Parable of the Ten Virgins

Text and Content

This parable appears only in the Gospel of Matthew (25:1–13). It forms part of the so-called Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24–25), in which Jesus taught his disciples about the end times on the Mount of Olives. It is followed immediately by the Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.

Ten virgins take their lamps and go out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them are wise and take extra oil in vessels, while the other five are foolish and take no oil with them. When the bridegroom is delayed, all ten grow drowsy and fall asleep. At midnight a cry is heard: "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." The foolish virgins, finding that their lamps are going out, ask the others to share their oil. The wise virgins reply that there will not be enough for all of them and tell them to go to those who sell oil and buy some for themselves. While the foolish virgins are away buying oil, the bridegroom arrives; only the prepared virgins go in with him to the wedding feast, and the door is shut. When the latecomers arrive and ask for the door to be opened, the bridegroom answers, "I know you not." The parable concludes, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25:13).

Background

The parable is commonly explained against the background of the Jewish wedding customs of the time, in which the bridegroom went to fetch the bride and returned with her at night in procession to the place of the feast. However, because sources on the details of first-century wedding ceremonies are limited, the role of the virgins and the order of the procession are difficult to determine with certainty. Scholars also differ over the Greek word lampas, translated "lamp." Some take it to mean a small oil lamp, while others understand it as a torch wrapped with oil-soaked cloth. Some manuscripts add "and the bride" in Matthew 25:1, reading "to meet the bridegroom and the bride."

Significance in the Wider Scriptures

The central point of the parable is the need to prepare in advance for the Second Coming, the timing of which cannot be known. It echoes the teaching that no one knows the day or the hour (Mark 13:32–33) and the exhortation to watch for the day of the Lord, which comes as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:1–11). In many places in Scripture the bridegroom serves as an image of God or of Christ (Matthew 9:15). The scene in which those who cry "Lord, Lord" are told that they are not known resembles Matthew 7:22–27. In portraying the kingdom of God as a wedding feast, the parable is also linked to the Parable of the Wedding Feast.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• The meaning of the oil: The text does not state what the oil represents. Since the early church, interpreters have variously identified it with the Holy Spirit, faith, good works, love, and other things. The detail that the oil could not be shared is commonly read to mean that the preparation each person must make cannot be supplied by someone else. The text itself passes no moral judgment on the wise virgins' refusal.
• Sleep: Because all ten virgins fell asleep, many interpreters hold that sleep itself is not being rebuked. What divided the two groups was not whether they stayed awake but whether they had prepared in advance.
• Who the foolish virgins are: The Reformed tradition tends to read the foolish virgins as people who had only an outward profession of faith and were never truly regenerate, and it explains the parable in connection with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. In Wesleyan theology and Arminianism, the parable is also read as a warning that believers who neglect their preparation may fall away from salvation.
• To whom it applies: Most denominations read the parable as a lesson for the church and for all believers. Some dispensationalist interpreters relate Matthew 24–25 to Israel or to others living during the Great Tribulation that follows the Rapture.
• Distinguishing the text from interpretive additions: Explanations such as the symbolism of the number five or the identity of the merchants who sold the oil do not appear in the text; they have been supplied by interpreters.

In Korean Churches

In Korean Protestant churches, the parable is frequently used as a sermon text in preaching on the Second Coming and eschatology, at year-end services marking the passing of the old year and the arrival of the new (songguyeongsin yebae), and at revival meetings. The expression "prepare your lamp and oil" is widely used there as an idiom urging spiritual readiness.