2.13.17 3.23.2025 Matthew 22.1-14 Called And Chosen

Start:

Entice: Everyone who discovers they are lost wishes to be found. It is not so easy to stay found. If discipleship is a walk, we are constantly tempted to get off the path.

If the key image is lost vs. found,

we are constantly tempted to lose ourselves again.

We have been summoned by God, out of our lostness. We all know many people who simply say, “I’m not interested.” We also know others who RSVP, but who do not prepare themselves to come to God’s party.

Engage: Christian maturity is largely a process of continuing to accept and act upon Jesus’ summons to come to His Kingdom Banquet. Let’s think about this process of being invited and how we respond, beginning with this story told by Jesus.

Matthew 22:1–14 ESV

1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast 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.”

Did you ever get a party invitation…that you wanted to turn down?

Perhaps because of other attendees?

Maybe skating party and you don’t skate?

Perhaps you doubted the sincerity of the person who had requested your presence.

On the other hand, have you ever waited for an invitation you craved?

Repeatedly checking the mail,

looking at your texts,

This parable adds something beyond both of those common scenarios. Accepting the summons but not the attendant responsibilities…going to the party without putting on your party dress. That was, in effect, what Jesus describes. And this tendency is a persistent temptation for those who would join in the Kingdom banquet.

Expand: God summoned Israel. Through the OT into the NT, we see how that summons played out. Invitation, response, acceptance, rejection, contempt, and pride. God continued to invite. He continued to summon, finally sending Jesus to inaugurate the Kingdom. Some who were called were chosen. We know about the 12, but there were at least 120 more who responded to Jesus’ call. Others rejected the call. Some answered the call but were not chosen because they either neglected to make themselves ready or assumed that they didn’t need to prepare.

Where does grace fit into this parable? That is not easy to say. It is a complex narrative and upon first reading sounds a little jolting. This parable exemplifies a trend in this Gospel as Klyne Snodgrass put it

More than the other Gospels Matthew consistently reminds his readers that the unlimited grace of the kingdom always brings with it unlimited demand. 1 Klyne Snodgrass, Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008), 320–321.

Parables were not intended to provide systematic or exhaustive explanations. They were a strategy to jolt the complacent to attention. In this case God gracefully prepared a banquet rejected by some and scorned by others. And we need to be careful about our response, our attention, our answer to God’s summons.

In this allusive parable Jesus reminds us that Kingdom is not automatic for us. When people throw the word “grace” around that is often what they mean, thinking “Grace means God did something and I’m exempt from any further engagement.” Jesus says, “Not exactly.” Having been chosen we continually must choose. Having been called we must continually respond. Having been included we must continue to extend the summons. Having been granted audience we must continue to differentiate ourselves from the world around us.

Explore:

How will you respond to His call? Will you choose to be transformed by His choice of you?

Expand: The story Jesus tells makes three assertions.

Body of Sermon: First, there has been

1 Preparation.

1.1 Exalted the son.

1.2 Invested his resources.

1.3 Enlisted Messengers.

The next assertion reminds us that God has extended His invitation.

2. Invitation.

A couple of reminders…God invites. He is honoring His Son. The terms are His not ours. We are not in position to negotiate.

So, Jesus tells us

2.1 Some Rejected the Invitation.

Other went beyond “no” and

2.2 Some Resisted the Invitation.

Those who said no were held accountable,

2.3 Those who resisted experienced a Reckoning.

But God never stops inviting!

2.4 The original invitees were Replaced.

God does not stop inviting! Many have responded through the ages. That is the first step, the easy part. The final assertion is that we must meet God’s

3 Expectation.

We are very good at the universal summons. We are not always as happy at the expected reaction.

When God invites us to His party, He expects us to show up properly “dressed.”

Jesus is not concerned with our previous condition but with our transformative receptivity. When a partygoer is found to have not been transformed, the Kings expectation is not met-and the revelers receptivity is rightly questioned…so

3.1 Some are left out.

3.2 Some are turned out.

for the feast.

3.3 Some are cast out.

for “disrespect”.

Shut Down:

Matthew 22:14 ESV

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

How do we respond to this text? What does God expect from us?

We need to understand the preparation.

A Parable like this sum up vast quantities of Old Testament information with a few powerful word pictures. God had prepared a banquet for His Son and per usual Israel was surly, unappreciative, preoccupied, and self-sure. So, they turned down the banquet The whole OT is summed up by those summoned by God to his lavishly prepared banquet saying “Meh…nah!” Next,

He wants us to accept the invitation.

There are many ways to turn God down. “Yes” should be much easier than “NO”, but our society in general, our culture in particular and even our own religious upbringing often makes it difficult to tell the difference between God’s invitation and hollow substitutes. When we respond positively to His summons, when we accept the invitation

He wants us to meet His expectations.

Grace sets the table,

and

Grace gets us to the table.

How will we respond at the table?

How will we react once we get there? Grace empowers us to change. So, change out of your filthy rags and come to the party to which we have all been summoned.

Many are called; few are chosen. Let us take Him at His word, put our best self forward and allow Him to transform us into all that He wants and expects us to be.