Once thing that characterizes this time of year are all the invitations to Christmas related events. From clubs, community gathering, work parties, to family gatherings, it can be difficult to manage which to go. There are different ways you can deal with all the obligations. You can ignore the invitation or get frustrated at the demands of going. Either choice will most likely result in not being invited again.
Jesus’ message was that God extends a gracious invitation to people to participate in his kingdom. Accepting the invitation leads to joy while rejection leads to punishment. When Jesus spoke of God’s kingdom, he spoke with authority. His stories convicted because he knew his audience. His parables have a universal character; they make the hearer or reader ask, “If this parable is about everyone, I must fit here somewhere. Which character in the story represents me?” Those for whom the parables were immediately intended usually felt their sting (see 21:45; 22:15) (Barton, B. B. (1996). Matthew. Life application Bible commentary (427). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.).
When we consider our response to God’s invitation and the calling of others to respond, some important factors must be considered as to the nature of the invitation and the results of declining such. Presented in the form of a parable of a wedding banquet, in Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus discusses the Kingdom of Heaven and presents:
1) The Invitation Rejected (Matthew 22:1–6), 2) The Rejecters Punished (Matthew 22:7–8), 3) The New Guest Invited (Matthew 22:9–10) 4) The Intruder Expelled (Matthew 22:11–14)
1) The Invitation Rejected (Matthew 22:1–6)
Matthew 22:1-6 [22:1]And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, [2]"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, [3]and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. [4]Again he sent other servants, saying, ’Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ [5]But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, [6]while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. (ESV)
The parable contains four scenes, the first of which depicts the rejection of the invitation. Although none of His hearers may ever have attended a royal wedding feast, they were all familiar with wedding feasts in general and had some idea of the importance and magnificence of one that a king would prepare for his own son.
To answer the chief priests and elders (21:23), on their bitter challenge of His authority "again Jesus spoke to them in parables" for the third time. It is likely they heard little of what He said, because their minds were by then singularly and unalterably bent on His arrest and execution. They had wanted to seize Him after He related the second parable but were still afraid of what the crowds might do (21:46).
In His first two parables Jesus gave no introduction, saving the explanation and application to the end. In this parable, however, He begins by stating in verse two that it illustrates the kingdom of heaven. Because most Jews believed that the kingdom of heaven was reserved exclusively for them, and possibly a few Gentile proselytes, the audience in the Temple immediately knew that what Jesus was going to say closely applied to them.
• It is essential when we discuss the things of God either among ourselves or to others to convey the reality that the information is no mere speculation or philosophical consideration, but information that has eternal consequences to the listener.
Although Jesus’ audience many have had mistaken ideas about the kingdom of heaven, because the term heaven was so often used as a substitute for the covenant name of God (Yahweh, or Jehovah), most Jews would have understood that it was synonymous with the kingdom of God and represented the realm of God’s sovereign rule. There are past, present, and future as well as temporal and eternal aspects of the kingdom, but it is not restricted to any era or period of redemptive history. It is the continuing, ongoing sphere of God’s rule by grace. In a narrower sense, the phrase is also used in Scripture to refer to God’s dominion of redemption, His divine program of gracious salvation. As Jesus uses the phrase here, it specifically represents the spiritual community of God’s redeemed people, those who are under His lordship in a personal and unique way because of their trust in His Son.
In the ancient Near East, a wedding feast was inseparable from the wedding itself, which involved a week-long series of meals and festivities and was the highlight of all social life. For a royal wedding such as the one Jesus mentions here, the celebration often lasted for several weeks. Guests were invited to stay at the house of the groom’s parents for the entire occasion, and the father would make as elaborate provisions as he could afford. A royal wedding, of course, would be held in the palace, and a king would be able to afford whatever he desired.
• One of the reasons for discussing this parable today is one of a preparation for the Advent season. The Advent season is a unique time of year for extended meals and festivities. All around us from music, to decorations to celebrations, this time of year presents a unique opportunity to discuss the reality of the kingdom of Heaven.
A wedding feast that a king prepared for his son would be a feast of all feasts, and Jesus was therefore picturing the most elaborate celebration imaginable. The fact that it was a wedding celebration was incidental to the purpose of the parable, the only mention of the groom being that of identifying him as the king’s son. No mention at all is made of the bride or of any other aspect of a wedding. The point is that because the feast represents the greatest festivity imaginable, given by the greatest monarch imaginable, for the most-honored guests imaginable, a royal wedding feast was chosen as the illustration of the ultimate celebration. A banquet symbolizes the blessings of God’s salvation (France, R. T. (1985). Vol. 1: Matthew: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (315). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
Christ is the bridegroom (see Matthew 9:15), and the church is his bride. Husbands and wives will no longer be married to each other in heaven, as Jesus says in 22:30, because we will all be married to Christ. God intends our marriages to be a preparation for and a foretaste of the wedding feast in heaven (Revelation 19:7–9 ;21:2) (Albrecht, G. J., & Albrecht, M. J. (1996). Matthew. The People’s Bible (310–311). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.).
