[Jesus speaking]
“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭17‬
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This is an interesting comparison that is being made here, in the second half of this parable. Jesus is comparing a “church collective” relationship with him, to a groom and bride relationship. Why is this? The bride is one person and the church is many.

The comparison is made because, as the Apostle Paul illustrates so well in the Colossians passage, we are all members of one body, and we are to unify under Jesus as a strong and united church. Gratitude for each other and the ways God blesses us and thankfulness to God is paramount.

So we see that unity around Jesus is critical. And God invites many, but few are chosen. The wedding clothes I believe are a reference to salvation and being filled with the Holy Spirit. He dwells in our heart and makes us spiritually beautiful, like high-quality and trendy clothes attempt to do..

God invites the “good” and the “bad” to come to the wedding, those who see themselves as “good enough” by comparison and those who know they are wretched sinners. Some will clothe themselves in salvation and be filled with the Spirit, seeking to obey God’s commands. And some will just fake it.

God will judge them. This is why it says, many are invited but few are chosen. The Jews and their leaders were the original guests invited to the feast, as they were God’s people. But the majority of them rejected him and some had him killed. So Jesus invited the Gentiles, the Samaritans, outsiders. He invited tax collectors and prostitutes, the shunned and hated. He invited lepers and fishermen, who had diseases and we were dirty and spoke gruffly.

It is such a great parable. I am so very glad to have been invited. But being invited is not enough. We are dying in our sins and or evil ways. We must surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior to receive the spiritual infusion of life we need.

Lord, thank you for making a way through Jesus for me to be a part of your eternal wedding ceremony and be invited to your feast. I jump in with both feet and trust you to lead the way and provide for me no matter what I have to go through. And I look forward with eager expectation to the great rewards you will bless me with!