The Olivet Discourse (Part 5): The Parable of the Ten Virgins

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (1822) by William Blake

It would be a dreadful thing to be unprepared on judgment day. The door to the kingdom of heaven will be shut, and there will be no reopening of that door. What happens in this short life of yours has eternal consequences. With the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), Jesus warned his disciples of the danger of being left out and exhorted them to be watchful and prepared for that day. “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Prov. 27:12).

He said the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them wisely brought enough oil, while five foolishly did not. They all fell asleep as the coming of the bridegroom was delayed. When he came, only the wise virgins had enough oil to light their lamps. They entered the wedding hall with the bridegroom, while the foolish virgins went to get more oil and were unable to enter the wedding hall when they returned.

The bridegroom is Christ. The ten virgins are the visible church. The arrival of the bridegroom is the second coming, which has not come as soon as some have expected. Their sleep refers to death, and their waking refers to the resurrection. Some go in with Jesus into eternal glory, while others are not recognized and are shut out.

The foolish virgins were not prepared and their lights went out for lack of oil. The wise virgins were prepared and their light was sustained by their supply of oil. Similar to the seed in rocky soil and the house on the sand, these torches without extra oil were temporary responses to the gospel without proper foundation, unable to endure testing.

Therefore, be prepared. To be watchful does not mean literally be awake - they all slept - but to be prepared. What does it mean to be prepared? What is the oil? It is true conversion, a living and fruitful union with Christ by faith. Compare the lamp with oil to the seed in good soil (those who understand the word and bear fruit), and the wise man who built on the rock (those who hear his words and do them). Jesus had described their righteous living as their light in chapter 5 and he had warned them that it must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, being rooted in the heart and not merely for the praise of man. As David Dickson comments,

As among the virgins in the parable, so in the visible Church, only those are wise who with the outward lamps of open profession labour to be furnished inwardly with the saving graces of the Holy Spirit: namely, faith working by love, and repentance mortifying their sinful lusts, that in newness of life they may glorify God. But whoso are destitute of inward grace in their heart, they are foolish: for the lamps of their outward profession without oil serve to no purpose when matters come to a trial.

1. You will be tested.

The ten virgins represent the visible church, the society of those who profess the true religion and their children. They have gathered to meet the bridegroom, but some are wise and some are foolish. Not all will inherit the kingdom - some are prepared, and others are not.

His delay tests us. Temptations and opposition test if your faith is sound and permanent. It is a momentary excitement? Is it kept up merely for the praise of man? If so, it will fade away. But if it is a true conversion of heart and mind to follow Christ, with faith in his mercy, then time and trials will ultimately strengthen it.

The trials of this delay help prepare you for the final test of judgment day. They expose false security and teach you to exercise a lively faith, to dig deeper, to grow further, to make your calling and election sure. The final test will come on the day of judgment, when the truth will be revealed. 

True faith endures both tests. It endures throughout this life to the end, and it holds up to examination on the final day. For its strength and resources come from the unlimited supply of the Spirit of God working through the word of God transforming you into the image of God.

So be prepared, for you will be tested. Continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus, that you might endure in it to the end. Bring the oil of inward grace with your lamps, that your light might shine eternally.

2. You will not have time to prepare at his coming.

When the call came at midnight, the destinies of the virgins were already set in stone. It was too late for the foolish virgins to get more oil. Though they doubtless ran as fast as they could to buy more, they were too late to welcome the bridegroom. They should have brought more oil at the beginning, or at least before they fell asleep.

Now is the time to prepare, before you sleep. Your spiritual condition at death determines your destiny at his coming. The wise virgins prepared beforehand. They fell asleep, but with more oil in store. When they woke, they were ready.

So be prepared, while you have time. Be prudent and do not procrastinate. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. If you are unsure of your spiritual condition, attend to that matter. If you are young and think you will become serious about God when you get older, wait no longer. Receive the Lord Jesus, and from him receive the oil for your lamps.

