We had a very exciting event take place here a couple of weeks ago. Right before our very eyes, Jim got down on one knee and asked Leslie to be his wife. With that part out of the way, now the work begins. They’ve got a wedding to plan! Any bride can tell you that even the simplest, smallest wedding still requires a lot of time and energy. A wedding is a huge celebration. It’s a party, celebrating the love that two people have for each other and, despite what marriage has become, celebrating the highest, most sacred bond that we as humans can enter into together.
When Erin and I were planning our wedding, it was a very exciting time. Talking together and dreaming of spending the rest of our lives together, counting down the days until we would be married. Those are days that I will always remember. Now, for most of us guys, we have the easy part to play in the planning of our weddings. Understanding that it’s the brides day, we say, “yes, dear,” a whole lot. Do you like the flowers? Yes Dear. Do you like the dress? Yes Dear. I remember showing Erin the tux I wanted and then her showing me the one I was getting! The bride and her family normally get to do most of the planning. Most guys are alright with that because the bride and her family do most of the paying too!
One of the parts of the wedding that takes the most planning and time and money, is the food. It’s not a wedding without the food. A year or two ago, Donald Trump was married, again, in what was called the wedding of the century. The feast that they laid out before their guests cost them over 2 million dollars. It was highlighted, like any good wedding feast, by the cake. They had a 7 tier cake with over 3000 white icing roses on it. They went all out. They set the bar pretty high, Jim. This was not an event to be missed and those who received invitations did not dare to turn them down, it was a once in a lifetime wedding, a once in a lifetime reception, a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Jesus told a story of a wedding feast that would have outshone even the great Donald Trump’s. This was a royal wedding. It was an invitation from the King. The food was ready, the decorations were out, the musicians were tuning up, the party was ready to begin. There was only one problem, the people who were invited decided not to show up.
In Matthew chapter 22 verses 1-14, Jesus tells the parable of the wedding feast. It’s a parable, like many others, that seeks to explain the reality of God’s kingdom through a story that everyone can understand. I think it’s interesting to note that when Jesus is referring to the Kingdom of God here, he compares it to a party. He compares it to an event that is desirable and where great joy and pleasure would be found. So many have this picture of Christianity as a dry, boring system of do’s and don’ts when the reality is that it’s in God’s kingdom that we find all that our heart longs for. It’s a place of laughter and happiness that we will never find in anything that this life can offer. Jesus compares it not to a funeral or some somber and sober event, but to a party.
Remember, as we go through this story, that this is Passion Week. Every word, every teaching, every action has added significance here as Jesus wraps up His earthly ministry. Remember, these are the events that ultimately will push the Pharisees over the edge and put into motion their plan to put Christ to death.
Listen to the end of chapter 21:
MT 21:45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
At this point, the only thing holding the Pharisees back from having Jesus arrested is their fear of the people. They are still concerned about outer appearances and how their actions will look to the people and so they wait for the chance to turn the people away from Christ and to do away with their competition. So, they are already fuming and Jesus pushes it even further.
Read Chapter 22:1-14
Like we’ve done with the other parables that we’ve looked at, let’s identify the obvious symbolism found in this story. The King would be God, His Son, of course, is Christ. The servants are different people at different times, and we’ll be talking about them later. The invitation that is offered is the gift of salvation.
Those who were hearing this story would have been shocked. In those days, a large wedding was the social event of the year. The feast lasted for days and sometimes even weeks. Messengers would have gone out months in advance and delivered personal invitations to all who were on the guest list. The thought that someone would refuse to attend any large wedding feast would be almost unheard of. The thought that someone would refuse to attend a wedding feast given by the king, would have been inconceivable. This was going to be an event! This was going to be a party like no other. Jesus quickly captures the attention of those listening so that He can effectively drive home the point of the story, that the Jews have missed the boat and salvation is being offered to all
We’re going to look at the three aspects to this parable this morning and then at the Big Truths that we need to pull form this story. The First part of the parable that we see is the:
I. The Initial Invite
When you are making out a guest list for something as important as a wedding, there is a logical place to start. You begin with family. You begin with those who are closest to you, that you’ve had a relationship with over the years. There may be some family that you would like to leave off the list, normally it’s family that belongs to your significant other, but you begin your preparations by inviting those closest to you. The ones who receive the initial invitation are the children of God, family, the Chosen Nation of Israel. Their invitation was given way back when God spoke with Abraham. As Abraham gazed up into the starry sky, God told him that his descendants would be as numerous as those stars and that they would enjoy a special relationship with Him, they would be His people. They would be the ones through whom He would bring His salvation to the world. What a privilege. This was God’s family and as God’s family, they received the first invitations to the feast.
