The Parable of the Wedding Banquet—Bible Story and Meaning

Why Did Jesus Speak in Parables?

Before we look at the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, let’s take a look at why Jesus chose to speak to us in parables. If we’ve ever wondered why He started teaching God’s truth in parables, we can find the answer in Matthew 13 when the disciples asked Him this exact question.

Matthew 13:10-11 records their conversation: “The disciples came to Him and asked, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’ He replied, ‘Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.’”

There is a blessing in understanding Jesus’ parables, as Matthew 13:13 reveals: “Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” 

Jesus continues in Matthew 13:13-15, “This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’”

Although some of us may not understand why Jesus began speaking in parables, understanding them blesses our lives, as Jesus assured us in Matthew 13:16-17: “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Now let's specifically look at the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. 

Backstory for the Parable of the Wedding Banquet

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus tells the parable of the Wedding Banquet. 

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

To understand this parable, we need to understand the setting and timing of when Jesus told it. Jesus is referring to and addressing the interaction with the Jewish Chief Priests and Pharisees, who in the previous chapters have been challenging His right and authority to teach in the temple.

In Matthew 21:23, we read, “Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him. ‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave you this authority?’”

In light of their challenges, we read part of His response to them in Matthew 21:43, which He explains more in the parable. “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” 

Those two scriptures help to explain and set up the background and purpose for His wedding banquet parable.

Who Are the Guests Invited to the Wedding Banquet in Jesus' Parable?

In Matthew 22:1-3, the Jewish leaders are the king’s servants who have been invited to the wedding, meaning God has invited them to receive His kingdom. 

“Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.’”

In the parable, the king follows up his invitation in Matthew 22:4, “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”

Yet, still, it wasn’t enough for them to just refuse to come. They ignored the king altogether and captured, mistreated, and killed his servants, as described in Matthew 22:5-6: “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.” 

In response, Jesus described how, “The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city” (Matthew 22:7). 

After the originally invited guests snubbed the king’s invitation, mistreating and killing his servants, and paying the price for their crimes, he sent his servants to find new guests to invite, as described in Matthew 22:8-9, revealing how, because the Jews rejected Jesus, Salvation is now offered to the Gentiles.

In Matthew 22:10, Jesus says, “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.  So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’  So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.”

Salvation is now open to anyone who comes dressed to attend the king’s wedding banquet, regardless of their background, social status, skin color, age, and gender. Even though the parable talks about dressing outwardly, it’s referring to how we are dressed inwardly, meaning what matters now is that our hearts are changed, as noted in Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 

Why Did the Guests in the Parable Need Wedding Clothes?

In today’s culture, we may not fully understand the significance of a dress code. Many events have become much more casual, and people often resist the idea that someone’s clothing should determine whether they are welcomed or turned away. What once would have been considered inappropriate dress is now more commonly accepted, and in some cases even defended as a matter of personal freedom.

As the parable continues, Jesus explains that to accept God’s invitation, a changed heart is required, as noted in Colossians. In Matthew 22:11-13, Jesus describes what happened when someone came to the wedding banquet, ignoring the king’s dress code.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.  He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’" 

Many theologians and biblical scholars teach that the wedding garment symbolizes the grace, righteousness, and salvation found in Jesus Christ. In the parable, the man who showed up not wearing the wedding garment represents disrespect for the king and his wedding banquet. He symbolizes someone who says he follows Christ but outwardly shows that he has not been transformed inwardly, instead coming in disobedience and lacking true faith in God.

Isaiah 61:10 sums up God’s dress code beautifully, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

Meaning of "For Many Are Invited, but Few Are Chosen."

Jesus ends the parable by saying in Matthew 22:14, “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Biblical scholars and theologians believe “the invited” are the initial guests invited, symbolizing the Jewish leadership, who refused to accept God’s invitation.

As Jesus describes in the parable, they rejected the king’s invitation, refusing to come, which led the king to invite everyone on the streets, both “the bad as well as the good,” signifying God’s invitation to all humankind to come to Him.

With the invitation now extended broadly, the parable also shows the importance of coming to the wedding banquet properly clothed. The wedding garment points to the righteousness of Christ, which no guest can provide for himself. Those clothed in His righteousness are counted among “the chosen,” while those who come unchanged, without true repentance and faith, are cast into outer darkness, a picture of eternal separation from God. The “weeping and gnashing of teeth” points to the grief, anguish, and judgment of being shut out from His kingdom.

Jesus warns individuals against coming to God in their own self-righteousness with insincere faith, teaching that even though God’s invitation to salvation is available to all, we must all accept it and come clothed in the garment of righteousness He provides.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Caiaimage/Tom Merton

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.