Little Apocalypse: The Ten Virgins
Before the crucifixion of Jesus,
the book of Matthew highlights that Jesus was teaching his disciples on Mount
Olive on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Matthew documents two chapters of what is known
as “little apocalypse” or the “Olivet disclosure.” We see in chapter 24 that
Jesus foretold the destruction of the temple, and the disciples encouraged
Jesus to explain further when this will happen, along with the sign of the second
coming, and the end of the age. Then in chapter 25, Jesus teaches the parable
of the ten virgins. This will be the base of this theological dissertation. Let
us discuss the parable of the ten virgins, the cultural and historical context
of Matthew 25:1-13, and finally a modern-day version called “a ticket to fly”.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew
illustrates in the 25th chapter, three parables starting with the ten
virgins, but later Matthew talks about Jesus’s parable about the bags of gold,
where the story emphasizes that God gives us gifts and provision to use intelligently
and effectively for his kingdom. By being good stewards, we are rewarded. For
those who do not, they will miss the blessing. Then Matthew documents Jesus’
story about the sheep and goats, which places an emphasis on compassion,
kindness, and looking after others as a testament to our faith. Those who show
this kindness are set apart, and those who do not are condemned. The ten virgins
are written as:
At
that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps
and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were
wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The
wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was
a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight
the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the
virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give
us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.” “ No,” they replied, “there may
not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy
some for yourselves.” But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the
bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding
banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. “Lord, Lord,” they
said, “open the door for us!” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I don’t know
you.” Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
This
is Jesus restating his claim as written in Matthew the 24th chapter where he
states that no man, nor angels, or the Son will know when the Son of Man is to
return, except the Father in heaven. This parable heavily emphasizes the need
to live life on the ready for his return. According to Walvoord, “Each sections
emphasizes the fact that when Jesus Christ comes the saved will be separated
from those who are lost. Whether it is the virgins, the parable of the talents,
or the sheep and the goats of the Gentiles” (Walvoord, 1972).
From the cultural aspect based upon
Jewish tradition, the bridegroom would come at night to claim his bride. This
is normally with his friends in tow. According to Matthew 25:6 “At midnight the
cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’” (New
International Version, 2011) Some would ask the question, who is announcing the
bridegroom in advance? “This cry was probably made either by the leader of the
procession or by the entire company and constituted an invitation to others to
join the procession” (Walvoord, 1972).
When seeing the bridegroom, the bride lights the olive oil lamp and
joins the procession that would lead back to the bridegroom’s house to start
the wedding feast. Now in this narrative we see the ten virgins, five wise and
five foolish. The oil or lack of oil regarding the five foolish is a
representation of their spiritual lives or the presence of the Holy Spirit. Oil
has been mentioned numerous times in the Bible regarding cleansing, anointing,
and about the Holy Spirit. The five wise virgins had oil, the Holy Spirit, a
relationship. The five foolish lacked. No wonder the bridegroom said, “I don’t
know you”. Regarding historical context, in Matthew the 24th
chapter, we see where Jesus warns of false prophets and people claiming to be
the Messiah. Jesus tells the disciples that the sign of his coming would-be
evidence such as war, famine, earthquakes, people turning away from their
faith. But those who are steadfast in their faith will be saved. Jesus explains
that you will know not the day nor hour of his return. Nor angels or man. Nor
the Son, but only the Father in Heaven knows. Jesus goes further in Matthew 25
to explain the need for spiritual preparedness and godly living. “Jesus is the
Messiah. The Messiah is to return and hold a banquet at which the guests will
be sorted out into two groups — the accepted ones and the rejected ones — sheep
and goats, good and bad, wise and foolish” (Ashby,1975).
A Ticket to Fly
There will come a time when God’s Kingdom
and reign will be fully manifest and present. Imagine if you will, ten friends
are on their way to the airport, coming from far off, on their way to catch a
flight to their destination. Everyone was in great spirits because they were
about to start a new chapter in their destiny. These friends had brought their
cell phones with them because they all had digital boarding passes to get on
their flight. Out of the ten friends, five friends were very wise while the
remaining five friends were rather foolish. Along the way to the airport the
five foolish friends were live streaming on social media, bragging about how
they are on their way to their destiny and to their flight to join God’s
Kingdom that has been established. Beyond the realm of live streaming, there
were some that were watching movies on their phones. The foolish five were not
prepared because they forgot to bring their phone charging cables to keep their
batteries charged. All the while the wise friends sat patiently, enjoying the
scenery and watching the foolish five enjoy themselves a little too much.
Before the ten friends arrived, they all grew tired and slept the rest of the
way to the airport. After a lengthy drive, their driver woke them up. While
they slumbered, the traffic was bad and caused a delay in them getting to the
airport. The driver informed them that they had just enough time to go through
security and catch their flight that was already boarding. The five foolish
friends realized at that moment that their cell phones were dead. They quickly
begged the five wise friends to let them charge their phones, so they can have
enough power to show their digital boarding passes. However, the wise five
said, “there is not enough time to power your phones and make our flight.” Then
an announcement on the airport’s intercom, “Attention. Attention. Final
boarding call for those flying on Virgin Airline flight 777 to Destiny. This is
your final boarding call.” The foolish five suddenly were in a panic and ran to
the gift shop to purchase charging cables to power their phones all the while
the wise five boarded their flight and was upgraded to first class. By the time
they got to the gate and plugged in their phones to show their digital boarding
passes, sadly, it was too late. The door to their flight was closed. Then the
foolish five begged the ticket agent to radio the pilot and ask to let them
board. The pilot replied “Unfortunately, their time has passed.”
Conclusion
Jesus states in Matthew 24 and 25 the emphasis of spiritual preparedness, because no one knows the day or hour of his return. “The parable is about the joyful coming to God conveyed by the image of a wedding, with the stern reminder that it is possible to miss the event and knock at a door that will not open” (Young, 2000). The oil is needed in our lives. A relationship that encompasses prayer, the reading and meditation of his word, and lastly showing love and kindness to all who are in the image of God. This is how we stay ready for his return. For those that are lackadaisical in their faith please heed the citing of this scholar. “The central point of the account is that possession of sufficient oil is the basic criterion for admission to the marriage feast; clearly, admission to the marriage feast is not automatic” (Donfriend, 1974).
References
Ashby, G. W. E. C. B. (1975). The Parable of
the Ten Virgins. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 10, 62–64.
Donfried, K. P. (1974). Allegory of the ten
virgins (Matt 25:1-13) as a summary of Matthean theology. Journal of
Biblical Literature, 93(3), 415–428.
The Holy Bible, New International Version.
(n.d.). Bible.com https://www.bible.com/bible/111/MAT.25.NIV (Original
work published 2011)
Walvoord, J. F. (1972). Christ’s Olivet
discourse on the end of the age: the Parable of the ten virgins.
Bibliotheca Sacra, 129(514), 99–105.
Young, R. D. (2000). Matthew 25:1-13.
Interpretation, 54(4), 419–422.
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