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What Does the Bible Say About..The Wedding Garment?

I would like to know what does Matthew 22 mean about the person not wearing the right wedding clothes and they threw him into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Is the outer darkness in heaven or hell? He said to that man “friend”. Does that mean he was a Christian that didn't have a personal relationship with God?

Answer

Since Jesus prefaces this as a parable about the “kingdom of heaven” he is most likely describing the church. Rarely is that phrase used to describe heaven itself. Also, it is a parable. Therefore you have to take the general message, and be very careful not to place undue meaning on every detail. That is, when he uses the word “friend” it may not imply anything at all, but just be the way people addressed each other in that time.

The fact that the man did not have a wedding garment, and refused to answer why he did not have one, may show that he was not supposed to be at the feast. What the king is asking is, “how did you get in here without coming through the guest entrance, where you would have been issued a garment?” By coming in some other way the man admits to trespassing, probably for illegal purposes. Therefore he is punished. Whether that punishment describes hell, or just those who are not Christians, is open to debate.