January 15, 2006
YOU’RE INVITED! RSVP REQUIRED!
Matthew 22:1-14
In the mid-1980’s my Aunt Vivian received an invitation to attend a rose-garden ceremony with President Reagan at the White House. I found the invitation a couple of years ago when I was looking through a box of old documents and newspaper clippings. What shocked me is she didn’t go. You see, I’ve always been fascinated by the presidency—and especially the White House. I’d jump at the chance to meet the man we call “president.” I’d be thrilled to participate in a ceremony on the White House grounds. But those things just didn’t appeal to her. You see, the ceremony she was invited to marked the anniversary of her imprisonment by the Japanese during World War 2. And I suppose that was a part of her life she had no desire to relive.
It’s unusual to get an invitation from the White House. I suppose it’s more unusual still to turn that invitation down. But a far greater invitation has, in fact, been offered to you and to me. Matthew 22:1-14 tells us about it. It is an invitation that comes, not from an earthly ruler, but from the King of all Creation! And the glory into which He invites us far exceeds anything found at the White House or, for that matter, any palace found on earth. It’s God’s invitation to you and me to enter into His kingdom. Jesus reminds us of God’s invitation in the parable of the wedding feast. Follow as I read that parable found in Matthew 22:1-14.
Matthew 22:1-14 reads, 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.
“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…” It’s hard to read this parable and not think of the wedding supper of the Lamb described for us in Revelation 19:9. But I don’t think the wedding supper of the Lamb is the main focus of this story. With this parable, Jesus reminds the Jewish leaders, the people of Israel, and you and me that we’ve all been invited to dine at the banquet of God’s grace. And what a rich banquet it is! Listen to the king’s cry! In verse 4 he says, 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.
What a spread! Look at the picture Jesus paints! The table God sets for you and me is packed full of every heavenly delight and spiritual delicacy. God doesn’t operate on the cheap. When He invites you to dinner you’re going to feast! So when you come to the table of God’s grace, what will you find there? I find myself turning to the same passage over and over again to answer that question. Look with me at Ephesians 1:3-14. In Ephesians 1:3-14 we find God’s banquet menu. And the first item God serves at His table of grace is the promise of personal holiness. Ephesians 1:4 speaks of all believers who dine at God table and says, For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Do you ever get sick of yourself? Do you ever long to always do what’s right, always speak what’s right, and always think what’s right? God’s promise in Christ is that He will make us holy and blameless. When we come to his table of grace He promises that, one day soon, He will purge our lives of all sin. And why not? Verse 5 tells us that God adopts those who come to His table. In Christ we become His sons and daughters. We become members of His royal, eternal family. And not only that, verse 7 says that when we feast at God’s banquet of grace, we find redemption and forgiveness of sin. Anybody here need to be forgiven? Anybody here need to be delivered from hell?
At that’s not all, when we come to God’s table through faith in Christ verses 8-14 tell us that He gives us insight into the future. He gives us the gift of His Holy Spirit who lives in us and changes us from the inside out. And He gives us the guarantee of an inheritance that will never fade away kept in heaven for us. 2 Peter 1:3 puts it this way. At the banquet of God’s grace He gives us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us…
Where are you at in your life today? Are you hurting? Are you lonely? Are you confused? Are you angry and bitter? Are you restless and empty? Deep inside do you know that you’re missing it—that there’s got to be more to life than this? Then please know—God wants to give you more. In fact, He’s already set His table with you in mind. You’re invited and God’s just itching for you to come. If you don’t believe that listen again to the parable. In verse 9, the king commands his servants, 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…
Don’t miss it. God’s banquet is for everyone—both good and bad! God’s banquet is for you. Now understand, when Jesus talks about good and bad people here He’s talking about “good” and “bad” as defined by this world. According to the standards of this world some people do live more respectable lives than others. They don’t cheat on their wives. They don’t abuse their kids. And when they find a wallet on the sidewalk stuffed full of cash, they return it to its rightful owner. But here’s what we need to remember. Both good and bad are invited to the banquet of God’s grace, because both good and bad need to come. When we call someone “good,” that’s because we can only see the outside. God sees the heart! And apart from Christ our hearts are full of lust and slander and resentment and sin of every kind.
