A Surprising Wedding Feast

Matthew 22:1-14

In Matthew 22 Jesus tells yet another parable. A parable is a story with a spiritual meaning that reveals rich redemptive truths and further hardens the hearts of the unreceptive. He uses all kinds of illustrations in His parables—Birds, seeds, trees, vineyards. Now here, a wedding feast.

For those married in the room, I wonder how many memories you have of your wedding or the planning that went into it.

What I remember is the two most stressful things or the things that took a great amount of time, were the guest list—Who do we invite, who should we prioritize, we only have so much room, etc.

AND clothes for the wedding party. The brides preferences and colors maybe can buck up against the grooms preferences and budget. Everyone has their preferences or nonnegotiables

Would you believe it if I told you that God, the King of the universe has a set wedding list and required garments?

The parable before us is a great big surprise.

Main point: the great surprise of God’s Kingdom is though the gospel invitation goes out to all, the Kingdom feast is for us who are chosen by the King and clothed with His righteousness.

There seems to be this unconditional call, but then a very crucial condition for actually enjoying the feast.

An Invitation to Some- Vs 1-4

Parable opens: We see another angle of the Kingdom of Heaven (read vs 1)

Notice the phrase, Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is speaking of this Kingdom as one single event, but as we see throughout the Parables and Jesus’ teachings, the Kingdom has some already aspects, and some “not yet” aspects. The kingdom of heaven is here and now, but will come to earth in its fullness when Christ returns.

Jesus doesn’t delineate that for us too much in this particular parable.

One thing to remember, is that Jesus is not defining what the kingdom is whole sale, but throughout, Jesus is progressively revealing His Kingdom and it all culminates in the parables of His glorious return in Chapter 25.

One thing is clear, the parables of the Kingdom progressively reveal the exaltation of the Messiah and this grouping of parables in the final week of Jesus’ life, what one scholar called “The parables of conflict”, Jesus reveals His conflict with Israel’s leadership and their rejection of Him even to the final hour.

So let’s not try to get lost in the details but try to focus in on what Jesus’ central thrust is. For us today, the Kingdom of heaven is like a wedding feast that a King has for his son (Read vs 2-3).

Notice some similarities to our previous parable.

There’s much resemblance and through the repetition, you can see how he’s teaching His disciples and those who have a receptive heart to decode the parables.

One thing my wife and I have enjoyed throughout the years are escape rooms. Those immersive games where you physically enter a room, and have 1 hour to solve puzzles, open locks, and decode mysteries to escape the room or do whatever mission your assigned. I’ll never forget the first time we did one, it was difficult and we lost—the worker at the end explained step-by-step how the puzzles are solved. But the more we did them, the easier it was to figure out the puzzles because each room had similar aspects.

When Jesus first speaks parables. There’s a lot more hand-holding—Jesus explains what each thing means.

Here, he starts to say similar things so we can more easily understand how things unfold. So, in light of the last parable, it’s not hard to understand: The wedding feast is an illustration of one aspect of God’s kingdom. The servants are likely God’s messengers or prophets, and those invited are hardened, self-righteous Israel.

See what it’s called…

It’s called a wedding feast. This is such an appropriate description of God’s heavenly kingdom. It’s a feast. The King of Kings invites us to His banquet where we enjoy all that He is for us undeserving sinners.

There’s an already element of this. When you come to know Jesus by faith, the feast you enjoy now is the gathering of God’s people. the gathered people of God each Lord’s day is your main meal. Every other meal and enjoyment of God throughout the week is important, but secondary. You feast when you hear God’s word preached. You feast when you come and partake of the Lord’s supper. The entirety of our worship service is a feast of the Kingdom.

But the Kingdom of heaven that comes later is at Christ’s second coming when Jesus returns from Heaven to earth to set up His reign for eternity and make all things new. This is where the eternal feast will take place. We the church, who is elsewhere compared to a bride, will be wedded to our Savior, the Son of God where we will enjoy communion and friendship with Him face to face. Revelation 19 speaks of this as the marriage supper of the lamb.

The invitation to the wedding feast is a gift. It’s a privilege. And the first response is not a favorable one. They would not come. Such tragic words.

