Thursday, May 12, 2016

In Matthew 22, Jesus tells a story about a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son.  But those who were initially invited by the King rejected his gracious invitation.  So this amazing king sent more of his servants out into the towns and villages to invite anyone and everyone to come to the feast. 

Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’  So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

- Matthew 22:10

When you read the entire parable, it almost sounds like this should be the end of the story.  The wedding hall was filled and everybody lived happily ever after.  The end.

But this is not the end.  Jesus gives us another chapter, which at first seems to kind of ruin the nice happy ending in verse 10.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.  ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.  “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.’  “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

- Matthew 22:11-14

This part of the parable actually poses quite a problem for us.  On the one hand we see here (and in many other places in Scripture) that God’s grace is available to all people regardless of race, or gender, or social status.  Nobody is beyond the reach of the grace and mercy of the King!  On the other hand we have this man who is thrown out of the banquet hall.  Do you see the conundrum here?  If God’s grace is available to all, then why does this fellow get tossed out?  This question is so perplexing that there have been some who have proposed that that this part of the story was a later addition and Jesus did not really say this at all.  However, just because something in the Bible is difficult for us to understand, does not mean that we can ignore it or explain it away.  The fact is that Jesus said quite a few hard and difficult things.

The key to understanding this part of the story is in the clothing.  This man was not wearing the proper wedding clothes.  Now nobody likes to be grossly under-dressed, but we don’t imagine someone getting tied up and thrown out of a party for it (although I was once refused entry to a restaurant because I didn’t have a jacket on).  In Jesus’ day, nobody would dare show up to a King’s feast without the proper clothes.  There are really only two reasons that you would not have wedding clothes on: either you didn’t own any because you were poor, or you did not have time to go and change before the banquet.  These guests were late invitees to the party and were from all levels of society (“both good and bad”).  Though Jesus does not explicitly state this, the implication is that the King must have provided wedding clothes for his guests.  This is really a beautiful picture; there are no social classes or distinctions of earthly rank at this party because everyone has been dressed by the King!

But Jesus is not talking about social etiquette here.  He is talking about a very deep spiritual reality.  In this parable, the clothing really represents righteousness.  This man had only his own righteousness covering him in the presence of the king; he had not been clothed by the king.  The New Testament speaks repeatedly about what it means to be clothed in Christ.

Galatians 3:27 - For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Romans 13:14 - Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Revelation 19:7-8 - Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”  (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

The man without the wedding clothes is tossed out because on his own, dressed in his own righteousness, he is unacceptable.  Ah, but here is the real point.  On our own, we are all unacceptable.  We are all just beggars in filthy rags before the King of kings.  This is why the King must clothe us if we are to be at His feast!  At the end of this parable, Jesus makes a surprising statement.  He says, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  I have known many people who don’t like this idea of only a few being chosen.  It sounds like God is intentionally leaving some people out of His Kingdom.  However, Jesus is simply stating for us the reality illustrated in His parable; God’s gracious invitation or call is open to all, but only those who receive His call will be clothed in Christ, and therefore only those few will be chosen. 

Pastor Jeff Frazier