Invited, but Rejected - Part 1

But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:11-14).

Among the guests at the wedding reception was a man who was not dressed for the occasion, so he was thrown out of the banquet hall. But wait a minute! There were no restrictions in the invitation - the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ were invited. Yet the only thing that seemingly mattered to the king was that the man was not properly dressed. But there was nothing in the invitation that stated a dress code! What’s the deal?

Attitudes are reflected in actions. The way in which people attend anything demonstrates the spirit in which they attend. (Genesis 4:3-5) In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. Jesus taught His disciples the attitudes of a Kingdom person (Matthew 5:2-12) before He taught them their actions (Matthew 5:13 - 7:27). 

Matthew 22:10 states the servants went out and gathered all whom they found. It does not state that the ones invited had to come immediately without some preparation. All but one were dressed appropriately. Was he the last one invited at the very last second so that he couldn’t prepare to attend? Scripture doesn’t say, but common sense would say the king had given his guests some time to dress appropriately for the ceremony, since they did. 

The man had no respect for the king or his son. Like Cain who came to worship God, this man came to the celebration on his own terms, as he wanted to, with no concern for appreciation or consideration. When given an opportunity to explain his appearance, the man said nothing - no reason, no excuse, not even “I’m so sorry and I beg your pardon. Please forgive me.” When Cain was confronted by God regarding his attitude, he got angry and killed his brother Abel. 

Attitudes precede actions. Actions reflect attitudes. The greatest example of this is Judas Iscariot. He was invited to be a disciple of Christ, but his attitude was greed, popularity, and power. When confronted by Jesus (John 13:21-30) Judas left the upper room and betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver, then went out and hanged himself.

“Lord Jesus, forgive me when my attitudes are anything but honorable and respectful toward others. May my attitude always be that of humbleness, compassionate concern, and respect toward Your people and those You came to save. Amen.”

Pastor