As noted in the introduction to this section, verses 11-14 comprise a separate parable with a message of its own apart from the context in which it appears. In fact it makes little sense, if any at all, in its present location. How could a guest be expected to have secured a wedding garment if he had been invited directly off the street to come to the wedding? But this is not Matthew’s concern. For him the message of the parable is that a person who is invited to the Messianic banquet must not remain as he was when he was called. Participation in the banquet requires a transformation of life that is consistent with the profession of discipleship which one makes.

Look at reflects the situation in which, as a sign of courtesy, the host does not partake of the banquet but arrives later to see which guests have come and to talk with them. The translation may say “to see the guests who were there.”

Wedding garment may be rendered as “wedding clothes,” or the whole expression may be expressed as “was not wearing the proper clothes for a wedding.”

Since verses 11-14 are set off from the rest of the parable, as we noted above, then it is quite common to start a new paragraph here, as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have done.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .