Parables of the Kingdom: Matthew 22:1-14

“YOU’RE INVITED”

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

 

A wedding is probably the most happy and joyful event that people can attend. I’m not a big fan of weddings, yet I feel offended if I’m not invited to some. Though, I don’t enjoy them, I take it seriously to bear witness to the promises a couple makes to each other. It is an honor to be invited to such an important event and a joy to witness a couple begin their marriage. One does not say “no” easily to an invitation.

            Jesus tells a story about a wedding. It is outrageous. It is strange. It is a shocking parable. Here’s why:

·      A wedding reception is planned and none of the original guests who were invited attend. NONE!!

·      Reminders are sent out by messengers and the messengers are either ignored or killed. Imagine Lorie at Rosenort Post Office being lynched because she put a card in your mailbox about an upcoming wedding.

·      The father of the groom is so insulted that he kills the non-attenders and burns their town to the ground. 

·      When other guests are invited, one fellow is thrown out because he attends wearing shorts and a t-shirt. 

            A story like this is so unbelievable it’s hard to take literally. Yet Jesus wants us to take it seriously. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son…” Do we conclude then that God is an angry king who, if he doesn’t get his way, destroys his own people, burns their city, and throws guests in wrong clothing into utter darkness? That doesn’t fit with the God revealed by Jesus in his message of good news. 

            To be clear, this parable is about judgment, it just may not be judgment the way we think of judgment. What is this parable about? What are we supposed to learn? The short answer is: You’re invited to participate in the new kingdom Christ is establishing on earth – how will you respond to the invitation? How we respond is critical.

Two Kinds of Invitees (22:1-10)

 

Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who throws a wedding feast for his son. First, to be personally invited by the king to an event is in itself a great honor. Second, it’s a very special event, the wedding of his son. The twist in the story hits us immediately in the response of the guests. There are two kinds of invitees described in this parable.

Those who refuse to come – The king has a pre-arranged guest list. These people had been invited long before the feast was prepared since the king “sent his servants to call those who were invited,” (3a). They knew it was coming. They may not have known the date, but when the king calls, they were supposed to be ready. Yet in response to this first reminder, we are inexplicably told “they would not come,” (3b). 

            The king’s servants are not people to be ignored. Though they are slaves they are important people in the kingdom. So, to ignore them is a serious offense already. But the king demonstrates great patience and grace by calling the guests a second time. 

These guests of the king are no peasants; they are the elite of the kingdom, the people who are part of the inner circle and rule parts of the kingdom. We can assume this because Jesus told this parable to the chief priests and Pharisees who were questioning his authority. They were the people with the inside track on God; they were the ones who should have recognized the Messiah; they were the ones who God originally called into his kingdom. 

How do these privileged guests respond to the second summons? They have better things to do. It’s not important to me. I’m too busy. One has a farm; another has a business. In Luke’s version, a man has bought five yoke of oxen, and another married a wife. A literal translation of their refusal is “they wanted NOT to come.” These are passive reasons.

            There’s being passive (not caring); then there’s being Canadian or passive-aggressive (cursing someone behind their backs while smiling to their face). But these guests are downright aggressive – they kill the messengers! 

Those who do come – Following the bloody carnage that interrupts the wedding festivities, we find the king issuing new invitations. The king said, “The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find,” (8-9).

            Of the original guests, the king declares they were not worthy. There’s the judgment call. But it’s not based on what you would expect. If the chief priests and Pharisees (the pastors and college professors and college grads) are not worthy of the king’s invitation, who is?

            The servants go out and gather an indiscriminate collection of people from the streets, people with no special standing. They are the lowest social groups in society. As Jesus said earlier to the Pharisees, “…the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you,” (21:31). There is a further jarring note in this ragtag group of new guests as the servants go out into the streets and bring “both bad and good” (10) into the wedding hall. 

            Judgment takes a strange turn. Those we deem worthy are not, and those who are homeless, jobless, and shiftless, are deemed worthy of being the king’s guests. Our idea of judgment probably rests on our assumption that God judges us in the same way we judge other people. Our judgment is one of exclusion. Who’s in and who’s out. Who makes the grade of spirituality and Christian piety in our estimation. What if God doesn’t look at it like that? What if Jesus’ story is supposed to shock us into seeing God’s judgment differently – a judgment of grace, acceptance, and invitation – a judgment of inclusion? 

What’s the difference between the first guests and the second batch? What makes the second group worthy? 

