Matthew 22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.
The “many” in verse 14, which are “called,” reflects upon the “many” in verse 9, who are in the highways, that the king had commanded his servants to go to, in order to invite the general public to the wedding feast. The “few” that are “chosen,” speaks of the narrow road to life (Matthew 7:14), in which, “few” there be that find it. In this marriage feast, someone showed up without the wedding clothes (Matthew 22:11), and he was rejected. What is the opposite of rejected? “Chosen.” (Matthew 22:14)
John Bevere comments: “Your destiny awaits you. God, men and even hell have plans for your life. Which one will you choose? Only one will yield eternal satisfaction and rewards. This message conveys the importance of cooperating with the divine call upon your life. Jesus states that many are called, but only few fulfill their calling. The sobering fact of His remark is the majority will not fulfill their destiny. This has nothing to do with God, but rather our choices. Could it be that we’ve forgotten we’ll all stand before the Great Judge? Then there will be various degrees of rewards ranging from those whose accomplishments go up into smoke to those who are awarded the privilege of reigning beside Christ. Your choices now determine how you’ll spend eternity.” (Fit for Destiny)
Here you have a person who was called, but when he showed up, he was rejected for having done something improper. What did he do? The symbolism appears to be like that of Heaven, where sinners will not be permitted to pollute Heaven but will instead be cast into Hell. The only way that any sinner can enter Heaven, and celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, is by first being cleansed of his sin, through Christ’s blood, and being dressed in the robe of Christ’s righteousness.
God has called many to salvation, and many have showed up, but not all who have showed up, have showed up with a testimony of complete reliance upon Christ, and indeed, in the case of the Jews, many had showed up with a testimony of self-righteousness. Take, for instance, Luke 18:9-14, which states: “Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else: ‘Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: “I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.” But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.’” [NLT] Two people answered the call, a proud Pharisee and a humble Tax Collector. The revered Pharisee was rejected and the despised Tax Collector was accepted. The one who was chosen to receive forgiveness was the one who confessed his sins and plead for the mercy of God. Hence, many are called, but few are chosen.
Calvinist, William MacDonald, comments: “Many are called, that is, the gospel invitation goes out to many. But few are chosen. Some refuse the invitation, and even of those who respond favorably, some are exposed as false professors. All who respond to the good news are chosen. The only way a person can tell whether he is chosen is by what he does with the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary, p.1286, emphasis mine)
Calvinists suppose that there are people running around who are secretly chosen for salvation, and don’t even know it until God pops Irresistible Grace upon them, and lo and behold, now they believe, and they believe solely because, before the foundation of the world, they were secretly chosen into an alleged, eternal flock of the Father. Hence, to a Calvinist, the only way that a person can tell whether he is “one of the elect” is whether he comes to a saving faith in Christ. Accordingly, this is why Calvinists preach to everyone, because they have no idea who these few “elect” are. However, Jesus never said that He came to seek and to save a few “elect,” but rather, that which is “lost.” (Luke 19:10) Besides, the elect in Christ are exclusively Christians, that is, those in Christ are those who believe and are now no longer under condemnation, being redeemed (Romans 8:1, 33), in contrast to all unbelievers who remain condemned in Adam. (John 3:18) That’s why you cannot have “elect unbelievers.” For more on that point, see Romans 8:33.
This illustrates the kingdom of Heaven, in terms of the Jews, Gentiles and a robe of righteousness. Jesus used a parable of The Great Feast where many guests were invited, but the nobles who were first called [the Jews] made excuses and were unwilling to come, and therefore the king ordered his servants to call as many as they could find [the Gentiles]. But one person showed up who was not dressed properly [without Christ’s robe of righteousness], and was cast out: “‘But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?” And the man was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’”
Question: What does it mean that “few are chosen”?
Answer: The answer is found in the parallel expression: “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.” (Luke 14:8) Having shown up unworthy, being without Christ, they proved themselves unworthy, and on that basis were not chosen.
Question: If “many” are “called,” what are they called to?
Answer: I might add, especially if they do not have a Savior, that is, if they do not have an atonement provision made available to them. In other words, what’s the point of calling them to Christ, if they have no Messiah to come to? That presupposes an Unlimited Atonement, but the calling may be akin to what the apostle Paul had preached to Athens: “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:24-31)
Calvinism: “For many are called, but few are pre-selected.”
Question: What does it mean that “many are called”?
Answer: By contrasting many against few, it follows that more are called than chosen.
Calvinism: As per John 3:16, “For God so loved [the few],” and called many, that the few will not perish, but have eternal life.”
Arminianism: As per John 3:16, “For God so loved [the many], that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever among the many that believe in Him, will be among the few that are chosen for eternal life.
