In Matthew 22:1-14 we have Christ’s teaching concerning the kingdom’s marriage feast. “The kingdom of the heavens was likened to a man, a king, who made a marriage feast for his son” (v. 2). The king is God, and the son is Christ. As the Bridegroom, Christ is the center of the marriage feast. God has prepared a marriage feast, and Christ is its center. Through this parable the Lord Jesus indicates that He is the center of the universe, for He is the Bridegroom who has been designated by God the Father as the center of the universal marriage feast. He is the center of God’s economy. No one is more important at a marriage feast than the bridegroom. Christ as the Bridegroom is the center, the focus, of God’s New Testament economy. We all need to realize that Christ is the focus and center of God’s economy for our enjoyment.
Verses 3 and 4 say, “He sent his slaves to call those who were invited to the marriage feast, and they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, Tell those who were invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatted beasts are killed, and all things are ready; come to the marriage feast.” The slaves are the apostles sent by the Lord, and the oxen and fatted beasts refer to Christ as the One killed so that God’s chosen people may enjoy Him as a feast.
A crucial element in the parable of the marriage feast is the wedding garment: “When the king came in and beheld those reclining at the table, he saw there a man not clothed with a marriage garment” (v. 11). This marriage garment is typified by the raiment of embroidery in Psalm 45:14 and signified by the fine linen in Revelation 19:8. This is the surpassing righteousness of the overcoming believers in Matthew 5:20. The man not clothed with a marriage garment is saved, for he has come to the marriage feast. He has received Christ as his righteousness so that he might be justified before God (1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 3:26), but he has not lived Christ out as his subjective righteousness so that he might participate in the enjoyment of the kingdom of the heavens. He has been called to salvation, but he has not been chosen for the enjoyment of the kingdom of the heavens (v. 14), which is only for the overcoming believers.
As believers in Christ, we should have two garments. We all have the first garment, the garment that qualifies us to be saved. This garment is the objective Christ whom we have received as our righteousness before God. In Christ, who is our righteousness, we have been justified and saved. But after receiving Christ, we need to live Him out. We need to live Christ so that He may become our subjective righteousness. This subjective righteousness, Christ lived out of us in our daily life, is the white linen, the second garment, the marriage garment that qualifies us to participate in the marriage feast. Therefore, we need both objective and subjective righteousness. This is an important matter in the Gospel of Matthew, for it is a requirement of the kingdom.
In 22:14 the Lord Jesus concludes, “Many are called but few are chosen.” To be called is to receive salvation (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 4:1), whereas to be chosen is to receive a reward. All believers have been called, but few will be chosen as overcomers. The overcomers, the chosen ones, will be rewarded and qualified to participate in the marriage feast of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9).
In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus says, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” This is a revelation of the universal church, the unique Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). The words “My church” indicate that the church is of the Lord, not of any person or thing; it is not like the denominations, which are denominated after some person’s name or according to some thing.
The Lord says in verse 18 that the gates of Hades will not prevail against His church. The gates of Hades refer to Satan’s authority, or power, of darkness (Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18), which cannot prevail against the genuine church built by Christ upon the revelation concerning Him as the rock, with stones such as Peter, a transformed human being. This word of the Lord also indicates that Satan’s power of darkness will attack the church. Hence, there is spiritual warfare between Satan’s power, which is his kingdom, and the church, which is God’s kingdom.
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