The Parables of Jesus
The Wedding Banquet
Matthew 22:1-14
June 28, 2009
This is considered by many scholars to be an extremely difficult parable. Some see the parable of the great feast or great banquet in Luke 14 as a parallel account. While there are several similarities such as the open invitation, I believe that these are two separate parables that were probably shaped by the gospel writers for their purposes while being informed by the other parable.
Jesus most likely told many parables on more than one occasion. He also probably told similar parables or even changed parables to fit the context in which he was teaching. Therefore we find different parables with similar details and we find the same parables with different details in the various gospel accounts. In this we remember that the gospel accounts are verbatim or even objective news reports. They are stories of Jesus told by unique people who shape their telling to fit the circumstances and communities for which they are writing. Therefore inconsistencies and variances shouldn’t cause us much concern. God still reveals Himself, His purposes, and His ways through these gospel writers just as God reveals Himself through the accounts and His Spirit today.
So turn with me to Matthew 22 as we read this parable that Matthew has recorded. As you do so, listen to this little story.
Young Ben had heard more than one sermon about the importance of surrendering our lives to Christ. Ben seemed well-attuned to the heart of God; he exhibited the selfless and kind tendencies that would take some—like his mother—a lifetime of sanctification to acquire. But to the dismay of his parents, he continued to resist t the invitation to give his heart to Jesus. In his preschool English, he would explain that wasn’t ready.
One Saturday morning while everyone was gathered at the table for a breakfast of Cheerios, Ben announced that he was ready. He left the table and went upstairs. Mom and Dad followed Ben upstairs expecting to see him praying but instead found him neatly packing his Star Wars pajamas in his little Sesame Street suitcase.
“Ben, what ya doin’?”
“Packing.”
“Why?”
“To go to heaven.”
Ben thought that in giving his heart to Christ, he would literally have to leave his parents and go live with Jesus in heaven, which was why he was so hesitant to surrender to God.
Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
"Then he sent some more servants and said, ’Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
"But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
"Then he said to his servants, ’The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ’Friend,’ he asked, ’how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
"Then the king told the attendants, ’Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
"For many are invited, but few are chosen."
Here is a parable that seems especially harsh. For many of us, it offends our sensibilities. But perhaps this is because we don’t understand the original context.
This is a parable about the kingdom and Israel. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who throws a wedding banquet for his son. Those who should know the king and his son refuse to come. They were too intent on their own little worlds to acknowledge and honor the one who provides for them and keeps them safe. In fact, the servants that the king sends are mistreated and killed. Like last week, these servants are representative of the prophets.
The common practice was to send an initial invitation that seeks acceptance. This points to Israel’s acceptance as being God’s people. Then a second reminder would be given to tell them of that everything was ready and that they should fulfill their responsibility and commitment.
However, it the image of the “enraged king” who sends an army to destroy the city and kill those who have committed but then rejected the summons that bothers us. Is God really that way? I don’t know about you but I have this image of someone who completely flies off the handle in a rage and temper tantrum much like Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano did several weeks ago. But the text does not indicate this type reaction. This is really our projection onto the text.
The text does indicate that the king was not only dishonored but was flagrantly disrespected. The king was slapped in the face and literally being challenged. We remember that ritual purity was important to Pharisees especially during meals. This is because meals were the primary context where honor and shame were assigned. Therefore, the disrespect was in essence stealing the king’s honor and literally mocking him. It was a huge offense that forced the king to respond as if they were assassinating him.
Jesus was telling his listeners what has happened and what will happen. For in 70 AD the temple and much of Jerusalem were destroyed, which is viewed by many to be a huge event of judgment by God upon Israel.
The call goes out to bring in the least likely people, which is something Jesus was known to have been doing. But then another disturbing situation develops. A man comes after being invited but the king angrily throws him out because he isn’t dressed appropriately. Adding to the problem is that many people conflate this parable with Luke’s that adds different descriptions of the servants going out quickly to gather people into the banquet. Those descriptions are not in Matthew so there is no indication that people were compelled to come in immediately.
