The Wedding Feast
Notes
Transcript
The Wedding Feast
09-25-2022
Welcome
Thank you Matt, you did a great job
I had to go back and watch it because I went to Children's Church
That was one of the first times I had ever been to Children’s church
Moms and Dads rest assured your children are learning the word of God
It was fun and I enjoyed it
This morning we will continue to look at the Parables of Jesus
I want to take a minute to remind you this morning of why
It has been sometime since we were in the Old Testament, it is not that we don’t teach or preach from the Old Testament
It is that we are doing the Parables of Jesus because as we have been commanded to Go and make disciples we are to teach them what Jesus taught us
To do that church we need to know what Jesus taught
Which means we have to study what Jesus taught
Hence the Parables of Jesus
This morning we will be looking at the Wedding Feast Parable
Remember as Jesus taught he was walking around and still doing life
Like all the other parables this would have been something the people he is talking to would have understood and connected with
Even as we introduce this parable maybe you already can relate
Maybe you have been to a wedding feast, or thrown a wedding feast
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.
Jesus is using a wedding feast because people can and do connect with it
Jesus once again begins to share with them about the Kingdom of Heaven
That was His purpose was to share with them about the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus came to tell people that His Kingdom was coming soon and they had better do something about it
I know we have preached on the coming kingdom and how you and I should be prepared
If you will recall the sermon that Jesus will come back
3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
That Jesus will come back
Jesus preached a lot about the Kingdom of God because He wanted to be sure people heard it and understood it
It was not going to be an earthly kingdom like most people thought
We know that it is an eternal king that will last forever
So Jesus begins to share this story about the kingdom of God and how it will be shared
2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.
Jesus sets the parable again with a wedding feast
Something everyone could connect with
The players in the parable the King is God
Those who the feast was intended for are the nation of Israel
The feast is Heaven
God created heaven for everyone but first for the Jew
We have to remember that Salvation was going to come through the nation of Israel
It would have been the people Jesus came to first
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Paul says that the salvation is for everyone who believes
To the Jew first and then the Gentile
Gods plan for salvation to the world was going to come out of the Jewish people
But his chosen people are the nation of Israel
7 ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
The Jewish people were God’s chosen people
His plan was to use them to spread salvation to the rest of the world
So the kingdom of God was prepared for them but something happens we see in vs 3
Those people who were invited refuse to come to the party that was prepared for them
See the Jewish people had all the preparation
They were a chosen people
God spoke to them and guided them
God gave to them the law to follow which was to point them to God Himself
They had all the prophesy
We can read the Old Testament and see those books were written by men who received a word from God to the nation of Israel to return to the Lord
And yet they still the refused to come to the party
3 “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.
They went back out to share with them everything that was prepared for the wedding feast
This is just like all through the Old Testament the prophets would go out to the nation of Israel and like the slaves in the parable were miss treated and beaten
Think of the stories we read in the Old Testament and the Prophets would go and share with them what God was telling them
And the nation of Israel continued to turn from God
And like those invited who said no they didn’t want to come to wedding feast so the nation of Israel said no they did not want to return to the Lord
22 “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
The Prophet Isaiah calling on the nation of Israel to return to the Lord
To come into fellowship with God
And we know how the story goes right
They refuse once again
Just like the people in the Parable they refused to come to the wedding feast that was prepared for them
The nation of Israel refused to come into fellowship with God a relationship that was prepared for them
7 “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
In the Parable the King is super upset with those who were invited and still refused to come to the wedding feast
Quite possibly when the nation was taken into captivity
God was so upset with the nation that He used other nations to take them into captivity
Remember when the nation of Babylon came and took over the nation of Israel and carried them off into captivity
Or dare I say it remember when the nation of Israel was at the door steps of the promise land and refused to go in because they were scared
Just like God was so upset with those for whom the wedding feast was prepared that he would not let them come back
7 “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.
The slaves went out and invited anyone they could find
They went to the main highways and found anyone and everyone who was willing to come
Those people came in
Remember earlier we said that Salvation was first to the Jew and then to the Greek
Rightly so since the Jew rejected Jesus so The King which is God sent out people to the rest of the world or those who aren’t Jewish
Those people came to a relationship with Jesus through Gods use of Paul being sent out
How cool is that
Church that means that you and I have been invited to the wedding feast
Simply accept the invitation
11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
On the surface this seems very odd right
Like the King went out and invited those people to come in
They come in and now the king is throwing them out
This guy just didn't sneak in to the wedding feast he was absolutely invited and called to come
But there were strick dress code
Which would have meant that the clothes for these people was provided for them
So all this guy had to do was respond to the invitation to come to the wedding feast which he did and then put on the new clothes he was given by the king
But sadly this guy refused to put on the clothes that were provided for him by the King
This is the crux of the parable
You and I have been invited because salvation is for everyone
We need to respond to the invitation
When we show up
We don’t have to clean ourselves up
We don’t have to be perfect to show up
We don’t have to have our lives cleaned up to show up and be let in
We have to show up and walk in and then we put on the new clothes that Christ gives us
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
This is all that is required once we accept that invitation to come to Christ
That we put on our new self which is alive in Christ
Remember because of the Cross of Christ we have new life in Jesus
brand new in Christ
The clothes are provided for you and I
Just like the parable the clothes were provided for the man
And sadly he still refused to put them on
Church
There are some people who have responded to the call to come into fellowship with Jesus
But have refused to put on the new clothes provided by our Savior Jesus
They have refused to repent from their sin and fully trust in the Lord
That is how we put on the new clothes of Christ is by repenting and trusting in God
There will be some people who respond to the invitation and come forward
But they never put on the new clothes that are waiting for them
So church as we move to our time of invitation
The altar is open
The invitation to come to a a personal relationship with Christ has been given to each and everyone
Will you respond this morning
Will you come and will you put on the new clothes of Christ this morning
By repenting of the sin in your life and trusting Jesus
OR maybe you simply need to spend at the altar in prayer
The altar is open