Over the years, God sent many messengers to invite the Jews to the feast that was to come, when the Messiah would come and save His people. Through the prophets he gave them signs and clues as to when that feast would be. He wanted to make sure that His chosen ones would be there when the day came. They would have the first chance, the first crack at salvation. Then, the day arrived, the time came for them to take their places at the feast, to recognize and accept the Messiah as their Savior and they refused to do so. Over the years they had continually turned away from God and when the Messiah did come, for the most part, they didn’t recognize Him. New messengers were sent out, the feast is ready! John the Baptist went out to call the Jews to the table, Jesus went out, the apostles went out along with others that Jesus had commissioned. Each one had the same message, the Kingdom of God is here. The feast is ready! Some simply ignored them. Some were too distracted to come, caught up in their occupations and their busy lives. Some took it further and killed the ones who brought the message. John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus was crucified, many of the apostles were tortured and killed for the message that they brought. The Jews, as a nation, were the first to be invited to the feast, to the party, but they refused the offer. The King was furious and in the story He sends out His army to destroy those who killed his servants and to burn their city, a prophecy that was literally fulfilled about 40 years later when the Romans wiped out Jerusalem, killing the Jews and leaving the city in ashes.
Now what? Those who were invited first refused to come. The party was ready and the table was full, the time of salvation had come and God’s chosen people had better things to do than to be at that place where their entire history and relationship with God would finally be what it was meant to be through Christ. The refusal of the Jews to come was what caused Christ to lament in:
MT 23:37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
And because of their unwillingness, The King turned to the next step in the plan, His plan was not thwarted, it did not grind to a halt. It continued on, only now, there was a new focus. Now, there was a new guest list.
II. The New Guest List
The feast was going to take place regardless of whether or not the original guests came. The servants hit the streets again and the doors of the Kingdom were flung open for any and all who would come in, both good and bad. Now, we need to understand here that salvation for the world was not caused only by the Jews refusal to come. We are not the second choice, only able to take advantage of Christ’s sacrifice because the first choice didn’t work out. Salvation for the world was God’s plan from the beginning. Listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah as He speaks of Christ centuries before His birth.
ISA 49:5 And now the LORD says--he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength-- ISA 49:6 he says:"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
When Christ was a baby and was being presented in the temple to fulfill the requirements of the law, Simeon, an old man that had been promised that he would see the Messiah before He died, took Jesus in His arms and spoke these words:
LK 2:30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, LK 2:31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, LK 2:32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
He understood that the Messiah would not bring salvation for the Jews only, He was to be the light of the world. The Jews, however, were the people through whom that plan had been carried out. They were the people that God had chosen to bring Christ into the world, when the time was right. They had the privilege of a relationship with Him, of knowing Him as their God. They were the ones that had been given the prophets, they were given the prophecies about the coming Messiah, so that they would recognize Him when He came and proclaim Him to the world. God’s plan came through the Jews and that afforded them a unique relationship with Him. When salvation came through Christ, they had the first chance to recognize Him but they missed it because He wasn’t what they expected. He was not a conquering War Hero of a King, He was one of them. Because He was one of them, His divinity was overlooked. So, instead of the Jews responding, and in turn sharing that Salvation with others, they were left out and God’s plan moved ahead and Salvation came to the Gentiles, to all people, as well.
The first year that Ethan played soccer, His coach had a son on the team. They were young enough that everyone was going to have a chance to play every position. The place where everyone wanted to play was in goal. You got to wear a cool shirt and cool gloves and use your hands. It was different than every other position so the kids thought that it was cool. Most had no clue what they were doing and would be playing with the goal posts while the ball slowly rolled in beside them, but they all wanted to give it a try. Now the plan was for each kid to play goalie at some point but someone had to be first and the coach chose his son. Because of the special relationship that the coach had with his own child, he offered the coveted position to him first and then to the rest of the team.
Salvation was offered in the same way. It was for everyone, but the children of God were offered first crack at it because of their special relationship with Him. The salvation is the same. When the new guest list was made, when the servants returned with those new guests, it was the same feast. They were eating the same food; they were invited to the same party. It was only the response that was different. Whereas the first guests had been disinterested, too busy, and even abusive and murderous, those on the new guest list came eagerly and sat at the table.
The different responses that Christ talks about here can be illustrated very clearly in another passage of Scripture found in Acts. Paul and Barnabas were preaching the good news, or in the parable terms, delivering an invitation to the feast, this is what happened:
AC 13:44-48 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: " I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
The Jews rejected the message and spoke abusively against the apostles, just like in the story, and the Gentiles, like in the story, were honored and thrilled to have such an amazing opportunity and to find themselves on the new guest list. So, the invitation went first to the Jews, who, in large part, rejected it, and then to the Gentiles, who were thrilled at an invitation from the King and came in droves to attend the feast.
Then the story gets complicated.
III. The Dress Code
Up to this point, you have a pretty straightforward, easy to understand story. Now, it takes a strange twist. Seated among the new guests is a man who is trying to blend in. He has accepted the invitation and wants to enjoy all that the King has to offer, but he isn’t wearing the right clothes. When asked why he isn’t wearing the right clothes, he has no answer and he is promptly tied up and thrown out into the darkness, which would symbolize hell in this parable. Now, we can all sympathize with this. Many of us hate to dress up, even for a wedding. I told Ethan that we were going to go to Kurt and Sarah’s wedding and his first words were, “Awww man, do I have to wear a suit?” He likes the wedding, he loves the food and the people, it’s the suit thing that trips him up. We see a man here who apparently feels the same way. We read this and we go, wait a minute. Everyone is eating and drinking and having a grand time, good and bad have been invited and now we’re going to make a big deal over what someone is wearing? This doesn’t seem right. Well, you have to understand a few things.
