A pastoral note before we begin: The subject matter ahead is weighty and sensitive. Before reading further, take a moment to examine your heart. Come not with a spirit of judgment or self-righteousness, but with humility, compassion, and reverence for God’s Word. These truths are offered in love, for the redemption and restoration of every soul.

“For many are called, but few are chosen”

(Matthew 22:14 KJV)

Last time we walked through the Parable of the Wedding Feast. The king prepared a banquet for his son and sent his servants to call the invited guests, but they refused to come. Some went off to their fields and their business. Others seized the servants and killed them. So the king sent his servants into the streets to invite anyone they could find, and the hall was filled. But one man was found without wedding clothes, and he was bound and thrown into the outer darkness.

My hope this morning is the same as it was then: that everyone here hears the gospel invitation. It is sent to each and every one of us, because it is not the Father’s will that a single person be excluded from His kingdom and perish in the outer darkness of hell. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV).

A Reminder

Let me remind us, or should I say, let me make sure. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior, he is a new creature, reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit; the old things, the previous moral and spiritual condition, have passed away. Behold, new things have come, because spiritual awakening brings a new life” (2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP).

Father God creates life, grants repentance, and gives faith. Fallen humanity is totally unable by itself to do these things which are necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-6). All that the Father gives to the Son will come to Him, and the one who comes He will certainly not cast out (John 6:36-39). No one can come unless the Father draws them (John 6:44-45). Those whom He foreknew He predestined, called, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:28-30).

So all of God’s chosen will be saved without exception. They will hear and respond because they have spiritual ears to hear the truth. God’s power makes this certain.

How do I know if I am among the few who have ears to hear? By responding to the call. Assurance of this certain call, this chosen call, comes from the Holy Spirit. “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6 NIV). “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13 NIV).

If we listen with our spiritual ears and respond to the invitation, there will be fear and trembling in our souls as we recognize that it was God’s work in us that caused our salvation.

Many and Few

This is a difficult and sobering truth, because it explains why many will suffer eternal punishment. Many are called, invited, but few are chosen, eklektos. Out of all to whom the good news has come, only a small number will receive salvation. Many are called: that is, all those who hear the gospel. But only some, the chosen, accept the gift of salvation and are clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

The few who are chosen parallels Jesus’ own forthright, eternal description in Matthew 7. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV).

The Lord Jesus Christ sees our wickedness. Whatever mask we tend to put on, He sees through it. Christ is, and will be, the wonder not only of His friends but of His enemies. They admire His wisdom, but will not be guided by it. They admire His power, but will not submit to it.

Enter

Let me say this as simply as I can, one last time.

Enter is an aorist imperative. It is a command, and the only way to obey it is by the work of the Holy Spirit enabling you to obey. Enter through the narrow gate.

Then comes the word for, a term of explanation. Jesus tells us why. For the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. Compare that word “many” to our text: many are called.

And then for once more. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to eternal life, and there are few who find it. Compare that word “few”: but few are chosen.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NASB).

Many and few. The wedding hall and the narrow gate are telling the same story.

Why Did They Not Come?

Why did they not come to the wedding party? Because they refused the invitation.

Why did they not come to the wedding party? Because they were called, but not chosen.

Both answers are true, and both stand side by side in the text. The invitation was real, and they refused it. And the few who came, came because God drew them.

People must respond to God’s summons with both repentance and right living, the supernatural, Spirit-enabled living that only God can produce, to be part of God’s elect. The man without wedding clothes thought he could sit at the table on his own terms. He could not.

So the command still stands, and the invitation is still open. The banquet is ready. The gate is narrow, but it is open. Enter.