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In this message we come to Matt. 22:1-14, the parable of the marriage feast. This parable is the continuation of the Lord’s answer to the chief priests and elders of the people. In His answer to their question regarding His authority, He spoke three parables: the parable of the shifting of the birthright, the parable of the vineyard, and the parable of the marriage feast. The parable of the shifting of the birthright reveals that the birthright, which had belonged to the nation of Israel, has been taken away and given to the church. The parable of the vineyard indicates that the kingdom of God was about to be taken away from Israel and given to the church. Thus, these two parables are parallel to each other. If you do not have the birthright, you cannot participate in the kingdom. By this we see that the birthright and the kingdom go together. These first two parables refer to Israel on the negative side, for both the birthright and the kingdom were taken away from Israel.
If the Lord’s answer had stopped here, it would have been incomplete. It would have dealt only with the negative side and had no positive issue. As we come to the end of chapter twenty-one, we have the realization that there must be something more. Therefore, after the first two parables, the Lord added the parable of the marriage feast as the completion of His answer. In giving this parable, He turned from the negative side to the positive side.
Matthew 22:2 says, “The kingdom of the heavens was likened to a man, a king, who made a marriage feast for his son.” The parable of the vineyard in chapter twenty-one refers to the Old Testament, in which there was the kingdom of God (Matt. 21:43), whereas the parable of the marriage feast in this chapter refers to the New Testament, in which there is the kingdom of the heavens. The king here is God, and the son is Christ.
In the foregoing parable (Matt. 21:33-46), the Lord illustrated how the Jews would be punished, and how the kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to the kingdom people. Another parable is needed for Him to illustrate how the kingdom people in the kingdom of the heavens will be strictly dealt with. Both parables indicate that the kingdom is a serious matter.
In the foregoing parable, the Old Testament was likened to a vineyard, with the focus mainly on the matter of labor under the law; in this parable, the New Testament is likened to a marriage feast, with the focus mainly on the matter of enjoyment under grace. The vineyard is not mainly for enjoyment, but for labor. But in a marriage feast there is no labor. Instead, there is full enjoyment. No one attends a marriage feast for the purpose of laboring; all attend for enjoyment. Thus, the parable of the vineyard depicts labor under the law, and the parable of the marriage feast depicts enjoyment under grace. We in the Lord’s recovery are not laboring under law, but are enjoying under grace. What a contrast between these two parables! Today, we are not under law, but under grace. We are not laboring, but enjoying. This is the basic principle in understanding these parables.
Verse 3 says, “And he sent his slaves to call those who were invited to the marriage feast, and they would not come.” The slaves mentioned in this verse are the first group of the New Testament apostles. Verse 4 continues, “Again he sent other slaves, saying, Tell those who were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatted beasts are killed, and all things are ready; come to the marriage feast.” The slaves here are the apostles sent later by the Lord. This verse speaks of oxen and fatted beasts, both of which refer to Christ as the One killed that God’s chosen people might enjoy Him as a feast. Christ has many aspects for our enjoyment. As the oxen and the fatted beasts, He has been killed and prepared for our enjoyment. Although everything had been prepared and although the slaves went out again and again, the people refused to come, even laying hold of the slaves, treating them shamefully, and killing them (vv. 5-6).
Verse 7 says, “And the king was angry; and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” These were the Roman troops under Titus which destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The fact that the troops here are described as the king’s troops indicates that all the armies on earth are the Lord’s. Thus, the army of the Roman Empire was actually God’s army. God sent the Roman army as His forces to accomplish His purpose to destroy Jerusalem.
During the transitory period between the Old Testament and the New Testament, the old and the new overlapped. In the parable of the vineyard, the owner destroyed the evil men because they rejected, persecuted, and killed his servants. They even killed Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The parable of the marriage feast says that God will destroy the city because, after killing Christ, they also killed the apostles sent to invite them to the marriage feast. God did not destroy them immediately after they had killed the Son of God. By killing Him they helped to prepare the fatted beasts for the feast. But after the apostles had been rejected and killed, the Lord sent the Roman army under Titus to destroy the city of Jerusalem. Titus was cruel and merciless, tearing down the temple and burning the city. As the Lord Jesus had said, not one stone of the temple was left upon another. Furthermore, Titus killed a large number of Jews, the leaders in particular. This was the complete fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy in this parable.
After the destruction of Jerusalem, God turned from the Jews to the Gentile world. Verses 8 and 9 say, “Then he says to his slaves, The marriage feast is ready but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and as many as you find, call to the marriage feast.” Because of the Jews’ rejection of the gospel, they were not worthy of the enjoyment of the New Testament (Acts 13:46). Therefore, the preaching of the New Testament was turned to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46; Rom. 11:11). Here the Gentile world is signified by the thoroughfares. Throughout the centuries, the preaching of the gospel in the Gentile world has been successful, although there has been some opposition and rejection.
