Wedding invitations. Often, we’re touched to receive one. A family member, a friend from the past, a fellow coworker, maybe someone you discipled—you open the envelope, then the envelope inside the envelope, and there it is, embossed in shiny script, an invitation to their wedding. Engagement picture in the background. You’re so excited.

Then comes commitment time: “RSVP by this date.” Sometimes, we fill out the card and send it right in. Other times, we procrastinate. How far will I need to travel? How does it square with vacation days? What about our summer plans? Instead of “Yes, I’m coming” or “Regretfully, we can’t make it,” we want a third way: “I’d love to but keeping things open.” Then it hangs on the fridge as a reminder of our indecisiveness.

But there is a wedding invitation we can’t afford to ignore. Today, Jesus tells a parable about God hosting a wedding feast to honor his Son. Given the worth of the King, it’s not a wedding you can afford to miss. The highest King has also graced you with an invitation. Question is, are you planning to go? And, if you’re planning to go, how will you dress to honor the Son? Because God’s true people heed his invitation and dress to honor the Son. Let’s read Jesus’ words together, starting in verse 1…

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.”

Jesus is still in the temple. The religious leaders have questioned his authority. But in doing so, they’ve also shown an unwillingness to admit the truth. They can see that Jesus is doing wonders, but they refuse to admit that he is wonderful. Jesus then responds with three consecutive parables; and each conveys a similar message to these religious leaders: you will lose the kingdom if you continue rejecting the King.

Today’s parable of the wedding feast is no different. I wonder, as we read moments ago, did you notice similarities with the parable of the tenants from a couple weeks ago? There was a master and his son over the vineyard; and today, we have a king and his son over the wedding feast. The master over the vineyard was generous; and the king over the wedding feast is generous. The master over the vineyard sent messengers three times; and the king over the wedding feast sends messengers three times. Then, finally, in both parables, judgment falls on those who reject the son. So, the parable of the tenants has prepared us to hear the parable of the wedding feast.

At the same time, the parable of the wedding feast advances the story further. The parable of the tenants reviewed Israel’s history up to the rejection of Jesus. But the wedding feast takes us further into the soon-to-be-realized hopes of a messianic banquet. Also, whereas the parable of the tenants only hinted at a Gentile mission, the parable of the wedding feast pictures the Gentile mission. So, while each parable could stand alone, taken together, they paint a larger message than what either can do alone. That’ll help us later, especially when we get to the wedding garment in verse 12.

Having said that, let’s get into the parable of the wedding feast. There are three basic parts. In verses 1-7, we find the king’s gracious invitation rejected. Then, in verses 8-10, we find the king’s wedding hall filled. Finally, in verses 11-14, we find the king’s true people revealed.

The King’s Gracious Invitation Rejected

Let’s start, then, with the king’s gracious invitation rejected in verses 1-7. Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven “to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” In the Old Testament, God often described how he relates to his people as a husband relates to his bride.[i] There were also promises for a great messianic banquet in the age to come.[ii]

Isaiah 25:6 is likely the clearest. The Lord would “make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” God would gather his people and dine with them. On that day, he would remove their curse and wipe away all their sorrows. Revelation speaks of this same feast. The very end of our Bibles describes a great wedding feast to close the ages. It’s a day of singing and celebration. It’s a day when God finishes his great work of redemption. It’s a day when heaven meets earth and God crowns his people like radiant jewels.

Jesus’ parable envisions a wedding feast like that, a feast to honor the greatest king of all, a feast in which God’s people will glory in the fulfillment of all God’s saving promises. But Jesus is also saying more. As those reading Matthew’s Gospel, we know from 9:15 that Jesus already called himself the bridegroom: “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?” So, when we hear about a wedding feast for the king’s son, we know that Jesus is talking about himself. Jesus has written himself into the parable; and he does so in a way that suggests the great messianic banquet has arrived in him. The RSVP is nearly expired.

