Jesus told his disciples this parable: “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, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
This parable looks very much like an allegory of the Second Coming with the kingdom of God compared to a wedding. The ten virgins represent the Christian community while the bridegroom, of course, represents Jesus whose return we are waiting for. But it’s easy to get too preoccupied with the things of this world and forget that our primary task is one of waiting. The bridegroom then appears suddenly in verse 6 and the treatment of the different groups of virgins symbolizes the final judgment. By the way, the number 10 in the Bible often represents fullness: the ten commandments, the ten plagues, etc.
We don’t know much about wedding customs at the time but, from this text, we can guess it included women leaving the groom’s house to welcome the bride and groom coming from her parents’ house. In verse two, the description of the women as wise and foolish does not refer to their intelligence but to their decision-making abilities. Those who are prudent will plan for contingencies – in this case a delay.
In verse 6 there is suddenly a shout that announces the arrival of the groom but the foolish virgins are not prepared for him. They focus on themselves and expect the bridegroom to come when they expect him. They ask the wise for some of their oil but are refused since the lamps might go out. They then leave to buy more oil. This parable is not about selfishness so the golden rule is not in question. This is an allegory and, therefore, not realistic.
The end of this parable is an allegory on the last judgment. The groom arrives and gives what may seem to us an extremely harsh response – the foolish virgins are excluded from the feast. The final verse here spells out the implications. We must all stay awake – although it should be noted that the wise virgins also fall asleep, so God realizes our human frailty and is always ready to forgive.
Jesus gives us three simple truths here. First, we cannot know when he will return so we must always live the life he calls us too. Second, the wise virgins represent the faithful disciples that we must strive to be. Third, the foolish virgins symbolize faithless disciples and we see what fate awaits them. Now, today, and every day we are on earth, we must take the opportunities offered to us and respond to the love and call of Jesus.
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