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The Parable of:
“The Man Without a Wedding Garment”
( How to Pass the Judgment )
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The Parable of:
“The Man Without a Wedding Garment”
(Matthew 22:1-14)
Matthew 22:1-14 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
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Comments:
The important points in this parable are as follows:
The main theme is the wedding or marriage of the King’s Son.
An invitation to come to the wedding was given to a first group of people.
The first group of people rejected the marriage invitation.
The reason for the rejection of the invitation by the first group of people was that they were only interested in their own business (farming, buying, and selling) instead of the King’s business!
The King sent his servants a second time to invite the first group of people, but they mistreated and killed the King’s servants.
The King’s patience came to an end and he rendered judgment upon the first group of people for their wicked deeds.
The King then sent his servants to invite anyone, good or bad, to the wedding.
After a while, the King investigated or inspected those attending the wedding to see what they were wearing.
The King found a man who was not wearing a wedding garment.
The King gave the man an opportunity to explain why, but the man had no answer.
The King then judged the man as not fit to attend the wedding and had him “cast into outer darkness”.
The final result of the parable is that many will be “called” or invited to the wedding, but only a few will be accepted.
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Comparing Scripture:
In order to understand more about this parable, we need to identify the real objects and then discover their Spiritual meanings by comparing Scripture.
The real objects are:
The King
The Son
The first servants of the king
Those first invited to the wedding
Those later invited to the wedding
The later servants of the king
The wedding garment
The wedding
The King
We know that the Spiritual “King” represents God or the Father.
Psalm 44:4 “Thou art my King, O God…”
The Son
We also know that the Spiritual “Son” represents Jesus.
John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
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The “First Servants” of the King
The first Spiritual “servants” represent the prophets that were sent to the people of Israel.
Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”
Those “First Invited” to the Wedding
Those that were “first invited” to the wedding were the people of Israel.
Matthew 21:43,45 “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. … And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.”
Those “Later Invited” to the Wedding
Those that were “later invited” to the wedding were the “Gentiles” or “strangers”.
Matthew 21:43 “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you [Israel], and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”
1 Peter 2:9,10 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation… Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God…”
Romans 9:24,25 “Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith … I will call them my people, which were not my people…”
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The “Later Servants” of the King
The later Spiritual “servants” represent the apostles and teachers sent to the “Gentiles”.
1 Peter 1:1 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout…”
2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things that thou hast heard of me [Apostle Paul] among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
The Wedding Garment
The Spiritual “Wedding Garment” represents the “garment of Salvation” or the robe of Christ’s Righteousness.
Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD… for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…”
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The Wedding
The Spiritual “Wedding” or “Marriage” represents the Judgment.
Job 29:14 “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.”
The above text clearly shows the relationship of the “robe of righteousness” or the “wedding garment” to the judgment. The “robe” or “wedding garment” was directly connected to being judged!
The man in the parable without the “robe” or “wedding garment” could not pass the judgment and was “taken away and cast into outer darkness”.
Psalm 35:24 “Judge me, O Lord, according to thy righteousness.”
Without the covering “robe of Christ’s Righteousness”, no one can pass the judgment of God!
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Comments:
Before we are ready to write a Spiritual paraphrase of the parable, we need to think about what is happening at a “wedding” or “marriage”.
A wedding or marriage takes place when a man and woman who have had a relationship together decide that they want to “live together” forever!
Similarly, a spiritual “wedding” or spiritual “marriage” takes place when a spiritual “Man” (Jesus) and a spiritual “woman” (the Church) decide that they want to “live together” forever!
The “Judgment” seals their commitment to each other forever, just as a “marriage” does!
That is why the “wedding” or “marriage” represents the Judgment.
Sometimes, even after a long relationship, a man and woman decide that they do not want to get married or have a “wedding”, because they do not want to “live together” forever. Sometimes a woman will reject a man’s proposal of marriage. The Bible says that the Lord is the “husband” and the “woman” represents God’s people.
Isaiah 54:5,6 “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name… For the LORD hath called thee as a woman… and a wife...”
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The Bible also refers to the Lord as the “Bridegroom” and God’s people as the “Bride”.
Isaiah 62:5 “For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.”
In the parable, the first group of people invited to the “wedding” was the Jews or Israel. They represented God’s people (the Bride) who rejected the proposal of marriage by the Lord Jesus (the Bridegroom).
Because they rejected Jesus, the nation of Israel was judged by God and rejected by Him (Matt. 21:43,45). No longer was Israel to be the “chosen people of God”. God then invited “anyone” to “marry His Son” and the Gentiles became the “chosen people of God”. (1 Peter 2:9,10; Rom. 9:24,25)
The parable clearly shows that the “Gentiles” (the later group invited to the wedding) would also have people who would reject Jesus Christ’s offer of “marriage” by rejecting His robe of righteousness, or the “wedding garment”! These people will be judged by their righteousness (filthy rags – Isa. 64:6) instead of Christ’s righteousness and they will be “cast out” or lost instead of being saved.
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The parable of the “Man Without a Wedding Garment” clearly shows the absolute necessity of being “clothed” with Christ’s righteousness in order to be saved! Now, we are ready to write a Spiritual paraphrase of the parable.
Paraphrase (Spiritual):
God (the king) wanted Jesus (His Son) to be able to live together forever (make a marriage) with His people (the bride or woman). He sent prophets (His servants) to invite Israel (first group invited) to accept His Son Jesus, but they rejected Him. God (the King) then sent more prophets (his servants) to tell them that it was time (all things were ready) for the Judgment (marriage) to take place, but they were too busy with their own business (farming, buying, selling) to be concerned. The prophets (servants) were mistreated and killed (slew them) by Israel. Finally, God’s patience and forgiveness was at an end (he was wroth)! He judged the nation of Israel as “not worthy” and sent the Roman army (sent forth his armies) under Titus in A.D. 70 to “burn up the city” of Jerusalem and to “destroy those murderers”.
Then God (the king) made the decision to invite the Gentiles (anyone, good and bad) to come and “live together” with His Son forever (be married). After a while, God (the king) began to investigate (came in to see) what those who had come to “live with His Son forever” (come to the wedding) were wearing. God (the king) saw a man who was not clothed with the Robe of Christ’s righteousness (wedding garment). The man was instead clothed in filthy rags (his own righteousness – Zech. 3:1-5, Isa. 64:6). The man had no reason for not having the robe of Christ’s righteousness on (wedding garment) and so God judged the man as lost (take him away and cast him into outer darkness)! Many people are invited (called) to live forever with Jesus (marry Him), but only a few will actually “marry Him” (pass the judgment).
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Doctrinal Truth (Taught by Jesus in the Parable of “The Man Without a Wedding Garment”)
The “wedding” or “marriage” represents the Judgment.
Before a man and woman get (physically) married, they have developed a relationship to the point of wanting to “live together” forever! Similarly, the Judgment represented by the “marriage” or “wedding” occurs when the Lord as the (spiritual) Bridegroom and God’s people as the (spiritual) bride, have developed their relationship to the point that they both want to “live together” forever.
Sometimes in a (physical) relationship a man and woman decide that they do not want to get married and “live together forever”. The woman will reject the “invitation” or proposal of marriage by the man. Similarly, sometimes in a (spiritual) relationship between the Lord (man) and His people (woman), individuals or even nations will reject the “invitation” or proposal of marriage by the Lord.
When an “invitation” or proposal of marriage is made and then rejected, it causes a permanent separation to occur between a man and woman. Similarly, when an “invitation” or proposal of marriage is made by the Lord (man) and then rejected by one of His people (woman), it causes a permanent separation to occur between the Lord (man) and that person (woman). The “marriage” or judgment will permanently decide the destiny or future of every individual.
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Those who accept the “invitation” by the Lord to “marry Him” will live forever with Him!
Those who reject the “invitation” by the Lord and refuse to “marry Him” will be lost forever!
God has “invited” everyone to the “marriage” of His Son. Whether you are “good” or “bad” doesn’t matter; you are still invited to become His “bride”!
We are to “come to the marriage” just as we are (bad or good). Even the “best garment” that we could provide for ourselves will not be “good enough” for us to attend the “wedding”.
The “garment” that we could provide for ourselves represents our “works”. Our works are like filthy garments or “filthy rags”!
The “garment” that we need is the special “wedding garment” that is provided at the marriage. Only the “wedding garment” will make us acceptable at the wedding!
The “wedding garment” represents the righteous life of Jesus! Another name for the “wedding garment” is the “Robe of righteousness” or the “Garment of Salvation”.
If we choose to attend the “marriage” without the “wedding garment”, we can expect to be “cast out” and rejected at the time of the “marriage”. Similarly, if we choose to be judged by our own “works” or sinful lives, we can expect to be “cast out” and rejected and lost at time of the judgment!
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If we choose to attend the “marriage” and accept the “wedding garment” or the “robe of Christ’s righteousness” or the righteous life of Christ in place of our sinful life, we can expect to be accepted or saved at the time of the Judgment!
From our study of the parable of the “garment with the Hole in it” we learned that accepting the “new garment” or, as it is called in this parable, the “wedding garment”, means being willing to give up sin and to allow the Holy Spirit to change us and make us like Jesus. While we are “becoming like Jesus” and are not perfect, we are “covered” by Christ’s robe of righteousness (wedding garment) and as far as the judgment (marriage) is concerned, we are considered by God (the King) to be perfect and therefore are accepted by Him.
Without the “covering” of the wedding garment the man in the parable had no hope of being accepted at the wedding.
Without the “covering” righteousness of Christ, we have no hope of passing the Judgment!