“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Matt 25:13 ESV

Towards the end of the Gospel of Matthew, the teaching ministry of Jesus is brought to a close by what is known as the Olivet Discourse (24-25). The teaching found in these chapters is given in response to the disciples’ question (24:1-3).

Eschatology (the study of the end times) is perhaps the most misinterpreted and abused passage of scripture. One extreme suggests that the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 fulfilled all the events of the Olivet Discourse.

The other extreme is trying to fit current world events with the Bible’s teachings and producing a detailed analysis of what will happen and when. Some Christians appear to be obsessed with this practice. You can spend hours online listening to these so-called prophets, setting out the who, what, why, when, and how.

Many false prophets have arisen, claiming to know exactly when Jesus is returning. They cannot accept that Jesus left these questions unanswered for some reason. Jesus repeatedly denied the possibility of such knowledge. The longer parables contained in the Olivet Discourse all stress the impossibility of knowing the time of Jesus’s return (24:36, 42, 44, 50, 25:13).

Therefore, as we study this challenging parable (1), we must discover the main point Jesus conveyed within the context. When studying scripture, we must always determine, as Alistair Begg says, what the passage’s ‘main things and the plain things’ are.

This will help us avoid errors like so many others do. So, what are the ‘main things and plain things’ of the parables contained in these chapters? There is a simple and obvious answer. The main point is conveyed to us at the end of this parable (25:13).

We do not know when Jesus will return, so we must be prepared to meet Him at any time.

This is what we are to concern ourselves with. It is as if Jesus knew the insatiable appetite people have for knowing dates and times, so He purposefully withheld information to avoid speculation and sensationalism and to focus our minds and hearts on the main point.

We are ignorant of the timing of Christ’s return, and so the implication is that we are, as John MacArthur puts it, “to remain patient, diligent, faithful – no matter how long our Lord may seem to delay His return…Meanwhile, we must be ready, whether He returns right away or waits another thousand years…” (2)

The Ten Virgins

““Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:1-2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“There are people within the church who have heard the invitation of Christ, have responded somewhat, and may even be said to have affection for Jesus, but who are yet not ready to meet him. They are good church people. They would never think about speaking a word against Jesus. But they are not born again. They do not have that inward change which alone entities them to enter heaven.”

James Montgomery Boice

Sometimes, we listen to Jesus speak, and we have to confess that what we have just heard was disturbing. Contrary to the Jesus of our culture, the Jesus of the New Testament did not mince his words. The Olivet Discourse falls into that category. This parable is a clear echo of those disturbing words found earlier in the gospels of Matthew and Luke (7:21-23, Luke 13:24-28).

This parable describes a wedding and ten members of the bridal party. Once again, Jesus uses the wedding imagery to convey what the Kingdom of God is like. This parable focuses on the urgent need to enter the Kingdom (see Rev 19:6-9).

Culturally, these ten virgins would be the bride’s attendants. They would attend the bride’s home and await the groom’s arrival. To be one of the ten would be a great honour. Once the groom arrives, there will be a joyful procession from the bride’s home to the groom’s home. So, we find these ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom, but who do these virgins represent?

Jesus, in this context, was speaking to His disciples (24:3). Therefore, the ten virgins were a picture of those who professed faith in Jesus, at least outwardly. One of the main lessons of this parable is the distinction between the foolish and the wise. What is the difference?

At first glance, the virgins appear identical. They all expect to participate in the wedding (25:1). They are not those who are hostile or indifferent towards the bridegroom as in other parables (22:5-6, Luke 14:18-20).

This is where the parable gets disturbing. In the church, people can look identical. Everybody has a bible and a hymn book in front of them. Everybody bows their heads in prayer. Everybody listens to the sermon, and with the casual eye, it seems there is no difference. But, as we shall see, there was a critical distinction, and the same is true of many who attend churches today (13:24-30).

This is what theologians refer to as the visible and invisible church—the distinction between those who profess faith and those who possess faith.

The distinction is in personal preparation, and Jesus uses ‘oil’ as a metaphor to describe this distinction.

Oil and Lamps

“For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:3-9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“The ‘oil’ of this passage, then, is not one thing but many. It encompasses the whole Christian life, which we are to be living faithfully while we wait the coming of our Lord.”

