No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service

I am sure that you have seen that sign at many establishments. Some signs say that you must have a coat and tie. If you are fortunate, they have loaners. One restaurant here in Mesquite promises to cut your tie off if you show up with one. There are black tie only events and establishments. Show up in the wrong attire and you will not get in no matter how much you may whine or attempt to bribe the person at the door.

You would never show up in a swimsuit to go snow skiing unless you were a member of the Polar Bear Club. It would be difficult to play center field in a football uniform. Show up in causal dress at a formal affair and you are mortified. Show up in a tux at a casual event and you feel overdressed and a bit stupid. Being properly dressed for the occasion is something we are all concerned about. Most people would never dream of showing up at a wedding naked, but some are going to show up at a wedding one day in clothing just as embarrassing as a birthday suit.

Matt 22:1-14

22:1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,

2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:

6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.

9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

14 For many are called, but few are chosen. KJV

Verses 11-13 are what I want to speak to, but here is a quick run down on the rest of the parable. The ones the King initially called were His people, the Jews, but they rejected Him and some made terrible excuses. Others disdained the King and brutalized and killed His messengers. This speaks of His prophets, including John the Baptist, and I believe prophetically of the Apostles since all but John were martyred. I believe that it takes in all other Christians who have died and will die for their faith as well. The destruction spoken of in the parable may well be that of 69AD and may also speak to the Tribulation as well when only one-third of the nation will be saved. The guests that He went into the highways for are those Jews who believe, but primarily we Gentiles in the Church Age.

In the verses of my theme the King not only prepared the feast, but He supplied a special garment for the guests. This was normally a long white robe. The guest need only request it from the ruler of the feast and it would be given to him. To show up without it was more than just bad taste, it was deemed worthy of punishment. To arrive without the garment was inexcusable. Therefore you can understand the anger of the King in the parable. He already had been snubbed by some and lost messengers to others. Now here is this person who did not find the occasion important enough to even obtain the proper clothing and yet shows up blatantly insulting the wedding party and the King. Is it any wonder that the King cast him out?

How like the Kingdom of Heaven this is. The King’s Son will one day come back for His Bride and there will be a wedding feast. Many that have been invited will ignore the invitation for the things of this world. Others will mock and murder the messengers. Then there are those who thought all they needed to do was show up and it would be fine. They thought their own robes would be sufficient not realizing that their "Sunday best" were just rags of self-righteousness. They did not ask for the robe of righteousness that Jesus would have gladly provided. Their end will be just as disastrous as the first two groups of people. They will not be rejoicing at the feast but will be weeping and gnashing their teeth in outer darkness. You see, while we are so cautious to be sure that we are wearing the right name brand clothing we need to be sure that the right name is on our robe - Jesus. Anything else will not only be uncivilized, but will leave us unsaved and damned.