The Wedding Feast
In this parable told to the chief priests, Jesus portrays the kingdom of heaven as a king who prepares a wedding feast for his son and sends servants to summon the invited guests, only to have them refuse and murder his messengers in contempt. The enraged king then destroys those murderers and their city while extending the invitation to everyone found along the highways, both good and bad, until the wedding hall is filled.
In this parable told to the chief priests, Jesus portrays the kingdom of heaven as a king who prepares a wedding feast for his son and sends servants to summon the invited guests, only to have them refuse and murder his messengers in contempt. The enraged king then destroys those murderers and their city while extending the invitation to everyone found along the highways, both good and bad, until the wedding hall is filled. Yet the man discovered without a wedding garment is bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness, revealing that divine judgment falls on those who spurn the call while also requiring the righteousness supplied by the king for any who would remain at the feast of eternity.
Category: Judgment & Eternity
Meaning: The king's invitation is rejected by the invited guests, so he invites everyone from the streets. But proper garments are required.
Audience: Chief Priests
Key Chapters
Key Passages
The Parable
Matthew 22:1-14
1nd Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
Did You Know?
Refusing a king's banquet invitation was an act of political rebellion in the ancient world.
The man without wedding clothes likely refused the garment provided by the host. A deliberate insult.
The invitation going to 'the highways' represents the gospel going to Gentiles and outcasts.