The Parable of the Bridesmaids

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem turned up the heat on everyone, from Jesus himself to his disciples to the religious authorities, to the crowds, to the Romans. In this context, Jesus has gotten into a battle of will and wits with the Temple leaders and Pharisees, as though he’s trying to make every moment count as he warns them and everyone that it’s past time for them to change their ways. But the final three parables Jesus tells in Matthew’s Gospel are delivered not to the crowds or to his opponents but to his disciples. They too carry warnings, but the warning is not to change course, but to be prepared. Today we’ll look at the first of these, the Parable of the Bridesmaids.

Text

This story is found uniquely in Matthew 25:

[25.1] Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten bridesmaids, who took their lamps and went to greet the bridegroom. [2] Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. [3] For when the foolish took their lamps, they brought no oil with them; [4] but the wise brought jars of oil with their lamps. [5] When the bridegroom took a long time, they all became drowsy and slept. [6] But in the middle of the night there was a shout: “Behold the bridegroom! Come out to greet him!” [7] Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. [8] The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.” [9] But the wise replied: “No! there will not be enough for both you and us; you had better go to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.” [10] And while they were away buying it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready entered with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. [11] Later the rest of the bridesmaids also came, saying: “Lord, lord, open up for us!” [12] But he replied, “Indeed I tell you, I do not know you.” [13] Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Experience

My experience of reading this story is always coloured by my years in the Eastern Orthodox Church, since the parable forms an important part of their Holy Week services. I did however realize for the first time that the warning at the end, to stay awake, doesn’t quite fit the parable, since all ten bridesmaids fall asleep. The overall point, however, seems clear: be ready because you don’t know when your time will come.

Encounter

This is part of a large discourse in which Jesus’ disciples come to him asking him to explain the “end of the age” (Matthew 24.3). So the audience has shifted from a mixed audience including Jesus’ opponents to only his close followers.

In the parable, the narrative centres on ten bridesmaids who are awaiting a torch-lit procession to the wedding feast. All of them have been invited to participate, all have their torches ready to go, and all fall asleep when the bridegroom takes longer than expected to arrive. The only difference between them is that five have brought extra oil and five have not. These were ready for the procession but not for it to be delayed.

Explore

Literary Context

This parable is the first of three in Matthew 25 that form “the capstone of [Jesus’] teaching” (Capon).* While it has no parallels in Luke or Mark, it calls back to several themes and images from earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, including:

• the end times as a wedding banquet (22.2)
• Jesus as a bridegroom (9.15)
• light/lamp as a symbol of righteousness (5.16; cf. Psalm 119.105; Proverbs 6.23, 13.9; Job 18.5)
• contrast between wise and foolish (7.24-27)
• not all who call “Lord, Lord!” being recognized (7.21-23)
• theme of unexpectedness and readiness (24.37-44) (Nuechterlein Proper 27A;^ Case-Winters)

Narrative Details

As we’ve seen, imagery of marriage, weddings, and feasting was commonly used in the Bible and Second Temple Judaism to describe Israel’s relationship with God. While there is much about first-century Jewish wedding customs we don’t know, it does seem that weddings were high points in village life and that part of the custom was for the bridegroom to be escorted in a procession to the home of the bride, and then to the location of the feast (France 946f; Case-Winters 274; SBL). Light, lamps, and oil were common metaphors for wisdom or righteousness in Wisdom Literature (see above and Wilson 306). This genre also commonly deployed contrasts between foolish and wise (e.g., Psalm 1) (Case-Winters 274). In this way, the meaning of the parable constructs itself easily from established symbols.

The Missing Bridegroom

One motif that’s common in Jesus’ later parables, but which I haven’t mentioned much in this series so far, is the prolonged absence of the high-ranking figure, whether envisioned as a king, a landowner, or here, a bridegroom. It’s also built into the disciples’ question that set off this whole discourse: “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (24.3). But while, in other parables, the long absence seems like a plot device, here in Matthew 25 it becomes increasingly the point, “practically the fulcrum of the judgment” (Capon).

