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. 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. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 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.
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.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus tells a third parable to the religious leaders. This is one compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a feast given by a king for his son. He sent his servants out to those who were invited but they did not come. This is likely the prophets of the Old Testament who were sent to Israel but they were ignored. Then the wedding feast was ready and he again sent out his servants with urgency to call those who had been invited. This probably refers to John the Baptist, Jesus, and the disciples who preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Again the Jews had better things to do and the religious leaders reacted aggressively. The king was angry and sent his army to destroy the murderers and burn their city. The Romans invaded Jerusalem in A.D 70 and did just that. Then the king said that the wedding feast was ready but those invited were not worthy and so he sent them out to find as many as he could find. The Kingdom of Heaven was opened to the Gentiles and to all who would believe. This collecting of all they could find is the time we find ourselves in now—the church age. Those who are welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven are those “good and bad.” When the king came into the banquet and met his guests, he saw one man not wearing a wedding garment. He asked the man, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” The man was addressed as “friend” so we must assume he was a believer (he was at the wedding banquet). But he was not prepared with an appropriate garment, which means he had not done what was expected to enjoy the fullness of the kingdom. Instead he was thrown out into the darkness where he will mourn the fact that he is not able to enjoy the fullness of the banquet. Many are called to the blessings of ruling with Christ, but few are chosen. We must not only believe in Jesus for salvation, but also heed the call to obedience to Christ in order to receive the fullness that is on offer in heaven.
This passage is a good reminder that we should do more than just accept salvation, we should be doing Gods will and even more.
This passage just shows the full extent of what Jesus did for us because we cannot get into heaven with our sinful heavenly bodies and when we become saved, by God’s grace, we become new creations suitable to be in His presence
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” this part was what I learnt from, to me it shows that like so many people have been told the gospel at least once in their lives but they don’t all decide to follow God and go to heaven.