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And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 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.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 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. “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. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14)
I wonder how the replacement guests felt. I mean, one moment they’re on their way to the market or off to visit a relative, and the next, they’re being bundled in the side door of the palace, handed a set of wedding clothes, and shown to a chair at the king’s table!
And all of that for no merit of their own. They weren’t originally invited. Probably most of them would never have dreamed of sitting at the king’s table. They are the little people—the poor, the servants, the foreigners, the people with a shady past. But they are there, and they are willing to toast the prince and his new bride. That’s good enough for the king!
And it’s good enough for us, too, isn’t it? Because we are God’s “replacement guests”—most of us don’t come from Israel, with whom God originally made a covenant. We are the “extras” God brought in to fill up His hall, to make sure Jesus receives all the honor and applause and celebration He deserves at His wedding feast. Through His own suffering, death, and resurrection, He provided us with everything we need to be a fit guest at His table, all the way down to the forgiveness and innocence symbolized by the wedding clothes. It will be an evening to remember—an eternity to remember!
WE PRAY: Dear Lord, thank You for scooping me up and bringing me to Your party. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- How do you imagine the guests behaved when the bride and groom came out?
- Do you think the king was satisfied with the results of his creative problem-solving?
- What about the guy who refused the wedding clothes everybody else was happy to wear—why would anyone do something like that?
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