Invited, but Rejected - Part 3

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).

Although The Parable of the Wedding Feast was intended to convict the hearts of the Chief Priests and Elders by revealing their hard-hearted hypocrisy and rejection of Jesus Christ, it was also intended to reveal to them, and to us, the penalty of unrepentant sin and rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, Jesus said. Understand the utter hopelessness of a person who has nothing to do with the Son of the King of Heaven. First, the person is bound hand and foot. There is nothing a person can do to escape the judgment that hangs over him/her for rejecting the salvation offered them by the Savior. The sinner has spoken in this life that he/she will not repent of sin and will not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. No wooing of the Holy Spirit has changed his/her mind. No appeal of Scripture has penetrated his/her understanding. No call of Jesus Christ has softened his/her heart. No patience of the Father has affected his/her spirit. Then comes the appointed day of death and Christ speaks to the person in the torments of hell, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us (Luke 16:26). Nothing can be done to escape the judgment of God.

Second, is the outer darkness. Compared to the brilliant glory of heaven the darkness of hell is utterly and unbearably dark. It recalls the statement of John 13:30 regarding Judas Iscariot when he received the Passover bread from Jesus, then left the upper room to betray the Lord into the hands of the Chief Priests, and it was night. Darkness had fallen upon the day and upon the soul of Judas. Hell is a place of bitter darkness - doom, despair, utter terror. Forever.

Third, weeping and gnashing of teeth is a phrase that expresses the unbearable misery of those outside the eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ. They weep bitterly for what they have lost, and they grind their teeth with the unbelievable and unrelievable pain and suffering they will endure. One only has to study the account of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) to realize the many ways in which the torments of hell will affect the soul that is consigned there forever.

“Lord Jesus, thank You for Your grace and mercy love that saves us from the judgment for our sin and the punishment of eternal hell. Even the thought of it described in Your Word sends chills down my spine and causes my spirit to grieve over those already there. Lord, may the terrors of hell motivate me to express Your great love to those who have not yet put their faith in You. Lead me Lord to those divine appointments that I may share the Gospel of salvation with them. To Your honor and glory I ask, Amen.”

Pastor