The Wedding Garment
Program No. 1269
SPEAKER: JOHN BRADSHAW
Seven hundred fifty million people watched as Diana Spencer stepped out of the royal glass coach in front of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981. The fairy tale wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana was the most watched event in television history. In addition to the TV audience, 2 million citizens lined the streets, hoping to get a glimpse of the royal couple. It was the wedding of the century. In the United Kingdom, the day of the wedding was declared a national holiday. Four thousand police, 2,100 military officers, dressed in their decorated uniforms adding to the grandeur. Regiments from all over the British Commonwealth participated. It was a masterpiece of planning and logistics. And so as not to offend anyone, the guests were carefully selected. Every one of the queen’s governors general and almost all of the crown heads of Europe attended. Now, imagine this. What do you think would have happened if on the morning of July 29, 1981, the streets of London were empty? If, in spite of the holiday, no one paid attention to the wedding? If none of the heads of state bothered to attend? If even the TV network crews were nowhere to be seen? A royal wedding is a serious business. It’s an honor to receive an invitation. To ignore an invitation like that would be an unforgiveable snub. But according to one of the parables of Jesus, this is exactly what happened. It’s recorded in Matthew chapter 22 (NKJV). “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding. And they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants saying, tell those people who are invited: See, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fatted cattle are killed. And all things are ready. Come to the wedding. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully and killed them. But when the king heard about it he was furious, and he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. Then he said to hisservants, the wedding is ready. But those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore, go into the highways and as many as you find, invite to the wedding. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. 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 his 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.” That’s an amazing story, packed with insights relevant for us today. In it, Jesus covers the entire salvation history. The fate of Israel is revealed. He warns about a coming judgment and tells us how to be saved. Now, time won’t let us unpack all of the real details, but what’s obvious is that the king represents God. Jesus is the son, and the wedding feast represents the kingdom of God. The theme of the parable is salvation. Jesus started out by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like...” Now, to the people of that day it meant, this is the way to be saved. The son of the king was getting married, and the king requested the presence of his guests to share in the festivity. To accept the invitation of the king and to attend the feast--that was to be saved. Now, invitees had an option. Either they could attend, which meant receiving eternal life. Or they could decline, and be eternally lost. The same truth is repeated by Jesus in the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins; because the five wise virgins brought extra oil with them, they were able to accompany the bridal couple into the wedding feast. When the five foolish ones arrived a little later, they found the door locked. The bridegroom responded to their knocking by saying, “I don’t know you.” All those who didn’t attend lost their lives. The ones who ignored the invitation were killed by the soldiers of the king. The one who failed to wear the wedding robe was cast into outer darkness. To attend is to be saved. To decline is to be lost. The first part of the parable deals with Israel’s failure to fulfill its destiny. God’s intention was to restore life as it was before Adam and Eve sinned, through the descendants of Abraham. Now, if Israel had accepted God’s will for them and ordered their lives after God’s plans, life to them would have been a banquet feast. Poverty would have been eliminated. Disease would have been eradicated. By following the agricultural principles God gave them, their land would have been transformed to Garden of Eden beauty. They would have been the wisest and richest nation in all the earth. And to crown it all, the Messiah, the divine King, would personally have reigned over them and His capital would have been Jerusalem. All the nations would have attached themselves to the Messiah’s kingdom. The rebellious would have been annihilated. Peace and joy would have filled the earth and death would have been banished. Now, you’ll notice the king instructs his servants to call those who’ve been invited. God’s first call went to His own people. They knew all about the promises of God-- especially the promise of the Messianic King. The reign of the Messiah was the focal point of their existence. In their darkest hours, they hoped in the coming of the Messiah, believing that He would come no matter how harsh circumstances might be. God had promised. This divine King would bring deliverance and would lead Israel to conquer the world. The king’s messengers in the parable represent the prophets. Their message of invitation rings throughout the Old Testament. Turn from your apostasy, turn from your idolatry, from your disobedience. Turn from your