The Five Wise and the Five Foolish Virgins

A pastor entered a tavern where a man, wishing to embarrass him, rose and suddenly called out quite loudly, “There is no God”. The pastor went to him, calmly laid his hand on his shoulder, and said, “Friend, what you have said is not at all new. The Bible said that more than 2,000 years ago.” The man replied, “I never knew that the Bible made such a statement.” The pastor informed him, “Psalm 14:1, tells us, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” But there is a great difference between that fool and you. He was quite modest and said it only in his heart; he didn’t go about yelling it out in taverns.”[Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 483.] Many are yelling ‘There is no God’ by the lives they’re living. They are unwise. The foolishare not looking to Him. They are not looking for Him. The indifferent are unaware of Him. They are like the Five Foolish Virgins in Jesus parable in Matthew twenty-five. In today’s Light on Life, we take a fresh look at the Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins, so that we could ascertain for ourselves How to Live Wise in an Unwise World.

Our previous podcast: #S5-008: Is Praise and Thanksgiving Pillars of Your House? [Podcast]

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.
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The person who lives wisely like the five wise virgins in an unwise world is the one who is ready, prepared and faithful even when the Bible time-line is delayed. This faithful person is one who keeps doing. He keeps giving out meat in due season. Faithfully does this servant put out God’s Word. He keeps building the Kingdom of God and puts it first. Flowing in his God-ordained place is this person’s first priority. He refuses to lose heart. Courage and ‘sense of purpose’ are his hallmark. Make the commitment to be this person.

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Question: Spiritual life is all about adjustments. Which ones do you need to make in order to be God’s wise man in the midst of an unwise world?

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About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 37 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins: Much Misapplication

The Parable of the Five Wise and the Five Foolish Virgins, as well as the rest of Jesus parables, has suffered much Bible interpretation inaccuracy.
The problem comes in when the good intentioned try to assign meaning to each and every detail of a Jesus parable.
In the case of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins, people have assigned symbolic importance to the lamps, to the oil in the lamps or to the lack of oil in the lamps.
They have similarly looked at the Bridegroom’s delay, the fact that they all got drowsy enough to sleep and the midnight cry announcing the Bridegroom and have assigned meaning to each detail.
But, that is not how you interpret a Jesus parable.
A Jesus parable is a story with a single point.
So, the question we need to ask ourselves is not what all the different elements of the story mean.
What we need to ask is what is the main point Jesus was trying to get across by the telling of this Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins story?

The Preparation of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins

Matthew 25:1–5 (KJV) — 1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

The Midnight Cry

Matthew 25:6–12 (KJV) —6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

The Context of the Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins

One of the first words we should hone in on in this parable is the ‘time’ word ‘then’.
The word ‘then’ is a chronological marker.
It connects chapter twenty-five to chapter twenty-four.
As we saw in previous lessons on Matthew twenty-four, the entire chapter is in chronological order.
The last time elements that we connect to is ‘immediately after the Tribulation of those days…’ found in verse twenty-nine and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven found in verse 30.
In verse thirty-one, we have the Great Separation where the angels go and pick out the righteous from the unrighteous.

Next: The Fig Tree

Then we have the Jesus statement about the Fig Tree.
Next, we have the following Jesus statement.

Matthew 24:36 (KJV) — 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Next: The Days of Noah

Then comes Jesus reference to the days of Noah in verse thirty-seven.
After which comes the following declaration.

Next: Living Ready

Matthew 24:42–44 (KJV) — 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

The message is clear: Since we won’t know when He is coming, be ready, be prepared.

