The Wedding Garment

“… he saw there a man which had not on a wedding-garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness. ”

The clothes make the man was an adage I heard when growing up in Los Angeles. Talk about a place where image meant everything: Hollywood has become the world's symbol for glitzy, phony, false-front posing for the camera image makers; hollow people with great faces and incredible clothes. And the camera flashes pop and the crowds ooh and aahhh.

What becomes evident pretty soon, is the quality of lives that the Hollywood stars lead. All that pretence is blown away when divorce, adultery, drugs, suicide, serial marriages and temper tantrums ensue. These objects of envy have no quality of life after all.

So, what is the parable of Jesus all about when one man manages to get into the king's party without a wedding garment? Why is that article of clothing so important that he is excluded, punished and thrown into the darkness, bound hand and foot? Is the king such a snob that he can't allow a little variation in dress standards in his kingdom? Didn't he give the order that everyone off the street could come to the party?

This is the kingdom of heaven, in a symbolic story , says Jesus. It's like a king giving a wedding reception for his son, the prince. First the king goes out to his closest friends, those who have known him and his family for years. To his shock and surprise, these friends all reject the invitation and prefer their own pursuits to the celebration of the prince's wedding. They go so far as to kill the messengers of the king. So, the king responds by wiping out these murderers.

It's a picture of judgment and the subject is: what gets you into the kingdom of heaven. The old friends who turn against the king are those Hebrews who followed their own idea of the Jewish faith, but when the Son of God, the Messiah arrived, they scorned Him and rejected his message. For generations, in fact, such as these had taken God's prophets and persecuted and killed them. God's repeated invitation, even to His own people, was rejected because they were satisfied with who they already were and didn't want to change for Him, didn't want Him at all, if it meant any adjustments to their lives. God is actually very patient with these people. His covenant with them lasted 2,000 years as the primary path to Himself. He finally judged Israel soundly through the Romans when they leveled Jerusalem to the ground, destroyed the Temple, and drove the Jews out of Palestine.

The king in the parable then orders his servants to find other guests, for the marriage must be celebrated. They go out into all the country and find as many people as they can, furnishing the party with guests, good and bad. But despite the fact that there are bad guests among the good, the king going out among his new friends only finds fault with a particularly bad man who didn't wear a wedding garment.

When the Jewish nation rejected its Messiah, God was forced to send messengers to the rest of the world to find those who might worship His Son. In the world, He found every kind of person: idolaters, harlots, foreign soldiers, rich merchants, Gentiles of every walk of life. Even Hollywood actors. They came to the wedding reception and were welcomed. Everyone had a special celebration garment on, except that one foolish fellow. What was this garment? In Revelation, Christ writes to seven churches of the Gentiles, and to the church at Sardis, He writes: “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Rev. 3:4-5

White raiment seems to be in order for the wedding. How does one get such clothing? Wouldn't you like to know, seeing that you need this garment to be welcome at the feast? It's important to know something else about this wedding. The guests are also the bridegroom's beloved, his bride . And when that supper is held, many voices shall ring out: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Rev. 19:7-8

So, it is righteousness that clothes the saints. These fair garments are spun of righteousness, goodness, doing the will of God. Makes me think of the Emperor and his new clothes. You know the story: how a pompous and foolish Emperor heard of a new kind of robe that would make him especially glorious. He furnished two imposter tailors with pound upon pound of pure gold to have it woven into miraculous cloth. Only they hid the gold and spun nothing but air, claiming that all but a complete fool could see its beauty. The Emperor saw nothing, but didn't want to be thought a fool, so he wore it in a great procession down his royal boulevard before all his subjects, who were silent for they also didn't want to be exposed as fools. Then one young boy shouted to his mother: “The Emperor's naked, Mommy!”

If you were to wear your righteousness over your naked body right here and now, how many of us could see the fine cloth and how many might be embarrassed for you? If your righteousness is to be your wedding garment, are you going to get in, or not? In this same vision of St. John, angels worship God in His throne and one elder saint asks John: “What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Rev. 7:13-17

I hope this is good news to you. The robes have been provided through tribulation, and the Blood of the Lamb has washed them white. It is not our own righteousness that is sufficient to get us clothed and into the wedding party: but as Jeremiah wrote: “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” 23:6 Isaiah wrote: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” 61:10 We are not our own righteousness, but He is our righteousness. We are clothed in Him, and are made worthy by the blood of His sacrifice.

Now, how about this man who crashes the party without that robe? A church door is an open invitation to anyone in the world to come in and meet God. This is not an exclusive club with membership and a guard at the door. The entire world has been invited to this feast, and this is the number that has shown up so far. Many are called, but how many come? If another arrives, we are not competent to judge him or her. These are welcome. We want them to understand the offer of righteousness, that it is His own goodness, His own clothing that He offers them.

This was the unspoken message of the parable. At a wedding in Cana or any other place in Jesus' day, if a guest didn't have a wedding garment, there were always some to borrow at the door. It was like a fancy restaurant that insists on a coat and tie, but will give you one out of the closet if you show up without these things to wear. If you refuse to wear a coat and tie, you aren't allowed in. But we allow anyone in, no dress code, no interview, no oath-taking just to come and sit and listen and worship God. No toll or admission price at the door to the church either. I once tried to see the Archbishop of Canterbury speak at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. They wanted $7 at the door. I walked away, having heard all I wanted to. This was no longer the House of God if it charged admission to hear the head of the Anglican Church.

So, how do we know the real Christians? We don't. It's going to be that way at the Judgment. Many people dressed in their Hollywood best will suddenly be naked as that Emperor, and many homely and unexpected ones will be clothed in white robes, glorifying God in His wisdom. He will be able, at His appearing, to see who is wearing the wedding garment. We haven't such eyes as His.

The church is not a come as you are party in the way we usually mean it. You may actually come as you are—for the Lord is seeking as many as will come to His feast. But you cannot stay as you are . This is unthinkable. People who come into the church and insist that they remain untouched, unchanged, unimproved, sufficient just as they came in—will be exposed at the Lord's appearing and thrown out, bound hand and foot, into outer darkness. I don't have to explain that to you.

The invitation has come. You are welcome to the feast. This is the reason for your life: to come and be a guest at the Lord's table. Refuse this invitation, and you're through. Come as you are , of course, but be ready to shed that old garment and put upon your shoulders a robe of Christ's righteousness, won by sacrifice, washed white in His blood . Finally, be ready to hear His voice call you by name and say, “Friend, come up higher.” For you are not going to hide in the back and watch the wedding. Friend, you have been chosen to be His bride.

PFH+