Most likely upon receiving the invitation all those that responded would have responded to such a special invitation by going home and quickly changing. All that would have been expected would have been to have a clean garment. To come with dirty clothes would show contempt for the king and his banquet. This also gives us another layer of meaning that those who are still defiled are judged and excluded from the great celebration.
It is has been said and is still circulated that the king would have provided a garment but the cultural evidence of this practice is practically nonexistent. We also should not read too much into discerning if the “wedding garment” is anything specific like works, or the garment in Revelation or love. The emphasis is that this is the end times. This is the great banquet feast. This is the wedding of all weddings. From other scriptures we can infer that this is the celebration of the union of Christ and his bride, the church.
Judgment is also occurring. While many are invited and many respond to the invitation, not everyone responds appropriately. Jesus is revealing that some people do respond perhaps because it is free meal but they have not made the appropriate preparations for such an important event. What are those preparations? Jesus doesn’t say here but elsewhere we are reminded that it is those who have heard and are doing his teachings. They have changed and allowed God to change their lives so that they are known by God.
So we have a group of people who refuse God. They are rejected. Then there are those that respond to God’s invitation. But even here, there are some who have heard the call (the summons) but they have not responded by living this new way of life: kingdom life.
So what can we pull from this to apply to our lives about the invitation.
The Invitation
• The surprise of the invitation
We are reminded that not everyone who should be there will be there (at least that we often think should be there). God often brings in the least expected and uses them in a mighty way.
I believe that God still does this. God still surprises us. Often God surprises us to our shame. I remember a couple that shared how they tried to witness and help their neighbor who was a raging alcoholic. They prayed for her and took her under their wing but she seemed hopeless. She might get clean for a little while but then she went right back to the bottle. Eventually, they began to put some distance between them and her and even eventually they soon forgot to pray for her. She seemed hopeless.
After spending the summer in PA, they went back to Florida to find this woman sober for several months. Her countenance had completely changed. She was saved and involved in her church. She was completely different. She even thanked them for all that they had done for her even though they inwardly were thoroughly embarrassed by their lack of faith. But they were able to celebrate the amazing power of God and God’s continuing ability to surprise us in what seems to be the most hopeless of cases.
• The joy of the invitation
This is a story of the great joy. A celebration is at hand. The greatest celebration ever. When we gather together, it is taste of the great celebration that will happen in the future. The witness of God’s church should be an indescribable joy of inviting people to the banquet that God has prepared. This banquet is both present and future.
A few weeks ago, KFC through Oprah made it possible for every person to get a free meal of KFC’s grilled chicken. People were exuberant. The computer server was overwhelmed with requests. We were able to get the coupons and went the next day. The restaurants were overwhelmed by the requests. Free chicken!!
Oh that there would be even a fraction of the excitement and joy of God’s kingdom in His people. What might we see God do, if we had even a third of that excitement for God’s kingdom which we should have a thousand times more joy for compared with a two-piece chicken dinner. Should not the joy of the celebration of the kingdom be so evident that the invitation compels people to come?
• The urgency of the invitation
Lastly, there is urgency in the invitation. Do we believe that the banquet is ready right now? Do we believe that it is our responsibility to make the announcement that everything is ready now and that perhaps the doors might be closed soon? Are we alert enough to know that there are those who expect to be there—perhaps even ourselves—but may not be there? Are we preoccupied with everything else but God? There may not be any time to lay aside those preoccupations but right now. In fact, there isn’t any time except now. Today is the day of salvation.
Are we listening to God even right now because we know that any second Jesus will come again? It is easy to get lulled into complacency when it has been two thousand years and then believe that it might be another two thousand years again before Jesus comes to close the doors bring into the great wedding feast all that have responded.
There is something about the kingdom that brings urgency for this life and for God’s future activity. Do we live with the sense of urgency that the invitation brings?
I’ve asked a lot of questions in the last few minutes. The final idea is simple: respond. Respond is worship, in prayer, in love, in resolve. “I will not let this moment pass me by or any moment for that matter. Today is the day. Now is the time. The kingdom is at hand and not only do I want to a part of it but I realize that it is up to me to be that witness. Filled with joy. Surprised by grace. Desperately seeking God so that others may find Him.”
