For us to properly understand the parable of Jesus Christ in relation to a wedding garment, I need to clarify to us that this sermon is not focusing on the excuses given by people invited to the wedding feast, but the focus is on the garment the invited guests put on to grace the occasion.
The excuses provided by the carefully selected guests and those found by the highways (both bad and good) in Matthew 22:9-10 that were invited to the wedding occasion is a different sermon in its entirety and would not be the subject of today's sermon. I am only addressing this sermon based on the relationship knowledge I have as a believer and I want to believe that we all know what a wedding garment should look like.
Take for instance, you are organising a wedding party for your son or daughter and you expect those invited to dress neatly and clean in their best attire, but you suddenly noticed someone that dress inappropriately among your guests. What will be your reaction when you see such a person? Will you be happy or sad even though you are the person that invited such person to come?
This man dressed in an inappropriate clothing for the occasion signifies lack of respect for the king or the man did not recognize the greatness of the occasion. The bible in Revelation 19:7-9 tells us that the marriage of the lamb and his wife is ready and we should give honour to him and still went further to tell us that the wife is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. The bible text tells us in Matthew 22:1 that the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which can be interpreted as our Heavenly Father who wants to do a wedding for His son in this case "Jesus Christ".
That man that was not cloth with the proper wedding garment is one who is not clothed in the righteousness of Christ. If we take a look at the bible passage, we can see that the entry to the wedding takes place without distinction of the type of people; meaning the good and bad alike were allowed into the wedding ceremony because for by grace alone we all saved according to Ephesians 2:8-9, but that does not mean we will not be examined by the king because majority of believers come with ulterior motive of what they stand to benefit from the Kingdom of God and not for the love they have for Christ.
It is not enough to just come to the wedding without making a conscious effort on his own part. This man came with no wedding garment, he had no clue as to what was really going on and did not recognize the importance of the event.
This is the same way most sinners have always been responding to the gospel without telling them that they needed to work out their salvation with fear and trembling as written in Philippians 2:12. As believers in Christ, we need to tell sinners that not only should they come as they are, but they should not stay that same way they are. The bible in Ephesians 4:23-32 and Colossians 3:12-17 listed for us what a person that needed to work his or her salvation with fear and trembling must do.
So, what then is the significance of the wedding garment? Revelation 19:8 makes us to understand that the wedding garment is described as fine linen, clean and white and is the righteousness of saints. The significance are as follows:
1. Rev. 3:4-5 says that we shall walk with Christ as a worthy person and be cloth in white raiment and the name will not be blot out of the book of life, and Jesus Christ by himself will confess the person's name before the Heavenly Father and His angels.
2. Rev. 16:15 says that we shall not walk naked and shall be protected from shame because Joel 2:27 says that the Almighty God will be in your midst and you will never be ashamed.
3. Rev. 7: 9-14 says that we shall stand before the throne and before the Lamb worshipping God.
4. Isaiah 61:10 says we shall greatly rejoice in the Lord.
In conclusion, how careful are you with your wedding garments, my fellow believers? Are you jealously guiding your garment and avoiding being stained with sins? For you that are yet to believe in Christ, are you ready to put off the old man that is corrupt and put on Christ?
Let us pray!
Our Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for clothing us with the robe of righteousness and we pray that you will help us to continue guiding the garment so that it will not be stained in the Name Jesus. Holy Spirit, help us in the Kingdom walk that we may finish the race gloriously at the end of our journey in life in the Name of Jesus. As many believers that are in the Kingdom, we pray that they will have the full knowledge of working out their salvation with fear and trembling so that they may be counted worthy. And for non-believers, we pray that the Lord God Almighty will let them have a divine encounter to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father in Jesus Name. Amen!
