But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?" And he was speechless. —Mark 22: 11 & 12, ESV
The hall quickly filled up with every willing human the king's servants could find: prostitutes, beggars, tax collectors, Pharisees, roman legionnaires, rival factions, and so on. They were all dressed with the king's garments, each of them waiting for the feast to begin. The newlyweds were still intimate in the royal chambers. Something was amiss, thought the king. Not the music, for it played without any sour notes. Not the food, for it was crafted by the best royal hands. Nor the lighting, for it was aptly contained within Lebanon's finest trees. What was it, then, that felt so amiss?
He greeted each invitee with the same familiarity as if he always knew them. He hugged them, kissed them, complimented on their clothes, thanked them for coming here (having already forgotten about those scoundrels who disrespected his family) and complimented their clothes, joking that he paid the finest dressmakers in the land.
But one of them, a young, dirty beggar, had no wedding garment. He sat in a chair alone from the party, away from the food and the wine. He looked at everybody with difference, as if he felt different in a stand-out crowd. The king approached him, and asked the beggar somebody invited him. He said yes. Then the king asked if someone did not gave him the proper garments for the fest. He said yes, but refused it. Then the king asked why, and he was quiet. It pained him to see, such a beautiful young an, throwing away his chance at celebrating because of...nothing? Why did he choose to stay with those filthy rags when the king himself gave him the clothes he needed to wear for such joyous event? The newlyweds were coming, and no indiscretion could stop the feast!
It pained him so...But he had to go.