stubbornness. Come to the feast of the Lord your God. Come, and enter life in its fullness. Come to the banquet feast of the Messiah’s kingdom. But we know that they would not. Sad. See, God is serious about salvation. He knows more than anyone the horrors of the alternative. In His infinite love God cries out, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live.” That’s Ezekiel 33:11 (NKJV). God will do whatever it takes to save a lost person. Jesus’ death on the cross proved that. God loves every son and daughter of Adam more than His own life. He wants everyone to be in His eternal kingdom. So when His people didn’t respond to the first invitation, he again sent out messengers, with a second invitation. I’ve done all the preparation, the food is getting cold. Come on! So what would they do? What would they do? Let’s take a look at that. Let me ask you this: the Old Testament. A God of love or a God of wrath? We’ll find out, straight ahead. EVERY WORD DEVOTIONAL I’ve been asked a lot about how to know God’s will in certain situations. That can be a difficult question to answer at times. But there are some things about God’s will that are easy to know. Listen to this. John 6:40 (NKJV) says, “And this is the will of him who sent me. That everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day.” Did you catch that? God’s will is for you to have everlasting life. Now, what adjective are you going to use to describe that? Outstanding; remarkable; extraordinary; phenomenal. If you believe in Jesus, it’s God’s will that you live forever. And if you don’t believe in Jesus, it’s God’s will that you do so you can have eternal life. God’s will for you right now is the best it could possibly be. Let that encourage you today. I’m John Bradshaw for It Is Written. Let’s live today by every word. RETURN TO PROGRAM Some see the God of the Old Testament as a loveless God. A God of vengeance and wrath who burdened Israel with laws they couldn’t possibly keep. And they say that in the New Testament, He somehow changed into a God of love and mercy, His grace delivering us from the curse of the Law. But you know, this idea can’t possibly be true.You see, God is changeless. If He changes, He can’t be God. There’s as much grace in the Old Testament as there is in the New Testament. The Bible tells us Noah found grace in the sight of God. You read about Lot, being mentioned in connection with God’s grace. God didn’t suddenly become gracious or invent grace when New Testament times arrived. And in this parable is a display of the grace of God, as He sends out invitation after invitation. But the day came when the king dispatched not messengers with another invitation but soldiers, with orders to exterminate. The results were tragic. The murderers were executed and their city went up in smoke. Now, really, this is exactly what happened to Israel. Jesus came with a last invitation. Passionately He preached: Repent. The Kingdom is at hand. But to no avail. He predicted that the Roman army would come and their city would be destroyed. Less than 40 years later Titus, the commander of the Roman army, watched as the smoke of Jerusalem bellowed up to heaven. It’s popular to preach about God’s unconditional love, but we should never confuse unconditional love with never-ending mercy. Unconditional love means we don’t have to meet any conditions for God to love us. He accepts us just as we are. No sin is so heinous that God won’t still love you. No prodigal son or daughter can be so defiled that he or she will not receive a warm embrace by the Father when they come home. But the Bible is equally clear that God’s mercy can be exhausted. In Noah’s day He announced that the end of all flesh had come. God’s options had run out. To extend more mercy back then would have been just foolishness. No matter what else God would have done, it wouldn’t have changed the hardened hearts of Noah’s contemporaries. When mankind reaches that place, God’s mercy ceases because it’s useless. God is a God of love, no question. But He doesn’t flinch from making hard decisions. After waiting 120 years, the day came when He shut the door of the ark, called for the flood, and a world population was swept to its doom. And this also happened to the Jewish nation. God prepared a banquet. Is there anything else, anything better, He could have done? Let’s look together in Isaiah chapter 5—Isaiah 5 and verse 4 (KJV). “What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it?” That’s a question God asks. This was no ordinary banquet Jesus spoke of in that parable. It was a banquet of the King of heaven. Invitation after invitation was sent, not to come and dig ditches or break rocks but to enjoy a kingly banquet. What excuse can you offer for turning down such a gracious invitation? What better or more exciting invitation could God have given? But they made light of it. A direct translation would be: They were careless. They didn’t care. More invitations wouldn’t have convinced them. Now, notice this important point: God didn’t reject those people. Israel rejected God. And He was simply obliged to respect their decision. Listen to the parable, it’s crucial. Matthew 22, verses 8 and 9 (NKJV). “Then he said to his servants. The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.Therefore, go into the highways and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.” The king dispatched his army, they killed the murderers and burned up their city. Because they rejected the invitation, they were counted not worthy. Then He sent out His