THE GOSPEL: Parable of the Wedding Feast

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. (Matthew 22:1-3)

As we concluded in our previous study, Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem, and He is speaking in parables to and about the religious leaders.  Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. (Matthew 21:45-46) Knowing how these leaders felt about what He was saying to them didn't stop Jesus from continuing to tell them another parable about themselves.  Let this be a lesson to us, that we are to ...speak boldly in the Lord... (Acts 14:3) Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. (Matthew 22:4-6)

What an overreaction to an invitation to a wedding!  Again, a different parable a similar lesson as the previous parable.  God is the king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding. Christ Jesus is his son.  Prophets and men of God who came before Jesus incarnation and will come after Jesus resurrection are his servants whom the king sent out to call those who were invited to the wedding.  The Jews were they who were not willing to come; But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them, just like the vinedressers did in the previous lesson.  (see THE GOSPEL: Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers)

But the conclusion of this parable leads us to a different ending.  In the previous parable, the son was killed also.  In this parable, the king is arranging a marriage for his son, who is with him in the kingdom of heaven. The king's servants, who he sent out were either ignored or ultimately killed.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. (Matthew 22:7-10; see THE GOSPEL: God's Table Prepared for All of Us)

This parable is explaining to us what will happen at the end times.  God, the King, has prepared a "bride" for His son also; therefore He's prepared a wedding banquet and ALL are invited to come.  God allowed the Apostle John to see an image of the bride of His son: Then one of the seven angels ... came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. (Revelations 21:9-13)

God has prepared this wonderful place, the New Jerusalem, where His Son will establish His kingdom on earth, and ALL are invited to dwell with Him there for eternity. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelations 21:1-4)

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  (Matthew 22:11-14)  ALL are invited, but we can't come any kind of way and expect to be allowed to stay.  Hebrew custom was that the father of the groom would plan the wedding, and "this often included providing a specially made garment to be worn over a guest’s regular clothing. This wedding garment was presented to the guest upon arrival and donned immediately. Refusal to wear it was an insult to the Father of the groom and could get a guest ejected from the festivities. In case of large gatherings it also served as identification to discourage uninvited guests from crashing the party." (read "The Parable of the Wedding Banquet")

We can't live this life any kind of way, thinking all paths lead to God, then die and expect to make it into the new heaven and the new earth!  We have to have on a wedding garment that The Father has provided, The Lord Christ Jesus.  He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (Revelations 19:13)  But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Revelations 21:22-27) AMEN!