Matthew 22:10

‘And those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good, and the wedding was filled with guests.'

And so the servants went out into the highways, and they gathered all whom they found, without distinction, until the wedding was filled with guests. ‘The bad' probably signifies the public servants and prostitutes (Matthew 21:31), ‘the good' the ordinary Jewish people who in contrast lived what were seen as ‘good' lives. But as the next verse demonstrates, all these invitees were given time to attire themselves suitably for the wedding as best they could. Jesus expects us to assume it from what follows. This was important for it would reveal the genuineness of their appreciation and acceptance of the status of the Son. For as we shall soon discover those who came with the wrong attitude would not be welcome. This should be noted. Those only would be welcomed who had responded to the king's invitation in the right manner. It was not to be a question of what they had been. It was to be a question of whether they were prepared to reveal their submission to the king's son, and to honour His presence, something which would be revealed by the way that they presented themselves.

Here was an offer for men of all kind to come into the Kingly Rule of Heaven, as they had with John the Baptist (Matthew 21:31). But it required response, repentance (compare Isaiah 1:16), a ‘change of clothes' and the commencement of a new life (compare Zechariah 3:3; Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9). They had to be clothed with ‘wedding-garments'. It was that fact that proved that they were genuine responders to His invitation. In Revelation 19:8 those are ‘the righteousnesses of the saints (people of God)' which were the evidence of the true bride.