            Was the second group more deserving than the other? No, the first guests were the original recipients of the king’s invitation and favor. So were the second group of guests. They were all invited. They were all favored by the king, and none had done anything to deserve an invitation. 

            Did the king like the second group more than the first? No, if we examine the king’s motivation for throwing the feast, it’s that he just wanted people to come and share his joy for his son. He wants to throw a party and have people celebrate, be part of his kingdom, and rejoice in life. 

            Did it matter that the second group had good and bad folks in it? No, there is no distinction or judgment made on behavior, attitudes, or morals. The king sends his servants to find everyone and anyone. Invite them all. No exclusions. 

            There’s only one thing that separates the second group of guests from the first: Presence!! The second group showed up. They came to the feast! The first group “would not come” but the second group filled the wedding hall. 

            What does it mean to be present? It means making the king’s (God’s) invitation a priority. It means seeing God for who he is and not what we think he should be. It means opening our lives to receive the life he wants for us. It means giving up control of our lives to God and trusting his ways are for us. It means listening to God and really hearing him in Scripture and through the Spirit. It means letting go of our agendas and plans and believing that God’s plans are actually better. It means bringing all that we are and putting it before God such as it is. 

            If we are not truly present it is because we are going after our “businesses” and “farms” (see 22:5). We get caught up in the busy stuff and we are too tired, too distracted to be present before God. If we don’t earn it or work for it, we assume that it has no value. Grace is hard to receive then. That’s why the first group didn’t come to the banquet. 

            To just come and be a guest at the banquet is to be worthy before God. We just show up. It is in God’s presence that we discover what he thinks we are truly worth. Paul said it best, “…whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ…I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…” (Phil. 3:7-8). He came with nothing because all his spiritual, theological, genetic, family lineage, works-based advantages were garbage compared to the riches of Christ Jesus. 

 

Breaking the Dress Code (22:11-13)

            

What about the guy who showed up without a wedding garment? 

            There are different interpretations on this matter. One interpretation implies that the king offered wedding clothes to all his guests and this guy preferred his t-shirt and shorts. In plain language, he came on his own merits and refused the gracious and righteous clothing of Christ. Another said that the guests were to go home and put on their best and come to the wedding. These are responding to the grace of Christ by working out their faith in deeds. Both have possibilities. 

            One thing that is peculiar is that the man in the wrong clothes is speechless. Why doesn’t he say anything? What if he had made his presence known to the king? What if he said:

·      I was hungry. I smelled the food. I trust you to feed me.

·      I was lonely. I saw the lights on. I trusted you to take me in.

·      I was thirsty. I knew there would be wine. I trusted you to give me a drink.

·      I was naked. I knew people would be well dressed. I trusted you to clothe me. 

·      I was sad and grieving. I heard music and laughter. I trusted you to share your joy.

·      I was empty. I saw abundance. I trusted you to fill me.

·      I was dying. I saw the door was open. I trusted you to give me life. 

             If he has said something, anything like this, it would have been enough. He would have shown up with all that he had and would have been present. Then the king would say, “My dear friend, I’m glad you got my invitation. Welcome here. You are worthy.” (Michael Marsh – An Open Invitation)

 

Jesus ends this story with a saying, “For many are called, but few are chosen,” (14). This phrase is both comforting and disturbing. It is comforting to believe that the only reason we are saved through faith in Christ is because God called us out of darkness. It is disturbing because we wonder why some are not chosen. All are invited, but some are not chosen. Why is it that some people who grew up in homes of faith rejected the seeds of the gospel? 

            If you want me to preach on the doctrine of election, I won’t. It is too mysterious a teaching to squeeze into a conclusion. At the same time, I think I have been talking about it this whole sermon long. 

            Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” (John 6:44). It sounds as if those who do not believe were not chosen. 

            Charles Spurgeon said, “I believe in the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen him; and I am sure he chose me before I was born, or else he never would have chosen me afterwards; and he must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why he should have looked upon me with special love.” 

            My issue with teaching the doctrine of election is that some of you are sitting there wondering if you are worthy of God’s grace. You are wondering if you made it in. You are thinking of what you could do to be a better “wedding guest,” to be chosen. 

            In a moment we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper, a preview of the wedding feast of the Lamb and his Bride, the church. Do you have to do something to be worthy? Do you have to feel something mystical? No! Just show up! 

                                                            AMEN