One of the most vivid parables Christ Jesus gave us is the story of the "ten virgins," found in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. It centers on a wedding, a time of great joy and festivity in a Palestinian village. The high point of such a wedding came when the bridegroom took the bride from her father's house to her new home, escorted by attendants and guests. The parable focuses on these attendants and their responsibility to be prepared for the appearance of the bridegroom. Marriage ceremonies in the East typically occurred at night. So to ensure enough light for the task of escorting the bride, each attendant was given a lamp that was fueled by a supply of oil.
Oil had many uses and great value in Jesus' time. It was a necessity of daily life. The young women in the parable had a duty to make sure they had enough oil. Otherwise they would run out of light and so not be able to play their part in the wedding festivities. It seems obvious that all the virgins wanted to see the bridegroom. They all had lamps. But the difference was the oil— some had it when it was needed, some didn't.
Oil is an important symbol throughout the Bible. And it is obvious that Christ Jesus was making a distinction between two states of mind in the "wise" and "foolish" virgins. In Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy, we find this spiritual interpretation of oil: "Consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heavenly inspiration."Science and Health, p. 592. The word bridegroom also has an interpretation in Science and Health, which includes "spiritual understanding."Ibid., p. 582.