This represents the tension in the New Testament between its expectation that Jesus will return and a sense that it may not happen any time soon. As always, here Jesus pulls the disciples’ attention away from questions of when and how he will return and onto the more vital questions of what to do while they (and we) are waiting:

The important thing is not the signs and the times—as preoccupied as the disciples (and we ourselves) may become with such matters. It is far more important to know what to do between now and then. Such a focus of attention delivers the faithful from anxiety on the one hand yet can deliver them from apathy on the other. (Case-Winters 273f)

It’s not enough to simply ‘believe’ the bridegroom is coming or to be waiting for him. And it’s not that it’s the end of the world to fall asleep — all ten bridesmaids here fall asleep, suggesting the delay in Christ’s return will be such that most of us will stop paying attention — just as long as one is prepared and ready for when he arrives (Capon; SBL):

The parable thus illustrates both the fact that the time of the parousia [the second coming of Jesus] is unknown and may not be as soon as people might expect, and also its sudden, unexpected nature when it does come, the middle of the night being the time when people are least alert. (France 949)

But, crucially, “the wise disciple can sleep secure in the knowledge that everything is ready” (France 947).

Challenge

Subversion of First-Century Expectation

It’s hard to know what, if anything in this parable would be strange or confusing to Jesus’ audience. If nothing else, something has gone very wrong with this wedding celebration; we’re left wondering why the bridegroom has been delayed so long. Why is the bridegroom delayed? We aren’t told. But it’s in keeping with a sense throughout the New Testament that Jesus actively wants to delay the end. As we saw in Jesus’ explanation of the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat, judgment is delayed as long as possible “to allow for as many as possible to be brought into his redemptive fold.” This sentiment is also found in 2 Peter 3.9:

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

In a sense this subversion of their expectations may have been comforting to Matthew’s original audience, since it does seem that the first Christians assumed Jesus’ return would be imminent and the passing years and decades were surprising and a cause for concern.

Contemporary Challenge

In my research, this parable garnered little comment from more critical voices. Case-Winters notes that there’s been a tendency to focus too much on the foolish bridesmaids and too little on the wise ones, those young women whom Jesus set out as exemplars of faith (Case-Winters 275f). And fair enough.

The biggest challenge I’ve seen, however, comes from the need to situate the parable within the broader teaching of the New Testament, especially its relationship to grace and faith (Capon). But faith is not passively sitting back and doing nothing; it’s a relationship that must be lived into (Capon). Indeed, the parable’s shift in focus towards our readiness requires us to ask what readiness looks like. The story itself doesn’t have much to say, but its consistent call-backs to the Sermon on the Mount suggest that’s where our minds should go. Being ready looks like “living in our baptisms as forgiven people who are graciously given the opportunity to live a new way that takes solidarity with the victims, rather than the persecutors, and to let our lights so shine” (James Alison, quoted in Nuechterlein). As R.T. France points out, this is the work of a lifetime: “readiness … is not something that can be achieved by a last-minute adjustment. It depends on long-term provision” (France 947). And, as the “hard-nosed realism” of the wise bridesmaids reminds us, “spiritual preparedness is not something that others can provide for you: each needs their own oil” (France 949).

Expand

The interpretation of the parable that’s emerged in this study helps us to grow in love and faith by focusing our attention on what it means to be ready for our time of reckoning, which, whether in Christ’s return or at our moment of death, will come suddenly. This draws us to love and faith by calling back to the imagery of the Sermon on the Mount and its teachings of non-attachment, forgiveness, and non-judgmentalism.

Summary & Conclusions

As Jesus’ time with his disciples winds down, everyone’s thoughts naturally go to the end. This parable serves as a warning that the end will come unexpectedly and it’s important to be ever-ready to meet our maker and to have a “good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ.”

 

* For full references, please see the series bibliography.

^ All references to Nuechterlein in this post refer to his post on Proper 27A.