Matthew 22:1-14

Rachel Workman: 22 Jesus also told them other parables. He said, ² “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. ³ When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!

⁴ “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!’ ⁵ But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.

⁷ “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. ⁸ And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. ⁹ Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ ¹⁰ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. ¹² ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. ¹³ 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.’

¹⁴ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Wow what a powerful reading. I've read this plenty but today it really hits home with me. No one needs to be caught without proper wedding clothing. Obviously Jesus is speaking of salvation here. Let none of us be caught with salvation or else we will be bound in hell.

I'll admit verse 14 always unnerves me. Many are called, I understand that. God will call on all people and not all people will respond. The part that stands out to me is the few are chosen. That tells me we are chosen by God. It also tells me that not all people called by God are chosen. I would say that we are called and we have a choice. We choose God or we don't. If we do then we are God's chosen. If we don't we are not. Sometimes we chose God and later on turn from God. I would say we were never chosen in that case. Once we in the father's hand nothing can snatch us out. Many people claim to choose God but they haven't. God is the only one who can read the hearts of man. Words are meaningless if not meant.

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Allen Michaels:  22 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. The wedding clothes represent the righteousness needed to enter God’s kingdom—the total acceptance in God’s eyes that Christ gives every believer. Christ has provided this garment of righteousness for everyone, but each of us must choose to put it on in order to enter the King’s banquet (eternal life). There is an open invitation, but we must be ready. God wants us to join him at his banquet, which will last for eternity. That’s why he sends us invitations again and again. We only need to accept it.

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.’ Verse 13 is referring to hell. This man was taken from the light in the wedding hall and thrown into the darkness of the streets. Only those, who put on the Lord Jesus, who have a Christian temper of mind, who live by faith in Christ, and to whom he is everything, have the wedding-garment. The imputed righteousness of Christ, and the sanctification of the Spirit, are both necessary. No man has the wedding-garment by nature, or can form it for himself. The day is coming, when hypocrites will be called to account for all their presumptuous intruding into gospel ordinances, and usurpation of gospel privileges. Take him away. Those that walk unworthy of Christianity, forfeit all the happiness they presumptuously claimed. Our Saviour here passes out of the parable into that which it teaches. Hypocrites go by the light of the gospel itself down to utter darkness. Many are called to the wedding-feast, that is, to salvation, but few have the wedding-garment, the righteousness of Christ, the sanctification of the Spirit. Then let us examine ourselves whether we are in the faith, and seek to be approved by the King.

¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

I found the below info online;

What can a royal wedding party tell us about God's kingdom?  One of the most beautiful images of heaven in the scriptures is the banquet and wedding celebration given by the King for his son.  We, in fact, have been invited to the most important banquet of all! The last book in the bible ends with an invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb and his Bride, the church: The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Rev. 22:17). Why does Jesus' parable seem to focus on an angry king who ends up punishing those who refused his invitation and who mistreated his servants?  Jesus' parable contains two stories.  The first has to do with the original guests invited to the feast.  The king had sent out invitations well in advance to his subjects, so they would have plenty of time to prepare for coming to the feast.  How insulting for the invited guests to then refuse when the time for celebrating came! They made light of the King's request because they put their own interests above his.  They not only insulted the King but the heir to the throne as well. The king's anger is justified because they openly refused to give the king the honor he was due.  Jesus directed this warning to the Jews of his day, both to convey how much God wanted them to share in the joy of his kingdom, but also to give a warning about the consequences of refusing his Son, their Messiah and Savior.

The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the king and who would never have considered getting such an invitation. The "good and the bad" along the highways, certainly referred to the Gentiles and to sinners.  This is certainly an invitation of grace -- undeserved, unmerited favor and kindness!  But this invitation also contains a warning for those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily.  Grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.  Dieterich Bonhoeffer contrasts "cheap grace" and "costly grace".  "Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves...the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance...grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate...Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.  Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.  It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."  God invites each of us to his banquet that we may share in his joy.  Are you ready to feast at the Lord's banquet table?