276. Was the Man without the Wedding Garment Harshly Dealt with?

No; he was treated as he deserved. At a wedding feast in an Oriental land such as Christ was describing, the king would provide garments for his guests, suitable to the occasion. A guest who declined to wear the wedding garment and went in wearing his ordinary attire, would be conspicuous and his conduct would be an affront to the king. He would naturally be considered as despising the dress which the king had provided and preferring his own. Christ, in the passage in Matt. 22:11-13, was warning his hearers against trusting in their own righteousness and rejecting God's way of salvation.