servants again. But now, not to those who’d been invited but to whomever they could find. After the Jews rejected Jesus, the Gospel went to the whole world. His servants gathered everyone who was willing, the good and the bad. By God’s grace and love, no one is excluded from the gospel invitation. God makes it clear that a great multitude will be saved. In Revelation, John saw them standing on the sea of glass, from every tribe and tongue and nation. If the wedding invitation is an invitation to be saved, and if the good and the bad accept that invitation, does it mean that good and bad people will be saved? The popular idea is that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. So, how do we understand this? I’ll have more in just a moment.The Bible is clear. Both good and bad people go to heaven, and both good and bad people will be lost. Now, we know that bad people will go to heaven simply by looking at the thief on the cross. A thief is a criminal not a choirboy. Now this man didn’t have the opportunity to demonstrate any kind of change in his life, but Jesus promised that he will be with Him in paradise. Paul makes an even more radical statement in the book of Romans. We’ll look in Romans chapter 4 and verses 4 and 5 (NKJV). “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” To be justified means that God pardons you and accounts you righteous. And, if He declares you righteous, you’re saved. That’s radical, and it’s the Gospel. The great truth is that our salvation rests on the perfection of Jesus and not our own.And there are good people who will be lost. Jesus said so. We read it in Matthew chapter 7, verses 22 and 23 (KJV). “Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works.’ And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’” Now, they sound like good people to me—people who confess Jesus as Lord, people who work miracles in His name. Even devils obeyed them. Yet Jesus said, “I never knew you. You were workers of iniquity.” They sound good. We might even call them good. But not saved. If good and bad people both go to heaven, and if good and bad people are both lost, we’re faced with a conundrum. How can it be? Well, maybe the difference lies in whether you accept or reject the wedding invitation, is that it? That would have been a good answer, had Jesus not included in the story the man who didn’t have on the wedding garment. He had accepted the invitation. Now here’s a very important truth Jesus doesn’t want us to miss. Yet many Christians, even, are missing it entirely. Not everyone who accepts the Gospel invitation will be saved. Now think this through with me. Jesus knew this would be the attitude of many people, even in our day. That’s why He included the wedding garment in the parable. Millions of people stake their hope on what it says in Romans chapter 10. Let’s read there. Romans 10 and we’ll start in verse 9 (NKJV). “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’” Now that person’s going to read this and go to bed in peace, thinking that they will be saved because they responded to an altar call, or they’ve confessed Jesus as Lord. But that would be reading into the passage what the passage doesn’t say. Now, according to the parable, you first must clear the judgment before you can enter the Kingdom. Now, some will say this is ludicrous. It contradicts the gospel. If our performance doesn’t determine our salvation, why would God judge us? This is exactly what the Bible teaches, though. Jesus said that the king came to the feast to inspect the guests. Whether we believe it or not, there will be an inspection, or a judgment if you please, before salvation is granted to anyone. God makes clear that saved people must wear the wedding garment. Salvation is free. There’s no question. Yet we must participate in this experience. We can’t save ourselves. All the good works we could do in a hundred lifetimes will never be enough to purchase salvation.Notice something. Everything the king offers is free. The wedding invitation—that’s free. The banquet, that’s free. The wedding garment is free also. Salvation is a gift. And a gift by its very nature has to be free. If someone offers you a brand-new Rolls Royce for 10 cents, it’s a bargain but it’s not a gift. If we think we must provide anything for our salvation, then we are wrong. Salvation is the gift of God. But in order to be saved, we’ve got to participate with God in the salvation He provides. What we must do is wear the wedding garment. The wedding garment is the perfect life of Jesus. Clothed in this garment, we can face the judgment with confidence. Our life of sin will be completely hidden behind the sinless life of Jesus. And based on His perfect life, we’ll have the right to enter into His kingdom. So, what does it mean to wear the wedding garment? It’s more than just confessing Christ. Anyone can do that. The wedding garment represents the righteousness of Christ, the character of Christ. So while it’s very true that many good people don’t go to heaven, and that many bad people do go to heaven, it’s really important to realize that all who go to heaven will be holy. They’ll be righteous. They’ll be cleansed. The thief on the cross was repentant and we can be sure that if he’d been able to get off that cross, he would have lived a life that honors God. There are people going to church every week who don’t have the character of Christ, and their lives don’t represent Jesus in any way. When a person bad or good—and remember we know that there’s no one good but the