Matthew 22:10b-13
The wedding banquet was filled with guests. When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding. So, he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Many are called, but few come. First those who are invited. And then finally the call goes out to all the people. And this is very important, "all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good". And this call goes out because, "those I (the king) invited did not deserve to come."
Notice this... “The king came in to see the guests.”
The feast had been prepared. The guest list is finally worked out and everyone is enjoying themselves. The day fades and the night wears on. The feasting goes on into the night. Everyone has had their fill and celebration, and now the king comes into the assembly. Great joy and happy words are heard and shared as he visits with his friends, both old and new. His coming in to see the guests indicates a glorious revelation of himself. This is the special privilege of the pure in heart. The King delights to see his guests, and his guests delight to see him.
John 20:20
"As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!"
He comes in, not to judge the guests, but to look upon them. He comes to be with them and share the illumination of his thoughts and his unending love. And he comes to share his light. And with that light comes revelation. The light draws closer and stronger as he nears, and the hidden things are revealed.
When the Lord visits his church, the light of Zion burns bright in him. And the man without a wedding garment is no longer overlooked. The church can go on sleeping as a church while the Lord is away, people will come and go not knowing Him. The dead remain silent until the Lord sounds the trumpet at the resurrection. And the people can no longer wink and nod at the one who came in by other means.
Malachi 3:2
“But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap”
Ultimately, the church cannot revive and receive abundant spiritual life without the discernment of the spiritually dead. Some are offended by the doctrine; I've known many who have struggled with the truth of God's word. Some are grieved at the heart-searching experience, again I've known very good friends in Christ who fell away when the lights came. And still others feel they've been too sternly rebuked as to their lifestyle choices. For all these, when the king comes in, it's a matter of judgment.
Daniel 5:27
“TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”
This last part of the kingdom parable described as a wedding feast contains a warning for the Christian church. If you've accepted the invitation to come, you must continue to do the will of God. You must obey his Word. You cannot go your own way under the power of your own laws and strengths. Otherwise, you'll be like the man without a wedding garment.
If the Lord our God were to come into his church today, would he find faith? Would there remain a remnant of feasting guests, or would a panic seize the assembly. Likely there'd be a mob at the door as men are hastening to escape his soul-searching eye.
The lesson to learn from this is clear. Whether you are the only person, or one of many likeminded people, who have dared to enter the church as a Christian knowing that they are not converted, the Lord will find you out.
The thing that happens is we all understand that no one knows the heart of a person but The Lord. And so, as a community of believers we operate under that unknowing. We look the other way because we are uncertain about our own convictions and conversion. And into that environment steps the Lord. Or I should say, into that gathering blows the Spirit of the Lord. For it is His work, The Holy Spirit's that is, which sanctifies and refines the people of God. And so, The Spirit finds out the hidden secret things of the heart, and He convicts the mind. And the converted soul is refined by that conviction. And the unconverted soul remains in disguise and disbelief. That unconverted soul may make a profession of religion out of bravado, and maybe even keep it up by sheer deception. He may hide himself for a time among family, friends, and respectability, but ultimately, he must deal with One whose eyes are as a flame of fire. And what He is searching for among them is the garment of The Son's righteousness. Nothing more. Not good works or intentions.
It is called a “wedding garment”, a garment suitable for a marriage feast. It is seen as something different, obvious and attractive. Seen and understood by common people, not something that can only be examined by a microscope. The wedding garment is a distinguishing mark of Grace. It is seen as common as anything among the wedding guests but seen as different when going out through the streets on the way to the feast.
It is you, but a different you.
You, different from, what you were years ago.
You, different from those with whom you used to associate.
You, different from others, not in your natural attire, but in spiritual grace. You, but not mainly relying on what God himself has done for you, but renewed and reborn into that grace.
It is a distinguishing mark and a symbol of respect for the king. It's a token of honor. And it's a confession of faith and love, and an expression of conformity to the Son of God. And therefore, to go to the feast having refused that mark is to say,
"I will feed at the feast without acknowledging its intent."
It's an insult for the King, and for his bride. The wedding garment reveals your joy in Christ, and your interest in his Church. This doesn't mean you are to become clean and righteously attired before attending the feast. Those who came to the feast were, when they came, both bad and good. The wedding garment does not relate to their past character. The wedding garment has to do with that which they were invested in when they came to the banquet.
To come without the wedding garment is to reject God's revealed gospel. The man without the garment shows up as if he is aligned with the king, and he expects all his fellow guests to be affirmed friends with him. He is among the believers, but he is not truly of them. He talks about the atonement but keeps idols as an intercession. He talks about the divinity of Jesus Christ but does not accept his Godhead. He talks about justification by faith and regenerative principles but truly believes it's by means of an evolution of humanity's own creation. He wears the raiment of philosophy and rejects divine revelation. His robes are not from God’s provision; they are from his own closet of culture. He is in the church, but he is not in Christ.
He wears his work clothes to the wedding feast. He's practical, a pragmatist, and he does not see anything in the gospel to make him glad. He's really kind of a killjoy.
He is a Christian, he says, he comes out respectably dressed on a Sunday, but his religion never affects his conduct. The heart remains unconvinced. Nobody can find much fault with him; he commits no gross sin. He's just a spiritually washed corpse.
And the king came in and pointed him out. Until then he was unnoticeable, now he is speechless still, and gnashing his teeth, forever. He would have been better off not making a profession of religion and spared himself the embarrassment.
Imagine the intensity of that moment:
Matthew 22:12
He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
Why was the man speechless?
It was the king himself who was speaking to him. Prior to that it was family and friends, parishioners and priests. Now he's face to face with the Spirit of Truth.
Friends,
If the Lord came before you today, leaned his hand on your shoulder, leans in close to speak to you about you, not to you, but about you, what would he say?
What would you say?
I can tell you this, if you do not love him, if you have no reverence for him, no sympathy with his Son, you will be speechless, and it would be better if you hadn't come at all.
Here's the hard truth:
Come to the church of God and join it. Do not join it unless you love the Lord. Do not come to the gospel feast unless you have reverence for the King and love for his Bride. But if you will put your trust in Jesus, no matter how imperfect a love you have at this time, I promise you he will give you his Spirit to help you secure your wedding garments.
Jesus Promised, “Him That Cometh To Me I Will In No Wise Cast Out” - (John 6:37)