Wedding Garment - Matthew 22:11

[Wansvic]

Jesus is our High Priest and Christians become a part of the royal priesthood.

The earthly High Priest became so and was clothed during God's established ritual. In addition, the High Priest's sons were required to comply with the ritual as well. We see this in the OT. The ritual is then paralleled in the NT mandates. The difference is that the NT obedience to God's designed ritual of water baptism results in our being clothed because of Jesus' sacrifice and our obedience to God's command associated with the actual spiritual rebirth.

Ex 28:3-4
And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make HOLY GARMENTS for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

Ex 28:41
And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.

Ex 28:43
And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

Ex 29:4
And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. (WASH THEM IN THE WATER FROM THE LAVER)

Ex 29:8-9
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.

AFTER THIS OCCURRED THEY WERE THEN ANOINTED WITH OIL (a parallel of the infilling of the Holy Ghost.

Ex 29:7
Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

Ex 29:21
And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

Remember it was Jesus our High Priest who left us with an example to follow; His very own water baptism. He said let it be done in order to fulfill all righteousness. He certainly did not do it for the forgiveness of sins because He did not have any sins. He did it in order to fulfill the OT requirements, as well as leave us with an example to follow in order that our sins could be forgiven.

 

[Wansvic]

Adam Clarke Commentary:

Wedding garment - Among the orientals, long white robes were worn at public festivals; and those who appeared on such occasions with any other garments were esteemed, not only highly culpable, but worthy of punishment. Our Lord seems here to allude to Zephaniah 1:7, Zephaniah 1:8, The Lord hath prepared a Sacrifice, he hath Bidden his guests. And it shall come to pass, in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will Punish the princes, and the King's Children, and All Such as are clothed with Strange Apparel. The person who invited the guests prepared such a garment for each, for the time being; and with which he was furnished on his application to the ruler of the feast. It was this which made the conduct of the person mentioned in the text inexcusable; he might have had a proper marriage garment, if he had applied for it.​

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible:

A man which had not on a wedding garment - In ancient times, kings and princes were accustomed to make presents of changes of raiment to their friends and favourites, to refuse to receive which was an expression of highest contempt, Genesis 45:22; 2 Kings 10:22; Esther 6:8; Esther 8:15. It was, of course, expected that such garments would be worn when they came into the presence of the benefactor. The garments worn on festival occasions were chiefly long white robes, and it was the custom of the person who made the feast to prepare such robes to be worn by the guests. This renders the conduct of this man more inexcusable. He came in his common and ordinary dress, as he was taken from the highway: and though he had not a garment of his own suitable for the occasion, yet one had been provided for him, if he had applied for it. His not doing it was expressive of the highest disrespect for the king. This beautifully represents the conduct of the hypocrite in the church. A garment of salvation might be his, performed by the hands of the Saviour, and dyed in his blood; but the hypocrite chooses the filthy rags of his own righteousness, and thus offers the highest contempt for that provided in the gospel. He is to blame, not for being invited - not for coming, if he would come, for he is freely invited but for offering the highest contempt to the King of Zion in presenting himself with all his filth and rags, and in refusing to be saved in the way provided in the gospel.​

(bold / underline mine). More commentaries on Matt 22:11 can be found here

As you noted a garment was available had the guest but "applied" for it.

Jesus is our High Priest and Christians become part of the royal priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9)

The OT ordination of the earthly High Priest involved his receiving his priestly garments after being washed from head to toe at the laver. The High Priest's sons were required to be washed there as well. The ordination also included being anointed with oil. One can easily see a parallel in the NT requirements to obey water baptism and receive the Holy Ghost as referenced in Acts 2:38.

Ex 40:12-16
And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.
13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:
15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he.

Remember it was Jesus our High Priest who left us with an example to follow; His very own water baptism and the dove (representing the Holy Ghost) coming to rest upon Him.

 

[Pilgrimshope]

Interested in content from the biblical record that expresses how one acquires a proper wedding garment in order to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb?