Father, but you know what I mean—when any person bad or good comes to Jesus, that person’s life changes. And it’s lived for the glory of God. Those who wear the wedding garment are those who love Jesus with all their heart and mind and soul, and therefore they act like Him. Their life is transformed. It’s easy for the king to determine who wears the wedding garment and who doesn’t. He does it like this. In fact, Jesus spoke about it. Matthew chapter 25, looking from verse 34 (NKJV). “Then the king will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was naked and you clothed me. Sick, and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.” (continuing in verse 45) “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me.’” This is what it means to wear the wedding garment. If we’re not surrendering to God and striving in the grace of God through the Holy Spirit to emulate Him, our confession is empty. We’re not saved. Good works never save us. But, they are the evidence that we have a Savior and that He saves. A life that meets with the life of God will be transformed, and that transformation will be demonstrated in the way a life is lived. Now, Jesus ends this parable by a statement that should grip our attention. He said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” This parable relates God’s desperate attempt to save sinners. He tried His best with Israel, but the vast majority rejected His invitations.Then He invited the whole world. Many came, but few will wear the wedding garment. What Jesus is saying is that only a few will be saved. So today, Jesus is inviting you. He wants you to be among the few who will be saved— the comparative few. But ultimately, it’s up to you. You’ve received the invitation, which makes you special in the sight of God. The banquet is free. And then there’s the robe. It’s free too, but it’s for you to wear. In other words, to let Jesus have your life completely. And when you think about it, why would you want it any other way.
PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, You are good. You sent Jesus into this world to save us when we didn’t deserve it, and now You offer us salvation. We accept that gift, and in that, we want to receive of You the righteousness of Jesus—that robe of righteousness, the wedding garment. And Father, right now there is someone participating in this prayer, recognizing his or her desperate need of Jesus. I pray that You would take that heart and make it Your own. Give that person Your righteousness, and with it, assurance that that man, that woman, is now a child of God, forgiven, cleansed, and kept in the hands and in the heart of heaven. We thank You for Your goodness. Take our hearts, make them Yours, in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Seven hundred fifty million people watched as Diana Spencer stepped out of the royal glass coach in front of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981. The fairy tale wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana was the most watched event in television history. In addition to the TV audience, 2 million citizens lined the streets, hoping to get a glimpse of the royal couple. It was the wedding of the century. In the United Kingdom, the day of the wedding was declared a national holiday. Four thousand police, 2,100 military officers, dressed in their decorated uniforms adding to the grandeur. Regiments from all over the British Commonwealth participated. It was a masterpiece of planning and logistics. And so as not to offend anyone, the guests were carefully selected. Every one of the queen’s governors general and almost all of the crown heads of Europe attended. Now, imagine this. What do you think would have happened if on the morning of July 29, 1981, the streets of London were empty? If, in spite of the holiday, no one paid attention to the wedding? If none of the heads of state bothered to attend? If even the TV network crews were nowhere to be seen? A royal wedding is a serious business. It’s an honor to receive an invitation. To ignore an invitation like that would be an unforgiveable snub. But according to one of the parables of Jesus, this is exactly what happened. It’s recorded in Matthew chapter 22 (NKJV). “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding. And they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants saying, tell those people who are invited: See, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fatted cattle are killed. And all things are ready. Come to the wedding. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully and killed them. But when the king heard about it he was furious, and he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. Then he said to hisservants, the wedding is ready. But those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore, go into the highways and as many as you find, invite to the wedding. So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. 