“And 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. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.” – Matthew 22:10-11
In this parable, Jesus presents a bad news – good news – bad news scenario that can only be resolved by Good News! The bad news is that many who were the first to be invited to God’s glorious wedding feast, the celebration of Messiah, would reject Him. The religious leaders and scholars most familiar Scripture and convinced of their own righteousness would utterly reject Jesus, betray Him, and kill Him. They chose not to enter into God’s messianic banquet.
The good news is that God opened His glorious feast to all people, regardless of ethnicity, race, or citizenship. All are invited: high and low, educated and uneducated, rich and poor! God welcomes all who come to His feast.
The bad news is that only those who are dressed for the party will get to enjoy it. Those who try to come in, putting on a show of belonging, but aren’t actually dressed for God’s party will be thrown out into eternal damnation. We definitely don’t want that to happen!
So, how do we dress for God’s party? That’s where the Good News comes in! We can’t dress ourselves for God’s party! There’s nothing we own that is fine enough for this party. All our best efforts to clean ourselves up and make ourselves look good in our own eyes are but filthy rags in God’s eyes. God is perfect and holy and we aren’t and never will be. We can’t ever make ourselves belong at God’s party. Thankfully, God gave His Son Jesus to live the life of perfection we can’t and to die on a cross as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. Jesus rose from the dead so that all who believe in Him are dressed in His righteousness.
When we believe in Jesus, putting on Christ by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, then we’re dressed for God’s party! It’s really that simple. God provides the wedding clothes required to enjoy the feast for His Son. All we must do is put on Christ. Have you?