“Again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘Let the kingdom of heaven be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son, and sent his servants to call the guests to the wedding banquet, but they would not to come. He again he sent other servants, saying: ‘Tell the guests: Look, I have prepared my food, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet. But they paid no attention and went, one to his farm, another to his business, while the others 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 banquet is ready, but the guests were not worthy. Go then to the main roads and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet. And those servants going out into the streets gathered together all they found, bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. ‘But when the king went in to see the guests, he saw a man there who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Dude, how did you get in here without a wedding dress?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants: ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the darkness outside. There will be crying and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:1-14 (NIV, bold added).
The NIV translates the last line, verse 14, as “Because many are invited, but few are chosen”. To whom is Jesus speaking in this instance, and what meaning should we attach to the verse? In short, Jesus is reminding his listeners that while there is a general call to the gospel for all, there is a specific call to saving faith for the elect. But let’s dig deeper and take a look at the larger passage. This verse is recorded in a section of Matthew, chapter 22, under the heading The Parable of the Wedding Feast either The Parable of the Wedding Feast in ESV and NIV respectively. What do we know about this verse at first sight?
- The verse is recorded in one of the Gospel books, the Gospel of Matthew.
- Jesus speaks the verse as recorded by Matthew.
- Jesus shares the verse as part of a parable, in fact it is the last line of the parable.
- The parable is the parable of the wedding feast.
- We know that Jesus often used parables to explain the Kingdom of God.
Crosswalk contributor Madison Hetzler describes her parables in the article ‘What is a parable and how should we read it?’:
“Jesus used parables to give instruction, and to reveal and conceal spiritual truths. The parables compared shared history with the reality of the Kingdom of God. While the former is simple and relatable, the latter is deep and consequential. The two together invite comparison that opens windows of understanding. While some understood the parables, others did not. In Matthew 13:10-16, the disciples question Jesus’ use of parables. Why did he speak in parables? He replies that some had been given the truths of the kingdom, but others had not. As Jesus taught large crowds, his true disciples listened and discerned the meaning of these stories. Those who heard but did not understand fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9-10.”
Who is Jesus speaking to with the parable of the wedding party?
To find out who Jesus is telling the wedding parable to, we need to look at the previous chapter. In Matthew 21 Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is described; He is hailed as the Messiah, but he humbly arrived on the back of a donkey. At that time, he also entered the temple and drove out all who bought and sold there, overturning the tables of the money changers. The sick and lame came to Him and He healed them; the chief priests and the scribes witnessed these wonders and the praise that the people of Jerusalem gave to Jesus. When Jesus entered the temple again, the chief priests and elders of the people questioned his authority and challenged him. But Jesus asked them a question first, and they couldn’t answer it, so in response, he began to tell them parables: The parable of the two sons Y The Parable of the Farmers.
Matthew 21:45-46 describes the reaction of the chief priests and Pharisees to Jesus’ words: “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they understood that he was speaking about them. And although they tried to arrest him, they feared the crowd, because they considered him a prophet”. Matthew 22:1 begins by saying “And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying…” So we know that in chapter 22 Jesus is telling the parable of the wedding feast to the chief priests and Pharisees. And since we know that the chief priests and the Pharisees perceived the two preceding parables as referring to them, we can fairly conclude that they would have interpreted this parable as being directed to them as well.
What are these parables about?
Before we discuss what the wedding feast was all about, let’s briefly look at the first two parables that Jesus told them in chapter 21. The parable of the two sons it is brief and looks at a man and his two sons; the man asks the first son to go work in the vineyard, and after initially saying no, the son goes to work in the vineyard. The second son immediately said that he would go, but in reality he never goes to the vineyard. Jesus tells the chief priests and scribes that the tax collectors and prostitutes will go to heaven before them because they believed in John, while the chief priests and scribes do not.
The ESV Study Bible comments: “The parable of the two sons demonstrates the failure of the religious leaders to respond correctly to the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist. They hypocritically did not live up to their talk. The fruit of one’s life ultimately tests whether or not one is obedient to God’s message. A person’s actions ultimately prove whether or not he is obedient to God.”
The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible adds: “The phrase ‘enter the kingdom of God before you’ (v. 31) leaves the door open for these religious leaders to enter, but at this point in Matthew’s account they are left open. outside.”
The Parable of the Farmers briefly describes a teacher who planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants. When the fruit season came, the master sent servants to harvest the fruit. But the tenants beat the servants to death and eventually the man’s son as well. Then Jesus, the priests and the scribes discuss what should happen to the tenants and what the master should do. Jesus also quotes Psalm 118:22,
“Jesus said to them: ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the work of the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
Again Jesus declares that the kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to people who produce Fruit. The ESV Study Bible says, “The parable of the wicked vinedressers continues the metaphor of the vineyard to show that God is taking the kingdom away from Israel.” The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible suggests that the Jewish leaders will be replaced by obedient disciples of Jesus. Matthew tells us that the chief priests and scribes wanted to arrest Jesus after hearing this, but they were afraid of the crowd that esteemed Jesus. Then Jesus told them another parable, The parable of the wedding feast.
The meaning of The Parable of the Wedding Feast
The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible prefaces this parable in the study notes by explaining: “If the parable of the two sons (21:28-32) accuses the Jewish leaders and the parable of the wicked tenants (21 :33-44) announces his sentence, then this parable represents his (spiritual) death.”
The parable of the wedding feast (Matt. 22:1-14) summarized:
A the king is giving a wedding banquet for his son, and his servants are sent to call the guests to the banquet. However, the guests do not show up, so other servants are sent to tell the people that dinner is ready, the meat has been slaughtered, and everything is ready. But they’re not going to the wedding yet; some go about their business, while others kill servants. Angry, the king sends troops to destroy the city of the assassins. So the king tells more servants to go out to the main road and find as many as they can to bring to the party. Later, the king finds the wedding hall full of guests, but one man was not wearing his wedding dress. The man was thrown into the darkness outside, which is described as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. And the parable ends with, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
This parable reflects the consequences that will befall unrighteous religious leaders if they do not seriously call on the Lord. The ESV Study Bible points out that the party represents fellowship with God in his kingdom, so coming to the party represents entering the kingdom. And the additional wedding invitations sent to others on the main road represent the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles. However, the invitation alone does not guarantee eternal admission to the kingdom/banquet hall. True faith is still required. A guest with an invitation cannot dress in justice, that is something that only the King can do by his grace.
We know that the Pharisees did not take history kindly like the next verse, Matt. 22:15, tells us “So the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in their words.”
Note: There is also a similar parable in Luke 14:12-24, The Parable of the Great Banquet.
The meaning of Matthew 22:14 – If many are called, why are few chosen?
What then does the last line of the parable mean? If many are called, why are only a few chosen? This verse is the last line of the parable and occurs immediately after the man without a wedding garment is discovered and thrown into the darkness outside, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible conveys that ‘guest’ as used in the NIV translation of Matt. 22:14 can also mean ‘called’. But call does not reflect how Paul uses it in Romans 8:29-30, since in this case the call can be rejected. ‘Elect’ in the context of verse 14 refers to those who accept the call on God’s terms.
The ESV Study Bible warns that not all guests at the wedding party need to be there, as few are the chosen ones. This is the ‘general call’ doctrine explained by the study notes…