Parable of the ten virgins

1. Introduction

This story told by Jesus carries on from where we left off this morning - when
Richard was speaking about the certain return of Jesus and the importance to
be ready: to be ready in ourselves, to be engaged in what Jesus calls us to do.
And this story helps us to think about what it means to be ready - in ourselves -
for his return.
Let’s try and position ourselves in the story to get a sense of what was going
on.
Weddings in the place and time of Jesus were occasions for a big party -
probably even more so than they are today:
• The bridegroom would go to the house of the bride’s father where she had
been living since their engagement
• There they would get married and celebrate with friends and family
• Later on they would process to the home of the bridegroom after which
there would be a time of feasting which would often last for several days
• This procession would normally take place at night and a common feature
along the route was a display of torches - and this is what these young
women were responsible for
It was a time of great excitement with everyone being involved and sharing in
the happiness of the couple. It was an event that you didn’t want to miss out
on - particularly if you were close to the bride and groom.
So these young women could have been waiting at the groom’s house for a
long time - they couldn’t predict when the bridal party would arrive - and so it
is totally understandable that they would drop off to sleep. But when they hear
that the bridegroom is on his way that is when they need to leap into action
and prepare to welcome him home.
(Clearly there would have been a bride involved as well but the focus of the
story is the interaction between the groom and these ten girls)
And so they get up and try to get their lamps burning brightly.

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2. The problem with the lamps

When we think about lamps we normally think about electric lanterns, or

maybe small oil lamps with a wick.
But the lamps in this story are probably something different - long sticks with
strips of cloth wrapped around the end and soaked in oil. It would have been
important to ensure that the cloth was wrapped tightly around the stick, that
the cloth was soaked in oil and the flame had a good chance to take hold. Even
then it is estimated that it would only burn for about fifteen minutes until the
oil was used up.
And here we see the differences between the two groups of women - one
group had come prepared, and the other hadn’t. One group had some oil that
they could soak the cloth in and the other didn’t.
So the “wise” group were able to check that the cloths were as they should be;
to douse it in oil; to light their torches and to go out and welcome the
bridegroom to his party.
But the “foolish” group didn’t have any extra oil so after a few seconds any
light that they had been able to get would go out as any oil left on the cloths
would be used up.
They came up with a cunning plan - they would ask their colleagues to share
their oil but they refused. They were aware that they only had a certain
amount, only had enough for their own torches and they didn’t want the
groom to not have lit torches to welcome him home. And so they encouraged
them to go off and try to buy some - and even though it was nighttime - it is
probable that shops would still be open to support the festivities and
celebration.
And so they went, they may have found oil - we are not told - but by the time
they return the procession has happened, the groom has arrived, the party has
started and the door is closed. (And this would have sounded strange to those
listening to the story as in these types of occasions the door was never closed,
everyone was welcome, but Jesus is using the conventions of wedding feasts to
make a bigger point about being ready for his return)
They know the groom is inside, they know the party is going on, they know
their five friends are inside and they want to be allowed in - and so they call
out to the groom asking him to let them in. But they hear the shocking

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response that they are not welcome, they will not be able to celebrate with
everyone else.
They had expected everyone to be watching them as they progressed with the
groom holding their lit torches - but now they are on the outside and being
told they aren’t recognised as invited guests.
I remember being at a technology conference and going in to visit one of the
exhibition stands. These are where tech companies showcase their products
and services and try and encourage customers to work with them. The stand I
was visiting was run by one of our partners - we were working with them on
projects for my customer. I wanted to find out a bit more about what they
were planning for the future so started asking some fairly detailed questions. It
became clear that I wasn’t getting the answers I was looking for and I
eventually found out that I wasn’t really welcome as they saw us really as
competitors and not partners. I thought I was on the inside, but was actually
being kept on the outside. It was a strange experience - when my expectations
(which I thought were valid) suddenly turned out to be based on nothing.
And Jesus uses this story to say that - in some way - it is going to be like that
when he returns. Some of those expecting to be included in that great
celebration won’t be and that will be painful, will be difficult, will be final.

3. Differences between the groups

Up until a certain point in the story it would have been very difficult to tell the
two groups of women apart:
• They were both waiting to greet the bridegroom
• They both had torches to light the way
• They both went to sleep - so there is no blame associated with that
• They both woke up when they heard that the groom was coming
• They both made sure their lamps were ready
It is only when one group realises that they don’t have any oil that we see the
difference - and after that the groups are totally separate and - in the story -
are never reunited:

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• One goes to process with the groom while the other has to go off and try to
find oil
• One goes into the party while the other ends up being left outside
• One is recognised and welcome while the other is sent away
And so the thing that sets them apart is one group had made the necessary
preparations before the arrival of the groom while the other group found they
were trying to do so after the groom had arrived.

