UNLEARNING THE LIES ABOUT HEAVEN - 6

MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN – WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Just because Matt 22:14 says “Many are called, but few are chosen”, unskillful teachers of the word have HANDPICKED THE VERSE and used it to scare many believers, warning that some of them will go to hell if they do not obey certain rules and attain certain holiness.

On the issue on holiness, we have trashed that out, read lesson 5 over and over again and you will be blessed! 

Now the phrase “many are called, but few chosen” – what this mean?

In other to understand the meaning, we must first understand the context of the passage of which it was drawn from.

May I say that the phrase occur just ONCE throughout the entire bible and that is Mathew 22:14. The “many are called few are chosen” that occur in the KJV in Matthew 20:16 is not found in some versions of the bible, because the authenticity of its presence in the original manuscript is being questioned. But whether present or not, we shall explain how it was used in both passages and see for ourselves that it has nothing to do with a believer going to heaven.

It is just one of the verses THAT WAS HANDPICKED OUT OF ITS CONTEXT and used to rob believers of their peace and rest in Christ.

Now unto Matthew chapter 20:16…where it was first used.

When you read from verse one, the passage was about the lord of a vineyard who hired laborers to work in his vineyard. Later on he went into the streets to CALL/INVITE (note the word) others whom he saw idle on the streets, and at the end paid them all the same amount. This made the first laborers to protest that they came in first to work, and that others whom he gave the same wages came in the late hour. Then the Lord after asserting his lordship and will said; they that shall be first shall be last; they that are last shall be first and that for many are called, few chosen.

What is Jesus trying to say with this parable? And as you already know, this parable is likened unto the kingdom of God. So why is he saying “many are called” …who are the many, and who are the FEW who were chose?

Now follow closely, let’s see the other passage where the same thing was said after another similar parable…

In Matthew 22, Jesus gave another parable about the Kingdom of heaven and this time around he likened it unto a king, who wants to make a wedding banquet for his son, then he sent his servants to those whom he has invited before, that it is time come for the banquet. However, when the servants got to those people, it was said that they refused to come, he sent another set, many gave flimsy excuses of businesses and other things and yet did not show up, and again the king did not give up, he sent the servants again to these invited people, and this last time, the invited people arrested and killed the servants of the king. This made the king to be angry, he sent his army to destroy those invited people and their city. Now, finally the king thought of making the invitation an open invitation to just anybody…the bible specifically used the word “ANYBODY, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD”. So the hall was full of MANY PEOPLE. Afterwards, a guy was caught without a WEDDING DRESS which everyone was putting on. He was DIFFERENT and did not have this wedding dress, which made him to be casted out. It was after this, that the king said “many are called but few chosen”….

Now, if you to look into the two passages and strictly at the context you will see just two major characters, THE JEWS and THE GENTILES!

The Jews were the first laborers that were CALLED to work in the vineyard, they are the ones entrusted with the kingdom of God from the onset, they are the ones who first heard about it, but the Gentiles were brought into the scene towards the end. The Jews had received the promise of the messiah for many years and have been waiting seriously for it…the bible talks about one man Joseph of Arimatea that “he has been waiting for the Kingdom”, there are many of them like that…that was what made the Pharisees come to Jesus the other day to ask when the kingdom of heaven will come.

Similarly, the INVITED GUESTS of the king to the WEDDING BANQUET ARE THE JEWS, they are the ones who have received the invitation since ages past, God kept reminding them through Moses, Isaiah, Daniel and many others. The GENTILES ARE THE “MANY PEOPLE, GOOD OR BAD” that was invited on the HIGHWAYS AND STREETS at the late hour when the invited guest rejected the invitation to come to the wedding of the King’s son.

And of course we know the Vineyard, and the Wedding banquet here are symbols for the Kingdom of god while the Lord and the King in the passages are symbols for GOD HIMSELF.

Now to the question, who are the MANY that are called?…from the context of the two passages, the MANY are the GENTILES (nations that are non-Jewish). Note carefully how the word “are” was used for the many, while past tense “chosen” was used for the few. So the FEW chosen are the Jews.

The word “are” that preceded “chosen” was added by the translators of the KJV, the correct phrase is actually FEW CHOSEN, not FEW ARE CHOSEN…the word “are” is not present in the original manuscript of the bible. So it is “many are called, few chosen”

According to the parable of Jesus Christ, this is referring to how God extended the plan of salvation to the gentile nations. This Jews have were CHOSEN, the gentile nations were not. The Gentiles were CALLED/INVITED into the kingdom after the attitude of the Jews towards Jesus. This was exactly what Paul the apostle explained in Romans 9, 10 and 11. He explained how that the Jews rejected the gospel of salvation and nailed Christ to the cross, and then God took the gospel to the Gentiles who accepted the gospel easily.

The phrase is not talking about making heaven!

The phrase is not saying that some believers will not make heaven

The phrase is strictly about TWO SETS OF HUMAN RACE WHOM GOD APPOINTED UNTO SALVATION

That guy who was bonded and thrown into the outer darkness did not have the wedding garment; the WEDDING GARMENT IS A SYMBOL FOR THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. Gentiles (believers) are clothed with the righteousness of God upon salvation.

All those who believe and are clothed with righteousness of God upon salvation enters the kingdom of God, they cannot be thrown out!

MANY ARE CALLED means MANY WILL HEAR THE GOSPEL! When they hear and believe, they RECEIVE THE WEDDING GARMENT, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS IMPUTED BY FAITH!

See how Paul puts it “Whereunto He CALLED YOU BY OUR GOSPEL” (2 Thess. 2:14)

So some people have taught wrongly that using this passage that few people will be in the kingdom of God! NO!

This verse is not about us being few; it is about the Jewish nation being few!

Why will they be few?

1.  The Jews are just one out of over 200 nations in the world, so they will be few compared to the Gentiles!

2   The Jews who believed the gospel are very few, majority did not believe Jesus Christ even while he was alive in their midst, when he died, and even up till now!

Although they have been chosen before by God, to be his people, yet they will be few, WE WILL BE MANY!

Halleluyah!

Don’t live in fear of hell any longer! You are covered! Grace covered you! YOU ARE AMONG THE MANY THAT HAVE BEEN CALLED!

Finally, see the end of THOSE OF US that are called…

‘And those he predestined, he also CALLED; those he CALLED, he also JUSTIFIED (Amen?); those he justified, he also GLORIFED!” (Glory!!!!!)