When all the preparations were complete, verse three states that the king sent out his servants/slaves to call those who were/had been invited to the wedding feast. The fact that they were/had been invited indicates that the guests were invited earlier and already knew they were expected to attend the wedding. The first invitation was an invitation to the feast generally; the second, to the beginning of the feast itself (Lange, J. P., & Schaff, P. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures : Matthew (389). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.).
Please turn back to Deuteronomy 7
To be a pre-invited guest to the king’s wedding was among the highest honors possible, and no doubt those who had received invitations were boasting to their neighbors and friends. It is therefore inconceivable that, when the actual call came to attend, they wound not/were unwilling to come. This is described in the IMPERFECT TENSE, which implies a repeated refusal (Utley, R. J. D. (2000). Vol. Volume 9: The First Christian Primer: Matthew. Study Guide Commentary Series (181). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.).
Recall why God Chose Israel and people in general today:
Deuteronomy 7:6-11 [6]"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. [7]It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, [8]but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. [9]Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, [10]and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. [11]You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. (ESV)
Few monarchs were known for their humility and patience, especially in the face of open insult. But that king as verse four recounts: Again he sent out other servants/slaves saying, “Tell those who are/have been invited, See/Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fat calves/fattened livestock have been slaughtered/butchered and everything is ready; Come to the wedding feast.’ ”
The dinner was the first of many meals eaten during the feast, and it was ready to be served. “Remind the guests,” the king said in effect, “of all the preparations that have been made. The oxen and fat calves/fattened livestock have been slaughtered/butchered and waiting to be roasted, and everything else is ready also. Plead with the people to come to the wedding feast now.” Yet the statement to "Come" is an imperative. It is not an RSVP, take it or leave it invitation but a command to "come" (Mills, M. (1999). The Life of Christ: A Study Guide to the Gospel Record. Dallas, TX: 3E Ministries.).
• We must be careful in the presentation of calling people to "come" to Christ that we never make it seem like this is an optional thing to do. The Lord or the Universe commands all people everywhere to repent and "come" to Him. Failure to due so will have severe consequences.
But as before, the invited guests disregarded the call from the king, except that their refusal this time was even more crass and brutal. Verse five indicates that they many of the invitees were coldly indifferent: they paid no attention, acting as if the wedding were of no consequence. They responded by carrying on business as usual. They went off/went their way, doing the things they would normally have done in looking after their own interests, represented by the farm and business. They were so selfishly preoccupied with personal concerns for profit that the invitation and the repeated calls of the king to stop work and attend his son’s wedding were altogether ignored. They willingly and purposely forfeited the beauty, grandeur, and honor of the wedding for the sake of their everyday, mundane, self-serving endeavors. They were not concerned about the king’s honor but only about what they perceived as their own best interests.
The indifferent guests in the parable represent people who are preoccupied with daily living and personal pursuits. They are essentially the secular-minded, those who are interested in the here and now and have no interest in spiritual things. They are the materialists, whose primary interest is accumulating things, and the ambitious, whose main concern is “getting ahead.” They are not usually antagonistic to the things of God but simply have no time for them.
Another group of guests were worse than indifferent. Rather than being concerned about offending the king, they were themselves offended at his persistence. In an act of unbelievably brutal arrogance, verse six notes that they seized the king’s servants/slaves and treated them shamefully/mistreated them and killed them. Contempt for the king’s servants/slaves demonstrated contempt for the king himself, and in mistreating and killing his servants/slaves they committed a flagrant act of rebellion. Because Jesus had said that the parable was about the kingdom of heaven, its meaning needed no interpretation to any thinking hearer. The king obviously was God, and the invited guess were His chosen people, Israel, those who already had been called by Him.
Those who are actively hostile to the gospel invariably are people involved in false religion, including the many forms of humanistic religion that parade under a guise of philosophy, mysticism, or scientism. The history of persecution of God’s people shows that the chief persecutor has been false religion.
