Skip to main content

229. The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

Matthew 22:1-14
Key Verse: "For many are invited, but few are chosen."
Matthew 22:14

Is Jesus repeating Himself here? Maybe, but this time, His story of the banquet has a different emphasis. The first time that Jesus told this story, in Luke 14:15-24, He was a guest at a banquet Himself. The comment came up about the Great Banquet at the resurrection and Jesus took the opportunity to talk about who would actually be there.

At this telling, the Triumphal Entry has taken place and this parable is part of Jesus’ teaching in the temple courts. As we have already said before, it wouldn't be uncommon for Jesus to repeat Himself. Lecturers do the same today, telling similar stories to different audiences, adapting the message as necessary. This time, however, instead of dwelling on just the feast, Jesus adapts the parable to become an illustration of, not the Great Banquet, but the Kingdom of God itself.

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a King who prepared a wedding banquet for His Son." (Luke 22:2) In Revelation, we learn that the bride is none other than the Church itself. Yet, the Bride of Christ may not quite consist of those we may expect to be there. This again would be another dig at the religious leadership. It also serves as a sober reminder to us.  Rather than assuming that we will be there, it would be wise to regularly to examine ourselves.

Many of Jesus' teachings from now on will emphasize this theme. You may think you will be there, but you could be wrong. "Many are invited, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14) Certainly, the invitation is extended to all, but those who think that they will get in on their own terms, or in their own sweet time, are sadly mistaken.

Again, in this retelling, Jesus briefly mentions those who are distracted by the concerns of the world: a field, a business. Some who have the invitation extended become outright abusive! Again, those who would not appear to be worthy, the poor or sinners, are the ones who actually end up enjoying the feast, except for one individual who insists that God will just have to take him as he is. He rejects the garment provided, thinking that his filthy rags are good enough. "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6a)

This is like the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus Christ would die for the world, and as it says in John 3:17-18, "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's One and only Son." Again, as we read yesterday, He is the stone that is either accepted or rejected and what we decide to do with Him determines our eternity, whether we are in the banquet or not.

This isn't a decision that can be treated lightly. This isn't a decision that can be put off. This isn't a decision in which we can set our own terms. We are guests, after all, of the bridegroom, Jesus Christ Himself. He has paid the way for us to be there. Like the banquet, He has provided all we need to be there. All we need is to accept what has been given, including His "garment of righteousness instead of our spirit of despair," (Isa. 61:3) so that we can appear before His Father. Instead of being defensive about who we are on our own, we need to be grateful that, knowing who He is, The Holy One, He wants us to spend eternity with Him anyway.

Hymn: "Come to the Feast” 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

258. "Remember, Always Remember!"

Exodus 12:1-30 Key Verse: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance." Exodus 12:14 "Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." (Exodus 12:17) "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:27) The original act was an act of worship as the first true act of freedom for the people of Israel. They had been brought to Egypt by Joseph during a time of famine so that through Joseph God could preserve their lives. ( Genesis 37 , & 39-50 ) After Joseph died, however, instead of heading back to C...
Post a Comment
Read more

This Little Light of Mine

Scripture: Psalm 130 Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab. It’s the first Sunday of Advent. Today we lit one candle and heard the passage, in Isaiah 9, about the great light! We have heard that the great light is the child born to us on Christmas day. It is Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Christmas is a day we will truly celebrate as we have for years and years, and our ancestors before us for centuries. Christmas is coming! Advent means coming! It is good to spend the next few weeks reflecting on all that it means for us. We begin from the depths of darkness. The world is still suffering the effects of sin. We are still suffering the effects of a world broken by sin. And not just the consequences of our own sins. According to Romans 8:22, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” The fires in California, the floods and storms on the East coast, and all the other natural disasters we hear ab...
Post a Comment
Read more

August 13 What Is Fitting

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—how much less for a slave to rule over princes! ~Proverbs 19:10   On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ~Acts 12:21-23  Wow! Well, what in the world can there be to benefit us here? First of all, perhaps we should review the first Biblical definition of a fool, penned by no other than Solomon’s Father, David himself. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1) It is not fitting for the fool to live the blessed life. Why should they when they deny from whom all blessings flow?  King Herod was a fool. Now, just to be clear, this is not the Herod who ruled at Jesus’ birth and ordered the slaughter of the male children in Bethlehem. He ...
Post a Comment
Read more