Invitation to a wedding (5) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.
Matthew 22:11.

Invitation to a wedding (5)
The perspective in the parable now changes. We have entered the hall where the reception will be held. The guests are present, and the king appears. Scrutinising the guests, he notices a man incorrectly dressed. It was the custom in the east at that time for the bridegroom to provide suitable attire for the guests at the wedding. So long as they wore it, no-one need feel embarrassed or out-of-place.

One person was present who did not think it necessary to wear what the king had chosen. He was impudently wearing his own clothes. He wanted to be at the wedding, feasting and enjoying the celebration, but on his own terms. For the king that was an affront, and it could not pass without some reaction.

The interpretation of the parable is: all the guests claimed to be Christians. Many of them realised that their own righteousness could not satisfy God. So they submitted to God's provision: "the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Philippians 3:9). God had, as it were, clothed them with "the garments of salvation the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10).

There are others who also call themselves Christians. They are religious without any doubt. Baptism, confirmation, Holy Communion and a Christian way of life are all part of their experience; they therefore think themselves fit for heaven. But they "have not submitted to the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3). Will God accept them?

(to be concluded on Thursday)

Today's reading: Job 33:1-22 · Acts 15:30-41