"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 not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
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." Matt 22:11-14

“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.

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.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22:2-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24:14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“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 honour 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.

And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19:6-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”
‭‭John‬ ‭18:37‬ ‭KJV‬‬

 

[infinitekhanol]

To answer your question, JESUS is the One who clothes us with a wedding garment: We are clothed in His righteousness. We don't "acquire" it except if you count a free gift acquiring it:

Isaiah 61:10 New King James Version (NKJV)
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Revelation 3:5 New King James Version (NKJV)
5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

1 John 2:29 English Standard Version (ESV)
29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

Zechariah 3:4 New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

Philippians 3:9 English Standard Version (ESV)
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

And on and on...

Can we really say it is not acquired? especially when we compare along the line of Is 55:1 where it is written

" Ho, everyone that thirsts, come you to the waters and he that has no money, come buy wine and milk without money and without prices". The emphasis here is to come and buy without money, without prices. I think this has some kind of connotation to the great banquet of the Lamb.

I think though it is a free gift to the whole world, individually we are called to buy.

 

[JaumeJ]

As you noted a garment was available had the guest but "applied" for it.

Jesus is our High Priest and Christians become part of the royal priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9)

The OT ordination of the earthly High Priest involved his receiving his priestly garments after being washed from head to toe at the laver. The High Priest's sons were required to be washed there as well. The ordination also included being anointed with oil. One can easily see a parallel in the NT requirements to obey water baptism and receive the Holy Ghost as referenced in Acts 2:38.

Ex 40:12-16
And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.
13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:
15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he.

Remember it was Jesus our High Priest who left us with an example to follow; His very own water baptism and the dove (representing the Holy Ghost) coming to rest upon Him.

Are not our wedding garments the works of the saints? We being they?

 

[Pilgrimshope]

Jesus is our High Priest and Christians become a part of the royal priesthood.

The earthly High Priest became so and was clothed during God's established ritual. In addition, the High Priest's sons were required to comply with the ritual as well. We see this in the OT. The ritual is then paralleled in the NT mandates. The difference is that the NT obedience to God's designed ritual of water baptism results in our being clothed because of Jesus' sacrifice and our obedience to God's command associated with the actual spiritual rebirth.

Ex 28:3-4
And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make HOLY GARMENTS for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

Ex 28:41
And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.

Ex 28:43
And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

Ex 29:4
And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. (WASH THEM IN THE WATER FROM THE LAVER)

Ex 29:8-9
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.

AFTER THIS OCCURRED THEY WERE THEN ANOINTED WITH OIL (a parallel of the infilling of the Holy Ghost.

Ex 29:7
Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

Ex 29:21
And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

Remember it was Jesus our High Priest who left us with an example to follow; His very own water baptism. He said let it be done in order to fulfill all righteousness. He certainly did not do it for the forgiveness of sins because He did not have any sins. He did it in order to fulfill the OT requirements, as well as leave us with an example to follow in order that our sins could be forgiven.

Great read thanks for taking the time to share

“Remember it was Jesus our High Priest who left us with an example to follow; His very own water baptism. He said let it be done in order to fulfill all righteousness. He certainly did not do it for the forgiveness of sins because He did not have any sins. He did it in order to fulfill the OT requirements, as well as leave us with an example to follow in order that our sins could be forgiven.”

I just wanted to add this part which sort of fits into what you are highlighting from the ot priesthood pattern

“and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1:5-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭7:14-15‬ ‭KJV‬‬

 

[JaumeJ]

Context Crossref Comment Greek
Verse (Click for Chapter)
New International Version
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

New Living Translation
She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.

English Standard Version
it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Berean Study Bible
She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.” For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.

Berean Literal Bible
And it was given to her that she should be clothed in bright, pure, fine linen." For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

 

[DavidTree]

I think that's an enigma.

What a puzzling thought!