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 his 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.” That’s an amazing story, packed with insights relevant for us today. In it, Jesus covers the entire salvation history. The fate of Israel is revealed. He warns about a coming judgment and tells us how to be saved. Now, time won’t let us unpack all of the real details, but what’s obvious is that the king represents God. Jesus is the son, and the wedding feast represents the kingdom of God. The theme of the parable is salvation. Jesus started out by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like...” Now, to the people of that day it meant, this is the way to be saved. The son of the king was getting married, and the king requested the presence of his guests to share in the festivity. To accept the invitation of the king and to attend the feast--that was to be saved. Now, invitees had an option. Either they could attend, which meant receiving eternal life. Or they could decline, and be eternally lost. The same truth is repeated by Jesus in the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins; because the five wise virgins brought extra oil with them, they were able to accompany the bridal couple into the wedding feast. When the five foolish ones arrived a little later, they found the door locked. The bridegroom responded to their knocking by saying, “I don’t know you.” All those who didn’t attend lost their lives. The ones who ignored the invitation were killed by the soldiers of the king. The one who failed to wear the wedding robe was cast into outer darkness. To attend is to be saved. To decline is to be lost. The first part of the parable deals with Israel’s failure to fulfill its destiny. God’s intention was to restore life as it was before Adam and Eve sinned, through the descendants of Abraham. Now, if Israel had accepted God’s will for them and ordered their lives after God’s plans, life to them would have been a banquet feast. Poverty would have been eliminated. Disease would have been eradicated. By following the agricultural principles God gave them, their land would have been transformed to Garden of Eden beauty. They would have been the wisest and richest nation in all the earth. And to crown it all, the Messiah, the divine King, would personally have reigned over them and His capital would have been Jerusalem. All the nations would have attached themselves to the Messiah’s kingdom. The rebellious would have been annihilated. Peace and joy would have filled the earth and death would have been banished. Now, you’ll notice the king instructs his servants to call those who’ve been invited. God’s first call went to His own people. They knew all about the promises of God-- especially the promise of the Messianic King. The reign of the Messiah was the focal point of their existence. In their darkest hours, they hoped in the coming of the Messiah, believing that He would come no matter how harsh circumstances might be. God had promised. This divine King would bring deliverance and would lead Israel to conquer the world. The king’s messengers in the parable represent the prophets. Their message of invitation rings throughout the Old Testament. Turn from your apostasy, turn from your idolatry, from your disobedience. Turn from your stubbornness. Come to the feast of the Lord your God. Come, and enter life in its fullness. Come to the banquet feast of the Messiah’s kingdom. But we know that they would not. Sad. See, God is serious about salvation. He knows more than anyone the horrors of the alternative. In His infinite love God cries out, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live.” That’s Ezekiel 33:11 (NKJV). God will do whatever it takes to save a lost person. Jesus’ death on the cross proved that. God loves every son and daughter of Adam more than His own life. He wants everyone to be in His eternal kingdom. So when His people didn’t respond to the first invitation, he again sent out messengers, with a second invitation. I’ve done all the preparation, the food is getting cold. Come on! So what would they do? What would they do? Let’s take a look at that. Let me ask you this: the Old Testament. A God of love or a God of wrath? We’ll find out, straight ahead. EVERY WORD DEVOTIONAL I’ve been asked a lot about how to know God’s will in certain situations. That can be a difficult question to answer at times. But there are some things about God’s will that are easy to know. Listen to this. John 6:40 (NKJV) says, “And this is the will of him who sent me. That everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day.” Did you catch that? God’s will is for you to have everlasting life. Now, what adjective are you going to use to describe that? Outstanding; remarkable; extraordinary; phenomenal. If you believe in Jesus, it’s God’s will that you live forever. And if you don’t believe in Jesus, it’s God’s will that you do so you can have eternal life. God’s will for you right now is the best it could possibly be. Let that encourage you today. I’m John Bradshaw for It Is Written. Let’s live today by every word. RETURN TO PROGRAM Some see the God of the Old Testament as a loveless God. A God of vengeance and wrath who burdened Israel with laws they couldn’t possibly keep. And they say that in the New Testament, He somehow changed into a God of love and mercy, His grace delivering us from the curse of the Law. But you know, this idea can’t possibly be true.You see, God is changeless. If He changes, He can’t be God. There’s as much grace in the Old Testament as there is in the New Testament. The Bible tells us Noah found grace in the sight of God. You read about Lot, being mentioned in connection with God’s grace. God didn’t suddenly become gracious or invent grace when New Testament times arrived. And in this parable is a display of the grace of God, as He sends out invitation after invitation. But the day came when the king dispatched not messengers with another invitation but soldiers, with orders to exterminate. The results were tragic. The murderers were executed and their city went up in smoke. Now, really, this is