“And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2 NLT)
In Matthew 22 Jesus used a wedding feast as the theme of one of His parables. Parables, as a rule, have one main point, and the point of the parable in Matthew 22 is that God wants the “banquet hall” to be filled for the “Wedding” of Jesus and His “Bride.”
Who is His Bride? The Church, comprised of everyone who is properly “attired.” What does that mean? In Matthew 22:12 Jesus asks one of the guests: “’Friend’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’”
In the previous verses servants of the king were sent to those who were originally invited, but when everything was ready, they refused to come. So, the Bible says that the servants were to invite: “everyone you see.” (vs. 9) That included some who were good and some who were bad.
The picture that is being painted here is what has been happening over the past two thousand years. The Jews were originally to be the main guests, for they were the ones to whom the Messiah was born. But they rejected Him, thus opening the “wedding feast” to everyone, both good and bad. Who does that include? You and me – Gentile and Jew – anyone who agrees to be properly “clothed” in wedding attire. What does that mean?
It means the only way to heaven, to participate in the wedding feast when Jesus and His Church are united for all eternity, is to be “clothed” in His righteousness. Good or bad is no longer the issue. The only issue is whether a person is willing to seek forgiveness of their sins, to repent (turn from their sins), and be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus through faith in Him and what He alone accomplished when He died and rose again. What does that look like in a practical way?
Imagine you’re preparing to go someplace – work, to the grocery store, anyplace – so you grab your keys, but when you open the door to your car, someone is already sitting in the driver’s seat with their hand reaching out to you asking for the key. You have a choice to either give them the key or ask them to step out of your car. It’s your choice.
That’s essentially what Jesus asks of us – to give Him control of our life! “Let Me (Jesus) determine the direction your life will take. Let Me guide in every decision, every thought, every motive, every detail of your life.” Why? Because He understands that He knows you and me better than we know ourselves. So, for us as believers the wedding “clothes” of His righteousness looks like the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)
Those kinds of characteristics are what identify us as God’s child. Can we fake them? We may be able to fool people for a while, but we won’t fool Jesus for a second. Authenticity and transparency are what enables Jesus to be seen in us and to work through us. No one will enter the wedding feast of the Lamb of God clothed in their own righteousness. The white robes of Jesus’ righteousness alone will grant us entrance.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 