Verse 10 says, “And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both evil and good; and the marriage feast was filled with those reclining at the table.” Because the proclamation was so prevailing, the marriage feast was filled with the called and invited ones.
Verse 11 says, “But when the king came in and beheld those reclining at the table, he saw there a man not clothed with a marriage garment.” The man without a marriage garment must surely have been a saved one. How could anyone answer God’s calling, yet not be saved? As long as we have answered God’s calling, we have been saved. In verse 14 the Lord Jesus speaks of many being called, and in Ephesians 4:1 Paul points out that we, the saved ones, are the called ones. We have been called to be saved. Although the man in verse 11 was called and saved, he nevertheless lacked the marriage garment.
This marriage garment is typified by the raiment of embroidery in Psalm 45:14 and signified by the fine linen in Revelation 19:8. This is the surpassing righteousness of the overcoming believers in Matthew 5:20. The man not clothed with a marriage garment is saved, because he has come to the marriage feast. He has received Christ as his righteousness that he might be justified before God (Phil. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:26), but he has not lived Christ out as his subjective righteousness that he might participate in the enjoyment of the kingdom of the heavens. He has been called to salvation, but he is not chosen for the enjoyment of the kingdom of the heavens, which is only for the overcoming believers.
The wedding garment signifies our qualification to participate in the marriage feast. The New Testament mentions this feast at least twice, in Matthew 22 and in Revelation 19. According to Revelation 19, those invited to the marriage feast are clothed in white linen. The white linen in Revelation 19 is the marriage garment in Matthew 22. This white linen signifies the surpassing righteousness. Matthew 5:20 says, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” This surpassing righteousness which qualifies us to participate in the manifestation of the kingdom in the coming age is typified in Psalm 45, where we are told that the queen has two garments. We, the believers, should also have two garments. We all have the first garment, the garment that qualifies us to be saved. This garment is the objective Christ whom we received as our righteousness before God. In Christ, who is our righteousness, we have been justified and saved. But after receiving Christ, we need to live Him out. We need to live by Christ so that Christ may become our subjective righteousness. This subjective righteousness, Christ lived out of us in our daily life, is the white linen, the second garment, the marriage garment that qualifies us to participate in the marriage feast.
In the parable of the vineyard, the Lord was strict with the husbandmen, requiring that their labor reach a certain standard. We need to drop the idea that because we are under grace the Lord is not strict with us. Many misunderstand the Lord and misuse His grace. Most Christians think that the Lord is not strict with us and that as long as we have His grace, everything is all right. However, the Lord is more strict with those who are under grace. Both the parable of the vineyard and the parable of the marriage feast reveal the strictness of the Lord in dealing with His people, whether Jews under the law or believers under grace. Do not think that because we have been invited to the marriage feast, we can afford to be careless. On the contrary, the Lord may come into the feast and pick you out as one not having the second garment. Yes, you have received Christ as your righteousness to be justified before God. But are you living by Christ? Is He your subjective righteousness?
The requirements of the second garment are strict, more than a matter of keeping a few commandments or regulations. Rather, day by day we need to live by Christ and live out Christ. This is not a matter of doing, but of living. In the New Testament economy, God does not mainly deal with our doings, but with our living, by whom and by what way we live. The small things in our daily living expose whether or not we live by Christ. It is easy to grasp the doctrine that we have been crucified with Christ, that we live no longer, and that Christ lives in us. But do we experience this as a reality in our daily life? Whenever we are careless in our daily living, we are not living by Christ. If we live in a loose, careless manner, we are not those with the marriage garment.
There is no problem regarding our salvation, for we have been called and justified. But what will be your situation before the judgment seat of Christ? Will you be qualified to enter the marriage feast? If you believe the first part of the gospel, then you must also believe the second part. How we need to look to the Lord for His mercy! We need to pray, “Lord, have mercy on me. I have received You, Lord, but I need more grace to live by You. Lord, because You are my Savior, I know that I am eternally saved. But I need Your grace that I may live by You as my life.” We need to speak by Christ, and even our anger must be according to Christ. When we are about to lose our temper, we should consider whether or not we are losing our temper by Christ. If we do this, we shall have a proper Christian living by Christ.
The second garment has been neglected by today’s Christians. Martin Luther helped us to know the first garment, Christ as righteousness for us to be justified by God. This truth was recovered more than four hundred years ago. But in the Lord’s recovery today we have come to the second garment. We need both the objective and subjective righteousness. This is an important matter in the Gospel of Matthew, for it is a requirement of the kingdom.
