Matthew 22:14 – “Many are called, but few are chosen”
Matthew 22:14 – “Many are called, but few are chosen”
Two (not necessarily contradictory) aspects of this saying – the numerical and the theological – warrant consideration.
1. Numerical
For Enoch Powell, Jesus’ words ‘few are chosen’ mean ‘that his salvation will not be for all, not even for the majority,’ insisting that ‘ignorance, incapacity, perversity, the sheer human propensity to error are sufficient to ensure a high failure rate.’ But, as the contributor to Hard Sayings of the Bible (presumably F.F. Bruce) wryly remarks:
‘They are sufficient, indeed, to ensure a 100-percent failure rate, but for the grace of God. But when divine grace begins to operate, the situation is transformed.’
The proverbial nature of the saying forbids us from using it to estimate to proportions of those who are finally lost and saved.
On another occasion, our Lord refused to speculate on the fewness (or otherwise) of the saved but urged his hearers rather to ‘enter through the narrow gate’ (Lk 13:23).
Shedd, (Dogmatic Theology, Vol II, 712) writes:
‘Some have represented the number of the reprobated as greater than that of the elect, or equal to it. They found this upon the word of Christ, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” But this describes the situation at the time when our Lord spake, and not the final result of his redemptive work. But when Christ shall have “seen of the travail of his soul” and been “satisfied” with what he has seen; when the whole course of the Gospel shall be complete, and shall be surveyed from beginning to end, it will be found that God’s elect, or church, is “a great multitude which no man can number, our of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues,” and that their voice is as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, “Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Rev 7:9 19:6.’
F.F. Bruce suggests that this is a proverbial saying. It crops up, in similar form, in the writings of Plato, for example, and in the gnostic Gospel of Thomas. In Pauline language something similar is expressed in Rom 2:13 – ‘It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified’ (RSV), and it is those who live ‘according to the Spirit’ in whom ‘the just requirement of the law’ is fulfilled. James, too, urges his readers to ‘be doers of the word, and not hearers only’ (Jas 1:22 RSV).
Bruce adds that, in uttering this saying, Jesus may have been thinking more particularly of the situation regarding his ministry at the time. There was, of course, a vast increase in the numbers of his followers after his death and resurrection. Paul can speak of the saved as ‘the many’ in Rom 5:15,19, and, as Calvin pointed out, his words cannot scarcely mean a minority. Calvin wrotes:
‘if Adam’s fall had the effect of producing the ruin of many, the grace of God is much more efficacious in benefiting many, since admittedly Christ is much more powerful to save than Adam was to ruin.’
Gundry (Commentary on the New Testament) is careful to observe the linkage between this saying and the parable to which it is attached:
‘“Many” describes as numerous “all whom they [the king’s slaves] found, both evil people and good people” (22:10). That is, the “many” represent the massive mixture of false and true disciples in the church. By the same token, the “few” represent the minority in that mixture who manifest genuineness of discipleship with deeds of righteousness. Since only one wedding guest is thrown into the darkness of night, whereas the rest of the guests remain in the lighted wedding hall, the proportions seem topsy-turvy. But Jesus could hardly have emptied the wedding hall of most of the king’s guests without ruining the festivities. So turning the proportions upside down with “few [are] selected” goes to show the pervasiveness of false profession in the church and the strength of Jesus’ concern over that problem.’
The Faithlife Study Bible also places this saying in its context. It
‘summarizes the theme of the preceding parables (21:28–22:14). God invites many people into His kingdom, as seen in the parable Jesus has just told (vv. 1–13). However, as the man thrown out of the wedding feast illustrates (vv. 11–13), not all who consider themselves part of God’s kingdom are genuine members of it (compare 7:13–14, 21–23). Those who hear and respond favorably to God’s invitation are able to join him in celebration (compare 25:31–46).’
Hagner (WBC) thinks that both quantitative elements (‘many’ and ‘few’) are semitisms, meaning ‘all’ and ‘not all’ respectively. As in v9, the invitation is open to all.
Blomberg concurs:
‘In light of the imagery of the parable itself and in view of common Semitic usage, “many” here may well mean all. “Few” may thus imply nothing about how many are saved except that the number is noticeably less than all.’
So also Osborne:
‘“Many” (πολλοί) and “few” (ὀλίγοι) should be interpreted in Semitic fashion as equivalent to “all/not all,” meaning all Israel was called by God but only some (including the Gentiles) were actually chosen for the messianic banquet.’
This leads us to consider:
2. Theological
Hendriksen, while reading too much into the numerical comparison between the ‘many’ and the ‘few’, rightly stresses God’s sovereign choice:
‘The gospel call goes forth far and wide. It reaches ever so many. Most of them are like the man in the parable: they hear but do not heed. In comparison with those many that are lost there are but few that are saved, that is, few that are chosen from eternity to inherit life everlasting. Salvation, then, in the final analysis, is not a human accomplishment but the gift of God’s sovereign grace. Cf. Luke 12:32; John 6:39, 44; Eph. 1:4.’
Calvin (Institutes) understands this saying as teaching that
‘there is an universal call, by which God, through the external preaching of the word, invites all men alike, even those for whom he designs the call to be a savor of death, and the ground of a severer condemnation. Besides this there is a special call which, for the most part, God bestows on believers only, when by the internal illumination of the Spirit he causes the word preached to take deep root in their hearts.’
For Bruce Milne (Know the Truth), this saying reflects a clear distinction between God’s general call (cf. Mt 9:13) and his effectual call (cf. Rom. 1:6; 8:28, 30; 1 Pet. 1:15).
The contributor to the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (art. ‘Elect, Election’) also interprets this saying in terms of the relationship between the divine call and the human response:
‘Although God calls many through the gospel, only some of those respond to the call and become his elect people. The text sheds no light on the mystery of why only some become God’s people. Certainly, when a person does respond to God’s call, it is because the gospel comes to him or her “in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thes 1:4, 5). When men and women refuse the gospel, it is because they have become hardened as a result of sin and their trust in their own works. Scripture does not go beyond that point in explanation, and neither should Christians.’
The interpreter should take care not to assume that the significance of ‘call’ is the same in all parts of the New Testament. In Paul’s usage, God’s ‘call’ is an effectual call. In the Synoptics, however, the same word is used to mean ‘invitation’. Carson, (Exegetical Fallacies, p63) points out that it is a fallacy to assume
‘that one New Testament’s writer’s prodominant usage of any word is roughly that of all other New Testament writers; very often that is not the case.’
According to the Grace New Testament Commentary, then,
‘this verse is not about election to salvation, but about responding to Christ’s call as believers to live in obedience to Him so that believers will be chosen to rule and reign with Him in the kingdom.’
F.F. Bruce (in his commentary):