Parable of The Wedding Party
November 3, 2020
Commentary
This parable is not to be confused with the parable of the great supper (Luke 14:16-24). The period described here must be after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Father is still inviting the people of Israel to come, in spite of what they did to His Son. The king in this parable had made plans for a wedding banquet for his son (vv. 1-2). He sent his servants to tell all of those who had been invited that it was time for the banquet, but the invitation was ignored and the guests refused to come (vv. 3-5). In fact the offer was not only ignored but the servants were mistreated and killed (v. 6). At this point the king was angry and he sent his army and destroyed the people and burned their city (v. 7).
Since those who were first invited had rejected the invitation, opportunity was then given to any who would come to the feast (vv. 8-10). As the King arrived at the banquet he noticed that one of the guests was without a wedding garment (v. 11). Evidently this special garment was provided by the host for everyone to put on when they arrived and this guest had failed to put it on. When the king questioned him about this he had no answer (v. 12). At that point the king instructed his aids to bind him and throw him into outer darkness (v. 13). He simply refused to come on the kings terms (v. 14). God instructs us to share the gospel with anyone who will listen. Since we do not know who will respond, often the most unlikely candidates come to Christ when we share it with the “many.”
Application
I need to make sure that I have time for the Lord in my life and never be too busy with the things I want to do. I never want to be too devoted to what’s temporary to make time for what’s eternal.
Matthew 22:1– 14 (NET)
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Illustration: Why Brides Wear White Gowns
A woman and her young daughter were attending the wedding of one of their relatives, and this was the first time the little girl had ever seen a wedding ceremony. She was in awe by the pomp and beauty of everything. The music, the formal atmosphere, the decorations, the bride and groom and their attendants in fine gowns and tuxes. Sometime during the ceremony, the little girl leaned over to her mother and whispered: “Mommy, mommy.” “What dear,” her mother replied.” Why is the bride dressed in white?” The mother thought about that for a moment and struggled to come up with a simple explanation her daughter would understand. Finally, she smiled and said to her daughter: “The bride wears white, because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life.” The little girl thought about this for a moment, and then she said, “So why’s the groom wearing black?” (Source Unknown).