4. Two strategies of the “foolish” women

Having recognised the situation they were in the unprepared women came up
with two approaches to try and address the problem:
1. They tried to borrow from those who had been prepared
2. They tried to convince the groom to let them in even after the party had
started
But neither of them succeeded.
And this has important lessons to teach us:
1. A reminder that in our relationship with God, in being prepared to meet
with Jesus, we can’t rely on the preparation that anyone else has made for
themselves, we need to ensure we are each individually prepared
2. And we can’t rely on the goodness and generosity of Jesus to receive us
after his return. He has given humanity up until the time of his return to get
ready but there will come a moment when that opportunity has come to an
end and people will no longer be able to enter into a relationship with him,
to be recognised by him

5. What is meant by wise and foolish?

As so often as we have been looking at the teaching of Jesus we have seen

echoes of what he said in the Sermon on the Mount - and this is no exception.
As we saw in our reading from Matthew 7 there are people who will think that
they have a relationship with Jesus who will find out that they don’t. Maybe
people who have spent their lives in church, maybe people who have been

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involved in responsibilities in the church, maybe people who have preached
sermons, maybe people who have been seen as leading figures in the church.
They have been living the life but they haven’t experienced the transforming
power of Jesus and they are not accepted by him.
We also saw something about what it means to be “wise” or “foolish” - and its
not about hearing the words of Jesus but putting them into practice: about
coming and following him; about finding identity in him; of receiving new life
from him; of living for him.
This is what it means and not doing this is what the “foolish women” in the
story warn against.
Two challenges
1. For us
2. Towards others
And it presents two challenges - the first is for us, and the second is to towards
others
We need to be prepared to meet Jesus, we need to be wise, we need to have
that relationship with him. And that is vitally important for each of us
But I particularly want to focus on the second challenge - our responsibility for
others:
a. Those who have no thought of God, have no sense that Jesus is going to
return. This story isn’t actually about them, but we do have a
responsibility to tell people that this is going to happen and the
implications of not being ready
b. Those who believe that they are right with God, are “living as
Christians”, but don’t understand what is involved, haven’t made their
individual preparation by trusting in him, have maybe heard the truth
about Jesus but haven’t realised it affects them. And these can be very
difficult to reach
This second one is really challenging - these are people who have bought into a
particular understanding of what being a Christian is all about; an
understanding that is pervasive in society; an understanding that is promoted
in many different ways - some subtle and some less so.

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I was in a discussion recently about a group of people who - it was claimed -
were living by “Christian values” - things like tolerance, care for others, respect
and so forth. Some of these are good and should flow from a real relationship
with Jesus; some are assumed to be “Christian” but are based on a flawed
understanding of what it means. Tolerance, for example, is all well and good
but only so far - there are some things, some ideas, that believers in Jesus
should not tolerate in the same way that Jesus didn’t. Things that go against
God’s justice; that go against God’s love; that goes against God’s plan for the
world. But even ignoring that, the bigger problem is that many people have
their understanding of living in a way that is consistent with “Christian values”
instead of understanding that we need to start with a life-changing relationship
with Jesus. But because they are living in a particular way they believe that
they are “Ok” and there is nothing further they need to do. They are buying
into a particular understanding of what Christianity is all about and they are
wrong - and so in danger of being excluded when Jesus returns.
Its not even that they hear the words of Jesus and choose to not follow it; they
hear a false message about Jesus and believe they are ok.
I was speaking recently with the local representative of a charity which - as far
as I can make out - is doing really good work. But I struggled with the way this
representative was insisting that the people involved were Christians because
of the valuable things they were doing. It is great that they are doing this work
- but disturbing that this is an understanding of what Christianity is about.
And many people have accepted the “social Christian” idea - that because we
live in this country, because we live in a particular way, because we “go to
church” to get married and bury people, then we are in a right place with God.
Many of these - when they stop to think about it - would have no doubts that
their behaviour, their lifestyle, their good works are sufficient for God to
accept them. Many would go beyond that and simply assume that God accepts
everyone and that their destiny is in heaven - whatever their understanding of
that is.
But the force of this parable is to say that this is not so, that they are not
prepared to meet Jesus, that Jesus would look at them in sorrow and say that
he doesn’t know them; that they will be excluded.

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They are in real danger of missing out on the great blessings that God has in
store for his people - and one of our responsibilities is to follow the example of
Jesus and point it out to them.
To make it clear that life is not going to carry on this way forever and that one
day - either when Jesus returns or when we die - the opportunity to really
understand who Jesus is and respond to him will be over and people will need
to live with the consequences. The writer of Hebrews puts it clearly and simply
like this:
Hebrews 9:27–28 NIV (Anglicised, 2011)

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a
second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting
for him.
The reality of dying and then facing judgement referenced here isn’t something
that the author feels he needs to argue for, to convince people of, it is
something that is simply assumed and understood to be true.
And he reminds them that the way to escape this judgement is to trust in the
Jesus who died to deal with the problem of sin and who will return to complete
the salvation of those who are trusting in him, those who are waiting for him.
And - in the light of our parable this evening - those who are prepared to meet
him.
But for those who haven’t come to that point, who haven’t made that decision,
they will be excluded as those whom Jesus doesn’t know.
I can sometimes be guilty of looking at people who just seem to have life all
sorted and together and think that they are ok - but the challenge of this story
is that however “ok” people may seem, without being prepared to meet Jesus
they are in terrible danger.
How many people do we know who - by virtue of how they live; because of
what they have been taught - have no doubt that they are right with God but
are basing that on a totally false understanding of who God is, the problem of
sin, and the saving work of Jesus?

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What opportunities will we have this week to come alongside them and gently
but clearly explain to them this reality and encourage them to rethink who
Jesus is and what he calls them to be?
And are we going to be prepared and willing to take those opportunities and
point people to Jesus?

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