Staying Ready: A Fresh Look at the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1–13)

Continuing our study in Jesus Parables in Matthew.

Few of Jesus’ stories are as quietly arresting as the parable of the ten virgins. It’s short, vivid, and deceptively simple. Yet beneath its surface lies a message that still unsettles, inspires, and challenges anyone who reads it.

Matthew 25:1–13 tells of ten young women waiting for a bridegroom. Five are wise and bring extra oil for their lamps; five are foolish and bring none. When the bridegroom is delayed, all ten fall asleep. At midnight the call rings out—the groom has arrived. The wise trim their lamps and go in with him to the wedding feast. The foolish run off to buy oil, and by the time they return, the door is shut. The story ends with Jesus’ sober instruction: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

Let’s explore what this parable offers to a modern reader.

1. Preparation Isn’t Glamorous, but It’s Everything

The only difference between the wise and foolish virgins is preparation. They all had lamps. They all expected the groom. They all grew tired. They all fell asleep. The dividing line wasn’t enthusiasm or sincerity—it was readiness.

Preparation rarely feels exciting. It’s the quiet work no one sees: building character, nurturing faith, practicing patience, tending to spiritual disciplines. The parable suggests that the most important moments in life are shaped long before they arrive.

2. Delay Reveals What Desire Conceals

The bridegroom is delayed, and that delay exposes the truth. Waiting has a way of doing that. It tests motives, endurance, and depth. Anyone can be faithful for a moment; the question is whether we can remain faithful when the timeline stretches beyond our expectations.

In a world obsessed with immediacy, this parable pushes back. It reminds us that spiritual maturity grows in the long, slow spaces where nothing seems to be happening.

3. Some Things Can’t Be Borrowed

When the foolish virgins ask the wise for oil, the wise refuse—not out of selfishness, but because some things simply can’t be transferred. You can borrow a book, a tool, or a cup of sugar. But you can’t borrow someone else’s integrity, devotion, or relationship with God.

The parable invites each of us to consider what “oil” represents in our own lives. What are the non-negotiables we must cultivate ourselves?

4. The Midnight Cry Comes for Everyone

The moment of awakening comes suddenly. In the story, it’s literal: a shout in the night. In life, it might be a crisis, an opportunity, a calling, or a turning point. The parable isn’t meant to frighten but to awaken. It’s a reminder that life is full of unexpected moments where preparation meets reality.

The wise are ready not because they predicted the moment, but because they lived in a state of readiness.

5. Watchfulness Is a Posture, Not Paranoia

Jesus ends with a call to “keep watch.” This isn’t about living anxiously or obsessively scanning the horizon. It’s about cultivating a steady, attentive heart—one that stays aligned with what matters most.

Watchfulness is less about looking outward for signs and more about looking inward for faithfulness.

Final Thoughts

The parable of the ten virgins is ultimately a story about readiness—not the frantic kind, but the rooted kind. It’s an invitation to live with intention, to nurture what sustains us, and to stay awake to the presence and purposes of God in our everyday lives.

If anything, this parable whispers a gentle but persistent truth: the time to prepare is now, not later. Not out of fear, but out of love for the life we’re called to live.

Discovering the Path of Salvation series by Stephen Luckett