The Ten Virgins
Read the parable
- Matthew 25:1-13 Primary account
Context
In a Jewish village wedding the bridegroom came — often late at night, and at an unannounced hour — to bring the bride from her father's house in a torchlit procession to the marriage feast. Unmarried girls of the village joined the procession with lamps; to be shut out of the feast once the doors closed was final. Jesus told this parable to his disciples on the Mount of Olives as part of his teaching on his return.
Meaning
All ten virgins expect the bridegroom, all sleep — the difference is preparation. The wise brought oil; the foolish presumed the wait would be short. When the cry comes at midnight, readiness cannot be borrowed or transferred, and the door, once shut, is shut. The parable teaches that watching for Christ's return means present, personal preparedness — a real and sustained life of faith, not association with those who have one. "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour".
Go deeper
Two free lessons walk through the parables as a whole: The Parables of Jesus and Interpreting the Parables.