exactly what happened to Israel. Jesus came with a last invitation. Passionately He preached: Repent. The Kingdom is at hand. But to no avail. He predicted that the Roman army would come and their city would be destroyed. Less than 40 years later Titus, the commander of the Roman army, watched as the smoke of Jerusalem bellowed up to heaven. It’s popular to preach about God’s unconditional love, but we should never confuse unconditional love with never-ending mercy. Unconditional love means we don’t have to meet any conditions for God to love us. He accepts us just as we are. No sin is so heinous that God won’t still love you. No prodigal son or daughter can be so defiled that he or she will not receive a warm embrace by the Father when they come home. But the Bible is equally clear that God’s mercy can be exhausted. In Noah’s day He announced that the end of all flesh had come. God’s options had run out. To extend more mercy back then would have been just foolishness. No matter what else God would have done, it wouldn’t have changed the hardened hearts of Noah’s contemporaries. When mankind reaches that place, God’s mercy ceases because it’s useless. God is a God of love, no question. But He doesn’t flinch from making hard decisions. After waiting 120 years, the day came when He shut the door of the ark, called for the flood, and a world population was swept to its doom. And this also happened to the Jewish nation. God prepared a banquet. Is there anything else, anything better, He could have done? Let’s look together in Isaiah chapter 5—Isaiah 5 and verse 4 (KJV). “What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it?” That’s a question God asks. This was no ordinary banquet Jesus spoke of in that parable. It was a banquet of the King of heaven. Invitation after invitation was sent, not to come and dig ditches or break rocks but to enjoy a kingly banquet. What excuse can you offer for turning down such a gracious invitation? What better or more exciting invitation could God have given? But they made light of it. A direct translation would be: They were careless. They didn’t care. More invitations wouldn’t have convinced them. Now, notice this important point: God didn’t reject those people. Israel rejected God. And He was simply obliged to respect their decision. Listen to the parable, it’s crucial. Matthew 22, verses 8 and 9 (NKJV). “Then he said to his servants. The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.Therefore, go into the highways and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.” The king dispatched his army, they killed the murderers and burned up their city. Because they rejected the invitation, they were counted not worthy. Then He sent out His servants again. But now, not to those who’d been invited but to whomever they could find. After the Jews rejected Jesus, the Gospel went to the whole world. His servants gathered everyone who was willing, the good and the bad. By God’s grace and love, no one is excluded from the gospel invitation. God makes it clear that a great multitude will be saved. In Revelation, John saw them standing on the sea of glass, from every tribe and tongue and nation. If the wedding invitation is an invitation to be saved, and if the good and the bad accept that invitation, does it mean that good and bad people will be saved? The popular idea is that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. So, how do we understand this? I’ll have more in just a moment.The Bible is clear. Both good and bad people go to heaven, and both good and bad people will be lost. Now, we know that bad people will go to heaven simply by looking at the thief on the cross. A thief is a criminal not a choirboy. Now this man didn’t have the opportunity to demonstrate any kind of change in his life, but Jesus promised that he will be with Him in paradise. Paul makes an even more radical statement in the book of Romans. We’ll look in Romans chapter 4 and verses 4 and 5 (NKJV). “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” To be justified means that God pardons you and accounts you righteous. And, if He declares you righteous, you’re saved. That’s radical, and it’s the Gospel. The great truth is that our salvation rests on the perfection of Jesus and not our own.And there are good people who will be lost. Jesus said so. We read it in Matthew chapter 7, verses 22 and 23 (KJV). “Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works.’ And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’” Now, they sound like good people to me—people who confess Jesus as Lord, people who work miracles in His name. Even devils obeyed them. Yet Jesus said, “I never knew you. You were workers of iniquity.” They sound good. We might even call them good. But not saved. If good and bad people both go to heaven, and if good and bad people are both lost, we’re faced with a conundrum. How can it be? Well, maybe the difference lies in whether you accept or reject the wedding invitation, is that it? That would have been a good answer, had Jesus not included in the story the man who didn’t have on the wedding garment. He had accepted the invitation. Now here’s a very important truth Jesus doesn’t want us to miss. Yet many Christians, even, are missing it entirely. Not everyone who accepts the Gospel invitation will be saved. Now think this through with me. Jesus knew this would be the attitude of many people, even in our day. That’s why He included the wedding garment in the parable. Millions of people stake their hope on what it says in Romans