Matthew 22:8-14: a reflection

In the parable of the wedding feast, the king invites all sorts of people from the highways, both bad and good, to fill his hall; but when he comes in, he finds a man not wearing wedding clothing, and this man is cast out. Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing? the king asks; and the man is speechless. The wedding garment was provided for the guests; to come to the feast without it was to come on one's own terms, refusing what the king provided. This detail speaks of how we come to God: not on our own terms, in our own merit, but clothed in what he provides. The man without the garment pictures the one who would come to God in his own righteousness rather than the covering God gives. To come to God rightly is to be clothed not in our own merit but in what he provides, a covering pointing to the righteousness of Christ. We come to God clothed in what he provides, not in our own merit. To come to God on our own terms, in our own righteousness, is to come without the garment he gives. We are received not in our own merit but clothed as God provides.

Notice the significance of the wedding garment: it was provided, and to come without it was to come on one's own terms. The king had provided garments for his guests; the man without one had refused the provision, coming in his own clothing, on his own terms. And for this he was cast out. This detail is telling, for it pictures how we come to God. We cannot come on our own terms, in our own merit, our own righteousness; we must be clothed in what God provides. The wedding garment points to the covering God gives, ultimately the righteousness of Christ, in which alone we are fit to enter his presence. To come to God in our own righteousness, refusing the covering he provides, is to come as the man without the garment, who was cast out. We are received at God's feast not because of our own merit, but because we are clothed in what he provides. To insist on coming in our own righteousness is to refuse the garment God gives. The right way to come to God is clothed not in ourselves but in his provision. We enter God's presence clothed as he provides, not in our own merit. To come in our own righteousness is to come without the wedding garment.

That is worth taking to heart, for we come to God rightly not in our own merit but clothed in what he provides, and to insist on our own terms is to come without the garment. We can try to come to God in our own righteousness, on our own terms, in our own merit; but the man without the wedding garment, who came on his own terms, was cast out. We are received not because of our own merit but because we are clothed in what God provides, pointing to the righteousness of Christ. Do not try to come to God in your own righteousness, on your own terms; be clothed in what he provides, as the wedding garment was provided for the guests. Come to God clothed not in your own merit or righteousness but in what he provides, rather than insisting on coming on your own terms, as the man at the wedding feast who came without the provided garment was cast out; for we cannot come to God rightly in our own righteousness, on our own terms, but must be clothed in what he provides, the covering that points to the righteousness of Christ, in which alone we are fit to enter his presence, so that to insist on coming in our own merit is to come as the man without the wedding garment, while to be received at God's feast is to be clothed not in ourselves but in his provision.