But he pleads with them (Read vs 4)

He’s prepared his dinner—at the feast, there’s sustenance and enjoyment. There isn’t merely temporary food to feast on.

He’s killed the oxen and fattened calves— In other words, the best of the best is being served. The main attraction of the spiritual kingdom is Jesus Himself. He’s the best the Kingdom has to offer for everything else flows from him. Jesus calls Himself the bread of life. He satisfies the hunger deep in the soul for eternity.

Everything is ready— He has made this a feast to remember. Everyting needed to make this feast enjoyable to the max has been provided. Now here the final word to those who represent Israel: come. In other words, all has been provided—Come! Who would not want to come???

This is the invitation of the gospel that goes to the world. It’s an invitation, not to join a new religion, but to join in the heavenly feast. But remember what wedding feasts are supposed to do—they are merely a means of celebrating a person. They’re not celebrating the food. The food celebrates the Bride and groom.

So the feast we invite people to is the enjoyment of resting upon Christ for your total salvation when you know you have nothing to bring to the table. We invite people to then enjoy every benefit that flows naturally from being united to this King—Forgiveness, justification, adoption, sanctification/transformation. Jesus in inviting the lost to be saved, is laying out a beautifully prepared banquet.

So in light of all he says we find that the response is shocking, but representative of our hearts apart from Christ as well…

A Surprising Response- Vs 5-7

The response is 2-fold:

They pay no attention and went off… (Vs 5)

Look at the utter contempt. The feast is objectively desirable in every way, yet, they paid no attention. They’re so consumed with themselves and stuff.

They go to the farm, and to the place of business.

They leave behind the best food, the best drink, for the farm, or their place of work. Pure pleasure which is all free, no cost, no catch so that they would freely enjoy the Son.

C.S. Lewis was right when he said we are far to easily pleased. To forsake this feast of knowing our savior in a true saving relationship for other things of this world is like a little boy who is content to craft mud pies in the slums rather be swept away to a vacation at sea.

The human heart apart from Jesus is far too easily pleased. We forsake the Savior for savoring worldly poisons. They don’t realize the other worldly satisfaction that awaits accepting an invitation.

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Then second, they treat the servants shamefully and kill them.

On the one hand, this should surprise us. It’s suppose to have that effect. Jesus’ beautiful storytelling gets to the heart of what Israel is denying—They are rejecting a beautiful feast.

And on the other hand, this should not surprise us at all.

Later in the New Testament we find these words: Romans 3:9–11 “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

We are born as inherently sinful beings. Our default is to run to what kills than to what brings life.

And though this is part of God’s sovereign, providential plan, this is how the Jews treated the invitation.

Christ came to His own, John says, but His own did not receive Him. And Christ alludes to the fact that these who reject the King and trust in themselves and their own good works like Israel was doing, they will face God’s end-time wrath.

In the story it looks like the murderers getting the death penalty and their city being burned. A reference to burning and fire, often symbols of God’s wrath.

This in one sense was intentional and part of the story so that many more would enter in…

An Invitation to All- Vs 8-10

So the first movement of the story was that an invitation went out to a select few, the second movement was the violent rejection, now this third movement is another invitation (Read vs 8-9)

So now the servants are spreading the invitations far and wide. Notice the words “As many as you find”

I think this has an immediate meaning and sort of a broader meaning.

The immediate meaning has to do with God’s overarching plan of salvation. It’s encapsulated in Romans 1:16 “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.”

the gospel went first to the jewish people. They received all the benefits of being God’s children. When Christ came and the gospel was spreading, some Jews were receiving him. But a large scale rebellion caused a big turning to the Gentile nations. The invitation to the gentiles was a pivotal moment that not a lot of jews saw coming since it was only hinted at in the OT. We don’t see this even fully come into view until after the resurrection of Jesus and we receive the great commission.

But you’re seeing it by now, Jesus gives little hints in these parables—The gospel comes to the jews, they reject it on a large scale, then the gentiles will go on to receive it on a large scale along with a small remnant of elect Jews.

The broader context has implications for the commission now after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and ascension back to heaven.