Mark E Ross

In Jesus’s time, a lamp, probably better understood as a torch, had to be dipped in oil about every 15 minutes to keep it alight. These torches illuminated the procession on the way to the bridegroom’s house. The torchbearers, therefore, had to have a ready supply of oil available; otherwise, the torches would go out.

The foolish bridesmaids were unprepared because they had neglected to take along extra oil. It is their lack of oil which makes them foolish. On the contrary, the wise bridesmaids had taken extra oil with them. It is their possession of oil that makes them wise.

We should not let ourselves get distracted from the main point of the parable – the necessity to be ready and prepared to meet the bridegroom (25:10). It can be easy to go off on a tangent and spend too much time on why the bridegroom was delayed, or why the virgins slept. Neither is the parable teaching a moral lesson about selfishness or giving to needy people (25:8-9).

We must stick to the ‘main and plain thing.’ Remember that a parable is a story with generally one central point. If you know the Bible, you will know that oil is often used as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. Most commentators link the oil in this parable to the Holy Spirit. Of course, it is true that a person cannot be a Christian without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (see John 3:5, Rom 8:9, Gal 4:6, Jude 1:19).

If the oil is solely a reference to the Holy Spirit, then despite their similarities with the wise virgins, the foolish virgins lack that which is essential. Regeneration! That is a perfectly correct interpretation. However, it may be amiss to suggest that the oil is only a metaphor for the Holy Spirit and nothing else.

Taken within the context of the preceding and proceeding parable, it seems Jesus is talking about Christian life holistically. Jesus has and will go on to speak about the necessity of perseverance and evangelism (24:13-14), the necessity to be faithful in Kingdom work (24:45-47), to be using our gifts in His service (25:14-30), and in giving to others (25:31-46).

The Christian is saved by faith alone, not by works (Eph 2:8-9). But true saving faith is never alone. It always produces fruit in the character and the life of the Christian (see Gal 5:22-23, Eph 2:10). If there is no fruit, there is no saving faith.

We must also remember that the Olivet Discourse is about the return of Jesus. If you are a Christian reading this, perhaps you have had the experience of becoming careless in the pursuit of Jesus for a season. What is one of the very first things we neglect when this happens? We neglect to live our lives in the light of His return. We neglect to do those very things He commands us to do. We cease to watch!

This is precisely what happened to the man in the preceding parable. Because the master was delayed, he began to live an ungodly life and tragically was described as a wicked servant (24:48-51). This is why it is essential for Christians to exercise healthy self-examination (see 2 Cor 13:5).

Only by viewing the oil in this way can we begin to understand the last section of the parable.

The Shut Door

“And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:10-13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“If I ever reach heaven I expect to find three wonders there: first, to meet some I had not thought to see there; second, to miss some I had expected to see there; and third, the greatest wonder of all, to find myself there.”

John Newton

What we are indeed reveals itself in a crisis.

The crisis moment for the foolish virgins came when the bridegroom arrived, and they were found wanting. A casual reading may cause one to think that Jesus is being somewhat harsh here. Why would the bridegroom reject the virgins because they did not have enough oil?

This is where we must consider our previous explanation of the oil. We must take the foolish virgins, the wicked servant of the preceding parable, and the man who hid his talent in the proceeding parable. Jesus is describing the unfaithful and disobedient.

The foolish virgins are a picture of those who have not been concerned about faithfulness in their waiting and perseverance in the Christian life, nor have they used their resources and gifts in Kingdom work or cared for other believers (3). Only when we view the foolish virgins in this light can we begin to make sense of their exclusion from the marriage feast, which is a picture of heaven (see Rev 19:6-10).

Like in Noah’s day, the period of grace we now find ourselves in will end, and the door will be shut for good (24:37-39, 25:10, Gen 7:16). The application for Christians is straightforward. We must make sure that Jesus is our Lord. We must seek to be faithful and watchful by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Any signs of carelessness must be urgently met with self-examination and prayer for restoring grace. Christians must make sure their torch is burning bright with heavenly oil as they bring the light of the gospel into this dark world.

We must be ready (see Matt 5:14-16).

Notes

1. For a brief explanation of parables see – https://theedgedoctor.wordpress.com/2021/07/17/lessons-from-the-parables-a-condition-of-entry/
2. John MacArthur – Parables, the Mysteries of the Kingdom Revealed through the Stories Jesus Told, Thomas Nelson, 2015, p129
3. A reading of Matthew 24:45-51, 25:14-46 would be helpful here

All scripture quotations are from the ESV