"Many are called but few are chosen"?

Some Christians believe in predestination. Some feel that God has chosen certain people to be saved and certain people to be lost. They have a favorite scripture which they use. It's Matthew 22:14 - "many are called but few are chosen."

The meaning of this phrase is determined by the context of the passage that it concludes. Outside of that passage it has no meaning - it needs a passage in order to have meaning. The context at large is a group of teachings Jesus gave shortly before His arrest, crucifixion, burial and resurrection. These parables are Jesus' response to opposition and hostility that was increasingly being voiced by the religious leaders of that day. On Palm Sunday Jesus overturned the money changers tables in the temple, causing alarm for religious leaders about the repercussions Jesus' actions would have on business (Matthew 21:12-13).

The religious leaders questioned Jesus' authority (Matthew 21:23). By way of response, Jesus gave a parable of two sons (Matthew 21:28-32), one who rebelled and repented, the other who gave lip service, yet internally never agreed. Jesus said that the first son was like hated tax collectors and despised prostitutes, who started in rebellion but yet changed as a result of the gospel. Jesus equated the second son to the religious leaders, who outwardly seemed to be doing all the right things, yet inwardly, to use his expression from a few chapters later, were filled with greed and self-indulgence (Matthew 23:25). Jesus was sending a clear message - the world of religion needed to be turned on its head, just as He had turned over the money changer's tables.

Then Jesus gave the second parable, which again was a scathing indictment of religious leaders (Matthew 21:33-44). This parable was about a landowner who planted a vineyard, and carefully improved the vineyard, only to rent the vineyard to tenants when he went away on a trip. When the harvest came, the landowner sent servants to collect the harvest. The servants were treated brutally - finally the landowner sent his son, but the tenants killed the son, thinking that they could take the inheritance for themselves once the son was gone. It was a remarkable, chilling story of His own brutal beating and crucifixion, which would take place in but a few days.

The meaning of this parable? The same as the first (see Matthew 21:45). The chief priests and the Pharisees got the point; they knew that he was talking about them. They knew that they were rejecting Jesus, and they knew that they were the ones Jesus predicted as being responsible for killing Him. Their responsibility was a matter of religion. Religion causes us to reject Jesus, for religion is opposed to the idea that a relationship with Jesus, by God's grace, will supplant and replace its systems and methodologies of rules and regulations.

Then Jesus gave a third parable, which begins in Matthew 22:1, and concludes with the verse in question, "for many are invited (KJV says "called"), but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). This parable leaves no doubt that Jesus charged the religious leaders of that day with rejecting His kingdom, His radical new teaching of love, His grace and His peace. This parable, is about a wedding banquet. The parable proposes a wedding banquet prepared by a king for his son. Two invitations are given. The first invitation is issued to guests who refuse the invitation - who not only refuse to come but who mistreat and kill the servants who bring the invitation (hence the idea of "don't kill me - I'm only the messenger"). The first invitation went to the "respectable" people. The respectable people refused the invitation. The second invitation was sent to those who were hanging out on the "street corners" (vs. 9) -- people who were both "good and bad" (vs. 10) -- and as a result the wedding hall was filled with guests. But there's more. One of the guests was present, but was not wearing wedding clothing. He was thrown out by the king.

What's the meaning of this parable? Once again, the rejection of Jesus by religion - of that day - and of any day - is center stage. The invitation is given to the religious leaders who refuse to attend the wedding banquet, though it is given by God the Father. The larger issue is religion at large. The point is that the status quo of all religion is threatened by Jesus and His kingdom. Secondly, the parable notes that those very kinds of people most highly despised by the moral guardians, the religious leadership, those folks who were hanging out on street corners - those people filled the wedding hall. Thirdly, the parable notes that one person who actually accepted the invitation and showed up was not wearing a wedding garment and was thrown out. In those days, the host furnished the wedding garments, so the act of showing up, refusing to accept the clothing that was provided free of charge (BY GRACE) was an extreme act of disrespect. It was yet another religious innovation - another way of saying that the wedding clothing provided by God's grace was not enough, some other qualifications must be tendered in order to be properly attired. This analogy plays out in the book of Revelation, when the bride of Christ is GIVEN her wedding attire (Revelation 19:8) - contrasted with the religious imposter, the religious whore who controls and enslaves the world at large, who wears garments she has earned by plying her trade (Revelation 17:4) - things which are "abominable things" and "the filth of her adulteries."

Finally, we come to the short, terse concluding statement which, if you like, is the moral to the story. What does "many are called, few are chosen" mean in this context? It means that there is no way to be in Jesus' kingdom, no way to attend his wedding, except by honoring him, by accepting him as the very Son of God - Lord and Savior.

There is no way to even pretend to say "yes" and accept God's invitation and try to show up at His house wearing spiritual clothing we feel we have earned by the sweat of our own religious labors - we either accept the clothing God provides by His grace or we are thrown out of the banquet. We can't "get in" by attempting to "pay our own way" - there is no such thing as buying a ticket to God's kingdom of heaven through the religious brokers and ticket scalpers who stand outside hawking tickets.

What was Jesus saying at the end of this parable? He was saying that many are invited to follow Him, but few are willing to set aside their religious indoctrination, few are willing to lose their religious heritage, legacy and tradition, and accept His kingdom on His terms. There is only one way into God's kingdom. His name is Jesus. There is only one way to have Jesus. It is to accept Him on His terms, which is by God's grace. We do not deserve Jesus because we have obeyed religious formulations. We are not rewarded with Jesus because of our diligent obedience in following rules. That is the big lie of religion. We are given Jesus by God's grace, if we surrender our religion, if we absolutely, without reservation, accept Jesus.

It may help to know that the many of "many are called but few are chosen" in Greek is inclusive - it is not restrictive. Many means virtually everyone. The idea is that many - virtually everyone - are called or invited. The invitation is not only to the great, powerful, righteous, courageous and famous. The invitation is open to everyone. God is not a respecter of persons. "Few are chosen" - that is, not many are chosen on the basis of their response. The choice is ours, not God's. There is an R.S.V.P. on the invitation. God's intent is to issue an open invitation, with the proviso that acceptance of the invitation means absolute acceptance of the invitation ON HIS TERMS. That means, among other things, forgetting spiritual pride and allowing Him to pay for our entrance, to do all that is needed to be done, to provide everything - even the clothing we wear to the wedding. We are not free to "accept" the invitation and then do it our way - to add our little religious innovations, our little list of religious duties and deeds we feel will earn God's grace. We may be a part of His kingdom, we may be a part of the wedding, only on His terms.
Sadly, some people attempt to proof text this passage. They will try to turn this one verse into some kind of formula for predestination - that God chooses only a certain type of person. Some attempt to make this one verse into a legalistic formula saying, "whether or not we reach heaven depends totally upon our obedience."

This passage is about God's grace. This passage, like any properly understood biblical passage, must consider the broader context. This passage must be understood from the vantage point of Jesus Christ. Sadly, this one verse has been ripped out of its context and used to support methodologies and ideas about spiritual reality (OK - let's call them what they are - RELIGION).

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