 

[DavidTree]

Can we really say it is not acquired? especially when we compare along the line of Is 55:1 where it is written

" Ho, everyone that thirsts, come you to the waters and he that has no money, come buy wine and milk without money and without prices". The emphasis here is to come and buy without money, without prices. I think this has some kind of connotation to the great banquet of the Lamb.

I think though it is a free gift to the whole world, individually we are called to buy.

You cannot buy from God, but you can do this:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

 

[UnnamedConcerned]

Context Crossref Comment Greek
Verse (Click for Chapter)
New International Version
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

New Living Translation
She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.

English Standard Version
it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Berean Study Bible
She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.” For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.

Berean Literal Bible
And it was given to her that she should be clothed in bright, pure, fine linen." For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

So you earn you salvation by works done in faith? Not wanting to be harsh, but that seems to be what you're ultimately saying.

 

[Wansvic]

You cannot buy from God, but you can do this:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Yes, without faith it is impossible to please God. Those who diligently seek Him will see and believe what is required of everyone. (Acts 2:38-40) And, upon their act of obedience (James 2:22) to the God-given command to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus their sin is forgiven and as reflected in the parallel they acquire their wedding garment.

 

[Wansvic]

So you earn you salvation by works done in faith? Not wanting to be harsh, but that seems to be what you're ultimately saying.

Actually JaumeJ provided scripture that is "ultimately saying" what many fail to grasp.

 

[DavidTree]

Yes, without faith it is impossible to please God. Those who diligently seek Him will see and believe what is required of everyone. (Acts 2:38-40) And, upon their act of obedience (James 2:22) to the God-given command to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus their sin is forgiven and as reflected in the parallel they acquire their wedding garment.

Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

Which came first 'the chicken or the egg' = 'faith or works'???

 

[Wansvic]

Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

Which came first 'the chicken or the egg' = 'faith or works'???

For sure. That's why I referenced James 2:22.

 

[JaumeJ]

So you earn you salvation by works done in faith? Not wanting to be harsh, but that seems to be what you're ultimately saying.

If you come tobelieve Jesus Yeshua, you will actively believe, not simply mouth that you believe. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Magenta]

If you come tobelieve Jesus Yeshua, you will actively believe, not simply mouth that you believe. Nothing more, nothing less.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

 

[Mem]

It's about knowing who you are in {relation to} Him. "Who are you?" he asked. "I am your servant Ruth," she replied. "Spread your garment over your handmaid, for you are my kinsman redeemer.-Ruth 3:9

Ruth means "friend; companion"

 

[infinitekhanol]

You cannot buy from God, but you can do this:
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The word of God is truth in every respect. The Isaiah 55.1 which I quoted tells us, if you are thirsty, come to the waters. Come and buy without price or money. Of course, God does not need our money or any material wealth from us, for the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. But we must trade in something (or rather "buy" if I may borrow the word from Isaiah) for the "gift" of eternal life. I think it is important we stress and understand this fact.

 

[infinitekhanol]

It's about knowing who you are in {relation to} Him. "Who are you?" he asked. "I am your servant Ruth," she replied. "Spread your garment over your handmaid, for you are my kinsman redeemer.-Ruth 3:9

Ruth means "friend; companion"

It is truly about knowing who we are in relation to God Almighty, our Father. For this is the essence of sending his begotten Son into the world - to give us understanding of the true God and His Son, Christ Jesus, that we may know Him, that we are in Him even in His Son Jesus Christ. 1John 5:20.

For us to be in the state of life to assimilate this understanding, He has to take away sin first by the death of his Son , which sin has been the barrier to knowing the true God and our relationship with him.

 

[DavidTree]

The word of God is truth in every respect. The Isaiah 55.1 which I quoted tells us, if you are thirsty, come to the waters. Come and buy without price or money. Of course, God does not need our money or any material wealth from us, for the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. But we must trade in something (or rather "buy" if I may borrow the word from Isaiah) for the "gift" of eternal life. I think it is important we stress and understand this fact.

OK, I can see that and fully embrace Isaiah 55.

What are you then using as collateral to 'buy' from God?