Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” — Matthew 22:1-14, NASB

The parable of the wedding feast is the last of three Jesus speaks to the Pharisees and scribes during His teaching in the temple early in the crucifixion week. Its purpose, similar to the parables of the two sons and the wicked tenants, is to illustrate the hypocrisy and disobedience of the Jewish religious elite, subsequent earthly judgment, and the revocation of their exclusive spiritual privilege and stewardship. Its closing verses also confirm that nonbelievers of any stripe are unworthy to receive God’s gift of salvation.

The story is very similar in theme to the parable of the great banquet in Luke, given at a different Pharisee dinner but likewise condemning the Jewish religious elites as charlatans unfit for heaven. While the great banquet parable concerns a man giving a lavish dinner party, this one tells of a king giving a wedding feast for his son, which elevates the setting and makes the invitees behavior all the more egregious.

The parable begins with everything prepared for the feast and the king sending out a group of slaves to call those who had been previously invited. However, the invitees are unwilling to attend for whatever reason. Another group of slaves is sent with more details about the splendor of the feast. Some of the invitees pay no mind and go about their usual business while others take such offense that they abuse and kill the messengers. Angered to action, the king wipes out the murderers and burns their city down. Clearly the invitation has been rescinded. He sends out his slaves once more, this time with instructions to invite anyone literally off the street, general admission. They return with all manner of people in tow, good and bad, and the feast is set to begin.

Wedding feasts in ancient Israel were no small thing and could be months in the process and planning. After the initial betrothal of the bride to the groom, a period of time would be spent preparing a house for them to live in and handling related domestic and legal arrangements. This would take a period of time, after which the ceremony would take place and the wedding feast held. People would be invited to the wedding well in advance, knowing they would be called on to attend later after the preparations were finished and the ceremony and feast were set to begin. It would be considered a great honor to be invited. To decline such an invitation, especially from a king, would be outrageous and likely unprecedented.

The king of the parable represents God. The nation of Israel, God’s favored people, was the original invitee to His eternal kingdom. Throughout history God would send His
prophets to speak to the nation. They are here represented by king’s slave messengers. Rebellious Israel often ignored, or persecuted and killed His prophets when they would call the people and its leaders to obedience. The fact that multiple groups of slaves are sent by the king to summon the invitees to the banquet illustrates God’s
patience with Israel and willingness to extend the opportunity to heed His call. Like the prophets before Him, Jesus was met with particular contempt by the religious leadership, and their strong rejection of Him is mirrored in the parable by the violent reaction to the second group of slaves.

Just as the king delivers harsh retribution for the rejection of his offer and mistreatment of his messengers, God likewise destroyed Jerusalem via the Roman siege of 70 A.D., an event that not only reduced the temple to rubble, but obliterated their entire religious structure. The spiritual inheritance that the Jewish establishment believed to be exclusively theirs was thus passed along to whoever would accept it, reflected in the parable by the king broadcasting the invitation indiscriminately to people out in the road. The new covenant ushered in by Christ and proclaimed through the gospel extends the offer of salvation to all who repent and believe.

In verse 8 Jesus makes clear the fact that God considered the religious elites unworthy of His kingdom. While technically a “kingdom” parable that false believers wouldn’t normally understand, the message of condemnation in this one is crystal clear to the priests and scribes, yet His gospel remained incomprehensible to them due to their hard-heartedness. Their unique spiritual privilege was subsequently revoked. It is important to understand that God has not permanently turned away from Israel, but the rejection of His Son resulted in earthly judgment and illuminated a path to redemption unforeseen by its faithless religious leaders.

Meanwhile, many of the replacement invitees have shown up to enter the king’s wedding feast. On the surface, accepting God’s grace is an easy decision, but it requires true faith. Salvation is only found in Jesus Christ. It is in Him alone that a man must put his complete trust and hope for redemption. It is His lordship that a man must recognize and surrender to. It is His cross that a man must take up as he walks the narrow path of repentance and obedience that leads to heaven. Not all who claim to believe in Christ will possess the kind of true faith that allows them to maintain such a commitment.

As the king looks over the dinner guests, he notices one who is not properly dressed for the event and calls him out on it. The man represents the unsaved. Associating the absent wedding attire with the “garment of righteousness Christ offers,” John MacArthur observes,

All, without exception, are invited to the banquet, so this man is not to be viewed as a common party-crasher. In fact, all the guests are rounded up hastily from ‘the highways’ and, therefore, none could be expected to come with proper attire. That means the wedding garments are supplied by the king himself. So this man’s lack of a proper garment indicates that he has purposely rejected the king’s own gracious provision.*

The natural man carries nothing within himself that will allow him to enter heaven, just like the transients on the highway who carry no wedding attire. However, salvation is given freely and exclusively through God’s grace. Though the gospel call goes out to everyone, not everyone will respond positively and accept the gift of grace. Confronted by the king, the man who lacks the proper garment is speechless. In the face of eternal judgment there’s really nothing to say; without Christ there is no redemption, and the unredeemed are by definition condemned.

The Lord closes with the principle that many are called but few are chosen. “Called” in this instance refers to the general call of the gospel as practiced by the New Testament church, not the effectual call to salvation sovereignly administered by God. Here the verse simply affirms the broad scope of the gospel invitation while warning against false faith: to be called is to receive light by hearing the invitation, and to be chosen is to receive authentic, saving faith that insures eternal fellowship with God.

Redemption from sin is not guaranteed by ancestry nor bought by works or outward shows of religiosity as the Pharisees and scribes believed. Nor is it granted when one’s faith is false and the redeeming garment of Christ is absent. Jesus is the only solution to man’s sin problem and therefore the only invitation to the wedding feast in heaven. The invitation has been extended to all; to reject or ignore it is to be among the ranks of the unchosen of God.

Quotation reference:
* MacArthur, John F.; The MacArthur Bible Commentary, p. 1166

Image:
Luyken, Jan (1649-1712); The Man Without a Wedding Garment; Medhurst, Phillip (attribution)