Bible Questions Answered:
“I am wondering just what is a
wedding garment Matthew is talking about, and how do we get one?”
Curran/ Dublin, Ireland
Bible Answer:
Bible Text:
Matthew 22:1-14 NLT
1 Jesus also told them other
parables. He said,
2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be
illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast
for his son.
3 When the banquet was ready, he
sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all
refused to come!
4 “So he sent other servants to
tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened
cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the
banquet!’
5 But the guests he had invited
ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his
business.
6 Others seized his messengers and
insulted them and killed them.
7 “The king was furious, and he
sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.
8 And he said to his servants, ‘The
wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of
the honor.
9 Now go out to the street corners
and invite everyone you see.’
10 So the servants brought in
everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall
was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in
to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper
clothes for a wedding.
12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how
is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had
no reply.
13 Then the king said to his
aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but
few are chosen.”
In harmony with this parable, is Lord's parable of the great feast.
Luke 14:15-24
NLT
15 Hearing this, a man sitting at
the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to
attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”
16 Jesus replied with this story: “A
man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations.
17 When the banquet was ready, he
sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’
18 But they all began making
excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it.
Please excuse me.’
19 Another said, ‘I have just
bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse
me.’
20 Another said, ‘I now have a
wife, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant returned and told
his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go
quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor,
the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
22 After the servant had done this,
he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’
23 So his master said, ‘Go out
into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find
to come, so that the house will be full.
24 For none of those I first
invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”
The first invited,
had better things to do, and so they missed the banquet. When the
outcasts were called, they gladly came. But one came in without a
Wedding Garment.
What does the
Wedding Garment represent?
The Wedding
Garment, represents our life before The Lord.
God's people:
Hebrews 12:14
KJV
Follow peace
with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see The Lord:
Revelation
19:7,8 KJV
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and
give honor to Him: for the marriage of The Lamb is come, and His wife
hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine
linen is the righteousness of saints.
Not to have the
Wedding Garment on, is to be arrayed in one's own garments
(Self-Righteousness).
Psalm 51:5 KJV
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Ecclesiastes
7:20 KJV
For there is not a just man upon
earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Isaiah 64:6 KJV
But we are all as an unclean thing,
and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we
all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken
us away.
Romans 3:10,23
KJV
10 As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one:
23 For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God;
I John 1:8 KJV
If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and The Truth is not in us.
All the
“self-righteousness,” in the world will not save anyone!
Matthew 7:21-23
KJV
21 Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of
My Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have
cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.
I Samuel
15:22,23 NLT (Samuel speaks to King Saul.)
22...“What is more pleasing to The
Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His
voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is
better than offering the fat of rams.
23 Rebellion is as sinful as
witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because
you have rejected the command of The Lord, He has rejected you...”
II Peter 3:10-14
NLT
10 But the day of The Lord will come
as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a
terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in
fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve
judgment.
11 Since everything around us is
going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you
should live,
12 looking forward to the day of God
and hurrying it along. On that day, He will set the heavens on fire,
and the elements will melt away in the flames.
13 But we are looking forward to the
new heavens and new earth He has promised,
a world filled with God’s
righteousness.
14 And so, dear friends, while you
are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found
living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His
sight.