Now the gospel is offered to all freely. No discrimination, no preconditions. You see this is the phrase “both good and bad”—Those who have done the worst of it, and those who aren’t as bad as they could possibly be. Both are invited.

The King of all the universe has prepared a feast. Because we’re sinners, we are born as those barred from the feast and we desire only to eat what is gross and poisonous, But God so loved this world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, will not perish under His infinite wrath, but have eternal life with Him. This is why we call it the gospel—it is such good news. THere’s no greater news.

Christ made a way—He saved us, not according to works done by us in righteousness but according to His own mercy—If you turn to Him and entrust your whole self to Him you have everything you could ever need or want because you have Him.

Christ purchased a bride for Himself on the cross—a people for His own possession—and you can be brought in.

A Surprising Response- Vs 11-14

But this time, the response comes from the King Himself (Read vs 11)

Picture the scene, the invitation now went out to others who were not originally invited. Interestingly, this invitation went out to good and bad—but the original invitation that was rejected were by those who were unworthy. So there are unworthy guests here now, but there are other unworthy guests left out at the beginning.

what distinguishes the unworthy who are let in, and the unworthy ones who are kept out?

The King comes in and everyone’s gathered—and the first surprise comes to the King when He discovers someone’s not wearing the proper wedding garments.

That should surprise us because, who ever said anything about wedding garments? Maybe this is something graciously provided by the King. In the beginning the King told the first group “Everything is ready”—I’m sure this included what to wear. But by the King’s discovery, it’s clear that this was the precondition for enjoying the feast.

now we’re seeing what made the first group of invitees unworthy—they not only denied the invitation and rejected the feast, but in doing so they rejected the garments needed for being admitted in.

One of the ones who paid not attention to the needed garments somehow made it in. He slipped in unnoticed. He was pretending to be a guest.

Here’s the next surprise (Read vs 12-13)

He gently asks, how? How did you come in without this garment.

The next part can almost send chills down your spine—He was speechless.

This person was the hypocrite. Likely represents one of the hypocrites of Israel’s leaders or just someone who doesn’t possess what it required.

Something is required for any one to enter God’s Kingdom. Thought the invite is completely unconditional, God’s love is not unconditional for every person whoever lived. If that was the case, everyone would be in heaven. The invitation is unconditional but being brought in to the fullness of God’s special love for His people is conditional

Notice, not everyone will be at the feast, this man ends up getting his due. He’s bound hand and foot. He’s cast into the outer darkness. It’s as if this comes out of no where in the story—the line between story and reality get’s blurred for a moment. This is because hell is a very real place. And real people are going there.

Here we’re having more of a description of the place people go who reject the King and his garments.

It’s first called THE outer darkness. God is light—This is a place without the grace and love of God shining upon any one. In the dark, no one can be seen so there’s no relationships, contrary to what popular notions of hell say today.

Notice, Jesus never says anything about hell being under ground or somewhere in the earth—it’s a spiritual place that is outside—Revelation describes hell as outside of the heavenly city.

In this place there is also weeping and gnashing of teeth. This speaks to the deep emotional pain that is there—there could be physical pain too but mainly being a spiritual place, it’s likely the spiritual and emotional torment of being separated from God.

Our response to this must be heartbreak. It’s a hard reality, but it’s the truth. We should not examine a passage like this and become desensitized. Unfortunately, in a world where we’re inundated with bad news on our feeds, more bad news hardly strikes us anymore. May it not be for us. We as believers were going here. This is what we deserve. We’re the unworthy ones.

But what is this garment then? If this is the requirement to avoid this eternal, conscious punishment, what is it?.

The wedding garment points us to being clothed in the very righteousness of Jesus Christ-it’s a righteousness that is not our own received with the empty hands of faith. Revelation 7 says that the saints have their robes washed with the blood of Christ.

. We’re not good, we’re not righteous, our garments are filthy and we cannot stand before the King’s presence with filthy clothes.

But instead of cleaning our clothes, Jesus simply takes our filthy clothes, and gives us His own clean clothes. The theological term for this is double imputation. It’s the idea that on the cross, our sin was placed upon Christ and He became sin for us, and upon believing, His righteousness is imputed to us.

