1"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6"And at midnight a cry was heard: "Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' 7Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9But the wise answered, saying, "No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' 10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
11"Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us!' 12But he answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'
13"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
This sounds like another parable telling us to be ready. Be ready or miss your chance. But is there more to it than that? These ten virgins were all ready to meet their bridegroom, but in their wait for the bridegroom, they were no longer ready. They were unable to sustain their readiness.
We too know what we must do to be ready, and at times feel we must be ready. But in our wait, as we go about taking care of our everyday needs, are we able to sustain our readiness? These virgins could easily go out and buy more oil. What we need to sustain our readiness is always available to us, but we cannot wait till the last minute to refresh our readiness. For at the last moment there will be no time for that.
In a way it seems rude that those who had enough oil were not able to share with those who lacked. It seems that God would have loved the charitable virgins who gave of themselves to help those in need. But this lesson is really on judgment of what we do ourselves, not on what others do for us. But so too it will be in the final judgment. No one will be able to help you in your final judgment. You must be able to provide for yourself.
And what about the bridegroom’s response when they arrived too late? Why the cold hearted “I do not know you”? Jesus knows each and every one of us. He loves each of us. He wants us all to join Him in heaven. How could he not know us if we then happen to arrive at heaven’s gate too late?
It is interesting that Jesus uses the example of virgins, a bridegroom, and a wedding. Virgins are pure, ready for their bridegroom. The bridegroom loves His intended bride. The wedding is an act of two becoming one, a union, and a “knowing” of each other at a whole new level. But that union is only accomplished by actions of both parties. One cannot know the other if the other does not help to make it possible.
It is our choice of where our heart belongs. Our heart must belong to Jesus for Him to accept us into heaven. For if it does not belong to Jesus in our final judgment, Jesus will not claim ownership of our heart. In other words, He will claim to not “know” us.
Is it cold hearted? Is it unfair? We are spoiled and possibly somewhat lax due to our view of such a compassionate and loving Jesus. This is so important that Jesus is giving us several parables to help make the point. We cannot afford be lax. For when our final judgment arrives, there will not be time to make amends. No one will be able to help us. We will be judged for ourselves. And we do not know the day nor the hour that it will happen.