Parable of the Wedding Feast

Matthew 22 begins with a very interesting parable. The parable does a good job of summarizing the old and new covenants and what the kingdom will be like.

22:1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.

To me, it's pretty obvious that God is the king in this parable and following that logic, he sent out the prophets to tell people to repent.

4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.

So once again he sends out the prophets to tell people to repent. The prophets were ignored and even killed. This to me sounds like the post Solomon era.

7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

Sounds like the Assyrians and Babylonians.

8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Here is where I see the introduction of the New Covenant. The New Covenant was no longer meant for just one man, one family, or one nation. The Covenant is now available to all who are found worthly throughout the world. The covenant also comes with a command to go out to the world and tell others about the kingdom.

11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

OUCH! What is with this garment? What could it be? In this parable a man hears about the kingdom and thinks he is worthy. He is wrong. He didn't properly prepare himself. Just because someone believes in the kingdom and wants in doesn't mean he gets in. There are additional requirements needed to keep us from being cast out. The scriptures are clear on what these are: Repentence and Baptism. These are

14 For many are called, but few are chosen."

Only a few? I thought in today's feel-good churches everyone was saved? I thought in our secular society it didn't matter what you believed or how you worshipped.

We do have something to be saved from. The only way to be part of the kingdom is to hear, respond, and submit.