Without a Wedding Garment
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The call to the feast had been given by Christ’s disciples. Our
Lord had sent out the twelve and afterward the seventy, proclaiming
that the kingdom of God was at hand, and calling upon men to repent
and believe the gospel. But the call was not heeded. Those who are
bidden to the feast did not come. The servants were sent out later to
say, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are
killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.” This was
the message borne to the Jewish nation after the crucifixion of Christ;
but the nation that claimed to be God’s peculiar people rejected the
gospel brought to them in the power of the Holy Spirit. Many did
this in the most scornful manner. Others were so exasperated by the
offer of salvation, the offer of pardon for rejecting the Lord of glory,
that they turned upon the bearers of the message. There was “a great
persecution.”
Acts 8:1
. Many both of men and women were thrust
into prison, and some of the Lord’s messengers, as Stephen and James,
were put to death.
Thus the Jewish people sealed their rejection of God’s mercy. The
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result was foretold by Christ in the parable. The king “sent forth
his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”
The judgment pronounced came upon the Jews in the destruction of
Jerusalem and the scattering of the nation.
The third call to the feast represents the giving of the gospel to the
Gentiles. The king said, “The wedding is ready, but they which were
bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as
many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.”
The king’s servants who went out into the highways “gathered
together all as many as they found, both bad and good.” It was a mixed
company. Some of them had no more real regard for the giver of the
feast than had the ones who rejected the call. The class first bidden
could not afford, they thought, to sacrifice any worldly advantage for
the sake of attending the king’s banquet. And of those who accepted the
invitation, there were some who thought only of benefiting themselves.
They came to share the provisions of the feast, but had no desire to
honor the king.
When the king came in to view the guests, the real character of all
was revealed. For every guest at the feast there had been provided a
wedding garment. This garment was a gift from the king. By wearing
it the guests showed their respect for the giver of the feast. But one