Wedding Banquet of the Lamb
Matthew chapter 22:1-14
Introduction
Good Morning,
Today we finish up our series “Love worth finding”
We have looked at God’s love for us and found that it is boundless and it is unconditional.
We have looked at loving others like Christ loves us and saw the only way to do that is to be filled with His Holy Spirit so we can love like Him.
It is impossible to think that we can love like God without God empowering us to do so.
Today, we look at the parable of the wedding banquet and the invitation God gives to each one of us.
What will we do with His invitation?
When we come to the table of the feast, will we have brought others to His table to enjoy the same invitation that He gave us?
Matthew 22:1-14 Read from Bible
Prayer-
Let me set up this text up.
The Jewish tradition was when there was to be a wedding that invitations go out (Save the date) thing of today and then as the wedding feast nears being ready, another invitation is sent out and a quick response is expected.
Characters in the parable-
King- God
Son- Jesus
Servants- Believers
Guest- saved and unsaved sinners
So the king had long sent out an invitation to this great feast, it was now ready and His servants were sent out to summon the guests to the feast. So in their refusal, it was insulting to the king to not respond. It was an insult on the Kings Son to not come to the invited feast in his honor.
It shines a light on the Jews heritage and the law they understood.
The Jews, who were to be God’s chosen people had been invited by God to be the chosen, and then when Jesus entered the world, they were invited to follow Him and they (Jews) for the most part refused.
The invitation then went out to the highways and bi-ways. The people on the highway and byway were sinners and the Gentiles, who never expected an invitation from God into the kingdom of God.
Those that didn’t expect an invitation, were the ones now invited by the king, and those who were to be the honored guest were the ones that refused and insulted the King by not responding.
Jesus talks about weddings a lot in His Word-
It was to be a time of celebration. Jesus turned water into wine as his first worldly miracle.
Weddings can be a stressful time for us as you get out invitations, as you make arrangement for your food and fellowship.
You have to book the venue and make sure all the things needed for a wedding are in place before the big day.
We have had too or will have to keep the list short so that you can keep the cost down, so each one invited is a special guest.
We all have had crazy aunts and uncles that we pray don’t embarrass us on our special day.
Jesus takes a wedding and makes it a backdrop for the importance of responding to your invitation to the Lord and the importance of inviting others to the feast.
If you have ever seen the movie wedding crashers, it takes everything holy and honorable about a wedding and turns it into finding free food, wine, and chasing women.
That is how some approach the wedding invitation of God.
They turn it into something it was not meant to be- instead of a celebration of life, by ignoring the invitation or not taking the invitation seriously, they will turn it for themselves to tears and heartache.
After reading this text, it should cause us to think a minute.
For those that have responded to the invitation of Christ, we should be praising God that the invitation was extended to us.
To those that see others that have not opened their hearts to the invitation of Christ, it should cause heavy hearts to see them get an opportunity to respond to His great invitation.
Look at verse 8 again-
“Then he said to his servants, the wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find. So the servants went into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guest.”
3 ways to look at this passage-
What will you do with God’s invitation?
If/when you accept that invitation, will you allow it to change the way you live?
What will we do so that others don’t ignore their invitation?
One thing I find about getting older is that it seems more of the people you know are dying off. Recently my friend Dr. Reid, He was 87 years old. This week, I find out our neighbor across the street from the church Norman died and he was 92. I find myself seeing that time is short and the time when God asks us to do something, we don’t always get a second chance. He used to walk his dog in our field and comment about current events and his love for his dogs. I got to ask him some spiritual questions but not sure where he is spending eternity, and I will not get the answer on this side of heaven.
So, let look at the first part of the three questions… what are you going to do with God’s invitation?
We see that the Lord has provided all that is needed to accept the invitation and your spot at the banquet table is reserved for now!
It is all about the Kings Son Jesus. If you do not accept the Son, you do not accept the invitation that comes from knowing the Son.
For those that ignore the invitation, there is a consequence… you do not get to sit at the table and it will not be a celebration of life for you.
Jesus says …He is the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except by Him.
The king has a son and the only way to the celebration is through the son. It is by invitation only. You do not know his Son, He will take it as a refusal.
