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Matthew 25:1-13
In this parable, the presence of oil is the critical factor in determining which of these maidens were wise and which were foolish. More than just an accolade, their wisdom—or lack thereof—determined which were prepared to go to the wedding and which were not. What does the oil represent in this parable? It is commonly held that oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, but what verses does one use to support that? Water is a clear symbol of the Holy Spirit, as are fire and wind, and we can point to unambiguous scriptures to show that symbolism. But, believe it or not, it is not nearly so simple with oil. The closest examples are the few that link anointing and the Holy Spirit, and oil is used in anointing (for example, Luke 4:18). Even then, the linkage is not absolute, because in most places in Scripture where the Holy Spirit is given, such as at baptism, it is through the laying on of hands without any oil being used. In addition, there are numerous examples of anointing where the Holy Spirit is not given as an indwelling essence, such as God calling Cyrus the Great "His anointed" (Isaiah 45:1), or Jesus instructing people to anoint their head while fasting (Matthew 6:17). Even though we may take it for granted that oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, when it comes down to showing that scripturally, it is more challenging than one might think. This is not to say that oil is not a symbol of the Holy Spirit, but rather that the Holy Spirit is only a portion of what oil represents in the Bible. But if the Holy Spirit is all we think of when we read about oil, we will miss out on a great deal of meaning and significance. In this parable, we see that the foolish virgins are instructed to go buy oil, and likewise other unnamed persons are selling oil. Commerce lies behind the possession of oil here. But questions arise if we simply substitute the Holy Spirit for the oil. In the story of Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8:9-24, Simon actually tried to do this—he tried buy the Holy Spirit, and he assumed that Peter would sell it to him. That did not work out, of course, as Peter's response in verse 20 emphasizes: "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!" This translation is quite mild compared to what the Greek indicates Peter's righteous indignation to Simon implies, "You and your money can go to destruction"—or, in other words, to hell. That is what the leader of the apostles thought about somebody trying to buy the Holy Spirit! In addition, the Holy Spirit is called the gift of God in several places (Acts 2:38; 8:20; 10:45; I Timothy 4:14; II Timothy 1:6; Hebrews 6:4). Only a con-artist would try to convince us to purchase something that is given as a gift! These things beg the question of what exactly the oil in the parable represents, and how we can have enough to be wise and prepared when the Bridegroom returns.
David C. Grabbe
Do You Have Enough Oil? (Part One)
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