You see, the Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So it really doesn’t matter how good or how bad you think you are. You need to come and eat at God’s table of grace. And no matter who you are, what you’ve done, or how many times you’ve failed, God wants you to come! You’re invited. Come taste the King’s forgiveness. Come taste His release from shame. Come taste the fellowship of His family. Come taste new life and freedom from sin. Come taste His promise that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
That’s the King’s invitation. How have you responded? Do you know that most people turn it down? Most people refuse to come to God’s table and feast on His grace. That seems strange to me. I mean, most people would gladly fly across the country to eat dinner with the president. But those same people turn around and despise God’s invitation to spend eternity with Him. What causes a man—what causes a woman—to say “no” to God’s loving invitation? Indifference. Look again at Matthew 22:4-5. Here the king sends his servants out to issue a second invitation to come and dine with him. Matthew 22:4-5 reads, 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.
Today that would read something like, “But they paid no attention to God’s invitation and went off—some to advance their careers; some to their soccer games, their piano lessons, and their after school activities; some to read their magazines, play their video games; some to watch TV; some to raise their children to live respectable middle-class American lives.
Do you hear why most people refuse God’s invitation to feast on His grace? They’re indifferent to God and everything that relates to Him. They’re too busy today to worry about tomorrow. Too caught up in this world to concern themselves with the world to come. Too devoted to what’s temporary to make time for what’s eternal. Can I ask, do you have time for God in your life? Or are you too busy for Him? I know, I know—tomorrow you’ll respond to God. Next year when things settle down you’ll accept His invitation. No you won’t! If you won’t say “yes” to God today, what makes you think you’ll ever say “yes”? God’s invitation is for today. And today is the day you must respond. The King’s arms are open to you. He’s beaconing for you to come and taste His love, His forgiveness, His grace. He’s thrown the doors of His banquet hall open for you. Why do you keep on dumpster diving? Why do you keep on eating the trash of this world? What in this world could be more important than life eternal with God?
Of course, indifference towards God and eternity isn’t the only reason people refuse to dine at the King’s table of grace. A lot of people just don’t like the King. In fact, a lot of people flat out hate Him. That’s what we see in verse 6. After many who received the king’s invitation went off to do other things, verse 6 says, The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. Why did they do that? Was it because they hated those servants? No, the reason they killed the king’s servants was because they hated the king who sent them. And it’s exactly the same today with God. Why do so many refuse God’s gracious invitation to come and be saved through faith in Christ? They hate Him! And why do they hate Him? Because if God is God, they can’t be!
You can’t be god over your own life if you want to come and feast on His grace. You can’t call your own shots. You have to yield. You have to submit to His will. You have to obey His word. And you have to be saved from your sin His way, not yours. And that’s exactly what the last part of this parable teaches us. Look again at Matthew 22 and lets begin reading at verse 10. It says, 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 the king 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.
Why was this man cast out of the king’s banquet hall? Because he refused to come to the king’s table on the king’s terms. Understand, this man wasn’t thrown out of the banquet hall because he had nothing proper to wear. It was common for a king to provide wedding clothes to all who came to the banquet. This man apparently decided that his own clothes were somehow superior to the clothes provided by the king. And so, in an act of rebellion, this man refused to wear what the king required and that’s why He was rejected.
Don’t do what that man did. If you want to feast at God’s table of grace you have to come on His terms not yours. You have to put on Christ. You see, some people try to come to God’s banquet dressed up in their own good works. But Isaiah 64:6 makes it clear—our good works are nothing but filthy rags in His sight. Some people try coming to God’s table of grace all dressed up in their religion. “Lord, look at all the temple work I did. Lord, look at the church I belonged to. Lord, look at all the rules I followed.” And God will reply, “Away from Me. I never knew you since you did not know the righteousness that comes from God but sought to establish your own.”
No, if you want to eat at God’s banquet and dine on His grace you must wear the wedding clothes He provides. You must put on Christ. In Jesus Christ God became man. Only Jesus lived the perfect life we can’t live. Only Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty for your sin. That’s why there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved except the name of Jesus.
Religion with out Christ is rebellion! And those who seek to be saved by their religion or their church will ultimately be bound and cast into hell.
Don’t miss it. In the end, those who refused to come to God’s banquet were destroyed. The one who entered without proper dress was cast out. What will it be for you?
God loves you. He has prepared a banquet for you. You’re invited! And you’re your RSVP is required. The life God offers at His table of grace is life eternal. The riches of His feast are magnificent beyond your wildest dreams. Do you really want to keep living in your despair? Do you really want to keep dumpster diving in the trash of this world when God’s table of grace stands ready for you? Come to Jesus. Let Him feed you soul.
