Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:1-14
The best, most concise treatment of this parable was from stackexchange:
The symbolism in Matthew 22:11-13 of the one who was not clothed with the proper wedding garments is of one who is not clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
We have to be in Christ (Romans 8:1l 12:5), covered by His blood (Romans 4:7; 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Hebrews 13:12).
Galatians 3:27, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (KJV)
The man in the parable of the wedding feast was not clothed in Christ. It means that those who are not clothed with Christ are not in Christ, and will be judged unworthy just as the man was in the parable of the wedding feast, and will be cast out into eternal punishment, and experience the second death.
Probably the most important question I’ll ever ask is this, “Have you been clothed in Christ?” or better stated in John 3: “Have you been born again?”
Have you ever had a time in your life that you realized your utter sinfulness and needed a Savior?
We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
Unfortunately, the end result is not pretty.
For the wages of sin is death… (Romans 6:23a)
But there’s good news.
“…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b)
Our response:
“”If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)
These are eternal questions that deserve serious consideration.
If you’re reading this and are curious about these words, write me. Ask me questions.
It’s the most important question you’ll ever answer.