But it’s not like the people haven’t been warned. No, those invited to the wedding feast have been told again and again and again. In verse 3, the king calls those who’ve already been invited. These are people who had been called all along. It’s not hard to discern that Jesus has Israel in mind. For centuries, God had called Israel to this great wedding banquet. They were God’s special people. If anybody should’ve been ready for the Son’s wedding day, it should’ve been Israel. But Israel failed to listen. The end of verse 3 says, “They would not come.” It’s not whether they could come, but whether they would come. This parable is a story of Israel’s willful rejection.

But it’s also a story of God’s incredible mercy. In verse 4, the king sends even more 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.’” God is like this generous king. God is the greatest host. He shows the best hospitality. He prepares for his guests the best food. Even after he’s ignored, he sends more servants to call them yet again.

Only, this time, we’re further down the timeline of God’s saving story. In Jesus’ parable, the second wave of servants represents the likes of John the Baptist and Jesus’ disciples. They’re announcing a new day. With the coming of Jesus, it’s like the wedding feast is ready. The king’s wedding isn’t just promise anymore; it’s now fulfillment. You can hear the festivities; you can smell the food. All the signs of the Son’s wedding day were happening in and around Israel through Jesus.

Yet the people don’t even care. Verse 5 says, “They paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business.” They’re concerned with their own interests more than those of the Lord. The time had come to honor the Son, but they’re more interested in earthly investments. They put their own selfish concerns ahead of God’s plan to honor his Son. Others turned violent about it. It says, “the rest seized [the king’s] servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.”

What does the king do? Verse 7, “The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” These religious leaders don’t know it, but Jesus’ parable is right on track. In this story, Jesus anticipates the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. The Romans would eventually destroy the temple and leave the city of Jerusalem in ruins. Jesus will speak about this again in Matthew 24. But here Jesus’ warning couldn’t be clearer: you will lose the kingdom if you continue rejecting the King.

That warning is still true today. All history is heading toward a wedding feast to honor God’s Son. At this wedding feast, God will show the world how glorious his Son truly is. Through him God created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. This Son upholds the universe by the word of his power. He is the appointed heir of all things. He is also the Son who made himself for a little while lower than the angels. He became like one of us. He also died to make purification for our sins. This Son rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of majesty. This Son crushed the Serpent’s head, secured a new covenant, took David’s forever throne, and sent the Holy Spirit from on high. From him are all things in heaven and on earth. In him, all God’s promises find their Yes and Amen. And to him belongs all praise.

God is inviting you to honor this Son. But if you find yourself with better things to do than honor this Son, if you find yourself indifferent to God’s invitation, if, instead your business plans take precedence over this Son, there will be a world of judgment unleashed on you. You will find yourself in a position much like these religious leaders with the King ending your story with judgment. Far better is to be among those who fill the king’s wedding hall and are excited about the Son.

The King’s Wedding Hall Filled

Which brings us to the second part of Jesus’ parable: the king’s wedding hall filled. If you recall the parable of the two sons, God took the kingdom from Israel and gave it to the tax collectors and prostitutes. Then, in the parable of the tenants, God took the kingdom from Israel and gave it to those producing its fruit. So also here, God takes the kingdom from Israel and gives it to others who heed the king’s invitation.

In verse 8, the king says to his servants, “The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.” Matthew’s Gospel has taught us how to understand “worthy.” It has to do with one’s response to the kingdom of God or to Jesus (Matt 3:8; 10:37). Those invited were not worthy in the sense that their response wasn’t fitting to God’s invitation. The ones who are worthy are those who see their need and recognize the great privilege of God’s gracious invitation to the Son’s wedding.

Those in Israel were not worthy. So the king says, “Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.” Notice again the king’s graciousness. He invites “as many as you find.” He can host them all. He can feed them all. None of his preparations will fall short. As many as will come, he will provide. So, in verse 10, “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.”

Jesus’ parable now takes us further. Before, God’s focus was Israel. But Israel’s rejection now means God’s invitation would go to the nations. Both bad and good are invited. Jesus used language like this before in 5:45—God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good. It’s another way of saying, everybody. No matter the background, the social standing, the ethnicity, the religion, the wealth—everybody’s invited. God doesn’t limit his invitation to one class of people. His invitation isn’t limited to older people or richer people or conservative people or educated people. In the gospel of his Son, God invites all people without discrimination to come to his wedding feast.