For those that are too busy and/or ignoring and not paying attention, tending to their fields, taking care of their business, those who killed the son, mistreat the servants, they will not sit at the table of God.
Because only the righteous will sit at that table and we are as “filthy rags” without Jesus.
Revelation talks about “white robed saints”, and the only way we are righteous is by the washing of our sins by a holy God.
“Salvation is found in no other, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
“You believe in God; believe in me also.” John 14:1
Good people don’t make heaven; sinners saved by grace reach heaven.
We are washed in His blood and redeemed by the lamb of God so we can seat at the marriage table of the lamb.
The second part of the first question is / if you have accepted Jesus as Lord, has it change your life?
We cannot earn our salvation, but if you have been a Christian for awhile, the world should see Jesus in your life.
There should be a difference in your life.
There should be a change in your priorities and you should have a heart to see others come to the knowledge of Christ.
Second questions- What will you do so that others don’t ignore His invitation?
Some would argue that each of us comes to Jesus by ourselves… salvation is an individual response, but each of us that has come to Christ can remember someone helping and leading us to that decision.
The shoemaker that lead Billy Graham to the Lord was not a Bible scholar or had a divine moment of inspiration, he took the opportunity that God presented and led a man to Christ that has actually changed the world in many ways.
Do you have a heart for the lost?
Do you care if people around you slip into eternity without Jesus? That would be a yes or no answer.
What are you doing to see people come to Christ?
I use Restaurants as a place to ask spiritual questions and be friend someone who looks like they are having a bad day.
I will do little acts of kindness to see if the gospel can be lived out and maybe taught.
If we only hang around with Christians, God is not able to bring people to hear your story and be sensitive to the things of God
We can be too busy. So distracted with life that we miss that our life has been changed by God and that people matter to God and should matter to us.
Shoulder taps
God brings us opportunities at times that catch us by surprise- one author calls them shoulder taps, The times that God speaks to our Spirit directions on how we minister to His people. The author shares of a time that he was in a restaurant and the Lord said to him that he was to tell this lady that she was lovely. The man thought it unusual to tell a total stranger that and hesitated to tell her. As he went out, he kneeled down by her table and said, I don’t know if anyone has told you today but you are a lovely lady. The lady looked at him and said, I know you. He said, no, we have never met. She said I know your spirit. My husband died about a year ago and that is something that he would have said to me. He said that emotions got the best of him and the two hugged and he went out the door grateful that he was faithful to what God had said to him.
The Lord has done that in my life where Becky and I have done random acts of kindness and sometimes we find out the reason and sometimes, we just determine that we will be faithful to obedience.
I have heard and seen some of your stories of how we do acts of kindness and times we show Jesus to others in tangible ways.
Church is a hard sell to some people right now for a variety of reasons. But everyone wants to hear about Hope and that someone would take precious time with them. To point them to a God that care for them.
Free listening
In a major city, I think it was New York- Students put out about ten chairs right on the sidewalk of the city and invited people to just talk if they wanted too and they would listen. They were not offering great advice but promised to just listen. The chairs were full for the whole time they spent there. People want to know that someone cares and would take time to talk to them.
What is your temperature for the lost?
That was the question we were asked as ministers a month ago.
I really had to think about it and my answer.
I care about church stuff!
I care about growing the church!
I care about supporting my family and spending time with them.
Then I thought about that question and asked myself… “What is the temperature for the lost within the people of our congregation? “
Ask yourself that question- what are you doing and how much do you care for the lost that are around you?
That should drop each one of us to our knees and ask God to forgive us and help us to be sensitive to those that do not know Christ as Lord.
Closing,
(11) “But when the King came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, how did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend? The man was speechless.”
The scrutiny of the king brings Jesus final teaching in this parable- the door is open to all, Jews and Gentiles, sinners who need a redeemer. When they come to him, they bring a life, their life. Grace is not only a gift, but it is also a responsibility. We cannot go on living the live we lived before we came to Christ. We must be clothed in His righteousness and allow him to change us from the inside out.
If everyone of us came to worship next week prepared for God to do something not only as a church but in our hearts, we would see things happen in our souls and would make an impact in the community we live in.
Revival starts in you and in me! Before it starts out there with them! Amen.
