Later came the betrothal, the formal religious ceremony in the bride’s home. The bride and groom exchanged marriage vows and the dowry was given to the bride. Then the groom would spend from several months to a year preparing for his wife by establishing himself in his trade or farming and preparing a place for them to live. Finally, there was a wedding banquet (or feast) at the groom’s home. The entire community could be involved in this celebration which could last even up to a week. The festivities began with a bridal procession. The groom and his friends would come to the bride’s house where she and her bridesmaids were waiting. The whole party would then parade through the streets eventually arriving at the groom’s home or other place prepared for their wedding feast. These wedding processions were often at night with the wedding attendants carrying lamps or torches to light the way and to attract attention.
Knowing this custom, the parable becomes straightforward to follow. It is fairly easy to identify the bridegroom with Jesus and the arrival of the bridegroom with the return of Christ. Ten is a nice round number, and so the ten virgins or bridesmaids represent all who are waiting for Christ, while their different actions represent those who are prepared for the waiting and those who are not.
Let’s look at this parable in three parts: 1) the waiting for the bridegroom; 2) the coming of the bridegroom; 3) the entering into the wedding banquet.
1. Waiting for the Bridegroom (Matt. 25:1-5).
The parable begins with all ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom. Jesus says, “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” (Matt. 25:1). These ten virgins all had several things in common. All had been invited to the banquet and all had responded positively. All ten had gone out to wait for the bridegroom. They all had their lamps with them. All the virgins wanted to see the bridegroom. All were in the right place at the right time. All fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom. All were awakened by the midnight cry. All ten virgins got up to prepare their lamps.
Yet there was one crucial difference. Jesus said, “Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.” (Matt. 25:2). “Wise” (φρόνιμος, phronimos) is the same adjective Jesus used in the previous parable to describe the faithful servant who did his master’s will. It means prudent, astute, or sensible. Their wisdom shows up in their preparation for the bridegroom’s delay. Jesus says, “but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” (Matt. 25:4). The wise were ready for any potential delay. They didn’t know exactly when the bridegroom would arrive, so they brought extra oil with them. They did not want to miss out on this most joyful of events, and so they were ready for any potential delay.
The description “foolish” (μωρός, mōros) in the Bible indicates not just ignorance or silliness. It especially speaks of those that are dull to the things of God. Therefore they are impious, godless, or morally worthless. Their foolishness shows up in the lack of preparation. Jesus says, “Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,” (Matt., 25:3). The foolish did not bring any extra oil for their lamps. In other words, they made a foolish assumption. They assumed that the bridegroom would come sooner than he did, and so they did not make any extra preparations in case he came later than they expected. They evidently never thought about the possibility that he might be delayed. Or if they thought about it, they dismissed it as so unlikely that it wasn’t worth worrying about. Either way, they weren’t prepared when he suddenly arrived at midnight.
Before we feel sorry for them, consider this: The foolish virgins knew the bridegroom was going to get married; they knew he would come to the banquet; and they knew they needed oil for their lamps. All ten virgins started had the same information. The five foolish virgins had everything they needed to know. And still they were not ready!
Notice Jesus does not say the bridegroom was late in coming, just that he took longer than those who were waiting for him expected. The bridegroom’s delay is seen in Matthew 24:5, “But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.” No condemnation is given to either the foolish or the wise for sleeping. What this detail shows is the apparent delay and that the foolish had more than ample time to prepare themselves. The foolish virgins found time to sleep, but they neglected to get the needed oil. The five wise virgins could rest in confident assurance that when the bridegroom arrived, they were prepared.
So, that’s the first part of the parable: waiting for the bridegroom. Next, Jesus tells about the …
2. Coming of the Bridegroom (Matt. 25:6-9).
Jesus says, “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’” (Matt. 25:6). The bridegroom came at midnight when they did not expect him. The “midnight cry” awoke them from their sleep. The command went out, “go out to meet him!” The moment has come at last! As you can imagine, there was a flurry of activity and excitement. The moment they had waited for had arrived. No more delays, no more anticipation, the time had come for all of them to be part of the wedding festivities.
“Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps” (Matt. 25:7) so that they would be ready to join the wedding procession and the festivities that will follow. The mark that you belonged to the wedding party was your lamp. Without it, one would be excluded. The ten virgins knew this. That’s why we find them busily trimming their lamps to go out and meet the bridegroom. Only then does the foolishness of the first five become apparent to all. They are low on oil and a wick without oil will not stay lit.
“And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’” (Matt. 25:8). The foolish five recognize that they are in a dire strait. Panicking, they asked the wise to give them some of their oil. “But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’” (Matt. 25:9). The wise virgins prove themselves doubly prudent. This was not selfishness, but reality. There is not enough to share.
The five foolish maids left to purchase oil, “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came …” (Matt. 25:10). The five wise vrigins joined the wedding procession to the banquet. The five foolish missed it. They knew what they needed. They had ample time to prepare. But they did not. If the foolish virgins had known that the bridegroom was going to take longer than they expected, perhaps they would have brought the extra oil. The wise virgins knew that they didn’t know when the bridegroom was coming. So, they wisely brought the extra oil. They prepared themselves for a longer wait just in case.
The next scene shows the marriage feast guests arriving and the door being shut.
3. Entering into the Wedding Banquet (Matt. 25:10-12)
Matthew 25:10 continues, “… and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.” Two phrases stand out: “those who were ready went in with him” and “the door was shut.” The wise virgins who were prepared entered the wedding banquet. They experienced the joy of the bridegroom. The language implies that the door was shut and stays shut. No one else could enter. No bargains would be made. The door was shut.
Whether or not they found oil, we’re not told. Nevertheless, they made their way to the bridegroom’s home where the wedding feast had already begun. Jesus describes the scene. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’” The double use of “Lord” stresses the urgency in their plea as well as the verb tense for “open up.” Desperate for entrance to the wedding feast, they plead with the bridegroom to open the door that had been shut. But they had failed to prepare for the bridegroom’s coming.
Then come those ominous words of judgment in Matthew 25:12, “But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’” The bridegroom says that he has no relationship with them. This is similar to Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:
22 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” (Matt. 7:22-23).
Then Jesus gives us the …
Conclusion:
Jesus concludes in Matthew 25:13, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Be watchful and prepared while you wait for Christ’s coming (Matt. 25:13).
Here is how we apply this parable to ourselves today:
- You don’t know when Christ will return, so be ready now.
The first application is this: You don’t know when Christ will return, so be ready now. Don’t delay. Don’t leave things for another day. Make things right in your life with God now. You should live every day as though Christ was returning today.
Do you have oil in your lamp? Have you repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? If you have, God has made you a child of God and placed the oil of His Holy Spirit in you. He will keep you burning until Christ comes. If you have not yet trusted Christ to save you, you need to do that today. We can masquerade all of our lives as Christians, and having failed to prepare through trusting in Christ, hear those decisive words, “I do not know you.” It matters not how popular you are in church or how many accolades you’ve received for service or how wonderful everyone believes you to be. What matters is knowing Jesus Christ. Are you wise or foolish? Be on the alert-Behold, the bridegroom comes!
Today, the door is open. You can come to Christ. You can receive the gift of eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. Turn from your sin and selfishness. Believe in Christ that He died for your sin and is alive forever to save you.
When Christ comes again, the door will be shut. Some people will find out the value of Christ too late. They will suddenly realize how wrong they’ve been, but the door will already be shut. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
And then the second application is this …
- You don’t know when Christ will return, so be ready to wait if necessary.
Just as you need to live your life as though Jesus could return today, you also need to live your life as though Jesus might not return for a long time. That means we don’t wait by going up on a mountaintop and gazing into the sky. It means we wait by being ready at all times while we work and grow and get married and have kids and live every day to the glory of God in Christ.
Waiting is hard. It’s easy to get discouraged waiting for Christ to return. We see the signs, and we wonder why it is taking so long. You need to be prepared both for the short term and the long term. You need to be ready to live for Jesus not just for a season but for the rest of your life.
So, what do you do while you are waiting? That’s what we are going to look at in next week’s message.
