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Answer
Jesus recounted the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:1-14. This parable shares similarities with the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24), yet the circumstances differ, and there are notable distinctions. To gain a deeper understanding of this narrative, it is essential to grasp some fundamental aspects of weddings during Jesus’ time.
In Jewish culture, the parents of the betrothed typically arranged the marriage contract. The bride and groom would meet, possibly for the first time, during the signing of this contract. At this point, the couple was considered married, but they would separate until the actual ceremony. The bride would stay with her parents, while the groom would depart to prepare their home, a process that could be lengthy. Upon completion of the home, the groom would return for his bride unexpectedly. The marriage ceremony would then occur, followed by the wedding banquet.
The wedding banquet represented one of the most joyous celebrations in Jewish life and could extend for up to a week. In His parable, Jesus likens heaven to a wedding banquet that a king arranged for his son «The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, », (Matthew 22:2). Numerous individuals were invited, but when the banquet was ready and the table set, those invited declined to attend (verses 4-5). In fact, the king’s servants who delivered the joyful news were mistreated and even killed (verse 6).
Enraged by the response of the initial invitees, the king dispatched his army to avenge his servants’ deaths (verse 7). Subsequently, he extended invitations to whomever his servants could find, resulting in the wedding hall being filled (verses 8-10).
During the feast, the king
Noticed a man “who was not wearing wedding clothes” (verse 11). When asked how he came to be there without the proper attire, the man had no answer and was promptly ejected from the feast “outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (verses 12-13). Jesus then ends the parable with this statement: “For many are invited, but few are chosen” (verse 14).
The king is God the Father, and the son who is being honored at the banquet is Jesus Christ, who “came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”, (John 1:11). Israel held the invitation to the kingdom, but when the time actually came for the kingdom to appear (see Matthew 3:1), they refused to believe it. Many prophets, including John the Baptist, had been murdered “And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.”, (Matthew 14:10). The king’s reprisal against the murderers can be interpreted as a prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction in A.D. 70 at the hands of the Romans (cf. Luke 21:5). More broadly, the king’s vengeance speaks of the desolation mentioned in the book of Revelation. God is patient, but He will not tolerate wickedness forever “For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.”, (Obadiah 1:15). His judgment will come upon those who reject His offer of salvation. Considering what that salvation cost Jesus, is not this judgment well deserved (see Hebrews 10:29-31)?
Note that it is not because the invited guests could not come to the wedding feast, but that they would not come (see Luke 13:34). Every
One had an excuse. How tragic, and how indicative of human nature, to be offered the blessings of God and to refuse them because of the draw of mundane things!
The wedding invitation is extended to anyone and everyone, including total strangers, both good and bad. This refers to the gospel being taken to the Gentiles. This part of the parable foreshadows the Jews’ rejection of the gospel in Acts 13. Paul and Barnabas were in Pisidian Antioch, where the Jewish leaders strongly opposed them. The apostle’s words echo the king’s assessment that those invited to the wedding “did not deserve to come”: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles” «Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. », (Acts 13:46). Jesus taught that the gospel message would be made available to everyone.
The matter of the wedding garment is instructive. It would be a grave insult to the king to refuse to wear the garment provided to the guests. The man who was caught wearing his old clothing learned what an offense it was as he was removed from the celebration.
This was Jesus’ way of teaching the inadequacy of self-righteousness. From the very beginning, God has provided a “covering” for our sin. To insist on covering ourselves is to be clothed in “filthy rags” «But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. », (Isaiah 64:6). Adam and Eve tried to cover their shame, but they found their fig leaves to be woefully insufficient. God took away their ha
Handmade clothes were replaced with skins of sacrificed animals. “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” (Genesis 3:7,21). “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:7,21). In the book of Revelation, individuals in heaven are seen wearing “white robes.” “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;” (Revelation 7:9), and we discover that the whiteness of the robes is due to them being washed in the blood of the Lamb (verse 14). We rely on God’s righteousness, not our own “and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:9).
Just as the king provided wedding garments for his guests, God offers salvation for humanity. Our wedding garment is the righteousness of Christ, and without it, we will miss the wedding feast. When the religions of the world are simplified to their fundamental beliefs, we either find man working his way toward God, or we encounter the cross of Christ. The cross is the sole path to salvation “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
For his offense against the king, the improperly attired guest isThrown out into the darkness. For their crimes against God, there will be many who will be consigned to the “outer darkness” — existence without God for eternity. Christ concludes the parable with the sad fact that “many are invited, but few are chosen.” In other words, many people hear the call of God, but only a few heed it.
To summarize the point of the Parable of the Wedding Feast, God sent His Son into the world, and the very people who should have celebrated His coming rejected Him, bringing judgment upon themselves. As a result, the kingdom of heaven was opened up to anyone who will set aside their own righteousness and by faith accept the righteousness God provides in Christ. Those who spurn the gift of salvation and cling instead to their own “good” works will spend eternity in hell.
The self-righteous Pharisees who heard this parable did not miss Jesus’ point. In the very next verse, “the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words” «Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. », (Matthew 22:15). The Parable of the Wedding Feast is also a warning to us, to make sure we are relying on God’s provision of salvation, not on our own good works or religious service.
