What did Jesus mean by:
“Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen”?

Your comments are welcome....
Life49


The Parable

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
—Matthew 22:1-14, NIV

We as professing Christians need to let the influence of heavenly Truth guide us into rightly dividing the Word of Truth, and avoid leaning to the wise and prudent for guidance, since Christ said these things (ie: His revealed Truth) is hid from them, and revealed to babes.
God so loved the world (ie:mankind); He is referring to all, everyone, when He says many; but the reality is that only few will make it, which Christ indicates to us in His sermon, saying, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven”; again, “Many will say to me in that day..”.
Many will follow the way to destruction, and only few will follow the way to life.
Everything that Christ tells us is one way or the other: We must either be a good tree with good fruit, or else we must be a corrupt tree with corrupt fruit; or if we forgive others, then God will forgive us, but if we do not forgive, then neither will He forgive us; or when we hear the things that He tells us to do, then either we do them, or we do them not.
Everything Christ teaches us is exactly agreeable with the law of equity. So when He tells us many are called, but few are chosen, it is the many´s own fault, because they chose which side they wanted; Christianity is voluntary to for righteousness and against sin, but there be some that suppose that a person can modify righteousness to accommodate sin, and get away with it, that is what that parable is illustrating; because people, including some in the church, suppose that they can get away with their own will, with no consequences.

The meaning of the wedding clothes part comes better from different translation:

And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
(Mat 22:12 KJVA)

The wedding carment means being washed clean (saved) but the "Friend" this parable did not did not believe or did not understand gospel to begin with, and thefore did not rejoice and had not the wedding garment on.


I hope this explanation makes sense?

God bless.

“Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen”, I think means:
God calls all wanting none to perish, but some refuse to come and accept His invitationto something eternally wonderful in exchange for something that is ending.

Would it not be possible that this scripture was inaccurately translated and that what was meant was: "Few chose to come" rather than "Few was chosen"?
I dont want to confuse the issue, i'm just curious.

I know how it sounds but it's translated correctly...
It's related to the truth that:
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
- (Joh 15:16)


And... We also know that this doesnt mean just the disciples but all believers in Christ, from this:
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
- (Joh 6:44)


God bless you all

Jari - Your post just illustrates how a good knowledge of scripture can help to dispell misgivings and misguided conjecture.

You've taught me something. Thanks.