Matthew 22:12: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? and he was speechless.
Wedding garment…was it so important? Yes it was. The people who were invited for the wedding had to wear a wedding garment. The man here in this passage entered the wedding feast with no wedding garment on him. He somehow managed to enter inside while everyone else had their wedding garment on them. Either he wanted to dishonor the host or he deliberately did not wear it. He had no answer to defend his action. He was thrown out of the feast, into darkness.
The wedding garment is nothing but the righteousness of Christ which is given to those who accept the invitation of the wedding feast. All the guests or the invited ones are provided with this garment. We are invited for the wedding feast of the Lamb of God. We are given salvation which is free of cost and clothed with the garment, which is God’s righteousness. We cannot make it our way. We cannot feel adequate in our own righteousness. If we feel that we can work it our way and stand on our own righteousness, it means we are dishonoring God. We cannot reach God through our own efforts or means of salvation. We can do it only through Christ and remain in the wedding feast.
Have you tried your own efforts to reach God? Have you rejected or underestimated the righteousness of God? Our ways of righteousness are like filthy rags before God. We have to accept God’s wedding garment of righteousness and honor God so that we will not be thrown out of the wedding feast and be an insult or shame to ourselves without the wedding garment. What would you choose?
