In the Parable of the Wedding Feast, found in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus talks about a king who invites guests to his son’s wedding banquet, but they refuse to come.
In response to their refusal, the king invites a variety of people – from all walks of life, to fill the wedding hall, symbolizing God’s invitation to all to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, regardless of their status.
Jesus’ parables are full of wisdom, warning, inspiration, and encouragement to live in a way that glorifies and honors God. While they were earthly stories, they revealed divine truths with a heavenly meaning.
The Parable of the Wedding Feast is one such parable with a deep meaning and rich lessons we can take away.
When it was preached, Jesus was speaking to the chief priests and Jewish leaders of the day but its lessons are relevant for us today. The word of God is timeless and we can apply its teachings and principles to everyday life.
The parable is about the kingdom of God which is open to everyone, not only the Jewish community. God’s gracious invitation to salvation and eternal life doesn’t just come once but multiple times because he loves us and wants us with him.
This story is a warning and encouragement into what we need to enter the kingdom of heaven. It’s a reminder of God’s goodness and amazing grace. We are not worthy of everything he has done for us or given us yet he blesses us because he is our Heavenly Father.
Parable of the Wedding Feast Summary
The Parable of the Wedding Feast is also known as the Parable of the Wedding Banquet or the Parable of the Great Banquet. The full story is found in Matthew 22: 1–14. Below is a summary of the parable.
The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son’s wedding and sent his servants to invite his people to come. But they refused the first invitation.
Then he sent a second invitation telling his people that he had prepared everything for them to come and enjoy. But they ignored this too with others going to their own farms and own businesses instead. Some took the king’s servant and killed them.
The king became angry and sent his army to destroy the murderers and the city. The king then sent wedding invites to new dinner guests.
He asked his servants to bring anyone they could find on street corners and the main highways to come and enjoy the prepared feast. The people came and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
When the king came to see the invited guests in the banquet hall, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the wedding garment and asked him how he got in there.
The man had no answer and so the king commanded that he be thrown outside where there was outer darkness and gnashing of teeth.
Parable of the Wedding Feast Meaning
Before we understand what this story means, let’s first understand its context. In Matthew 21, Jesus made a triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey and was treated as the King that he was.
Then he entered the temples and became angry when he saw people trading and doing deals in a place of worship. He overturned the tables and chased the people out. The blind and lame came to him at the temple and he healed them.
This contributed to making Jesus popular and people loved him and praised him. The chief priests and the teachers of the law became angry and challenged him. They even questioned how he had the authority to heal and teach in their temple.
Then he shared 3 Parables with them: The Parable of the Two Sons, The Parable of the Wicked Tenants, and the Parable of the Great Banquet. The message in all of them was the same and it was targeted at the chief priests, Pharisees, and the rest of the Jewish people too.
Now we will dive into the meaning of the specific details in this parable.
The King is God the Father and The King’s Son is the Lord Jesus Christ. The wedding feast is the supper of the Lamb which God is preparing for us. The King’s invitation is for us to enter the kingdom of heaven through salvation.
The invited guests are God’s chosen nation of Israel which is God’s chosen people. Royal weddings are popular extravagant events that anyone would be honored to be invited to. This was the wedding of a prince and the greatest party of all time.
Instead of the guests being excited, humbled, appreciative, and ecstatic they rejected the invitation and even murdered the messengers.
The King’s servants that were sent initially to invite the Israelites into the Kingdom of God were the prophets, judges, kings, John the Baptist, and ultimately the Lord Jesus Christ.
But God’s people turned around and rejected the message from the messengers and even killed Jesus Christ and did not believe his message while others ignored it.
The second group of servants were the apostles, missionaries, evangelists, and Christians who preached when Jesus went back to heaven. We are part of this group that has been given the Great Commission and instructed to spread the Gospel to all nations.
When the King’s servants made a second invitation, the people still took it lightly, ignored it, and went about with their daily business. What the servants were bringing was the message of repentance which is the Gospel.
The Jewish people were too busy to listen, they ignored the Good News which is the Gospel, and worse still persecuted the messengers. This is happening today as well.
Once the initial invited guests refused to come, the king invited anyone and everyone on the streets who was willing to come. These are the Gentiles. They represent every other nation, tribe, and language that was not initially chosen by God.
“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:1 NIV
The Jewish people were the chosen ones and they had rejected Jesus whom God had sent. They believed their righteousness could help them enter heaven. Because of this, salvation had been extended to include other nations and tribes as well.
If studying the Bible better is on your list of things to do this year, be sure to visit our Bible Study Resources page where you’ll find everything you need to make Bible study a regular part of your daily routine.
Because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, they were now called to the feast but they had to wear the right wedding clothes which was the righteousness of Christ.
“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10 NIV
In Jesus’ day, when one was invited to a wedding, the bridegroom provided the wedding garment. As an invited guest you just had to pick one and wear it to the wedding hall. So this man who was not wearing the right garment had refused to wear the garment and that’s why he had no excuse for his actions and was punished.
