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(4) The wedding garment.

It will be seen that we have something of a parallel, yet a contrast, for instead of a householder we have a certain

king, and instead of labourers we have guests. The concluding words of each parable, however, are the same in the

Authorized Version, `Many called, but few chosen'. The retention of these words, however, in Matthew 20:16 is

extremely doubtful, and we may be on more certain ground if we say that the closing words of the Parable of the

Labourers are, `So the last shall be first, and the first last', while the closing words of the Parable of the Marriage

Feast are, `For many are called, but few are chosen'.

The parable, like those which have already been considered, was addressed to the Pharisees (cf. 21:45, and 22:1).

`Jesus answered, and spake unto them again by parables'. It will be noticed, by the use of the word `again', that in

the Parables of the Householder, the Wicked Husbandmen, and the Marriage Feast, there is an emphasis upon the

fact that an action was repeated.

20:5. `Again, he went out about the sixth and ninth hour', after having hired two sets before.

21:36. `Again, he sent other servants, more than the first', after the first messengers were beaten and killed.

22:4. `Again he sent forth other servants', after the refusal to come to the feast.

This element of long-suffering and renewal of invitation is a feature that is essentially a part of the parable. Let

us first of all examine the figures used, and then attempt with the knowledge gained to understand its import.

The characters introduced are, a king, his son, servants and guests. The parable centres upon a marriage feast.

This parable contains the first reference to a marriage feast in the New Testament, and apart from this the word

occurs but once more in Matthew, namely in 25:10. It is the same word that comes in Revelation 19:7,9, and is

connected by the added word `supper' of the latter verse to the parallel parable of Luke 14:16.

The king's son of course is Christ Himself, and the marriage feast is the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19).

It will be seen that the servants of the king go out three times, twice to the same people, and once, after the

destruction of their city, into the highways. Those to whom the servants went the first time are called, `them that

were bidden'. The expression is almost a title, and is rendered, `the persons invited', by Darby. The chief thought is

that the servants did not give the original invitation, but that it had been given already. They went out to invite them

that had been invited. This message met with refusal. Again the king sent the message of invitation adding the

`Tell them that have been invited, behold, I have prepared my dinner, my bullocks and the fatlings having

been killed, and all things are ready, come unto the marriage' (Matt. 22:4 Author's translation).

These added words are by no means accidental. These two invitations, together with their differences, give us in

parable form the ministries that occupy the period commencing with John the Baptist and ending with the close of

the Acts of the apostles. `Them that were bidden' are the people of Israel. Readers of these pages will not need

citations from the Scriptures to prove or to demonstrate this statement. John the Baptist, the last of the prophets

according to the Old Testament order, announces the good news, `The kingdom of the heavens hath drawn nigh',

and further, is spoken of as `The friend of the Bridegroom'. The Lord Himself, the twelve, and the seventy continue

this witness. We know how sadly true the words of the parable are, `they would not come'. The second invitation

commences with the Acts of the apostles. There, Peter and the other apostles, and those associated (`them that heard

Him', Heb. 2:3,4), went forth again with the invitation, this time being able to add, `all things are ready'.

The message of Matthew differs from that of the Acts in this particular. Matthew 10 for instance shows us the

servants going forth to proclaim the good news, but Matthew 16:21,22 makes it clear that those who carried that

invitation could not have said `all things are ready', for not only was Peter ignorant of the fact that the Lord must

`suffer ... and be killed, and be raised again the third day', but he even urged the Lord to abandon the idea. Peter's

attitude in the Acts is very different. Every recorded address that he gives has the suffering, the death and the

resurrection of the Lord as its basis:

`But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He

hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore' (Acts 3:18,19).