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This king is God the Father and the son represents Jesus.

Historically Israel was genuinely called by God, yet many refused to respond to His call.

1. Isaiah 65:12 “...because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.”

2. Isaiah 66:4 “when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.”

3. Jeremiah 7:13 “...saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;”

The servants continually sent out again and again represent the Old Testament prophets, men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Samuel, etc., who called God’s chosen people, Israel, to repentance and to accept God’s covenant.

1. Jeremiah 25:4 “And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.”

2. Zechariah 7:11-12 “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.”

As God called throughout the Old Testament the Israelites refused and made light of it and they went their ways prioritizing business, wealth, or personal gain over God’s invitation and thus walking in their sinful ways.

They made light of it:

God’s repeated call through prophets was deliberately ignored, showing the same attitude Jesus highlights in the parable.

1. Nehemiah 9:29 “...they...withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.”

2. Zechariah 7:11-12 “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear…they made their hearts as an adamant stone…”

They went their ways and:

1. Focused on exploitation, wealth, and property while ignoring justice and God’s commands

   Amos 5:11-12 “Therefore because ye trample upon the poor, and take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.”

2. Prioritized personal comfort and livelihood over God’s house.

   Haggai 1:4-6 “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? … Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.”

3. Leaders and people looked to their own gain, ignoring God’s commands.

   Isaiah 56:10-11 “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.”

Pattern of killing God’s messengers

As Jesus said of the Jews in Matthew 23:37, the ones God sent to them they slew:

1. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

Historical example in the early church

Stephen the martyr in Acts 7:51-52 also rebukes the Jews saying the same thing which they slew him for:

1. “Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:”

This happened in the Old Testament:

Historically, we see that God did all these things to the Israelites:

1. “he was wroth”

   1. Jeremiah 44:6 “Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.”

   2. Lamentations 2:3 “He hath cut off in fierce anger all the horn of Israel...and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire which devoureth round about.”

2. “destroyed those murderers”

   1. Ezekial 22:25-27 “Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls…Therefore will I pour out my indignation upon them”

   2. Jeremiah 19:7 “...saith the LORD, that I will break the vessel of Jerusalem, and of the people thereof, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again…”

3. “burned up their city”

   1. Jeremiah 21:10 “For I will cast you out of this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn this city with fire.”

   2. Lamentations 2:3 “He hath cut off in fierce anger all the horn of Israel...and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire which devoureth round about.”

Connection to AD 70

Many teachers interpret this part of the parable as foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 AD. Jesus also spoke of this destruction in Matthew 24:2.

But it seems more natural to view this less as a prophecy and more as a historical event, since there is ample scripture supporting the burning and destruction of the city.

Now the next set of servants seem to be when Jesus out “his servants” the disciples to call the lost sheep of Israel:

1. Jesus calls His disciples servants He sent:

   John 13:16 “I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.”

2. There were sent to the Israelites:

   Matthew 10:5-6 “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

What not worthy means

In Acts Paul parallels this entire parable and specifically the phrase “not worthy” here stating it was a choice on the side of the Jews to reject the wedding or in other words eternal life:

1. Acts 13:46 “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.”

We then see the disciples being sent out to determine if a person (house) was worthy or not, meaning do they accept the message of the kingdom or not:

1. Matthew 10:11‑13 “And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence...”

2. Luke 10:5-6 “And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the house be worthy, your peace shall rest upon it: but if it be not worthy, it shall turn to you again.”

Most of the Jews rejected Jesus and His servants, the disciples.

They judged themselves not worthy, and Jesus proclaimed that judgment would come upon them:

1. Matthew 11:20‑24 “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not…if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago…”

   See also Luke 10:13-15

The disciples were first given the earthly mission to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but most rejected the invitation. After Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples were commissioned to go into the highways of the whole world, inviting all people:

1. Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you...”

