In my previous study I mentioned that it became obvious to Jesus that the Jewish authorities wanted to arrest him, so Jesus responded with a parable about a wedding that a king made for his son. The two main characters of the parable represent the Father and Jesus, his Son. The threat of arrest, which we understand from Matthew 21:45-46 was answered with a warning of judgment, if the Jewish authorities didn’t repent (cp. Matthew 22:7). This places us midpoint in the parable, and Jesus went on to show the conclusion of that judgment. Instead of the unrepentant coming into a new and better relationship with God, which is understood in the wedding contract, they and their nation were destroyed, and the offer of the New Covenant went out to the rest of mankind—to as many as the Gospel was able to reach, no matter what their office in life. These became the new guests, who replaced the first guests, who rejected their invitation.
Therefore, the King told his servants, the disciples of Jesus, to go out to the highways, where they would find men and women and merchants from around the world, and invite them to the wedding of his Son, for everything was ready and the original guests proved unworthy (Matthew 22:8-9). So, the King’s servants did as they were commanded, and they invited everyone they met on the highways, indiscriminately, whether they were evil degenerates or folks who ordinarily practiced good. All were invited, and “the wedding was furnished with guests” (Matthew 22:10).
When the guests were ready, the King came in to meet his guests, and he noticed a man who hadn’t put on his wedding garment, a thing the King would have provided to all his guests (Matthew 22:11; cp. Isaiah 61:10; Luke 15:22). How should we understand this?
Under the New Covenant, all who come to Jesus are to “put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Putting on Christ is a spiritual matter, having to do with changing one’s demeanor to imitate that of Christ (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10; cp. Romans 13:14; 2Corinthians 3:18). So, the King paused to speak with the man who hadn’t put on a wedding or covenant garment, vis-à-vis Christ, and asked him why he showed such disrespect, by refusing to present himself properly, but the man had no legitimate reply (Matthew 22:11-12). So, what does this mean for us today?
It is often difficult for folks to understand the difference between being righteous and embracing the righteousness of Christ. When we concern ourselves with being righteous, we often compare ourselves with others and conclude we aren’t good enough, or they aren’t as good as we are. This is the negative and positive of self-righteousness. Putting on Christ embraces the righteousness of Christ. It is not our righteousness it is his, and we put it on, and seek to imitate him. All folks are in the same boat, so to speak, so there is no room for judging others’ behavior, because our righteousness, vis-à-vis the righteousness that matters, is not our own, but that of Christ (1Corinthians 1:30; 2Corinthians 5:21; 2Peter 1:1). Thus, to appear before God without a wedding garment, it to appear before him in the guise of our own righteousness, which is nothing more than a filthy garment of self-righteousness! Therefore, the King has such folks bound and cast out into outer darkness, where one has no spiritual light/life, with which he is able to see and know God (Matthew 22:13; cp. Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 1:13; 1Thessalonians 5:5). Jesus concluded with “Many are called, but few are chosen! (Matthew 22:14), vis-à-vis the Gospel will go out and will be heard by many, a countless number of folks, but who will answer? Who will recognize and admit their own evil behavior and come to Jesus? The Lord looks upon the heart and will choose such folks, as they who will repent and receive Jesus into their hearts (Acts 1:24; Romans 8:27).
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