Matthew 22:1-14
The Great Banquet
(Luke 14.15-24)
1Once again Jesus used stories to teach the people: 
2The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused. 4He sent other servants to say to the guests, "The banquet is ready! My cattle and prize calves have all been prepared. Everything is ready. Come to the banquet!" 

5But the guests did not pay any attention. Some of them left for their farms, and some went to their places of business. 6Others grabbed the servants, then beat them up and killed them. 

7This made the king so furious that he sent an army to kill those murderers and burn down their city. 8Then he said to the servants, "It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don't deserve to come. 9Go out to the street corners and tell everyone you meet to come to the banquet." 10They went out on the streets and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests. 

11When the king went in to meet the guests, he found that one of them wasn't wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding. 12The king asked, "Friend, why didn't you wear proper clothes for the wedding?" But the guest had no excuse. 13So the king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and to be thrown outside into the dark. That's where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. 14Many are invited, but only a few are chosen. 

Matthew 25:1-13
A Story about Ten Girls
1The kingdom of heaven is like what happened one night when ten girls took their oil lamps and went to a wedding to meet the groom. [a] 2Five of the girls were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps, but no extra oil. 4The ones who were wise took along extra oil for their lamps. 5The groom was late arriving, and the girls became drowsy and fell asleep. 6Then in the middle of the night someone shouted, "Here's the groom! Come to meet him!" 
7When the girls got up and started getting their lamps ready, 8the foolish ones said to the others, "Let us have some of your oil! Our lamps are going out." 

9The girls who were wise answered, "There's not enough oil for all of us! Go and buy some for yourselves." 

10While the foolish girls were on their way to get some oil, the groom arrived. The girls who were ready went into the wedding, and the doors were closed. 11Later the other girls returned and shouted, "Sir, sir! Open the door for us!" 

12But the groom replied, "I don't even know you!" 

13So, my disciples, always be ready! You don't know the day or the time when all this will happen. 



Footnotes:

a Matthew 25:1 to meet the groom: Some manuscripts add "and the bride." It was the custom for the groom to go to the home of the bride's parents to get his bride. Young girls and other guests would then go with them to the home of the groom's parents, where the wedding feast would take place. 

2 Corinthians 6:1-2
1We work together with God, and we beg you to make good use of God's kindness to you. 2In the Scriptures God says, 
"When the time came, 
I listened to you, 
and when you needed help, 
I came to save you." 
That time has come. This is the day for you to be saved.