In sum, God treats Christ on the cross as if He lived our sinful life, so that upon His resurection God will treat you and me forever as if we lived His perfect life—and we all know we havent.

So this garment, that allows us to come into the feast, is accepting, received, resting upon Christ as He is offered to us in the gospel. The wedding garment is not merited, it’s not earned. Its the gift of His grace to you and that’s why you don’t have to leave this parable paralyzed with fear.

What separates the unworthy ones who are there and the unworthy ones who aren’t? It’s 2 things—the first one is they received the garment.

The second thing we find in verse 14 and this grounds almost the entire parable. (Read)

Many are called, few chosen—that’s in essence the summary for us

The invitation goes out to all, but some sneak in the wrong way and few are chosen.

It can be compared to the person who slips into a church building to play a part but they are not chosen by God-because it’s not just the general call or invitation that matters, there must be an effectual call by the sovereign work of God.

Again, this has some broader context. When we think about God’s plan of redemption, it first goes to the jews, especially in the old covenant and that particular era of the covenant of grace. All of His promises made to them seem to be void when we fast forward to the new testament and we see a big shift from the jews to the gentiles after a large scale rejection of the gospel.

I read a fantastic commentary on the book of Matthew this week. Just amazing. I would say it was equally divinely inspired—It’s call the book of Romans. And in chapter 9 Paul sees this potential objection from the reader after talking about the great unbreakable promises of God. What about Israel? If nothing can separate people from God’s love if they are in covenant with Him, how then can Israel be cut off and many perish. Has GOd’s word failed?

Paul’s response is not that God’s word failed, because not everyone who simply bears the name Israelite or jew is part of true Israel. Israel’s known this from the OT and now, a true Jew should be considered those who have a change of heart, Those who by faith receive God’s righteousness. And God fulfills His promises because He has a remnant of Jews chosen who are still being saved, Paul being an example, and He expands His promises by including the gentiles.

Just like He chose Jacob and not Esau before they could do anything good or bad, so He chooses to have mercy on whomever He wishes.

So for us we can understand how the religious leaders took this. God chooses for salvation and his purpose of election stands and this is why Paul can say that God’s word has not failed to Israel. He fulfills His promises in ways that are unexpected.

Conclusion

Here we see today the surprise of the Kingdom of God. The great surprise of God’s Kingdom is though the gospel invitation goes out to all, the Kingdom feast is for us who are chosen by the King and clothed with His righteousness.

Many are called, Israel’s leadership were invited to repent, but they were not chosen. there’s the dual explanation for why someone is at the wedding feast—the reason someone is with Christ forever, and has eternal life. The invitation to all reminds us that we do have a responsibility to respond to the gospel. But Jesus’ final statement reminds us that the main reason we responded in faith is because of the sovereign choosing of the God who owes His mercy to no one.

But how do we know we’re not goign to be cast off like the person at the wedding feast?

This text can potentially cause fear in some. “Oh no, what if i’m that person? what if i’m the person who will find out i have the wrong clothes and i’m proven to be a faker?”

Here are two final words of application for us in light of such a jarring parable:

First, examine yourself. Here’s where 2 Corinthians becomes helpful.

What does Paul say? examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith—There’s the key—Faith. Have you believed this gospel?

The invitation goes out. And there are some in here who hear the invitation week after week after week and you’re still not believing.

The question has to be asked, are you still trusting in yourself and all you can do?

Second word for us, Stop examining yourself. Don’t examine performance for too long. Do you know there are only maybe 2 places in all of the bible that explicitly talk about a healthy self-examination?

But we’ve overplayed that in the church today.

We can sometimes call people’s salvation into question and we unsettle everyone in the room.

The trajectory of this text should lead us to true assurance.

If you keep looking at yourself you’ll be in despair. The basis that you are admitted to the feast and that you have eternal life, is because Christ. Not because You, because Him. So look away from yourself and to Christ.

Like Robert Murray McCheyne said, “for every one look at self, take ten looks at Christ.”

The surprise that we should be left with is though we should’ve been that speechless man who is cast out, God came for us, and granted us His perfect white robes.

You have joined the feast. And you can have a small taste now, but you will eat and drink with the King forever when you’re satisfied in His heaven kingdom.