Afterward
the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Matthew 25:11-13
Matthew 24 [45.] “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes. Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has. But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards, the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it, and in an hour when he doesn’t know it, and will cut him in pieces, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.
Matthew 25 [1.] “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Matthew 25 [14.] “For it is like a man, going into another country, who called his own servants, and entrusted his goods to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey. Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two. But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
Meaning:
These verses are the ending of the parable of the ten virgins. At a wedding in Jesus’ day the bridegroom went to fetch his bride, often in the evening, and then led a joyful procession back to his home for the wedding feast. Young women with lamps waited to welcome him and join the procession. In the parable five were wise and brought extra oil, while five were foolish and brought none (Matthew 25:1-5). When the bridegroom came at midnight, the foolish ones found their lamps going out. While they went to buy oil, “those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:6-10). Now we hear what happened when they returned.
- “Afterward the other virgins also came”
The foolish virgins did come in the end. They had not rejected the bridegroom; they wanted to be at the feast. But they arrived too late. Their problem was not a lack of interest but a lack of preparation. They had assumed there would be time to get ready later.
- “Lord, Lord, open to us”
The repeated “Lord, Lord” expresses urgency and perhaps a claim of familiarity. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Luke records a similar picture of people knocking at a shut door and saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!” (Luke 13:25). Calling Jesus “Lord” is not enough without a real relationship with him.
- “Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you”
This is the most solemn line of the parable. The bridegroom does not say they are wicked, but that he does not know them. In Scripture “knowing” often means a personal relationship. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own” (John 10:14). Paul wrote, “The Lord knows those who are his” (2 Timothy 2:19). Those who never truly belonged to him will hear the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 7: “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23).
- “Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour”
Jesus draws the lesson of the whole parable. All ten virgins fell asleep, so the point is not that we must never rest. The point is to be prepared beforehand, with oil in our lamps, so that we are ready whenever he comes. Jesus had said the same thing just before the parable (Matthew 24:42), and in Mark he ends his teaching with, “What I tell you, I tell all: Watch” (Mark 13:37).
The Significance of Matthew 25:11-13
- Readiness cannot be borrowed
The foolish virgins asked the wise to share their oil, but they could not. Each person must respond to Christ personally. The faith of parents, friends or a church cannot stand in for our own.
- There is a time when the door is shut
God is patient, but the parable warns that opportunity does not last forever. Today is the time to turn to Christ and live for him.
- Knowing Christ, not just calling him Lord
Religious words and activity are not the same as a living relationship with Jesus. He looks for people who know him, love him and do his Father’s will.
Cross-References:
Matthew 7:23: "I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity." Jesus’ words to empty professors.
Luke 13:25: "Lord, Lord, open to us!" The shut door in Luke.
John 10:14: "I know my own, and I’m known by my own;" The relationship that matters.
Mark 13:37: "What I tell you, I tell all: Watch." Jesus’ call to every believer.
Conclusion: Matthew 25:11-13 closes the parable of the ten virgins. The foolish virgins return too late, find the door shut and call, “Lord, Lord, open to us.” The bridegroom answers, “I don’t know you.” Jesus warns that no one knows the day or hour of his coming, so we must be ready now, knowing him personally and living for him while the door is still open.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible