Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary
Attention to literary and historical context will be essential as the preacher moves from text to pulpit this week. The parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids (or “virgins”) and their oil lamps (Mt 25:1-13) is the second of four parables in Matthew’s “Eschatological Discourse” (Mt 24:1-25:46). These parables address the question, “What shall we do as we await the return of the Son of Man?” This was a pressing question for Matthew’s community after the devastation of Jerusalem and its Temple (70 CE). In the aftermath of that disaster, apocalyptic speculation intensified in Judaism. In Christian communities like Matthew’s, there was heightened expectation that Jesus’ return was imminent.
The narrative structure of today’s parable is similar to Mt 24:45-51, the parable of the faithful and unfaithful servants. There, two servants are left in charge of the master’s house while he is away. Instead of “distributing food” to the household “at the proper time,” the faithless servant consumes the provisions and beats his underlings. Suddenly, the master returns. The slave, caught in negligence, is consigned to wailing and teeth-gnashing (Matthew’s trope for ultimate judgment).
Today’s parable, like that of the two servants, sets out a dichotomy—wise bridesmaids and foolish ones. The bridegroom they await may come at any time, and they must be ready to accompany him. The wedding metaphor is eschatological; God’s “wedding” of Israel at the end of time would have been a familiar eschatological trope. Both wise and foolish bridesmaids fall asleep. What separates the wise from the foolish is that the wise have anticipated possible delay and have brought oil reserves. The foolish have failed to consider possible delay; now their oil has run out. The wise can’t spare theirs. The foolish dash to the market for oil, but when they return, the doors are shut. “Lord, Lord!” they cry. “Truly, I do not know you” comes the chilling reply.
Our 21st century congregations may find features of this parable either implausible or offensive. Who shops for oil at midnight? Why do the wise bridesmaids refuse to share? And the locked door and sharp rebuff are disturbing indeed. Taking into account the literary context of Mt’s gospel as a whole, especially tropes in this parable that we find elsewhere, can aid understanding.
The parable seems composed, quite deliberately, using phrases and tropes already familiar from Jesus’ earlier teachings. First, an anticipated wedding feast is the setting (cf Mt 22:1-14). In Mt 5:15-16, shining lamps are associated with good works (and, as we will see, good works will be the ultimate test of faithfulness at the final judgment in Mt 25:31-46). The wise/foolish binary echoes Jesus’ parable about wise and foolish house-builders (7:24-27). As the foolish builders fail to anticipate storms, the foolish bridesmaids fail to anticipate possible delay. Sudden, harsh judgment (e.g., the closed door) is a familiar feature in Mt’s gospel (see esp. passages that speak of being consigned to outer darkness and “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” 8:12; 13:42; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). The pitiful cry, “Lord! Lord!” and the rebuff, “I never knew you” mirror Mt 7:21-23. In a culture that relied on oral/aural transmission, these resonances would have registered with Mt’s community.
In other words, today’s parable nudges Matthew’s world-weary readers to consider all that Jesus has done and taught to this point. We, like them, are encouraged to keep the lamp of good works shining in the world as we await the day when God’s promised future will be fully realized. Like Mt’s first century community, we continue the work of Jesus, sowing seeds and nurturing signs of God’s kingdom-to-come. We refuse complacency, resist despair, and dare to live in hope; for the joyful cry will sound one day— “He is here!”—and, lamps alight, we will greet him and join the feast.