The servants/slaves God sent to call again and again those who had been invited were the Old Covenant Prophets including: John the Baptist, Jesus Himself in His preaching-teaching ministry, and the New Testament apostles, and other preachers and teachers. But these Prophets were killed, John the Baptist was rejected and beheaded, Jesus was rejected and crucified, the apostles, and many Christians to this day are rejected, persecuted, and many being put to death.
Illustration: (5377 Graham Prays For Marilyn Monroe)
Billy Graham has just published his autobiography and in it, he recounts how one night in 1962 in a hotel in Seattle, he was sound asleep. Suddenly he awoke with what he later described as “a burden to pray for Marilyn Monroe,” the movie actress. When the feeling continued the next day, one of Graham’s associates tried to reach the actress through one of her agents. The agent offered no hope for a meeting immediately. “Not now. Maybe two weeks from now,” he said. Two weeks later Marilyn Monroe’s suicide shocked the world. Two weeks was too late (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.).
• To reject the call of God is the most dangerous thing someone can do, for none know when it will be too late.
2) The Rejecters Punished (Matthew 22:7–8)
Matthew 22:7-8 [7]The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. [8]Then he said to his servants, ’The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. (ESV)
The second scene in the parable depicts the punishment of the rebellious subjects who rejected the king’s call. As in the parable of the vineyard, God’s patience is here shown to have its limit. The king would have been perfectly justified in punishing the offenders when they first ignored His call. After His repeated invitations and their repeated wicked responses, He finally became angry/enraged.
The term behind troops/armies (strateuma) refers to any group of armed forces. The king would hardly have needed his full military might to accomplish his purpose. According to the king’s instructions, the troops/armies both destroyed the murderers responsible for killing his emissaries burned/set their city on fire. The fulfillment of the second prophetic feature in the story here is a specific allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, when large parts of the city were burned by the conquering Romans (Josephus, War 6.353–355, 363–364, 406–408). It is interesting to note that to speak of the burning of their city rather than the temple corresponds to Josephus’ account of what the Roman army did in AD 70, whereas the burning of the temple is attributed to the Jewish defenders (War 6.165–168, 346).
Please turn to Isaiah 44
To attribute the Roman devastation to the troops of the king (God) echoes the robust theology of the OT prophets who hailed pagan conquerors as God’s instruments (Isa 5:24-25; 10:5–11; 44:28–45:7; Jer 25:9 etc.). The Roman invasion of Jerusalem may be seen as a partial fulfillment of the principles enunciated here, even if Jesus had (the final) Judgment Day more prominently in mind (Blomberg, C. (2001). Vol. 22: Matthew (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (328). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers).
Isaiah 44:28-45:7 [28]who says of Cyrus, ’He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ’She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ’Your foundation shall be laid.’" [45:1]Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: [2]"I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, [3]I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. [4]For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. [5]I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, [6]that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. [7]I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things (ESV).
The phrase “their city” in Matthew 22:7 thus depicts the devastating result of the failure of Jerusalem’s current leadership; Jerusalem is now no longer God’s city, but “theirs,” and the community as a whole is implicated in their rebellion and its punishment, as had so often happened in the past when Israel’s sins had led to the city’s destruction by invading armies (France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (825). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co).
In verse eight, the king explained to his servants/slaves that the wedding was ready, but those who invited were not worthy to attend. Their unworthiness was not because in themselves they lacked the required righteousness. Neither the original invitation nor the subsequent calls were based on merit but solely on the king’s gracious favor. Ironically and tragically, they were declared to be not worthy because they refused an invitation that was in no way based on worth.
The people God here declared not worthy were political Israel. Because they rejected the Son, God rejected them for a season. Because they rejected their own Messiah, they were temporarily cast off as a nation and as God’s unique chosen people.
Illustration: (Salvation 589)
In 1973 Gary Kildall wrote the first popular operating system for personal computers, named CP/M. According to writer Phillip Fiorini, IBM approached Kildall in 1980 about developing the operating system for IBM PCs. But Kildall snubbed IBM officials at a crucial meeting, according to another author, Paul Carroll. The day IBM came calling, he chose to fly his new airplane. The frustrated IBM executives turned instead to Bill Gates, founder of a small software company called Microsoft, and his operating system named M. DOS. Fourteen years later Bill Gates was worth more than eight billion dollars.
Of Kildall, who has since died, author Paul Carroll says, “He was a smart guy who didn’t realize how big the operating system market would become.”
In a similar way, people often don’t realize how big God’s kingdom will someday become. God comes calling with the offer of a lifetime, and we find other things to do (Phillip Fiorini, “Computer Programming Pioneer Kildall Dies at 52,” USA Today, 14 July 1994, sec.-B, p 2.).
