Happy 4th of July 🎇🎉We must have a wedding garment

Matthew 22:11-14

"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

The high point of the feast was when the king himself came in. After all, that is the central benefit of this feast -- the opportunity for a personal contact with the king.

The king saw there a man without a wedding garment. In other words, he crashed the party. He was there on false grounds and he came in without the prescribed proper dress.

At Eastern weddings, the one who gave the marriage feast always provided wedding garments for the guests to wear. They did not cost them anything -- they were provided. All they needed was to put on the wedding garment and they could come to the feast. Yet in today’s parable, when the king comes, he finds a man there without one.

This is not too difficult to understand, since “garments” is spoken of many times in Scripture as a symbol of righteousness.

And here the wedding garment is a picture of the gift of righteousness which the Lord gives to those who come with no righteousness of their own.

It is a picture of the righteousness of Jesus Christ with which we stand clothed in God's presence. It is the gift of His righteousness given to us.

Now, in today’s scripture this man was standing there without a wedding garment. And, to help us understand this better… in the original language, this infers a deliberate refusal. There are two Greek words used in this account.

In the first sentence we’re told "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had not a wedding garment." The word simply means he did not have one… But when the king said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here not having a wedding garment?" Another Greek word is used…

 And this word implies a deliberate action of the will.

In other words, the king is saying, "Look, friend, you are here under false pretenses. You are deliberately rejecting what has been provided. Your being here without a wedding garment implies that you are in rebellion against all that this wedding feast stands for. You are here as a pretense."

And our scripture says the man was speechless; he had nothing to say. So the king said, "Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."

In other words, this man is as bad off as those who refused to come in the first place.

He is in the same condition as those who hated the king and killed his servants.

What we have here is hidden rebellion of an outward deception or pretense regarding what the king desires. This is an inner refusal. So, in view of this…

the Lord pronounces for him to be cast into outer darkness, where men weep and gnash their teeth. Then our Lord says "For many are called, but few are chosen."

What our Lord is literally saying is, "Many are called, but few are called out." there are few who actually become disciples.

And we can see this in our world today… people who profess to be Christians… some even attend church. Yet they hold on to an inner rebellion in their hearts, an inner refusal to accept the gift of righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Instead they cling to something within themselves… refusing to allow Christ to have Lordship over their life. They may be in the presence of the fellowship of the saints, but they themselves do not actually enter in.

What our Lord is focusing upon here is on the new birth… that relationship that brings us into fellowship with the Son of God.

That must be based solely upon the gift of righteousness, the gift of justification by faith.

If we do not have that, then there is no possibility of change and growth in the Christian life. Our Lord is highlighting for us the fact that we are dealing with God, who sees our hearts and knows our inner thoughts -- everything about us.

God is watching the heart. He is looking to see whether that heart has really accepted the gift of life and has genuinely entered into an understanding of the joy, the gladness, and the glory that it is to know Jesus Christ.

It is not the will of God to cast anyone out. He has made full provision for a wedding garment for us all. But only those who actually put it on will enter into the joy of the Lord.

This is the feast intended to symbolize all the good things of life -- joy and peace and righteousness…

And we must be honest, sincere, and open before the Lord.

We come, not because we feel that we have anything to offer.

We partake only on the grounds that we have nothing in ourselves, but all things in our Lord Jesus Christ and in Him alone as we walk with him in daily fellowship.