Matthew 25:2

And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. AND FIVE OF THEM WERE WISE, AND FIVE WERE FOOLISH. They are not distinguished into good and bad, as Trench observes, but into "wise" and "foolish" - just as in Matthew 7:25, those who reared their house for eternity are distinguished into "wise" and "foolish builders;" because in both cases a certain degree of good will toward the truth is assumed. To take anything of the equal number of both classes would, we think, be precious, except to warn us how large a portion of those who, up to the last, so nearly resemble those that love Christ's appearing will be disowned by Him when He comes....

2._Five were wise. _Towards the close of the former chapter, our Lord specially required _steward _to be _wise, _(Matthew 24:45) for it is reasonable, that the heavier the charge which any man sustains, and the more important the matters in which he is employed, the _wisdom _with which he conducts himself should be the greater. But now he demands _wisdom _from all the children of God in general, that they may not, through inconsiderate rashness, expose themselves to be the prey of Satan. Now this kind of _wisdom _he describes by saying, that they are to provide themselves with the supplies necessary for completing the course of their life. For the warmth of our impatience makes us look upon the time, however short, as far too long protracted; and next, our poverty is such, that we need supplies for every hour....

1-13 The circumstances of the parable of the ten virgins were taken from the marriage customs among the Jews, and explain the great day of Christ's coming. See the nature of Christianity. As Christians we profess to attend upon Christ, to honour him, also to be waiting for his coming. Sincere Christians are the wise virgins, and hypocrites the foolish ones. Those are the truly wise or foolish that are so in the affairs of their souls. Many have a lamp of profession in their hands, but have not, in their hearts, sound knowledge and settled resolution, which are needed to carry them through the services and trials of the present state. Their hearts are not stored with holy dispositions, by the new-creating Spirit of God. Our light must shine before men in good works; but this is not likely to be long done, unless there is a fixed, active principle in the heart, of faith in Christ, and lov...

Verse Matthew 25:2. _FIVE OF THEM WERE WISE_] Or, _provident_, φρονιμοι - they took care to make a proper provision beforehand, and left nothing to be done in the last moment. _FIVE_ WERE _FOOLISH_] μωροι, which might be translated _careless_, is generally rendered _foolish_; but this does not agree so well with φρονιμοι, _provident_, or _prudent_, in the first clause, which is the proper meaning of the word. μωρος in the Etymologicon, is thus defined, μη ὁρᾶ το δεον, _he who sees not_ _what is proper_ or _necessary_. These did not see that it was necessary to have _oil in their vessels_, (the salvation of God in their souls,) as well as a burning _lamp_ of religious profession, Matthew 25:3;...

AND FIVE OF THEM WERE WISE - . The words “wise and foolish,” here, refer only to their conduct; in regard to the oil. The one part was “wise” in taking oil, the other “foolish” in neglecting it. The conduct of those who were “wise” refers to those who are “prepared” for the coming of Christ - prepared by possessing real piety, and not being merely his professed followers. The conduct of those “without” oil expresses the conduct of those who profess to love him, but are destitute of true grace, and are therefore unprepared to meet him. Nothing can be argued from the number here in regard to the proportion of sincere Christians among professors. circumstances in parables are not to be pressed literally. They are necessary to keep up the story, and we must look chiefly or entirely to the scope or design of the parable to understand its meaning. In this parable the scope is to teach us to “w...

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 25:1 _Parable of the ten virgins. _(Peculiar to St. Matthew.) This parable, as a continuation of the teaching of the last chapter, sets forth the necessity of having and retaining grace unto the end, in order to be able to welcome the advent of Christ. The duty of watchfulness and preparation for the great day is, of course, implied and set forth (Matthew 25:13); but the point is that the oil of God's grace alone enables the soul to meet the bridegroom joyfully, without dismay. The usual marriage customs of the Jews are well known. On the appointed day, the bridegroom, accompanied by his friends, proceeded to the bride's house, and thence escorted her, with her attendant maidens and friends, to his own or his parents' home. In the parable,

AND FIVE OF THEM WERE WISE,.... The order of these words is inverted in some versions, as in the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel, which read, "and five of them were foolish, and five of them were wise"; but this is of no great consequence. There is a parable of R. Jochanan ben Zaccai m, who lived before, and after the destruction of the second temple, which bears some likeness to this part of the parable, and others in it, and is this; "a certain king invited his servants, but did not fix any time for them; those of them that were פקהים, "wise", adorned themselves, and sat at the gate of the king's house, and said, is there any want at the king's house? but those of them that were טפשים, "fools", went and did their work, and said, is there any feast without trouble? on a sudden, the king inquired after his servants: the wise went in before him, as the...

Matthew 25:1. _Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom._ And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. There did not seem to be much difference between them. They were all virgins, they all carried lamps, their lamps were all lit; sad, peradventure, the lamps of the foolish were quite as bright as those of the wise. The difference was unobservable to most onlookers, but it was an essential and fatal difference. Ah! dear friends, it is the lack of oil that is the ruin of many a professor's lamp. Men have a name to live, but they have not the true life which is the evidence of the effectual working of the grace of God within their souls. They make a profession of religion

CHAPTER 25 _ 1. The Parable of the Ten Virgins. (Matthew 25:1 .) 2. The Parable of the Servants and the Talents. (Matthew 25:14 .) 3. The Judgment of Nations. (Matthew 25:31 .)_ The second parable is the parable of the ten virgins. It is one which is interpreted by students of the prophetic Word in different ways; we are therefore obliged to give it our closest attention. “Then shall the kingdom of the heavens be likened to ten virgins that, having taken their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were prudent and five foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and did not take oil with them; but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now the br

MATTHEW 24:42 TO MATTHEW 25:13. Abbreviating Mark 13:33, with its simile of the absent householder, into one verse (Matthew 24:42; _cf._ Luke 21:36), Mt. inserts (_a)_ the short simile of a householder off his guard, (_b)_ the longer one describing the absent master and the careful and careless stewards (for these _cf._ Luke 12:39), (_c_) the parable of the bridesmaids (Mt. only). At...