Friends, you are living here in Jesus’ parable. Right now, God’s gracious invitation is being preached to all people without discrimination. He’s inviting all people to come and enjoy a wedding feast planned for his Son. No matter your background, skin color, age, sex, culture, education level; no matter the types of sins in your past, God is inviting you to come and honor his Son. Are you planning to go?

I learned a new acronym this week: FOMO, fear of missing out. It’s an increasing phenomenon in our culture. One writer said, “With so much information at our fingertips we become restless, wondering what our friends are doing, whether we have any emails, what is happening in politics—anything other than what we are doing at the moment.” People busy themselves all the time with a fear of missing out. But if there was ever a fear of missing out, it should be a fear of missing out on the Son’s wedding feast. Because it’s coming; and once it comes the invitation will no longer be good.

What are you waiting for? Perhaps you’re not among those ignoring God’s invitation. Nor would you say that you’re more interested in a life you can make for yourself. But perhaps you’ve wondered how God would let you enter the wedding feast at all. You’ve done bad and your conscience troubles you. You’ve had evil thoughts, and you know things are wrong inside. You’ve hurt others and know the rebellion is deep. The thought of drawing near to God is frightening. It’s impossible, especially given what you know of his perfections, his holiness, his law’s requirements.

Friend, if that’s you, God the King has done something remarkable to get you into the wedding feast. The King sent his Son to die on a cross for your sins. The King sent his Son to willingly obey everywhere you failed, and that qualified his Son to become your substitute. It’s through Jesus’ death that God takes away your guilt and makes you right with him. Ephesians even depicts this Son’s work as that of a Husband who rescues his Bride even when she’s been unfaithful to him.

Of this Son, it says he “loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle…” Present the church to himself in splendor? Where? When does that happen? At the wedding feast, what we’ve been reading about. Are you planning to go? Don’t miss the wedding feast because you’ve ignored God’s invitation.

The King’s True People Revealed

But there’s another way to miss the Son’s wedding feast; and that’s by responding to God’s gracious invitation in a superficial way. That brings us to the final section of Jesus’ parable, and maybe the most jarring. In verses 11-14, we find the king’s true people revealed. Look at verse 11: “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 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.”

Something is very wrong with this man’s response to the wedding invitation. One, he didn’t bother dressing up despite knowing that it was a wedding. Two, he knows he’s in the wrong and has no excuse before the king. Three, his failure to prepare warrants a punishment reserved for the wicked as explained elsewhere by Jesus.

So, it’s crucial that we learn what to make of the wedding garment, and what it meant for this man not to have one? Some will say it’s a garment like that of Isaiah 61:10, “my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Maybe this garment is the righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer as they respond in faith to the gospel. Saint Augustine read it this way, and others have followed him.

At the same time, we understand that Christ’s righteousness—when you truly have it—results in a transformed life. For those made right with God, their lives produce works that honor the Son; and I think that’s more the emphasis here. One clue is the parable of the tenants. The kingdom was taken from Israel and given to a people bearing its fruit. That’s what happens here: the kingdom is taken and given to those bearing its fruit. The man without a wedding garment didn’t bother to bear fruit.

Another clue is Matthew’s broader concern with “hypocrisy and the need for the disciple to live in true righteousness.” 5:20 is especially relevant: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Then, in 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”[iii] The man without a wedding garment is like the one who says, ‘Lord, Lord’ but never does the will of Jesus’ Father. He’s a hypocrite, and so he shares the hypocrite’s punishment.

Then one final clue is Revelation 19:8. John sees in his vision the wedding feast of the Lamb and says this: “‘Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.” What is it? The righteous deeds of the saints.

The point is this: some will get swept up in the powerful draw of the kingdom—they will like what the kingdom gives them—but they have no true desire to honor the Son with their lives. This man’s acceptance of God’s invitation is superficial. He wants the benefits of the wedding feast but without any willingness to honor the Son. If all you want from Christianity is its general utility—how it makes you a better person or how it works to shape a moral culture—then you will be thoroughly disappointed on judgment day. Christianity is about knowing Jesus and living to honor Jesus.

