1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went to In a procession, the bridegroom and his friends brought the bride from her father’s house to his house where the wedding feast was prepared. meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish [thoughtless, silly, and careless], and five were wise [far-sighted, practical, and sensible]. 3For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take any [extra] oil with them, 4but the wise took flasks of oil along with their lamps. 5Now while the bridegroom was delayed, they all began to nod off, and they fell asleep. 6But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! The bridegroom [is coming]! Go out to meet him.’ 7Then all those virgins got up and put their own lamps in order [trimmed the wicks and added oil and lit them]. 8But the foolish virgins said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise replied, ‘No, otherwise there will not be enough for us and for you, too; go instead to the dealers and buy oil for yourselves.’ 10But while they were going away to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut and locked. 11Later the others also came, and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open [the door] for us.’ 12But He replied, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I do not know you [we have no relationship].’ 13Therefore, be on the alert [be prepared and ready], for you do not know the day nor the hour [when the Son of Man will come]. Matthew 25 1:13 AMP
In part 1 on this text I focused the conversation on the value of the oil (God’s word, scripture), and the flame/lamp (faith). While those aspects of the text are important, I want to instead look at the bridesmaids/virgins that the passage is about. I think that readers often ignore valuable points about the parable in which 5 of the bridesmaids were effective witnesses, while the other 5 weren’t. For this post we’ll say that all 10 bridesmaids were witnesses for God, or at least they were supposed to be, yet not all of them were wise. What does wisdom have to do with being an effective witness? The 5 wise bridesmaids displayed several qualities that we would be wise to apply to our own lives especially when leading and witnessing to other people.
- Faith: nothing works without faith. Faith is the pre-requisite to receiving salvation and any blessing from God. The 5 wise bridesmaids displayed faith in their act of taking additional oil with them on their journey to wait for the groom. From the text one could assume that the 10 bridesmaids journeyed to meet the groom during the daytime which is why the 5 foolish virgins felt comfortable traveling without oil. The wise virgins because of their faith, and some wisdom they had been given were wise enough to prepare for a process/journey that may take longer than expected. Faith will cause you to prepare for the unexpected, and lean on the strength of God during it. The wise had the faith to believe that the groom would show up as promised, and they displayed their faith through their obedience, and preparation for the word.
- capacity: The 5 wise virgins showed the “capacity” to manage/use the gifting of the holy spirit (oil) that had been entrusted to them. Rather than neglect or waste the holy spirit they filled their flask with more than enough in case they encountered unforeseen circumstances and needed extra oil. The wise virgins proved that they were capable of being entrusted with more because they wisely managed what had been given to them. Capacity is increased when one shows themself capable of handling that which they are currently entrusted of. When a believer proves oneself faithful, they show that they can be entrusted with more strength, understanding/wisdom, and more of the holy spirit.
- wisdom: Wisdom can only be given or obtained from God. The 5 wise virgins displayed this wisdom when the 5 foolish virgins asked for some of their oil during the night. As a believer we are called to help, guide others who may be lost, but not at the expense of our journey or assignment. The 5 wise virgins realized that it wasn’t the oil that the foolish virgins needed, but rather a relationship with God who is the provider of the oil (Holy Spirit). The 5 wise virgins realized the oil is not theirs to give, so they do the wise act of directing the foolish virgins to return to the source of the oil so that they too can get prepared to meet the groom (Christ).
Reflection Time
Do you have any sauce or drip? If you’ve gotten oil, where are you storing the excess? Do you have the wisdom to know how to manage and/or use your oil? What is your capacity, and do you have the faith to increase it? Assess your current status in relation to where you’ve come from, to see if you should be doing more.
