Matthew 22:1-14

Matthew 22:1-14

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Jesus continues to teach in parables about the kingdom and those who will participate in it.  He turns from the vineyard illustration to that of a wedding feast.  God is preparing a marvelous wedding between the Son and His bride.  He desires for this wedding to be filled with those who celebrate and worship Him.  It is a wonderful thing to be invited to the wedding of the ages.  It is an even more wonderful thing to be invited to be the bride at that wedding.  This parable describes how different people respond to this glorious invitation.  God is on mission to fill this wedding with those who will rejoice and worship in the love of the Son.  This is God’s priority in the world.  Our priority must be to make sure that we have responded correctly to His loving invitation and then be intentional about inviting others to come and participate with us in this glorious celebration.

ISRAEL REJECTS THE GOSPEL: The wedding feast is God’s invitation to a relationship with Him through His Son.  God’s plan was to offer this gift of salvation through the nation of Israel and then from them to all the nations of the world.  This is what God revealed to Abraham.  However, though they had been invited with ample time, when the date came, they refused to come.  There were several reactions.  Some simply ignored the invitation and went about their business.  Others mistreated the messengers who invited them to come.  Still others, killed those messengers.  Many in Israel were not necessarily antagonistic towards Christ, they simply did not believe.  However, there were some who outright rejected and hated Jesus to the point of killing Him and those who were sent to call others to Him.  These same reactions will occur today.  As we seek to share Christ with people, some will ignore, others will argue and debate, while some will become violent.  It is hard to understand how such a wonderful invitation to enjoy such a glorious relationship could be ignored much less inspire violence.  But man’s hart that is prone to self-idolatry will often lead men to reject any call to worship God.

GENTILES RECEIVE THE GOSPEL: When the original guests rejected their invitation to the feat, he sends his servants to the highways and byways to invite whomsoever was found that was willing to come.  God is determined to fill heaven with those who will worship Him for eternity.  The rejection by many of the nation of Israel will not thwart His mission of having people from all nations worshiping Him.  He has called His ministers to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.  This glorious feast will be full of people no matter what their age, social status, ethnicity or gender.  He invites all people everywhere to come to this glorious place He has prepared for us to spend eternity.  By His grace and because of His kind invitation, many receive the Gospel by placing their faith in Christ and mercifully find themselves with the joy of a relationship with Him.  None of us deserve to be saved, it is only by His grace.  His love for us is so great and His desire to see us rejoicing in a relationship with Him is so strong that He insists that all men everywhere be given this glorious invitation.  We how have received this invitation ought to be actively involved in the Mission of inviting others.

MANY REFUSE THE GOSPEL: Lest there be some misunderstanding about the Gospel, Jesus tells of a person who came to the wedding feast without the proper clothing.  It is my understanding that in this culture the host provided the clothing for the guests.  Apparently, this guest refused the clothing provided by the host, considering that his clothing was either sufficient or superior.  There are those who believe that they can come into fellowship with the Father in their own righteousness.  There is no one who has this ability all men are only saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Apart from Him there is no covering for sin and no forgiveness.  Those who attempt to come to God in their own righteousness have refused the Gospel that has been offered to them and will be eternally lost.  The Father’s invitation is to come into relationship with Him through faith in His Son who was sent as our sacrifice for sin.  This is the invitation we are called to proclaim so that all who believe might enjoy the wedding with us.

APPLICATION: Guard our hearts from self-importance that will draw us away from intimacy with God.  Faithfully proclaim the Gospel to others who need to hear the glorious Gospel of Jesus.  Never trust in our own merits for any kind of standing before the Lord.