2. Luke 24:47 ““And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

We also see Jesus praying for all those who would later believe through the message taught by the disciples. These include both Gentiles and Jews who would become receptive to the gospel through their preaching, fulfilling the Great Commission:

1. John 17:20 “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word”

In ancient times, kings and wealthy individuals often maintained wardrobes filled with garments for guests who attended their feasts, banquets, and special events. These garments were often luxurious and sometimes provided by the host to ensure that guests were properly attired for the occasion, reflecting both the wealth and generosity of the host. The key here is that the garment is supplied by the king. We see that the garment is salvation, eternal life is given to us, we don’t earn or work for it but Jesus supplied it through His death and resurrection:

1. Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels”

2. Revelation 3:5 “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

   1. How does one overcome? 1 John 5:4-5 answers this and says it is the one that is born again (John 3) of God by believing upon Jesus: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

This guy responded to the call but he did not respond appropriately and didn’t come in the proper attire. He didn’t come clothed in the righteousness of Jesus which is the only way to enter heaven.

This king is God the Father and the wedding garments are His Son’s righteousness. He gives them freely if we but only receive them. The only way for us to be worthy in heaven is to have His garments or Jesus’ righteousness applied to us. The only way to receive the garments is by the free gift of salvation we receive through faith. The man described here fits those in Matthew 7:23 whom Jesus says to “I never knew you, depart from”. These are those that try to provide their own righteousness through works which God views akin to dirty rags Isaiah 64:6. This is exactly what the Jews did too as Paul states in Romans 10:3.

Revelation 3:5 shows us what happens to those clothed by Jesus. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

1. Who is he that overcometh or how do we overcome in order to get clothed by Jesus? Simply believe, receive the free raiment: 1 John 5:5 “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”

The result of trying to earn heaven or come to God on your own terms is described here as “outer darkness...weeping and gnashing of teeth”. A person trusting in anything outside of Jesus’s death and resurrection will not enter heaven.

We know “many” here can signify all just as Paul says “many” in Romans 5 describing who has sin and also who the free gift applies to. We clearly see “many be dead” refers to all as Paul says all have sinned in Romans 3:23 and were dead in them Ephesians 2:1. Therefore we conclude all are called to the wedding:

1. Romans 5:15 “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.”

In context to this chapter the word “called” in verses 3, 8 and 9, here is Strong's G2564 - kaleō and it is the verb from of call. We see the king’s servants were going out and about actively calling people to the wedding. But there comes a point when this ends.

1. The call of the gospel is unto all men as shown in this parable (See also Titus 2:11, 1 Timothy 4:10) but not all accept: 2 Thessalonians 2:14 “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Then here in verse 14 those same people are “called” but it is Strong's G2822 - klētos and it is the adjective form of call. It refers to something that already happened. Essentially, all the Jews throughout time that rejected Jesus were called, they had a choice but said no.

Why are only “few” chosen? Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:14 the same thing, notice Jesus places the blame on the individual here. This is not God selected or choosing a few: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

The word here “chosen” is Strong's G1588 - eklektos and it means picked out, chosen. The key here is not missing the point that any of the called could have become chosen but their own choice prohibited this. God is not hand picking people for salvation, the blame in #3 and #2 is all placed on the person and their choice.

1. Where are we chosen? In Him. Ephesians 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

2. Are we in Him before the foundation of the world? No. Ephesians 2:12 “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:” See also 1 Corinthians 15:22, Philippians 3:9, Ephesians 3:6

3. So how do we get in Him? Believe. “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” See Romans 3:25.

In conclusion, the original group of people that were called in verse 3 (the Jews) could have been eklektos (chosen) if they had responded appropriately to the call (Romans 10:3). The distinction is that while many are called (all are invited), only a few are chosen because they choose to accept and respond to God's call correctly by believing in Jesus. In essence, "chosen" (eklektos) is not automatic just because one hears the call it requires an active response to God's invitation, and those who respond are considered the chosen.

The are chosen to enter the king’s party wearing the garment of salvation obtained by faith.