3) The New Guest Invited (Matthew 22:9–10)
Matthew 22:9-10 [9]Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ [10]And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. (ESV)
The third scene in the parable depicts the guests who were finally invited to replace those who had repeatedly refused the king’s call. The wedding feast for the king’s son was ready, but there was no one to attend unless new guests were invited.
“Go therefore to the main roads/highways,” the king told His servants, “and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.” The plan was for them to go everywhere and find everyone they could and invite them to come. That is precisely what Jesus commanded in the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). The king’s plan, that his son shall have a good wedding, cannot be foiled. His will cannot be thwarted (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 9: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. New Testament Commentary (796). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
The plan in the invitation to the Gentiles was explained by Paul in Romans:
Romans 9:25-26 [25]As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call ’my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ’beloved.’" [26]"And in the very place where it was said to them, ’You are not my people,’ there they will be called ’sons of the living God.’" (ESV)
Just as their king commanded, Matthew 22:10 records that those servants/ slaves went out into the roads/streets, and gathered all whom they found, both bad/evil and good. They called the morally bad/evil and the morally good alike, their being equally unworthy - themselves to come to the king’s feast. Of course, those who accept Jesus’ invitation do not stay evil, but the point is that Jesus welcomes people that the high priests did not want to include among God’s own (Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (551). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.).
The original guests had not been invited because of their moral or spiritual superiority, and neither were the newly-invited guests. Among the ancient Jews were those who lived exemplary, upright lives, who were helpful to their neighbors, told the truth, never used the Lord’s name in vain, never cheated in business, and never committed adultery or murder or theft. There were also those whose lives were a moral cesspool. But the first kind of person was no more acceptable to God in himself than the second. There is a general call for repentance and faith to both those who consider themselves bad/evil and good people, because before God neither are righteous enough and both are equally in need of salvation. The moral of the story was then a warning to take up God’s invitation while it was still open (France, R. T. (1985). Vol. 1: Matthew: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (314). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
What makes a person worthy of salvation today is exactly what has made a person worthy of salvation since the Fall, namely, personal faith in God’s gracious provision in Christ. All who accept God’s invitation to His Son’s celebration, that is, who follow the Son as their saving Lord, will be guests in His divine and eternally glorious wedding hall.
Illustration: (Salvation 591)
In January 1985, a large suitcase, unmarked and unclaimed, was discovered at the customs office at Los Angeles International Airport. When U.S. Customs agents opened the suitcase, they found the curled-up body of an unidentified young woman.
She had been dead for a few days, according to the county coroner. As the investigation continued, it was learned that the woman was the wife of a young Iranian living in the U.S. Unable to obtain a visa to enter the U.S. and join her husband, she took matters into her own hands and attempted to smuggle herself into America via an airplane’s cargo bay. While her plan seemed to her simple though risky, officials were hard-pressed to understand how such an attempt could ever succeed. Some people believe they’ll enter the kingdom of God on their own since they think they’ve been reasonably good. But entry plans of our own design prove not only foolish but fatal (Larson, C. B. (2002). 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers (477). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
4) The Intruder Expelled (Matthew 22:11–14)
Matthew 22:11-14 [11]"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. [12]And he said to him, ’Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. [13]Then the king said to the attendants, ’Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ [14]For many are called, but few are chosen." (ESV)
The fourth and last scene in the parable focuses on an intruder into the wedding feast, who did not belong because he was not dressed in wedding clothes. The man obviously had been included in the general invitation, because the king made no restrictions as to who was invited, having instructed his servants to call both the evil and good wherever they might be found. The man in the parable was not a party crasher who came without an invitation, but he had come improperly dressed, and he obviously stood out in the great wedding hall, in stark contrast to all the other dinner guests.
The surprise shown by the king at finding one of the guests without a suitable garment, when it could not be expected that people who had thus been suddenly called, and from poorer classes too, would furnish themselves with festive apparel, is an indication that the bounty of the king had provided a supply for the guests from his own wardrobe (Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (Rev. ed.].) (456–457). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers)
What is the wedding garment? It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, of course. It is that perfect righteousness that God provides freely to all who repent of sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.
Hymn: We sing about it in a hymn of Nikolaus von Zinzendorf, translated by John Wesley:
Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
’Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
If we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness, we will be able to stand before God and rejoice in our salvation, but only if we are so clothed. If we are not clothed in Christ’s righteousness, we will be speechless before God and will be cast out (Boice, J. M. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (470–471). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.).
