Parable of the Wedding

To understand the analogy in this story, it doesn't require much imagination to recognize that the king represents God the Father, who is preparing a wedding for His Son, Jesus Christ.

He sent servants out to call those who were invited, that they should come to the wedding. But they wouldn’t come.

For thousands of years, the call of the gospel of Christ has been proclaimed worldwide. Many have been invited to accept the offer of salvation and attend the wedding of God's Son. However, countless individuals have declined the invitation, and have gone their own way instead.

We have so many activities that consume our time. One person says, 'I have a farm and I'm busy raising animals and growing crops.' Another says, 'I have merchandise I need to sell.' How trivial these concerns are in comparison. The things that occupy our time on earth should not serve as an excuse for rejecting the Lord’s offer of His precious gift of salvation in Christ, the very invitation we’ve been given to attend the wedding.

The Servants Mistreated

The wedding of His Son has always been God's plan, even before the world was created, and presented in the days of the prophets of the Old Covenant, who declared and prophesied His coming. This plan continued up to John the Baptist, and beyond, who was sent to proclaim the arrival of God's Son on earth as a man.

Many of the prophets of old were mistreated and many were even killed by those who heard their message. Similarly, many saints who have proclaimed Jesus as God's Son and have invited people to come to the wedding through receiving Him have faced comparable treatment.

The Wrath of the King

The consequences of mistreating God's prophets and saints ultimately result in the destruction of those responsible. These individuals will face the wrath of God, the Father, for their disdain and contempt toward the invitation He has given them to know His Son and to attend the wedding.

Prepared for The Devil and His Angels

Hell was created for the imprisonment of evil spirits and angels who allied with Lucifer, or Satan, and are now destined for eternal damnation. The only thing that condemns men and women to that unthinkable place is the rejection of God's offer of salvation through His Son, Jesus, refusing to accept His invitation to receive His Son as their Lord and Savior. That is the one unforgivable sin.

Although it appears to be the topic most people avoid, it is precisely what can rescue them from their state of separation from God and give them the blessings of His promises in their lives. It's quite ironic; the very message they resist is the message that would otherwise save their lives.

Go into the Highways and Byways

The wedding is prepared and everything is in place, but those who were invited did not recognize the significance and importance of the invitation. It was the most crucial invitation of their lives, yet they dismissed it and treated it as nothing.

Those who were invited chose not to come. The Bible tells us that the gospel was first preached to the Jewish people, and while many accepted and became followers of Christ, a very significant number did not receive it, but rejected Him.

Go out into the highways and byways, the places of travel and beyond, to every corner of the earth, to every nation, and wherever people can be found, and whoever will hear you, invite them to the wedding.

Go into all the World

This is the same as the commission of Christ; Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized, that is, he who accepts the invitation, shall be saved, but he that rejects it shall be condemned.

Mission accomplished! The wedding is now brimming with guests. Those initially invited found no reason to attend, but many from the highways and hedges, as one of the gospels puts it, eagerly seized the opportunity to come.

Wedding Garment

The king had established a certain decorum when planning the wedding. Each guest would be provided with festive raiment to wear, signifying their sincere acceptance of the invitation. This man had no wedding garment, and so was easily spotted in the crowd. The king asked him, how did you come in here without a wedding garment on?

The wedding garment provided to those who are invited to receive Christ is the free gift of righteousness, bestowed upon everyone who believes in Christ and accepts Him as their Savior. This righteousness is not earned through good deeds but is an unearned garment, a gift given by the Lord's grace and mercy to clothe them.

This should put us in mind of the story of the prodigal son, who was clothed in rags and shame, but his father gave him a beautiful robe to wear and a ring of authority for his finger. He was given a beautiful robe and ring and his shame was taken away.

The only way this man could have come into the wedding without a wedding garment was by not receiving the garment of righteousness that comes with the new birth, a free gift in salvation. He was akin to the tare in the parable of the tares, sown by the wicked one, the enemy, and not truly a born-again believer. Unfortunately, according to the Bible, there are many such individuals within the church.

Into Outer Darkness

This is the same fate that the tares faced in the parable of the wheat and the tares. The reapers, the angels, gathered them and cast them into the furnace, a place of eternal suffering, an outer place, a place outside of God’s presence. Needless to say, this is certainly an outcome that none of us would wish to participate in.

Many are Called

This is the same conclusion put forth in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. Many are called. The servants went out and invited many people to the wedding. In the parable of the laborers, many were called to work in the vineyard, and a few responded, but not everyone. Many rejected the offer, but a few chose to receive salvation in Christ, a few were chosen, that is, to labor in the vineyard of the Master.

Those who rejected the invitation to the wedding of the king’s son, as well as those who went to the wedding without the wedding garment, the new birth in Christ, the garment of salvation in Christ, the pretenders, suffered the same penalty, the penalty of being cast out into outer darkness, where there is great sadness and vehement anger.

Conclusion

Let us do everything in our power to sincerely answer the invitation of salvation in Christ, to make Him our Lord and Savior, and to live a genuine life of service and devotion to Him.