What Does the Wedding Garment in Matthew 22:1-14 Represent?

The typical answer to this question in evangelical churches is that the wedding garment in Matthew chapter 22 represents the personal righteousness of Christ. Yet that is not the case.

Matthew 22:-1-7: “And Jesus answered and spoke unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”

It is worth noting here that this is a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem which happened in AD 70. The people who believe the wedding garment about to be spoken of is the personal righteousness of Christ are also likely to believe that Christians should support modern Israel. Both beliefs are key aspects of Dispensational theology. The influence of this has spread everywhere. Anyone who heeds the precedent set by the AD 70 judgment on Jerusalem must logically conclude that this judgment means modern Israel is a nation founded upon defiance of Jesus Christ which should not be supported.

Continuing in Matthew 22:8-10: “Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”

The typical evangelical outlook on these verses is that all the guests are bad- except the good ones are wearing the personal righteousness of Jesus which (they say) is covering their own filthy, sinful life. This outlook is a delusion.

Matthew 22:11-12: “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither (here) not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.”

What is the wedding garment? It was surely provided by the king. The man without the wedding garment had surely tried to come in on terms other than the king’s terms. But is the person practicing sin and looking to Jesus to clothe them someone who will be found wearing an acceptable wedding garment in the end? The standard evangelical answer is yes- because the standard of evangelicals is a delusion.

Christian baptism as it is taught in the Bible is supposed to be a true declaration that one has renounced their sinful ways and has turned to be under the authority of Christ. He calls people back under His authority so they can be His disciples who are molded into fitting products for His kingdom. Real faith in Him submits to His righteous ways and is diligent to better understand what is pleasing to Him. His true grace demands this. His grace also empowers those who receive it to be transformed as they continue as His disciples. This describes the narrow way to eternal life in Christ. Only those who are actually walking the narrow way by faith are cleansed by His blood and partakers of His grace.

Psalm 66:18: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”

Proverbs 28:13: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

John 9:31: “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.”

Consider the clear lessons in the following passage concerning the need to actually be subject to Christ and actually have a set apart, clean life through His grace.

Ephesians 5:22-27: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

This is not speaking about the personal righteousness of Christ covering a filthy sinner like many believe about the wedding garment in Matthew 22:1-14.

We are even told the following near the very end of the Bible concerning the actual marriage supper of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:6-8: “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

That is the answer about the wedding garment in Matthew 22:1-14.

Yet many, often in spite of knowing that the Bible says the fine linen is the righteousness of saints, still claim that the wedding garment is the personal righteousness of Christ instead. They are opposing Jesus’ true grace which demands that we depart from lawlessness and learn from Him to do what is right in His eyes (Titus 2:11-14, etc).

Note in Revelation 19:6-8 that the Lamb’s bride had made herself ready. This was more than a one time transaction. What was already seen in Ephesians 5:22-27 corroborates this. This will be further proven soon from other passages in Revelation.

How can anyone rightfully separate the wedding garment in the parable of the wedding feast of Matthew 22 from the fine linen which is the righteousness of saints that those who attend the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19 were granted to be arrayed in? They cannot rightfully separate these. Any attempt to do so will sound ridiculous and will likely involve prolonged babbling that no one can even understand (though some will agree with the liar anyways since their own ears itch for the lie to be true).

Consider also the implications of this interaction as Jesus was led out to be crucified.

Luke 23:26-31: “And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?”

And that could be no less the case now with an even more guilty modern Jerusalem. His death will not take away the guilt and eternal judgment of those who are at enmity with His righteous authority on Judgment Day either. Those who live after the flesh shall face the second death in the eternal lake of fire (Galatians 5:19-21, etc).

The doctrine of the imputed righteousness of Christ is a lie. It falsely implies that the narrow way in Christ is impossible to walk in or is optional to walk in. It is a subtle open door for the dissemination of the ancient lie of the Serpent “ye shall not surely die.” The Serpent said those words in the context of claiming that Adam and Eve did not need to be subject to God’s authority and do what He commanded them in order to partake of eternal life. When the Bible speaks about imputed righteousness, it is not talking about Jesus’ personal righteousness being credited to the Christian.

Look at what Jesus says to the church in Thyatira (and anyone with an ear to hear) in Revelation 2:20-23: “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”

The imputed righteousness of Christ teachers say that the Christian is wearing Jesus’ own garments which can never be defiled. Yet look at what Jesus told the Christians in the Bible- especially when He addresses the seven churches of Asia directly in Revelation chapters 2-3. These things would be vain sayings if the Christian’s garment was Jesus’ own personal righteousness covering them. Garments which represent the imputation of Jesus’ personal righteousness could not be defiled.

Revelation 3:4-6: “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 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. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

Revelation 16:15: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”

When the Bible speaks about God imputing righteousness to someone, it is speaking about Christ’s blood atonement being applied to an individual to forgive and cleanse them of their sins. The atonement being applied is not Jesus’ own personal righteousness. It was Jesus’ own personal righteousness which made Him eligible to die an atoning death for mankind so that atonement through His blood could be offered to the world. His atonement is only applied to individuals who exercise a living faith in Him. One must actually walk in submission to His authority and continually come to the Father through His High Priesthood in order to keep their garments clean. Those who never really repent and submit to His authority obviously never have their garments washed clean to begin with.

(Back to Matthew 22) Matthew 22:13-14: “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Many of the same people who teach that the wedding garment is the personal righteousness of Christ also teach that being cast into outer darkness is not the same as being cast into the eternal lake of fire (the Scofield Reference Bible indeed teaches that there is a distinction between being cast into outer darkness and the eternal lake of fire). The Bible rather teaches that outer darkness is indeed another aspect of eternity in hell. Being sent to outer darkness is inseparable from being sent to the lake of fire.

We see the same separation of righteous Christians and wicked Christian in Matthew chapter 13 as well. The separation is also described in very similar language there. We also see in Matthew chapter 13 in the parable which Jesus told of the wheat and the tares, and in how He explained the parable, that the wheat and the tares are the products of the good seed from God and the bad seed from the devil which were cast into the field of the world. The tares correspond to those who work lawlessness in God’s eyes.

Matthew 13:40-43: “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity (i.e. anomia- lawlessness); And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Matthew 13:47-50: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”