chapter 10. Let’s read there. Romans 10 and we’ll start in verse 9 (NKJV). “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’” Now that person’s going to read this and go to bed in peace, thinking that they will be saved because they responded to an altar call, or they’ve confessed Jesus as Lord. But that would be reading into the passage what the passage doesn’t say. Now, according to the parable, you first must clear the judgment before you can enter the Kingdom. Now, some will say this is ludicrous. It contradicts the gospel. If our performance doesn’t determine our salvation, why would God judge us? This is exactly what the Bible teaches, though. Jesus said that the king came to the feast to inspect the guests. Whether we believe it or not, there will be an inspection, or a judgment if you please, before salvation is granted to anyone. God makes clear that saved people must wear the wedding garment. Salvation is free. There’s no question. Yet we must participate in this experience. We can’t save ourselves. All the good works we could do in a hundred lifetimes will never be enough to purchase salvation.Notice something. Everything the king offers is free. The wedding invitation—that’s free. The banquet, that’s free. The wedding garment is free also. Salvation is a gift. And a gift by its very nature has to be free. If someone offers you a brand-new Rolls Royce for 10 cents, it’s a bargain but it’s not a gift. If we think we must provide anything for our salvation, then we are wrong. Salvation is the gift of God. But in order to be saved, we’ve got to participate with God in the salvation He provides. What we must do is wear the wedding garment. The wedding garment is the perfect life of Jesus. Clothed in this garment, we can face the judgment with confidence. Our life of sin will be completely hidden behind the sinless life of Jesus. And based on His perfect life, we’ll have the right to enter into His kingdom. So, what does it mean to wear the wedding garment? It’s more than just confessing Christ. Anyone can do that. The wedding garment represents the righteousness of Christ, the character of Christ. So while it’s very true that many good people don’t go to heaven, and that many bad people do go to heaven, it’s really important to realize that all who go to heaven will be holy. They’ll be righteous. They’ll be cleansed. The thief on the cross was repentant and we can be sure that if he’d been able to get off that cross, he would have lived a life that honors God. There are people going to church every week who don’t have the character of Christ, and their lives don’t represent Jesus in any way. When a person bad or good—and remember we know that there’s no one good but the Father, but you know what I mean—when any person bad or good comes to Jesus, that person’s life changes. And it’s lived for the glory of God. Those who wear the wedding garment are those who love Jesus with all their heart and mind and soul, and therefore they act like Him. Their life is transformed. It’s easy for the king to determine who wears the wedding garment and who doesn’t. He does it like this. In fact, Jesus spoke about it. Matthew chapter 25, looking from verse 34 (NKJV). “Then the king will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was naked and you clothed me. Sick, and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.” (continuing in verse 45) “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me.’” This is what it means to wear the wedding garment. If we’re not surrendering to God and striving in the grace of God through the Holy Spirit to emulate Him, our confession is empty. We’re not saved. Good works never save us. But, they are the evidence that we have a Savior and that He saves. A life that meets with the life of God will be transformed, and that transformation will be demonstrated in the way a life is lived. Now, Jesus ends this parable by a statement that should grip our attention. He said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” This parable relates God’s desperate attempt to save sinners. He tried His best with Israel, but the vast majority rejected His invitations.Then He invited the whole world. Many came, but few will wear the wedding garment. What Jesus is saying is that only a few will be saved. So today, Jesus is inviting you. He wants you to be among the few who will be saved— the comparative few. But ultimately, it’s up to you. You’ve received the invitation, which makes you special in the sight of God. The banquet is free. And then there’s the robe. It’s free too, but it’s for you to wear. In other words, to let Jesus have your life completely. And when you think about it, why would you want it any other way.
PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, You are good. You sent Jesus into this world to save us when we didn’t deserve it, and now You offer us salvation. We accept that gift, and in that, we want to receive of You the righteousness of Jesus—that robe of righteousness, the wedding garment. And Father, right now there is someone participating in this prayer, recognizing his or her desperate need of Jesus. I pray that You would take that heart and make it Your own. Give that person Your righteousness, and with it, assurance that that man, that woman, is now a child of God, forgiven, cleansed, and kept in the hands and in the heart of heaven. We thank You for Your goodness. Take our hearts, make them Yours, in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
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