A. The Clothes
You need to know what the symbolism is here. Jesus is not teaching that if we don’t wear a tie to church we’ll be thrown into hell. I read a sermon as I was doing research where the pastor was contending that we must always be in our best dress to represent the Kingdom of God. That’s not it. The clothes are symbolic of what is required of us to enter into the presence of the King, to have a relationship with God. What is that? What do we need to wear? The clothes are not Good Works, the clothes are not morality, the clothes are not certain prayers or church attendance. This was another stab at the Pharisees and they would have clothed themselves with all of the right external things. But these clothes are nothing short of the righteousness of Christ.
ISA 61:10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
And Paul puts it this way.
PHP 3:7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
The Dress Code for the Feast are the garments of righteousness and holiness that only come through Christ.
B. The Gift
Now the first time I read this I thought, well, what if he didn’t know? What if he didn’t have a way to get those clothes? If the King invited everyone off of the streets, where did they all get nice clothes from? Well, the listener would have known something that we don’t. At a Royal feast, the clothes would have been provided. You had only to respond to the invitation and the clothes would be given to you. This man sitting in his own clothes would have been given access to the same clothes as everyone else and chosen not to wear them. His punishment came not from not having the right clothes, but from not wearing them when he was offered them.
The invitation of God to come in to His Kingdom is an open invitation. But, our sins have to be covered. We have to be holy; we have to have that righteousness that Paul talked about. We have that through faith in Jesus Christ. Being clothed with Him is the only way we get to join the feast. That comes through the:
C. The Acceptance of the Gift
To accept the invitation is to accept the terms. Many people want to know God, they want to enjoy eternity in heaven, they want God to answer prayers, but we want to do it on our own terms and it simply doesn’t work that way. God’s grace is amazing and it covers our sins and gives us treasure when punishment is deserved but we accept that grace on God’s terms, not ours. To accept it is to accept Christ and to allow Him to change our lives.
I used to bus tables at a very fancy restaurant called Romolo’s outside of Nyack. The average meal for two was about $120. When I first worked there they had a jacket and tie policy. If someone showed up with out the right clothes, we had a closet full of jackets and ties for them to wear. Every once in a while someone would refuse. When this happened, they were not served. They were asked to leave the restaurant. I remember the owner just shaking his head once and telling me that he never understood why someone would not just put on the proper clothes and come in and enjoy their meal. But people are stubborn and in the case of this parable, some are so stubborn that even thought they want the benefits, they will refuse to clothe themselves with Christ and those people will be removed from the feast.
It seems harsh but what more do we expect God to do? He invites us, he initiates the relationship. Then he offers us what we need to have in order to enjoy the feast. And what he provides us came at great cost, the life of His Son. But there are some, like Ethan, who want to enjoy the wedding, but don’t want to change their clothes, they are comfortable as they are and in the end, they will be taken out and thrown in to darkness. Harsh? Not really when you consider that all of us deserve that fate and God has gone to great lengths to save those who will obey the dress code, a simple one, for the marriage feast.
IV. The Truth – how does this apply to us today?
A. All of Us Receive an Invitation
As Jesus has pointed out over the course of His ministry. The Kingdom of Heaven is an equal access kingdom. The work that He did on the cross was for everyone. When we grasp this and understand this, it will change the way that we look at others and it will change the priority that we place on sharing our faith with all others by our words and actions, regardless of if we think they are worthy or not.
B. Reminders still need to be made.
After the initial invitation was made, as the event got closer, messengers were sent back out to remind the people of their invitation. John was a messenger, Jesus was a messenger, the disciples were messengers, and today, we join that privileged company of those bearing a reminder of the King’s invitation to the world. As we head into Missions Conference we will hear from men and women who take this charge very seriously. But it’s not just for missionaries and pastors, it’s for all of us to take part in spreading these reminders through the Good News of the Gospel.
C. Grace doesn’t eliminate standards.
God’s grace is free, he provides the proper clothes, but to accept the invitation is to accept the terms and Jesus says that no man comes to the father except through Him. Nothing else will cut it. We can look as Holy as those Pharisees on the outside, but unless God looks at us and sees the righteousness of Christ in us through our faith in Him, we’re going to be asked to leave the party.
So, with these truths in mind, rejoice in your invitation. If you find yourself distracted, if you find yourself disinterested, take the time to consider what a privilege it is to be invited to a feast with the King. Ask God to fill you with a fresh sense of wonder and gratitude. Or if your sitting at the party and you’re not wearing the right clothes, all it takes is a simple prayer asking God for the strength to change and asking Him to come in and forgive your sins, and he promises that He will.
Sinners Prayer.
