David Bahn – Reflections

We were on our way to a very nice restaurant with a large group of people. We were told that tie and coat were required for men, but one of the men in our group did had neither coat or tie. He was confident, however, that the restaurant would have a coat and tie he could wear, and when we arrived, sure enough: they did. Can you imagine, however, if my friend had refused to ask for or wear a coat and tie at this restaurant? I doubt that he would have been thrown out into the outer darkness, though he may have been summarily escorted out of the restaurant!

There are two ways to miss the wedding banquet of the King of the universe. One would be to refuse to wear the righteousness of Christ. The Bible is clear: All our righteous deeds are as filthy rags before God. We need the coat and tie of Christ’s righteousness to attend the wedding feast! The second way to miss the feast is to ignore the invitation. Let’s not do either! Jesus invites us to the feast; let’s go! He provides his own righteousness so that we are properly attired; let’s wear it!

Matthew 221-14

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

¹And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, ³and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ⁴ 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.’ ⁵But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰And 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.

¹¹“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. ¹²And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³Then 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.’ ¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen.”