Verses 12 and 13 say, “Friend, how did you come in here not having a marriage garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, Bind his feet and hands, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” The servants mentioned in verse 13 must be angels (13:41, 49). To be cast out into the outer darkness is not to perish; it is to be dealt with dispensationally for not having lived an overcoming life by Christ to qualify for participation in the enjoyment of the kingdom during the millennium. At that time, the overcoming believers will be with Christ in the bright glory of the kingdom (Col. 3:4), whereas the defeated ones will suffer discipline in outer darkness.
Because the man without a marriage garment is cast into outer darkness, many Christian teachers say that he is a false believer. But how could a false believer be admitted to the marriage feast of Christ in the air? The reason many Christian teachers say that this man is an unbeliever is that they do not believe that a saved one can be punished by being cast out into outer darkness. However, according to the Gospel of Matthew, believers may be subject to dispensational punishment, a subject covered more than once in this Gospel. Few Christians believe that there will be such a punishment for the saved ones. But for more than forty years we have been teaching that we need to be overcomers. Those who are not overcomers will be excluded from the enjoyment of the kingdom during the millennium and will probably be punished.
We have seen that the man without a marriage garment is cast out into outer darkness. Notice that the Lord Jesus did not just say darkness, but outer darkness. The Bible says clearly that when the Lord Jesus comes back, He will come in glory. Thus, there will be a sphere, a realm, of glory, and all the believers will be raptured to Him in His glory. In the air the Lord will set up the judgment seat. After the believers have been judged, the defeated ones will be put into outer darkness. This refers to the darkness outside the realm of the Lord’s glory. For this reason the Lord used the word “outer” to describe that darkness.
To be cast out into outer darkness is not to suffer eternal perdition. The New Testament reveals that once a person has been saved, he is saved for eternity and can never perish. However, the so-called Arminian theology teaches that a person can be saved and then lost again. This, however, is contrary to the Scriptures. Although we cannot be lost, God may deal with us dispensationally. In the past some have argued with me about this and said, “How can a blood-washed and redeemed person still be punished by God?” I replied, “After you were washed by the Lord’s blood and redeemed, did you not experience God’s chastening for your wrongdoings? Has not God punished you?” Knowing that God may chastise those who sin after they have been saved, they lost the case. Others have argued that God chastises us only in this age while we are in the flesh; after the Lord comes back and we are raptured, they think there will be no problem. To this I have said, “Please do not hold this concept. Do not think that there can be no problems after resurrection and rapture. After the sinners have died and are resurrected, they will be brought to the white throne for judgment. This proves that resurrection does not solve all problems. Do not think that death and resurrection will automatically rescue you from having problems in the future. God may still deal with you after your resurrection. Do not be deceived.” Most Christians today reject the teaching concerning the dispensational punishment of believers. This is why so many are loose and careless in their daily living. Instead of fearing God’s dispensational discipline, they say, “I am saved, and the blood has washed me. If I do something wrong, the Lord may correct me a little. But there will be no problems for me in the future.” How misleading it is to hold a concept so contrary to the pure word of God! When we come back to the pure Word, we see that it is a serious matter to come to the marriage feast without the marriage garment.
We need to read the book of Matthew with a sober mind and consider its teachings seriously. Although this book has been buried for centuries, the Lord has opened it to us. Some may argue that we do not adequately know the love of God and that we present God as One who is too hard and cruel. But if God were loving according to their concept, how could He send an army to destroy the city of Jerusalem? In Romans 11 Paul says that God is kind, but also that He is severe and that we need to be serious with Him. When God is kind, He is truly kind; and when He is severe, He is very severe. God has been severe with the Jews, and He will also be severe with us.
Today there are many sugar-coated teachings in Christianity. Some preachers dare not teach what they see in the Bible because they are concerned about losing their audience or offending others. Therefore, they sugar-coat many of their teachings. But we must strip away the sugar-coating, come back to the pure Word, and see what the Lord has to say. We need the sober word found in the Gospel of Matthew. Remember, one day you will be examined to see whether or not you have the second garment to qualify you for the marriage feast. Get ready for this by preparing the second garment, the white linen, the surpassing righteousness. May the Lord have mercy upon us for this!
My burden in this message is not to threaten you; it is to open the pure Word and give you a healthy dose that has no sugar-coating. We all are responsible to read the Lord’s word and to give it thoughtful consideration. The Lord’s parable in 22:1-14 is very significant. Anything given in a parable is important. The Lord would not have given this parable if what is conveyed in it were not significant.
In verse 14 the Lord concludes: “For many are called but few are chosen.” To be called is to receive salvation (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 4:1), whereas to be chosen is to receive a reward. All believers have been called, but few will be chosen as overcomers. The overcomers, the chosen ones, will be rewarded and qualified to participate in the marriage feast of the Lamb.
