Parable of the Ten Virgins
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The Parable of the Ten Virgins is a Parable told by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 25:1-13).
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[edit] Overview
In the Parable of the Ten Virgins the story is told by Jesus of a party of virgins given the honour of attending a wedding. Each of the ten virgins is carrying a lamp as they await the coming of the bridegroom. Five are wise and bring an extra jar of oil. Five are foolish and do not. The bridegroom is late in coming; the foolish virgins ask the wise ones for spare oil, but they refuse, saying that they might then not have enough. While the foolish virgins are away buying more oil, the bridegroom arrives. The wise virgins are there to welcome him and the foolish ones arrive too late and are excluded.
It was one of the most popular parables in the Middle Ages with enormous influence on Gothic art, sculpture and the architecture of German and French cathedrals.
[edit] The parable
The Parable of the Ten Virgins is a narrative attributed to Jesus. It is found in the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Ten young women are gathering in anticipation of a wedding. They are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. They knew that he was coming at some time during the night. But as the drama unfolds his coming was delayed until the dark hours after midnight.
The focus of the story was on the lamps each one of the virgins carried and upon the available supply of oil. As the drama unfolded and the midnight hour approached the lamps of all ten of the virgins began to flicker and to burn low. Five of the virgins had prudently made preparations for this. These five wise virgins had brought an extra jar of oil with them. When the cry of the bridegroom's friend came at midnight they were ready. They had prepared for just such an eventuality. They rose up from their slumbers and recharged their lamps.
For the other five it was a different story. They were lacking in wisdom and in foresight. They had not prepared. They tried to borrow oil from the others. But they refused, saying that there would not be enough. As the story unfolds the lamps of the imprudent brides were going out. They could not leave the house. They were unable and go out into the darkness to meet the bridegroom. The five foolish virgins were subsequently rejected.
This is one of the most haunting parables Jesus ever told. Many Christians in devotional circles make quite a lot of it and find it very inspiring. And then there are others who find it disturbing and try to play down the parable's significance.
Some Christian commentators have considered the ten virgins to be a story about bridesmaids.[citation needed] However, if this were so, then the focus would be with their relationship with the bride and not, as we see it here in the parable, with the bridegroom. Some consider that the virgins are presenting a picture of 'brides to be'. It is for this reason that the ten virgins are often considered to be a 'type' of the church.
The lamps and the oil are prominent symbolic elements within the parable. They appear to be critical keys to the story. Bible commentators consider that the lamps in Biblical symbology represent the spirit of man. The oil represents the Spirit of God within. In His Presence is the provision of a spiritual energy reserve which goes beyond a person's own energy and capabilities. The oil of God's Spirit enables him to journey on in a time of personal loss and personal darkness.
The wise will rise and shine. They will be given a song in the night. Others experience the very same experience of 'burnout'. But without a provision beyond themselves they are unable to go on.
The parable is considered by many Christians to be one of great prophetic significance.[citation needed] Within the story lies a word of warning to those who would be wise. Because like the virgins the church is a company of people set apart in a blood covenant commitment, (or betrothal), to a coming Bridegroom. Here we see people with great expectations. They are awaiting the arrival of their Messiah. The evening starts out in a party atmosphere. But then at midnight they find themselves entering the deep darkness of the end-time. Those who are wise will find provision to go out into the darkness to meet the returning bridegroom. The foolish ones, those who have been neglectful in these important matters, will not.
Liberal commentators doubt the story is really by Jesus. Some raise issue of polygamy and try to apply it to the story.[citation needed] Others consider that while Jesus might reject his followers because of sin or wickedness He would never reject half of his followers simply because of a simple lack of foresight or preparation. What is also disturbing is a somewhat un-Christian element of selfishness clearly displayed in a story, where five wise virgins refuse to share their supplies of oil with five other virgins who are in need of it. Historicists also downplay the parable's prophetic significance. They affirm that there will be no apocalyptic dramas in our future. They consider that the story seems to be aimed at an audience that was waiting for a Second Coming of Jesus but was growing impatient at its delay. They believe that this suggests a time in the late first century or even later.
[edit] The virgins in sculptures
There are sculptures of the ten virgins in:
- France
- at Amiens Cathedral, the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne d'Auxerre, in Bourges, at Notre-Dame of Laon, Notre Dame de Paris, Notre-Dame de Reims, in Sens and at Notre-Dame de Strasbourg
- Germany
- in Erfurt, Freiburg, Lübeck and at the Cathedral of Magdeburg
- Switzerland
- in Basel
[edit] The virgins in paintings
- The ten virgins also occur in paintings in Northern Europe, as in churches on the Swedish Isle of Gotland.
- In the 19th Century the religious movement of artists of the Nazarene Art took up this theme.
[edit] The parable in worship and music
The parable is the gospel reading for the 27th Sunday after Trinity in the traditional Lutheran lectionary. In the Revised Common Lectionary, the parable is read in Proper 27 (32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time).
Its message was formed into a Chorale by Philipp Nicolai, which Johann Sebastian Bach used for his cantata of the same name (BWV 140): Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme.
[edit] See also
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