The Wedding Garment

In chapter 22 of Matthew we find the parable
of the wedding feast. This parable at large has been
interpreted to mean that, after the Jews rejected
the offer of salvation, the invitation was extended
to the gentiles. Very well, but here we find a parable
within a parable because the last four verses deal
with the kind of attire we should wear to the feast.
Let's read Matthew 22:10-14,
"...and the wedding hall was filled with guests,
but when the king came in to see the guests,
he saw a man there who did not have on a
wedding garment. So he said to him: 'friend,
how did you come in here without a wedding
garment?' And he was speechless. Then the
king said to the servants, 'bind him hand and
foot, take him away, and cast him into outer
darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. For many are called, but few are
chosen."

What can be the meaning of this "wedding
garment" we are supposed to wear at the feast?
Why only few will be chosen? Could this garment
be the Sabbath day? Could it be that only the
few who observe the Sabbath will be chosen?
Let's explore this idea further?
First of all, in all His wisdom and fairness,
Jesus would surely make the wedding garment
available to all the guests who are invited to the
feast. If the garment had not been available to
all, surely the guest not wearing one would have
explained this to the King in the parable. Some
reasonable explanations would have been:
'I was not given one.' Or 'I could not afford it.'
But the man was simply speechless; which
means he didn't have any excuse for not
wearing the right garment.
Also our belief in Jesus' fairness leads us to
believe that He would have given clear notice
about the proper attire required to attend the
feast. We have a feeling that all the guests had
been notified about the dress requirements
because everybody was dressed properly
except for the one fellow spotted by the king.
It is also very evident that the man knew about
the dress code because we are told that he was
speechless when confronted by the king.
What parallel do we find in the Bible that
could compare to this "dress code" for the
wedding feast. It seems to me that the obvious
equivalent is the Sabbath day. Why? Because
it illustrates God's fairness and infinite wisdom
in two ways (1) He has made the announcement
very clear to all: 'Remember the Sabbath and
keep it holy...the seventh day is the Sabbath of
the Lord your God.
(2) He has made it available to all. If we are
very busy, He has given us six days to do all
our work and take care of our personal
business. He is requiring of us only one day a
week to rest and to have communion with Him
and to worship Him. Moreover, in exchange
for our observance of the Sabbath He has
promised many blessings both in the here
and now as well as in the future (Isaiah 58:13-14).
The biggest blessing of all will be a ticket to that
wedding feast as described in Matthew 22: 1-14.
Maybe some of us will be able to get into the
banquet with a counterfeit invitation or by
squeezing through security, but the King will
be inside conducting an inspection of all the
wedding guests and He will spot us from a
distance. He will approach us and ask: 'Friend,
how did you come in here without a wedding
garment?' And we will be speechless. We will
not be able to say 'Uhh? I've never heard about
the Sabbath.' Or 'I was too busy all week. I didn't
have time to observe the Sabbath.' Then the
Lord will call security and will instruct them:
'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and
cast him into outer darkness.'
My own experience tells me that it is
very easy to be spotted in a wedding when you
are not wearing the proper attire. Several years
ago I attended a formal wedding as a guest.
The banquet was proceeding nicely until one
guest came in wearing a very casual outfit.
He was a cousin of the bride and so he was
allowed to stay, but he stood out as a sore
thumb for everyone to see. He was wearing
short sleeves with wide blue stripes,
half unbuttoned, docker pants, and white
shoes. Later that same night I saw his
grandmother crying in shame because of
what the grandson had done. The old lady
was crying and asking why did he have to
attend the party dressed like that?

Tomorrow we will explore verse 14 of
this chapter.

God bless you.