An Illustration of Living Ready

While on one of his expeditions to the Antarctic, Sir Ernest Shackleton was once compelled to leave some of his men on Elephant Island, with the intention of returning for them and carrying them back to England. But he was unavoidably delayed, and by the time he could go for them he found to his dismay that the sea had frozen over and his men were cut off. Three times he tried to reach them, but his efforts ended in failure. Finally, in his last effort, he found a narrow channel through the ice. Guiding his small ship back to the island, he was delighted to find his men not only alive and well, but all prepared to get aboard. They were soon on their way to safety and home. After the excitement ended, Sir Ernest inquired how it was that they were ready to get aboard so promptly. They told him that every morning their leader rolled up his sleeping bag, saying, “Get your things ready, boys, the boss may come today.”
The return of the Lord Jesus to this earth is much more certain than Sir Shackleton’s return to Elephant Island.
Christ’s promise to return to claim His redeemed is established upon His Word and His character.
It is still “the blessed hope” of all who love Him—a hope that will not fail.¹
Again, the message is clear to the people of the Tribulation era: You won’t know when He is coming, so be ready, be prepared.

Jesus Definition of a Wise Person

Jesus then follows up with His definition, God’s definition, of a faithful and wise person.

Matthew 24:45–51 (KJV) — 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So, who gets to be ruler over the goods?
Who gets the greater responsibility?
What person is it who is promoted and elevated in God’s sight?
The person who is ready, prepared and faithful even when the Bible time-line is delayed.
This faithful person is one who keeps doing.
He keeps giving out meat in due season.
Faithfully does this servant put out God’s Word.
He keeps building the Kingdom of God.
Putting it first.
Flowing in his God-ordained place is this person’s first priority.
He refuses to lose heart.
Courage and ‘sense of purpose’ are his hallmark.

The Apostles Sense of Putting the Kingdom of God First

Do you remember the apostles in Acts six?

Acts 6:1–4 (NKJV) — 1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

The apostles refused to vacate their mission of dispensing God’s Word even for a worthy cause.
How would that decision play out today, among the sharks that are swimming in the media?
That’s right, I said sharks.
The news media is full of the devil.
How would not personally helping the widows go over in today’s climate?
Would they call hail you as a hater of widows?
What would you do if this was you?
Would you find a way to juggle both or would you be bold enough to do what you know the Lord wants you to do that is build the Kingdom?
Just a question, just a thought.
So, after all of this comes Matthew 25, of which the first twelve verses are the parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins.
The very next verse after the parable in Jesus sermon is verse thirteen.
Listen to it.

Another Strong Command from Jesus to Live Ready

Matthew 25:13 (KJV) — 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

So, another strong command from Jesus to watch, to be aware, to be ready.
So, the Parable of the Five Wise and the Five Foolish Virgins sits right smack dab in the midst of all of these strong admonitions from Jesus on the importance of staying engaged in Kingdom business.
This is the context surrounding this parable.
This is the single point Jesus was making, that people during the Tribulation period, will be tempted to lose focus on the things that really matter.
They’ll be lured into a false sense of family, marrying and giving in marriage and trying to go on with their lives like the Kingdom of God doesn’t exist.
I say, ‘trying’ because I don’t see how anybody can do business as usual in the middle of twenty-one planet-devastating judgments.
Jesus is saying guard against this tendency of losing on what matters.
Be aware.
Live focused.
Be like the Five Wise virgins instead of the Five Foolish Virgins

2 Peter 1:10 (KJV) — 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Components of the Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins: Common Traits of the Ten

First, they were all virgins

Ten in total
There’s wasn’t five wise virgins and five foolish harlots.
They all had the same identity.
That is if the virgins mean the Nation of Israel, then all ten were Israelites;
If you take this parable as Gentile believers, then again five were wise and five were not so wise.
You may think it could be a mixture of Jew and Gentile believers, then half of the believers were wise and half not so wise.
If you think we are talking sinners and saints, well you can fill in the rest.
Personally, since there has already been a separation of good seed and bad seed, good fish and bad fish, good sheep and bad goats since the angels have already gone out, then this next separation may be concerning the Jewish nation.

Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins all had lamps and oil

They all had what it took or had the ability to get it.
As we said earlier many have tried to make the oil have a symbolic meaning in this story.
Like since in some parts of scripture, oil is a type of the Spirit, and it is you know.
And so, they see these foolish virgins lacking oil and they symbolically conclude that they must be lacking in some work of the Spirit of God in their lives.
That’s how this gets interpreted but that’s not what Jesus was saying.

Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins all experienced the same delay

The playing field was level so to speak.
The wise weren’t dealing with a better set of circumstances than the foolish.
All ten underwent the exact same delay of the bridegroom.

Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins all slept

Some think the reason why the foolish were deemed as such was that they fell asleep.
But, if you read the story carefully, all ten fell asleep.
There has been again that tendency to try to make a symbol out ‘falling asleep’.
Falling asleep is a symbol of being spiritual lethargic.
The analogy is a good one but not here because all of the virgins slept.
So, there is no extra special meaning you can attach to that in this story.
Sleeping is what you’re supposed to do as the night wears on and that’s what all of them did.

The Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins all heard the same midnight cry

Think about this.
The midnight cry announcing the arrival of the bridegroom we understand to be the announcing of the Messiah.
Since only the Father God knows the day and the hour, what does that tell you about the Father God?
Isn’t God the Father all knowing?
Yes, He is.
Doesn’t He realize that the five foolish are not ready for what’s getting ready to take place?
Of course, He does.
But yet, the midnight cry goes forth.
When it’s time, it’s time.

The Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins all arose and trimmed their lamps

That’s what they were supposed to do when you’re getting ready to light a lamp at night.
You have to trim the wick.
They all did the same thing.

Components of the Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins: Differences of the Ten

Five were wise, five were foolish.
The Greek word ‘foolish’ means a person who lacks good judgment.
It also means a person who lives in a stupid way.
What was is it that made five foolish?
Well, that brings us to the next difference between the virgins.

The five wise and five foolish virgins prepared for a potential delay of the bridegroom: they had extra flasks of oil

The foolish virgins lacked good judgment on how to stay ready to meet the bridegroom.
That’s why their actions are stupid.
The bridegroom delayed His coming long into the night.
They were not prepared to carry on in the midst of the delay.
The delay required extra flasks of oil.
The wise thought about the future and prepared accordingly.
The foolish just lived for the moment.
At the midnight cry, the foolish immediately realized they didn’t have enough oil, the wise didn’t even bother with looking to see if they had enough.
They knew they had.
Their house was in order.

The five foolish virgins had to go and get oil while the five wise virgins entered the feast

There is always discussion about ‘last minute salvations.’
The thief on the cross is a good example.

Luke 23:39–43 (NKJV) — 39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” 40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

The thief made a last minute adjustment and it worked.
The foolish virgins tried that too, they tried to make a last minute adjustment.
When they realized they were in danger of missing out, they ran and got some more oil so they could find their way at night to the wedding feast.
The foolish returned with oil but it was too late; the doors had shut.
The adjustment did not work.
Why not?
Why could the thief do it but not the foolish virgins?
Could it be that the foolish virgins knew better?
Could it be that they knew to prepare, they were encouraged to prepare, they were warned about not being ready and they simply ignored the warning?
Just a thought.

The five foolish virgins didn’t watch, the five wise virgins did

To watch was Jesus concluding message to this parable.

Matthew 25:13 (NKJV) — 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

What does it mean to watch?
The Greek word watch means to be alert, to be awake, to beware.
The message to those who are alive during the Tribulation period is to watch, to live aware, to stay in a state of preparation.
Don’t let your guard down even in the event of a potential delay.
What does that mean for you and me?
We are not in the Tribulation period.
The lesson is to avoid the choices of the five foolish virgins.
They tried to get ready instead of living ready.
The Foolish Virgins tried to turn on preparation instead of training themselves to live prepared.
They should have disciplined themselves to live ready and aware every single day.
The English journalist, G. K. Chesterton, reminded us of a practice among certain Christian knights of the medieval period. Before leaving for battle, they would receive communion with one foot in the stirrup.²

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References:

Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1086. ↩
G. Curtis Jones, 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1986), 7. ↩

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The Five Wise and the Five Foolish Virgins

Podcast: Light on Life Season Five Episode Nine

by Emery Horvath

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