Picture the Kingdom of Heaven This Way . . .

… picture the kingdom of heaven this way: 
It will be like ten bridesmaids who each picked up a lantern 
and went out to meet a certain bridegroom. 

The Parable of the Ten Virgins, also known as the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins or the Parable of the ten bridesmaids is  a parable of Jesus, and it maybe a  little more tricky for us, the 2023 reader, to understand. The first-century Jewish audience Jesus was talking to would have been familiar with these wedding customs of the day. But we’re 2,000 years removed from the context of this story. 

The historical setting for this story can be shared  with a fair amount of certainty. In describing a first-century Jewish wedding,  the backdrop was much like this: Normally the bridegroom with some close friends left his home to go to the bride’s home, where there were various ceremonies, followed by a procession through the streets – after nightfall – to his home. 

The ten virgins of this story may be bridesmaids who have been assisting the bride. According to Matthew 25:1-13, ten virgins await a bridegroom. Five have brought enough oil for their lamps for the wait, while the oil of the other five runs out. Jesus then shares this illustration drawing the hearers into what the  kingdom of heaven might be like, picture the kingdom of heaven this way: ". . . It will be like ten bridesmaids who each picked up a lantern 

and went out to meet a certain bridegroom . . .  keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour"

Watch.That’s the message. We don’t need to understand every intricacy of a first-century Jewish wedding to understand what Jesus wanted to show us.  Jesus Christ is returning.  When? We don’t know. We don’t get to know. We just know that it’s going to happen, and that the job of the Church, us,  is to be ready. #pkes    #MinM