What does "many are called, but few are chosen" mean?

Matthew 22:14, King James Version: "For many are called, but few are chosen." Whosoever Will, God Chose Judas: That line closes the parable of the wedding feast, and people quote it as if “few are chosen” means a small pre-selected list. So read the parable it closes. A king invites many to his son's wedding. They refuse. Some of them kill his servants. So he sends his servants out to the highways to invite everyone they can find, “both bad and good,” and the hall is filled. Then the king walks in and finds one man who came without a wedding garment. He asks him how he got in without one. The man is “speechless.” He has no excuse. And he is cast out. Now, who are “the chosen” in that story? The ones who came, and came clothed. The “called” were everyone the servants could find on the roads. The “chosen” were the ones who responded rightly to the call. The man thrown out was not thrown out because he was never invited. He was there. He was thrown out because of how he came. In Jesus's own parable, “chosen” is a word for the ones who answered the invitation, not a word for a list drawn up before the invitation went out. Scripture, King James Version: Matthew 22:14, "For many are called, but few are chosen.".

Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-18.