Posted by
ValiantForTruth on Thursday, June 04, 2009 2:32:20 PM
“Many are called, but few are chosen.” –Jesus Christ
These words come at the conclusion of the parable of the Wedding Feast given in Matthew 22. The parable begins with these words…
‘And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said…’ [Matthew 22:1]
In order to establish the context of the parable we must know who Jesus is addressing and what He is trying to teach them. Matthew 21 establishes these things…
‘Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching…’ [Matthew 21: 23]
They question His authority. Jesus then questions them concerning the authority of John the Baptist. They answer Him, “We do not know.” [Matthew 21:23-27].
Jesus follows this encounter with the Pharisees with three parables of which the Wedding Feast is the third.
The first is the Parable of the Two Sons and is introduced as follows: “But what do you think?” The second is the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers and is introduced with, “Hear another parable:” So, it is clear that Jesus is addressing the ‘chief priests and the elders of the people’ in all three parable.
The Parable of the Two Sons addresses the reference to John and how they had responded to him compared with the sinners who repented. The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers addresses their responsibility as vinedressers of Israel [Isaiah 5:1-7]. In both these parables they unwittingly condemn themselves with their answers before Jesus makes the application to them…
‘Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.’ [Matthew 21:45]
The third parable starts with these words…
“The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son…”
To properly interpret this parable we must understand its place within the context of Jesus’ address to the Pharisees.