That man was fully accountable for being improperly dressed, but the gracious king nevertheless gave him an opportunity to justify himself, asking with undeserved respect in verse twelve: “Friend, how did you get/come in here without a wedding garment?” Had the man had a good reason, he would certainly have mentioned it immediately But he was speechless, unable to offer the king even the feeblest excuse. Quite plainly he knew that he could have had the right clothing but had declined to wear it (Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (552). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.).
Until that point the man of Matthew 22:12 had been utterly presumptuous, thinking he could come to the king’s feast on his own terms, in any clothes he wanted.
He was proud and self-willed, thoughtless of the others, and, worst of all, insulting to the king. Arrogantly defying royal protocol, he was determined to “be himself.”
Please turn to Isaiah 61
The clothing expected at a wedding was not a special garment (like our “morning dress”) but decent, clean white clothes such as anyone should have had available. In that case the man’s fault is that, even though invited to a royal wedding, he had not gone home to change into his best; to turn up in ordinary, dirty clothes was an insult to the host (R. J. Bauckham, JBL 115 (1996) 485–486).
The proper wedding garment of a true believer is God-imputed righteousness, without which no one can enter or live in the kingdom. Isaiah declares:
Isaiah 61:10-11 [10]I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. [11]For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations (ESV).
The charge to put on such a robe cannot mean that a person should base his hope for salvation on his own goodness or moral fitness, for this would be contrary to all of Scripture’s teaching (Job 9:2; Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:9–18, 23, 24; Eph. 2:8; Rev. 7:14). ... God not only imputes but also imparts righteousness to the sinner whom he pleases to save. ... the robe with which the sinner must be clothed makes it clear that not only guilt must be forgiven but also the old way of life must be laid aside and the new life to the glory of God must take its place. Briefly, the sinner must, by God’s grace, “put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). There must be a complete turnabout, a thorough-going renewal or “conversion,” exactly as Jesus himself had taught (Matt. 4:17), and as the apostles after him were going to teach (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 9: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. New Testament Commentary (798–799). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
The man without the wedding garment’s arrogance was short-lived. When, as the king knew in advance, the man could not excuse himself, in verse thirteen the king said to the attendants/servants, “Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The binding of hand and foot probably represents prevention of the man’s resisting as well as prevention of his returning. By that time it was night, and although the wedding hall would be well lighted, it was dark outside. The man was permanently expelled from the presence of the king and of the king’s people into the outer darkness. He would have great regret and remorse, and, with everyone else in that place, he would experience perpetual weeping and gnashing of teeth. But though he had a great opportunity, he had never had, and did not now have, the godly sorrow that leads to repentance and salvation (2 Cor. 7: 10). The description here in Matthew 22:13 was a common idiom used often in Matthew to describe the condition of humans who reject God (cf. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 24:51; 25:30). It implied a current (cf. Luke 16:19–31) as well as eschatological setting (cf. 24:51) (Utley, R. J. D. (2000). Vol. Volume 9: The First Christian Primer: Matthew. Study Guide Commentary Series (182). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.).
• The weeping suggests the suffering of hell. Some suggest that the gnashing of teeth signifies continued hatred and rebellion against God (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Mt 22:14). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
The Lord closed with the simple but sobering statement in verse fourteen: Many are called, but few are chosen. This has been described as the doctrine of a “general calling”: the gospel is proclaimed to all people everywhere, both those who will believe and those who will not. However, Paul also mentions another kind of calling, an effective calling from God that comes powerfully to individuals and brings a positive response. When the gospel is proclaimed, only some are effectively called—that is, those who are the elect, who respond with true faith (1 Cor. 1:24, 26–28). This is consistent with Jesus’ statement that “few are chosen,” for the ones “chosen” (Gk. eklektos, “selected, chosen”) are “the elect,” a term used by Jesus to refer to his true disciples (cf. Matt. 11:27; 24:22, 24, 31) (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (1869). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
The invitations to the wedding feast went out to many, representative of everyone to whom the gospel message is sent. But few of those who heard the call were willing to accept it and indicating they were among the chosen. We know those who are elect by their obedient response (Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (553). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.).
The gospel invitation is sent to everyone, but not everyone wants God, and many who claim to want Him do not want Him on His terms. Those who are saved enter God’s kingdom because of their willing acceptance of His sovereign, gracious provision. Those who are lost are excluded from the kingdom because of their willing rejection of that same sovereign grace.
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. (1989). Matthew (Mt 22:1–11). Chicago: Moody Press.).