The wedding robe covered and qualified all the dinner guests and was given freely. Christ’s righteousness qualifies us for eternal life and is given freely to us.
The man thought his own garments or righteousness were good enough but they were not. Just like the religious leaders of that time, we may think the works of our hands, being born in a Christian family, going to church or our good deeds will bring us salvation but they don’t. Only Christ does by his grace and the finished work on the cross.
“and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” Philippians 3:9 NIV
Heaven awaits us and the picture we get is an amazing feast full of celebration, love, and joy. God wants us to enjoy heaven with him.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4 ESV
“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV
In the end, those who think they can enter heaven with their own righteousness will not be accepted into heaven but will face eternal punishment in hell.
Parable of the Wedding Feast Moral Lessons
Just like many of Jesus’ parables, there are powerful moral lessons we can learn in this story. While Jesus targeted the Jewish leaders and Jewish people who rejected him with this message, when we apply the lessons he shared we grow spiritually and become more Christlike.
These are some of the key lessons in the Parable of the Wedding Feast.
1. Salvation Isn’t a One-Time Offer.
God’s gracious invitation to salvation doesn’t come once.
He is patient with us and will send his messengers to preach the word multiple times and give us a chance to repent.
“This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:3-4 NLT
He is gracious and compassionate because he wants us in eternity with him.
2. Salvation is Offered to Everyone.
God invites all of us to heaven.
No matter which gender, nationality, race, or tribe we have an opportunity to get an invitation to hear the Gospel, believe it, repent, and be saved.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20 NIV
3. Salvation is Serious!
Repentance and salvation are serious business to the Lord and it’s not something we can ignore or take lightly.
It affects eternity and where we will spend it- whether it’s with the Lord in heaven or in hell with the devil where there will be suffering and gnashing of teeth.
There will be no good reason or excuse for the rejection of Jesus Christ who is a free gift from God.
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV
We are too busy with work, family, business, school, and social activities to do God’s will or connect with him. Some are “good excuses” but they are still excuses.
We should intentionally be wise with our time and what we commit to. Only what we do for eternity will count and that’s where our focus should be.
If we don’t accept Christ, there will be serious consequences awaiting us. The Lord wants us to prioritize our relationship with him. When we do this, all other things will fall into place.
4. We are all unworthy of God’s invitation to his kingdom but he invites us anyway.
While all are invited, only those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ by faith in Jesus will be allowed into heaven and the marriage supper of the Lamb.
God doesn’t force people to come to him but he is a loving Father who gives us a choice and free will. Every day we have choices to make whether we obey him or we listen and obey the enemy.
Through Jesus Christ, God calls those who are willing to answer not those who are worthy of the call. If we look at Jesus’ disciples and even Apostle Paul, these men were murderers, low-class people like fishermen, despised tax collectors, and they lacked courage and doubted him.
But they had willing hearts and could leave their lives and all they were doing to follow Christ to wherever he led them.
We find all blessings, gifts, and favor in the kingdom of heaven just like the king in the parable had plenty of food and drink for everyone.
5. God will send judgment to all those who mock, persecute, and kill the messengers of the word.
They will face the consequences of their actions.
The king invited the guests and told them that he had prepared a feast for them already. The Lord has already prepared everything for us in heaven.
We don’t need to get there and start finding our way. Everything is set and perfect for us as his beloved children.
The third invitation of the king went out to all people whether they deserved to be there or not. It shows the grace of God to include all people in his kingdom. Through His Son Jesus Christ, we are all united as one.
“There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 NLT
In the kingdom of God, we cannot remain the same. Your attitude, thinking, and actions change and the transformation starts inside you and becomes visible on the outside. The wedding garment was the visible sign of the change in the man’s life.
Once we receive the Good News which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit works in us and helps us to fully commit to him and to transform and put off the old self in exchange for the new self.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV
6. The chosen are the elect ones who are called by God’s grace.
This has nothing to do with their actions but is a gift from God.
The chosen still have a choice to obey God’s call and only then will they receive the gift of eternal life.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
The Parable of the Wedding Feast is a powerful story packed with great lessons for us. This story shows us the amazing grace and compassion of our God.
He invites us through the Gospel to have a relationship with him and ultimately experience eternal life.
This story is a wake-up call, a warning, and a reminder that the decisions we make today have eternal consequences and we need wisdom to make the right choices.
If we don’t receive the word, we will end up facing eternal destruction in the form of hell where there will be pain, gnashing of teeth, and eternity without the heavenly Father.
In today’s world, with our busy schedules, there will always be an excuse why we can’t honor the invitation of the Lord to salvation. But we have to intentionally commit to our time with the Lord.
We need to invest in our eternity and in what will truly matter at the end of our days and that’s our relationship and connection with the Lord.
Want to learn more about the Parables of Jesus? Visit our Parables Study Listing!
