3.08 The Ten Virgins

VIII. THE TEN VIRGINS.

Matthew 25:1 - Matthew 25:13. In that portion of St. Matthew’s Gospel which immediately precedes this parable, we find Jesus inculcating on His disciples the need of watchfulness and of preparedness for His Second Coming. He exacts of them those qualities of vigilance, fidelity, and prudence, which characterize the faithful steward; and He sets forth in lively language the dreadful punishment that awaits those who in their lord’s absence abuse the office of trust confided to them by ill-treating their fellow-servants and by leading a riotous life. Thereupon three parables follow: the Ten Virgins, the Talents, and the parable of the Sheep and Goats. In the first of these the duty of THE PARABLES OF JESUS 129 vigilance is the chief lesson, the second teaches the need of diligence, while in the third we learn in what the primary and essential duty of the Christian consists. The public career of Jesus as a teacher was now at an end. He had confined His ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; but He had failed to make an impression of an enduring nature on the great mass of the people; and as for their rulers, He had only succeeded in rousing their bitter enmity and active, unwearying opposition. What teaching He had still to communicate He reserved for the inner circle of His followers, who after all, with one solitary exception, had continued faithful to Him in His temptations, 1 and who, though in the impending trial their faith might be clouded and their trust interrupted for a brief season, had never ceased to love Him, and who in a future of which as yet they had no conception would make atonement for their passing weakness. “ Then,” said Jesus, referring to the Parousia, “ the Kingdom of Heaven will be likened to ten virgins who, having taken their

1 Luke 22:28.

130 THE PARABLES OF JESUS lamps, went out to meet the bridegroom.” 1 It is to be noted that neither in this nor in the preceding parable is there any mention of the bride, since the virgins in the one and the guests in the other, representing as they do the Church, occupy the place of that person age. Some interpreters think that the virgins went forth from their own houses, and met by previous arrangement at some house on the way, where, owing to the bridegroom’s delay, they nodded and fell asleep. Others are of opinion that it was from the bride’s house that they set out; while others, again, take the view that they met at the house of the bride, but did not actually go out to meet the bridegroom till the cry at midnight was heard.

If this last opinion is correct, verse 1 would have to be regarded as simply the heading of the parable, and thus outside the narrative. A little reflection will show that none of these views is free from difficulties, but any choice that we may make between them will scarcely affect the lesson of the parable. In Jewish weddings as a rule, though not invariably, the bridegroom, accompanied by his groomsmen 1 The Vulgate has in addition “ and the bride.” THE PARABLES OF JESUS 131 and friends, proceeded to the house of the bride, whom with her attendant maidens and friends he thence led to his own residence.

Here the bridegroom comes from a distance and proceeds to the house of the bride, on the way to which he is met by the procession. This accords with the real half of the parable as distinguished from the figurative. The lamps were vessels filled with oil or naphtha and furnished with wicks. They were not carried in the hand, but attached to long poles and borne aloft. The wise virgins took with them a supply of oil in vessels; while the foolish virgins neglected to make this provision. The expected advent of the bridegroom filled them with a pleasurable excitement; but as hour after hour passed by, and no sign of his coming appeared, they began to nod and finally fell fast asleep. At midnight the cry was raised, by whom, it would be useless to inquire: “Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him.” All the virgins started up and trimmed their lamps. Now, apparently for the first time, the foolish virgins perceive the consequences of their lack of foresight. They, too, adjust and light the 132 THE PARABLES OF JESUS wicks of their lamps, but, for want of sufficient oil, the lamps emit only a feeble light, the flame flickers and threatens to go out. In their need they appeal to their provident compan ions: u give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” The wise virgins feel obliged to refuse, for the reason that they fear that their supply would not be enough for all. Instead, they advise them to go to where oil is sold and buy some for themselves. Accordingly, at that late hour of the night they trudge off in quest of oil, and in their absence the bride groom appears, and, accompanied by the wise virgins, proceeds to the house where the marriage feast is to be celebrated. The foolish virgins, having obtained what they sought, hasten back, and find that theprocession is already on its way to the house of the feast. They hurry thither, only to see the door shut on their arrival. This does not cause them much uneasiness: they have only to knock and demand admittance, and it will be granted. What, then, is their consternation to find that their cries and prayers are all in vain! The character of the bridegroom has suddenly changed to that of judge, and in THE PARABLES OF JESUS 133 stern tones he answers their entreaties, “ Verily, I say unto you, I know you not.” Our Lord indicates the lesson of the parable in the words that round it off: “ Watch ye, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.”

There is, perhaps, no parable in the interpretation of which men have given a freer rein to their imaginations than this. Ex cesses of this kind weaken the force of the parable, because, when the varying opinions as to the meaning of details spring merely from individual fantasy, they naturallyproduce uncertainty; and, at the same time, overmuch attention to what at most is only of subordinate importance tends to take off the mind from the lessons which the parable as a whole conveys. Accordingly, we shall refrain from pressing the details of this parable beyond what they are obviously intended to represent. The object of the parable was to impress on the disciples the paramount duty of vigilance in view of the uncertainty of the precise time of the Parousia. Jesus had, indeed, specified various signs that would precede that event;

134 THE PARABLES OF JESUS but, as these signs were to be spread over a more or less lengthened period, they would furnish no sufficient indication as to the day or hour when it would take place. Hence their only safety lay in watchfulness, if they would not be found unprepared. The ten virgins represent the faithful at large. It is the opinion of some that the number ten was chosen because the Jewish ritual lawprescribed that the presence of at least that number of persons at certain ceremonies was obligatory if the ceremonies in question were to take place at all. This opinion is very doubtful: only five out of the ten were actually present at the feast. The bridegroom is, of course, Christ Himself. He is represented as coming at the end of the world to fetch home His bride, those members of the Church militant here on earth found worthy of so great an honour. The wise virgins, who alone actually met the bridegroom, stand for the elect, who, according to the teaching of St. Paul, would be caught up into the air to meet Christ at His coming, and be for ever with Him. 1 By the foolish virgins we are to under- 1 1 Thessalonians 4:17. THE PARABLES OF JESUS 135 stand reprobate Christians, those who have faith without works. The lamps may be regarded as a type of faith; the oil stands for the Christian virtues. The bridegroom’s delay in coming has been taken as intended to indicate that the Parousia was more distant than was generally believed; and some ration alistic writers argue from this that the cir cumstance of the delay is based, not on a genuine utterance of Jesus, but on the Evange list’s experience. It is obvious that such an argument presupposes the lack of any foreknowledge on the part of Jesus which would transcend mere human sagacity. Besides, the circumstance in question may have been used simply as furnishing a reason for the slumber of the virgins, a necessary feature in the parable, and to heighten the suddenness of the coming of the bridegroom when he actually does appear. The drowsiness and slumber signify that state of spiritual lethargy which worldly cares and anxieties produce in the soul, and in which believers would find them selves the more deeply immersed the longer the Second Advent was delayed. The shut ting of the door signifies the exclusion of the 136 THE PARABLES OF JESUS reprobate from the happiness of the Kingdom where Christ and His saints rejoice in glory. The Heavenly Bridegroom from within tells the foolish virgins that He knows them not. The knowledge of them which He disclaims is a knowledge which involves an element of approval. The idea of knowing in this sense is found in the last verse of the first Psalm, “ Jahweh knoweth the way of the just; but the way of transgressors endeth in destruction.”

TAGS: [Parables]