Shifting the Critique from the Ten Bridesmaids to the Bridegroom: A Postcolonial Feminist Reading of Matthew 25:1–13

This article aims to revisit the parable of the ten bridesmaids through a postcolonial feminist lens. It argues that colonialism and gender discrimination influence the parable, which divides and conquers the ten women while concealing the oppressive nature of the bridegroom, despite Matthew's anticolonial agenda against the Roman Empire. In this interpretation, the bridegroom is read as Jesus. The article also proposes to read the figures represented by the ten virgins as women themselves and as the symbolization of the opponents of the Matthew community in Judaism, namely, chief priests, elders, the Sanhedrin, scribes, and Pharisees. This reading is then connected to the massacre in Indonesia in 1965 to encourage the Indonesian community to critically reassess their suspicions and animosity toward the victims of this tragedy. Ultimately, this article seeks to heal the fractured relationships post-1965 and urges the community to challenge the overarching narrative that the Indonesian government and military propagate.

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Stable URL: https://doi.org/10.2979/jfs.00052

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