Matthew 22:1-14

Matthew 22:1-14

22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who held a wedding feast for his son. ³ And he sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.⁴ Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened cattle are all butchered and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!”’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went their separate ways, one to his own farm, another to his business, ⁶ and the rest seized his slaves and treated them abusively, and then killed them. ⁷ Now the king was angry, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. ⁸ Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.⁹ So go to the main roads, and invite whomever you find thereto the wedding feast.’ ¹⁰ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes,¹² and he *said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless.¹³ Then the king said to the servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in that place.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.”