The parable of the marriage supper (Matthew 22:1-141And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4Again, 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. 5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So 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. 11And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13Then 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. 14For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:1‑14)) brings before us God’s exceeding goodness and man’s hopeless opposition and enmity. God is about to make a marriage for His Son, and He sends forth His messengers to invite men to come to the marriage feast. His object is to do honor to His Son. We are not told in this parable anything about the bride, or the sphere of the nuptials. It is simply a comparison of the kingdom of heaven. We know who the King is, and we know who the Son is; the grand object is to show forth the marvelous grace of God. The question is, Will man come to the marriage feast if he is invited?
We shall soon see the answer. “He sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding; and they would not come” (vs. 3). This occurred in our Lord’s life here upon earth. He sent forth the twelve and the seventy, exclusively to Israel. But, alas, there was no heart for the King, no heart for His Son. Man has been proved a hopeless ruin; he does not want to have anything to do with God or His Son, for a call to a wedding affords no possible ground for excuse. But no one will ever be found there, if he has not been compelled to come. There is not, in the entire compass of the human heart, a single desire after God or heavenly things. Man, if left to himself, would never come to God. He does not want to go to hell, but he has no wish for the presence of God.
The Second Invitation
In the second invitation, the king puts forth much stronger claims upon the hearts of those invited. “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” (vs. 4). Here we have illustrated the second call to Israel, in the preaching of the apostles on the day of Pentecost. After our Lord’s death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit came down, with new power to urge upon the people the blessed invitation. The atoning work was done; all things were ready. “Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, by turning away every one of you from his iniquities” (Acts 3:2626Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:26)).
What was the result, as regards the nation and its leaders? Deliberate rejection. Thousands were bowed in true repentance before God, but, the great mass of the people “made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise” (Matt. 22:55But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: (Matthew 22:5)). However, there is more than indifference; there is positive enmity. “The remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them” (v. 6). This is in keeping with the solemn address of Stephen, shortly before his martyrdom — “Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye ... Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him” (Acts 7:51, 57-5851Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7:51)
57Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. (Acts 7:57‑58)).
Divine Grace
Every effort of divine grace is met by the determined hatred of the human heart — the law broken, the prophets stoned, the Son rejected and crucified, and the vessel of the Holy Spirit martyred. Nothing remained but for judgment to take its course. “When the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city” (vs. 7). How literally this was fulfilled in the awful history of Jerusalem, when it was destroyed by the Roman general Titus in A.D. 69-70! The horrors of that dreadful siege are well known, as we read them on the page of history. But as surely as Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, so surely shall all who reject the gospel of the grace of God have to endure the agony of that place where hope can never come. The one is as true as the other, and comes out with equal force and solemnity in our parable.
As Many as They Find
“Then saith he [the king] to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 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” (vss. 8-10). Here we see the rich grace of God flowing out to the Gentiles. “This salvation of God has been sent to the nations; they also will hear it” (Acts 28:2828Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. (Acts 28:28) JND). In Luke, we have another expression in connection with this subject. “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:2323And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. (Luke 14:23)). God says to the sinner, “I will save you in spite of yourself. I will compel you to come. I am determined to fill my house with guests. I have taken the whole matter into my own hands, from first to last, and you shall be, to all eternity, a monument of my saving, quickening, compelling grace.” What matchless grace! God would fill His house with guests, who, if left to themselves, would have turned their backs forever upon Him!
Holy Responsibilities
But there are holy responsibilities flowing out of all this marvelous grace. If grace has compelled us to come within the circle of God’s salvation, what manner of persons ought we to be? If we have gotten the wedding garment, ought we not to wear it? Sad to say, there is a large amount of worthless profession in our midst. The doctrines of grace may be talked about, but how many there are who exhibit earthly mindedness in their daily private life! Some may ask, What has all this to do with the parable of the wedding garment? Let us read the closing sentences. “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment; and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 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. For many are called, but few are chosen” (v. 11-14).
Without the Wedding Garment
How solemn for anyone to appear among the guests, and yet not have on the wedding garment! It is an insult to the King, to His Son, and to the nuptial feast — the very highest offense against the grace of God. The idea of appearing amongst the Lord’s people, professing to belong to Him, and yet not being really clothed upon with Christ, the true wedding garment, is a sin only to be found among the ranks of baptized profession. Sadly, it is characteristic of Christendom. There is no excuse; the man is speechless.
How appalling the end of such! It is the utter rejection of Christ, the neglect of the great salvation, the refusal of the wedding garment; and, all the while, professing to be a Christian. As nothing can exceed the grace of God that is now preached, so nothing can exceed the guilt of those who in heart neglect it, while professing to have it. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Heb. 2:33How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3)).
“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” (vs. 13). Human exposition would only weaken the force of this verse. God grant that we may not only appear among the guests, but really have on the wedding garment, to the praise of that compelling grace to which we owe our present peace and everlasting glory.
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