7 minutes read time.
I have heard this parable, and read it so many times. This time, however, something different caught my attention! It almost caught me by surprise…
Let me first share the story for the sake of those who may not know it.
Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come! “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them. “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:1-14
I think, for most of my life, there seems to have been mostly an emphasis on those who received the invite, and chose not to come. It is sad to think that our God and King has invited so many people to enter into His Presence, and for so many different reasons, His creation will reject Him and refuse to come. Preachers from big busy churches will probably say they are too busy preparing for their next big conference, while some teachers of the word might say they have already accepted invites as guest speakers somewhere. Other important guests may need to take care of an unexpected family need. Some will be overwhelmingly busy while others will take a well-deserved break. Either way, their focus and interest will not be on a wedding feast, but on their own agenda, even though this agenda may be doing work for the Kingdom.
Then the king will send out his servants again to the same people. They will never be able to say they didn’t have a fair chance or fair warning to prepare for the feast. People choose busyness over accepting the invitation. Some people treat the wedding feast as a far-off future event that doesn’t apply to us who are alive now. The king will reach out to each person several times; thereafter, the invite will go out to everyone else — the likely and the least likely, the rich and the poor.
Some people say the original invitees are the Jews, and when they rejected Christ as Messiah, the Gentiles were grafted in. Others say the original invitees are Christians who have made a name for themselves, but their platform became more important than the reason they first stood on it. Sin crept in — pride, lust, greed, etc., while they were doing the work of the Kingdom. One day Jesus will say “I don’t know you…”
Okay, let’s get to the part that popped for me this week…
According to Bible commentary, it was a custom to send the guests clothes to wear to a banquet (definitely something I did not know). Images often show the guests who were later invited as beggars and the poor, wearing old ragged clothes. I think, when garments were provided and a person is putting time aside to prepare for such a special event, taking a bath or a shower, doing something nice with their hair and then wearing the beautiful garments, they would fit right in. No-one would be looking down on any guest or for that matter, looking up to someone better dressed than them.
And so we get to the verse where the king noticed a guest who was not wearing the proper wedding clothing. It does not say the man was wearing rags. He may have been dressed well, but he clearly stood out. The king asked: “‘Friend, how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply.” Maybe he felt called out? Maybe he didn’t think anyone would notice, or that it really mattered. Or maybe he thought everyone would like his originality, but in fact, it showed contempt for what the king had provided for him. He rejected the gift, whereas the others had accepted it and arrived prepared.
“Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
It is clear, according to this parable, that this person was aware of what the king had done for him. He was even willing to come to the feast — unlike the first group, who didn’t come at all. But he wanted to come on his own terms. He wanted to be in charge and do things his way. So he rejected the gift and did what he thought best.
How does this reflect on us today? It is simple. Salvation is a gift. You cannot make your own way into the Kingdom of God. You cannot be bad enough to miss it and you cannot be good enough to make it. You cannot follow a religious path to righteousness. You will only find your way when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
Step into a relationship, don’t follow a religion. And know that life is not always going to be smooth sailing and easy. The devil is out to steal, kill and destroy. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” Matthew 7:13 This clearly tells you that the narrow path will have more difficulty than the easy road, but it leads to an eternity with your God, your Creator! Surely that should be our goal instead of living our best life now…
Know this today. You are invited by the King of kings. Will you accept His free gift and commit your life to Him today? If you are already a follower of Christ, I pray that you will continue to grow in your faith, and that the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth of His Word to you, as you spend time reading the Bible for yourself. If you are not yet a follower of Christ, but you would like to be, pray this prayer: Father God, I confess I am a sinner needing Your grace. I believe Jesus is Your Son, born of a virgin, Who lived a life, fully man and fully God. He died on the cross for my sins and rose again. Lord Jesus, please forgive me and be the Lord and Saviour of my life. I want to worship you all the days of my life! And please guide me in Your truth. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
