Matthew 22:11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.”
This
section of Scripture reminded me of how our normal wedding ceremonies are conducted.
The invited guests all assemble at the wedding venue, and then sit/stand
together waiting for the bride to arrive.
The groom and his attendants normally stand in front of everybody,
nervously searching for the bride as well, and as such have a very good view of
all the guests gathered before them.
And in
this story, our King also came before the proceedings started and looked at
those who had been invited and who had accepted the invitation, when He noticed
the gate-crasher among them.
There
is an Old Testament parallel to this: Zep
1:7, 8:—"Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God; for the day of
the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, He hath bid His
guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I
will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed
with strange apparel."
What
are these wedding clothes?
Is 61:10 "I will
greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath
clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the
robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,
and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels".
Rom 13:14 “Rather,
clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how
to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
The
invitation to the Feast is the invitation into the King’s Kingdom. And although acceptance of this invitation is
free, it is also true that something is expected from those who invite Jesus to
be Lord over their lives. Jesus Himself says in Luke 14:28 that we have
to estimate the cost: “Suppose one of
you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to
see if you have enough money to complete it?”
Did we
clothe ourselves with Christ; did we keep ourselves pure and holy, washed clean
by the tears of repentance and through the blood of the Lamb? To follow Jesus will cost us a lot, nothing
less than our whole lives (Luke 14:33 “In the
same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my
disciples.”).
Even
the disciples of Jesus had to be accountable for what they did with their
invitations – Judas was called “Friend” by Jesus in Matt 26:50, and look how he
turned out. Not everyone who accepts the invitation, does so from the sincerity
of their own hearts (maybe they accept Jesus because of peer pressure, or
because their parents expect it). They
may do so in inappropriate ways (maybe holding on to false beliefs like keeping
idols to worship as well). Or maybe they
are not doing this with the seriousness that it deserves (and therefore they
just carry on with their lives as if nothing has changed).
Matthew 22:12 “He asked, ‘How did you get in here without
wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.”
There
was nothing that this man could offer to excuse his behaviour. He had known
that special wedding clothes were required by the King, but had decided to
follow his own preconceived ideas and beliefs, instead of bringing honour to
the King and fulfilling HIS requirements.
In his life he had followed the notion that he was “free” and as such,
could do as he, and he alone, had decided was valid. His life choices therefore
did not line up with his position as a child of God.
Matthew 22:13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him
hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
A heavy
punishment rests on someone like this, people who live their lives as supposed
citizens of the Kingdom, but entirely on their own terms, never choosing to
align themselves with Jesus. Those who accept God’s mercy as a matter of course
(they do not understand how much it cost Jesus); who take God’s goodness and grace
for granted (thankfulness is not part of their lives). We must remember that our lives as disciples
of Jesus must be characterised by repentance and obedience. Jesus must rule your life, not you. You cannot attend the Feast on your own
terms.
Matthew 22:14 “For
many are invited, but few are chosen.”
All are
invited, but only those who accept the invitation with sincerity of heart, are
chosen.
In summary I wish to say that sincerity of heart before
the Lord guarantees your entrance to the marriage supper of the Lamb! This means that the following is your heart
attitude in life, only because you love Him: you have chosen Jesus with an honest heart,
in other words not because of the expectation of others; you have invited Him to be Lord of your life,
so that you try your best to only make choices according to His will and obey His
instructions; you live a life of thankfulness towards Him; repentance has
become a lifestyle; and you daily deliberately choose to live closer and closer to
Him. This does not mean that you have to
be perfect, or that you can earn anything by your actions. But that your eyes are always fixed on
Jesus. Then you can know for sure that
you are welcome at the King’s Wedding Feast!
©2022 Copyright All rights reserved P. Koegelenberg
