The Parable of the Ten Virgins

4. The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13)

Have you ever thought about the end of the world? During this time of coronavirus, a lot of people are thinking about it. They are asking questions like, “what will happen if society falls apart?”, “what will happen to me if I die?”, and “how can I protect myself from the world around me?” Some people are taking worldly steps to prepare for such an apocalypse, like building bomb shelters, stocking up on guns, ammo, non-perishable food, and toilet paper, training in survival tactics, and growing a beard (I don’t know why, but this seems to be a requirement for most preppers).  

In Matthew 24, Jesus told His disciples about many signs that will happen to signal that the end of the world is at hand. He assured them that He would one day come again, and in Matthew 25, He uses two parables to drive this point home. Please read Matthew 25:1-13 in your Bibles.

While the previous parables were told primarily to the religious leaders of Jerusalem, the next two are told in private to Jesus’ disciples. He is not teaching the crowds with a parable so that they will “indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive” (Matt. 13:14; Isaiah 6:9). Rather, He is using this story to make plain to His disciples the lesson that He has just taught them: that He will soon be coming again, and they need to be prepared. The question that this should lead us to ask is, “how do I prepare for Jesus’ second coming?”

Based on the fact that the foolish virgins were shut out of the wedding feast and told that Jesus did not know them, we can assume that they were not saved. Even a foolish believer will be welcome to the wedding feast, as we learned yesterday. So, those virgins who brought oil for their lamps are believers who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Many people have heard that Jesus will one day come again. Many others haven’t heard about Jesus, but can look at the world and interpret that it will one day come to an end. These people might all be expecting that the world will end, and many of them may even be “preparing” in ways like I described above. But all of their worldly preparation is foolishness compared to eternity. The wise person is preparing for the end of the world by putting their faith in Jesus Christ.

If you haven’t trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then please do so now, because “you know neither the day nor the hour” that He will return, and at that point, it will be too late.

But, if you have repented of your sins, and put your faith in Jesus for salvation, then you are saved. This doesn’t mean that you won’t go through hard times: the wise virgins fell asleep staying up late just like the foolish ones. But it does mean that, ultimately, you will enjoy the wedding feast of the King. That’s a hope for the future that we can look forward to, no matter how difficult things may get here and now.