That’s what separates the called from the chosen. Jesus says in verse 14: “many are called, but few are chosen.” Sometimes in Scripture, the word “call” has to do with an effectual summons. When God “calls” someone in that sense, it means he calls them to salvation.[iv] But that’s not how the word “called” is being used here. Here, it means a general invitation—the same outward call we’ve observed in verses 3, 4, 8, and 9. God invites/calls many to the wedding feast. But only a few prove to be God’s chosen.

Now, that’s a big deal for a couple reasons. For starters, remember who Jesus is talking to: the religious leaders in Israel. Israel was known as God’s chosen people. God chose Israel over all other nations; and these Jewish leaders would’ve believed that they are God’s chosen. But Jesus’ parable reveals that God’s chosen are not marked by mere bloodline. Nor are they marked by a general association with the things of God’s kingdom. God’s chosen are marked by how they desire to honor Jesus.

God’s true people heed his invitation and dress to honor his Son. God’s elect become evident in the way they honor Jesus. It all comes back to Jesus. Christianity is about knowing Jesus and living to honor him. Where does that leave you? Would you count yourself among God’s chosen? If so, how are you dressing to honor his Son? How are you preparing for the wedding feast? Why do you do what you do? Is it for Jesus?

There’s no greater day to prepare for. Think of all the little “Save the Date” type things we get. We mark the calendar. We clear the schedule. We plan things around it. There are gifts we purchase. We make sure we have the right clothes. We do all kinds of things to prepare for various events that we’re invited to…and all of them pale in comparison to the Son’s wedding feast. Let’s dress to honor the Son.

Consider how you’re preparing for that wedding day. Consider how you’re spending your time. Evaluate what you’re giving your heart to. Getting ready for the wedding day means giving ourselves to those things which bring Jesus honor: personal holiness, loving his people, spreading his joy to others. Perhaps we could even consider the apostle’s language in Ephesians 4 of putting off the old self and putting on the new self. Put away falsehood and put on speaking truth with our neighbor. Put away bitterness and anger and put on kindness and tenderheartedness. Put away stealing and laziness and put on honest work with your own hands so that you have something to share. Put away corrupting talk and put on words that will edify others. Put away drunkenness and be filled with the Spirit. These are ways we dress to honor the Son. God’s true people heed his invitation and dress to honor his Son.

But here’s another reason that Jesus’ words are a big deal—“many are called, few are chosen.” If you belong to those who heed God’s invitation and dress to honor the Son, behind it all is God’s gracious choice. When left to our own devices, the human heart is incredibly stubborn. Think of how much revelation the people of Israel had. Think of how often God spoke to them by the prophets. Think of how these religious leaders witnessed the Messiah healing people in the temple, and yet they still rejected him. The truth is, we can have all the evidence necessary, but we will not respond to God’s call in a saving way unless he chooses us and changes us morally from within.

To put it another way, salvation is of the Lord. If any of us heard the gospel, it’s by grace alone. If any of us listened to God’s invitation and responded with faith, it’s by grace alone. If any of us put aside our selfish pursuits to honor the Son, it’s by grace alone. If any of us belong to Jesus, it’s by grace alone. If any of us have the right wedding garment on, it’s by grace alone. And that means God gets the praise forever.

Soon we will come to the Lord’s Supper; and as we do, we will sing a hymn that reminds us of God’s grace. Part of it goes like this: “While all our hearts and all our songs / Join to admire the feast / Each of us cry with thankful tongues / “Lord, why was I a guest?” / “Why was I made to hear Thy voice / And enter while there’s room / When thousands make a wretched choice / And rather starve than come?” / ’Twas the same love that spread the feast / That sweetly drew us in / Else we had still refused to taste / And perished in our sin.”

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[i] Isa 54:5; 62:5; Hos 2:16.

[ii] Isa 25:6; Zech 8:19.

[iii] John Wenham, The Parables of Jesus (Downers Grove: IVP, 1989), 136.

[iv] Rom 8:29; 1 Cor 1:24.