Matthew 22:1-14
In the parable of the wedding banquet we find Jesus giving another stunning example of how the Kingdom of Heaven works. The King is throwing an enormous party for the Wedding of His Son. The news is spread but those who were invited did not come. I'm sure they would've if they'd been able to RSVP via Facebook. But, without that the invitations were sent again with details of the menu and time. But the people were too busy to attend. Angered, the King destroyed those people and their homes.
However, He still had all this food so this time He invited everybody. Tax collectors, thieves, prostitutes and other sinners. The Hall was filled with people who likely would never been able to attend such a Royal feast except for the incredible grace and generosity of the King. When He came to visit with His guests He found a man that didn't have the proper attire to attend such a gathering so he was tied up and thrown into the streets.
It doesn't seem fair that the King would invite who could have been a homeless man living on the streets and then kick him out because he wore the wrong clothes. Does it?
There is a principle in Bible interpretation that says that if something in the Bible makes sense then we may usually take it at face value. While there may be other meanings on different levels sometimes we dig and attempt to create something that just isn't actually there. The converse of that is that if something doesn't make sense at face value, then there is a different meaning. That is exactly what we see in this parable.
What's He talking about then? Well the feast is heaven, the King is God, the son is... well, the Son, the originally invited guests are the Jews and the people from the street are the Gentiles. But what are these wedding clothes? What does a gentile dress in to be permitted into the Kingdom of Heaven? I thought it wasn't by anything we did or looked like or dressed in that got us in the door.
I wish it were literally something that we could put on, a shirt and tie and coat or heck even a breastplate, helmet and shield. It would make spiritual warfare soooooo much simpler to be able to physically see salvation on us. But I think that's the point. We should be able to. And others need to be able to see it on us. Because although we don't drop of the wedding clothes at the dry cleaners or press the seams, the righteousness that Jesus allows us to wear, to be worthy of sitting at the Kings feast, really ought to be evident on us, in us and from us.
However, He still had all this food so this time He invited everybody. Tax collectors, thieves, prostitutes and other sinners. The Hall was filled with people who likely would never been able to attend such a Royal feast except for the incredible grace and generosity of the King. When He came to visit with His guests He found a man that didn't have the proper attire to attend such a gathering so he was tied up and thrown into the streets.
It doesn't seem fair that the King would invite who could have been a homeless man living on the streets and then kick him out because he wore the wrong clothes. Does it?
There is a principle in Bible interpretation that says that if something in the Bible makes sense then we may usually take it at face value. While there may be other meanings on different levels sometimes we dig and attempt to create something that just isn't actually there. The converse of that is that if something doesn't make sense at face value, then there is a different meaning. That is exactly what we see in this parable.
What's He talking about then? Well the feast is heaven, the King is God, the son is... well, the Son, the originally invited guests are the Jews and the people from the street are the Gentiles. But what are these wedding clothes? What does a gentile dress in to be permitted into the Kingdom of Heaven? I thought it wasn't by anything we did or looked like or dressed in that got us in the door.
I wish it were literally something that we could put on, a shirt and tie and coat or heck even a breastplate, helmet and shield. It would make spiritual warfare soooooo much simpler to be able to physically see salvation on us. But I think that's the point. We should be able to. And others need to be able to see it on us. Because although we don't drop of the wedding clothes at the dry cleaners or press the seams, the righteousness that Jesus allows us to wear, to be worthy of sitting at the Kings feast, really ought to be evident on us, in us and from us.