3. You will need to provide your own oil.

When the call came at midnight, the wise virgins were not able to share their oil with the foolish virgins. It was every woman for herself. Likewise, at the coming of the Lord, it will be each of you for yourself. It will not help you to have godly friends and family on that day. The question will be whether you have prepared yourself for that day. David Dickson comments,   

As in the parable the wise could not help the foolish, nor the foolish hurt the wise, so the society of the hypocrites with the godly in the visible Church shall not be prejudicial to the sound Christians in the day of God’s judgment; not yet the society of the godly avail the hypocrites, among whom they have lived, but every man shall be judged according to that which is within him.

So prepare yourself. You can certainly help each other now, encouraging each other to follow the Lord Jesus. But you cannot be saved for another. Nor can you be saved by relying on others to prepare for you. As Paul says in Galatians 6, “let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load” (Gal. 6:4–5).

4. You will be greatly undone at his coming if you are not prepared.

These foolish virgins expected to enjoy a feast, to accompany the bridegroom into the feast in honor and joy. But in a moment, they realized their error and frantically ran to find oil. But when they returned, the door was firmly shut. They cried, “Lord, Lord, open to us.” But the bridegroom responds, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” They are disowned. They are unable to enter. Their hopes are dashed.

Likewise, Jesus will disown and reject those who claim his name but do not follow him. As he warned in Matthew 7:21-23, 

Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."

The stakes are high. Guilt, shame, rejection, exclusion, despair - these are what will be experienced by those who have not prepared for Christ’s coming. The Lord whom they had claimed will himself pronounce and execute the judgment. So be prepared, lest that day be one of rejection and despair.

5. You will be greatly blessed at his coming if you are prepared.

Christ’s coming is our blessed hope. As the beginning of this parable indicates, it is central to our identity as Christ’s church. We are waiting to greet him. It will be the beginning of the great feast, on a higher level than anything we have experienced. We desire to greet him and to be always with him in his perfected kingdom.

In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul describes that day in terms quite similar to this parable. 

• In addressing whether the dead shall participate in the blessings of that day, Paul describes deceased saints like the wise virgins in this parable - those who have "fallen asleep." But Jesus shall wake them and bring them with him when he returns, just as the bridegroom woke and brought the virgins with him as he entered the wedding feast.

• Paul speaks of Christ’s coming being accompanied with a cry of command and the voice of an archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of God, just as the virgins are summoned at midnight by the cry, “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” In both cases, the voice wakes all those who had "fallen asleep" and summons his people to greet him.

• Paul uses the same word for “meet” that is used in the parable (ἀπάντησις). Paul says those who are in Christ shall go up to “meet” him in the air on his way down from heaven, just as the virgins went out to “meet” the bridegroom to escort him into the hall. The other use of this word in the NT is to describe how Christians from Rome went out to meet Paul to accompany him back to Rome. As Strong’s Concordance says, the word is “seemingly almost technical for the reception of a newly arrived official.” A very similar word is use to describe how the crowds came out of Jerusalem to meet Jesus, accompanying him into the city with joy. 

• Paul writes that having greeted Jesus, “we will always be with the Lord,” just as the five wise virgins who greeted Jesus went into the wedding feast with the bridegroom, unlike the five foolish virgins who were unprepared and unable to enter.

• Then he says, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” So also, this parable is a solemn warning, but it is also a word of comfort and encouragement. The Lord will come. Though he delays, yet he shall come. And when he comes, it will be a day of joy and fulfillment for those who are ready for him.

If you are prepared, you shall enter with him and not be shut out. You will be filled with joy rather than terror. You will receive honor rather than shame. You will be openly recognized and welcomed by the Lord Jesus. 

Conclusion

Therefore, prepare yourself for that day. Seek the strength that God supplies, drawing life from Christ by faith. Be diligent in your use of the means he has appointed. Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. For if you abide in him, you will never run dry. Your lamp have an abundant supply and will shine bright on that day when the Lord comes to be glorified with all his saints.