Articles

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13: "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And a midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose 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, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, 'I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."

The parable of the ten virgins was given in order to shed additional light on truths that Jesus had already spoken in the previous chapter (Matthew 24:36-51). The word "parable" literally means "to throw along side" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament). Thus, a parable is an illustrated truth that is thrown along side something already stated in order to further enlighten the hearer to the truth being taught. Therefore, to accurately understand the parable of the ten virgins, you must note the teaching that precedes it and then view the parable of the ten virgins in light of that context.

Note that in Matthew 24:36-44, the Lord speaks concerning the suddenness of His future return for His people and the need for preparedness in the believer in view of their future judgment. In Matthew 24:40-41, the two sets of servants of whom it is said, "one will be taken and the other left," refers to the two different outcomes that will be realized by believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ directly following the Lord's return for His church. The phrases, "… two will be in the field…" and "two will be grinding at the mill…" points toward service or stewardship. It was common for a master to place his servants "in the field" and "grinding at the mill." Note also that the words "men" ("two men") in Matthew 24:40 and "women" ("two women") in Matthew 24:41, have been supplied by the translators and do not appear in the original text. The idea is simply that two servants were to be working in the field and two servants were to be grinding at the mill. It pictures the fact that believers are to be working in service to their Lord while He is away. And when the Lord returns to judge, the outcome will be that one is "taken" and the other is "left." The word translated "taken" literally means "to take to one's self; to join to one's self; an associate; a companion; to accept or acknowledge; to not reject" (Thayer's). The idea is that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, there will be servants whom Christ will take to Himself so as to join to Himself (i.e., the Bride) and these servants will become Christ's associates in His Kingdom—His companions or co-heirs who will rule with Him over the earth for 1,000 years. Then there is the word "left" ("… the other is left."). This word literally means "to send away" and has the idea of "rejection" (Thayer's; Vine's). At the Judgment Seat of Christ, not only will there be those believers who are joined to the Lord in intimate companionship with Him, but there will be those who are sent away— rejected as co-heirs and denied association with the King in His Kingdom.

Main Menu