Matthew 25:1-13. Ten young women go out to meet a bridegroom in the night. Five are wise and bring oil for their lamps; five are foolish and do not. The bridegroom is delayed; all ten fall asleep. At midnight the cry comes: "Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him." The foolish virgins discover their lamps are going out and beg oil from the wise. The wise refuse ("there will not be enough for us and for you") and send them to buy from merchants. While they are away, the bridegroom comes, takes the wise into the marriage feast, and shuts the door. The foolish return and plead, "Lord, Lord, open to us," but he answers, "Truly, I say to you, I do not know you."
This parable is part of Jesus' great eschatological discourse (Matthew 24-25) and immediately precedes the Parable of the Talents and the Sheep and the Goats. Together they form a three-fold warning about the coming judgment. The Ten Virgins teaches three points. (1) The delay of the bridegroom is expected. All ten sleep — the delay is not an aberration. Christians should not be scandalized that the Second Coming has not yet occurred; Jesus Himself flagged the delay. (2) Readiness cannot be borrowed at the last minute. This is the parable's most sobering point: "Give us some of your oil" — "No, we can't spare it." The wise are not being selfish; they are telling the truth. Personal spiritual preparation is not transferable. You cannot borrow someone else's relationship with Christ at the eleventh hour; their faith does not count for you. (3) The door shuts. The foolish virgins come back with lamps lit (they did buy oil, presumably) — but too late. The gate of the wedding feast has closed, and the bridegroom says "I do not know you." The parable's conclusion is Jesus' application: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (v. 13). Nominal Christianity that lives on borrowed convictions and last-minute repentance will not survive the actual return. Buy your oil now.