The Invitation of the King

Reading from God’s Word

Matthew 22:1–14 CSB

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to summon those invited to the banquet, but they didn’t want to come. Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ “But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city. “Then he told his servants, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’ So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests. When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Introduction

We’re now three weeks into our July series, The Kingdom Is Everything, and what we’ve been discovering is how central the Kingdom of God is to the gospel, to our identity, and to our calling.

It is His rule. His reign. His rescue.

On July 6, we began with Jesus: The Savior of Mercy, from Titus 3:3–7.

It was a call to remember that the Kingdom is filled not with the deserving, but with the delivered.

Then, last Sunday, we opened Luke 4 and listened to Jesus proclaim His mission in Nazareth.

We saw that the Kingdom is for those who know they are spiritually bankrupt — the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed.

But we also saw the tragedy of rejection. The people of Jesus’ hometown could not accept His grace because they couldn’t see their need. And so they missed the Kingdom.

So far, we’ve seen that the Kingdom is merciful, and that it belongs to the desperate — those humble enough to admit their need.

Today’s message brings another vital truth: The Kingdom is a celebration — and the King is calling.

In Matthew 22, Jesus tells a parable about a royal wedding feast — a celebration prepared by a king for his son.

The table is set. The feast is ready. And the invitations go out.

But what follows is unexpected. Some ignore the invitation. Some mock it. Some even murder the messengers. Still others try to attend — but on their own terms.

Before we read the text, let me bring this closer to home with a real story that made national headlines.

In 2009, during President Barack Obama’s first state dinner at the White House, a couple named Tareq and Michaele Salahi did something unbelievable: they crashed the event.

They slipped past security without being on the guest list, took selfies in the East Room, shook hands with Vice President Biden, and mingled with high-ranking officials — all without an invitation and without proper credentials.

It wasn’t until the next day, when they posted pictures online, that the Secret Service realized what had happened. They were exposed and removed in disgrace.

They looked the part. They acted the part. But they had no right to be there. They were not invited.

That’s exactly what Jesus describes in this parable.

The Kingdom is a glorious celebration — but it’s also a holy one.

And just like that state dinner, not everyone who shows up belongs there.

This parable reminds us that you can’t crash the Kingdom of God.

You must be invited.

And you must be clothed in the righteousness the King provides.

In a time where invitations get ignored, declined, or taken for granted — God is still calling. The question we must ask today is this:

Will we accept His invitation?

Will we come with joy — or walk away in indifference?

Will we try to enter on our own terms — or be clothed in the garment only Christ can give?

Let’s spend our time today in Matthew 22:1–14, and listen to the words of the King.

The Gracious Invitation

The King's Desire: Celebrate His Son

Jesus begins with a picture His hearers would immediately understand:

Matthew 22:2 CSB

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.

This isn’t just a casual gathering.

This is the most significant and joyful event in the royal family’s life.

A wedding feast in the ancient world was the highest social celebration imaginable — often lasting up to seven days or more.

To be invited was not just an honor — it was a mark of relationship, favor, and inclusion in the joy of the king's household.

In this story, the king is God the Father and the Son is Jesus Christ.

The feast represents the full blessings of the Kingdom — salvation, communion with God, eternal joy.

The gospel is not just a rescue — it is a royal summons to joy.

The Double Call: Grace Upon Grace

The original audience would understand the cultural nuance:

Guests were often pre-invited far in advance — but a second summons would come once the feast was ready (v. 3).

Matthew 22:3 CSB

He sent his servants to summon those invited to the banquet,…

But then comes the shock:

Matthew 22:3 CSB

…but they didn’t want to come.

This rejection isn’t just impolite — it’s incomprehensible.

Who refuses the king?

Who shrugs off an invitation to a royal celebration?

And yet the king does not retaliate immediately.

Instead, he sends another wave of servants:

Matthew 22:4 CSB

Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I’ve prepared my dinner…

The word “dinner” here (Greek: ariston) refers to the morning meal — the feast was to begin that very day. He says:

Matthew 22:4 CSB

… my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

This second invitation shows the relentless grace of God.

He repeats His offer.

He elaborates on His generosity.

He gives more detail about what has been prepared.

This is the heart of a Father who longs for people to honor His Son and share in His joy.

God is the God Who Invites

v. 1-4 teaches us about the initiative and patience of God in salvation.

God doesn't wait for us to find our way to Him. He sends servants — the prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus Himself, and now us.

The feast is ready — the sacrifice has been made. The Son has already died and risen. The way has been opened.

The only question is: Will you come?

And of course, not everyone does.

The next part of this parable takes a disturbing turn — one that reflects the reality of many hearts.

Some people do more than ignore the invitation. They resist it. Even violently.

The Invitation is Rejected

Indifference and Hostility: Two Ways to Reject the King

Some respond with indifference

Matthew 22:5 CSB

“But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business,

This is perhaps the most common response to the gospel today — not overt rebellion, but casual dismissal.

These are not criminals. They’re just busy.

Preoccupied. Practical. They go back to their fields, their shops, their calendars.

They choose the routine over the royal, the temporal over the eternal.

Indifference is one of the deadliest spiritual conditions.

It says, “God’s invitation just doesn’t matter that much right now.”

These are respectable people in the world’s eyes — business owners, landowners — but they are tragically foolish. They reject the feast not by hostility, but by distraction.

Others respond with violence

Matthew 22:6 CSB

while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.

Now rejection turns to rage.

Those invited to a feast commit murder against the messengers.

This is a vivid portrait of how God’s messengers were treated throughout history:

John the Baptist — beheaded (Mark 6)

Jesus — crucified (Luke 23)

Stephen — stoned (Acts 7)

The apostles — nearly all martyred for proclaiming the gospel

What happens when religious pride is confronted with divine grace? It lashes out.

This was not just a first-century problem. It is still true today:

The name of Jesus is banned in workplaces and censored in schools.

Gospel preachers are mocked, doxxed, even imprisoned in parts of the world.

Judgment Falls on the Rejecters

Matthew 22:7 CSB

The king was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city.

This is one of the most sobering verses in the parable.

The King’s patience has limits. His mercy is deep, but it is not indefinite.

Jesus here is prophetically alluding to what would soon happen in AD 70, when the Roman general Titus would destroy Jerusalem, kill over a million Jews, and burn the temple to the ground.

The city that rejected the Son would be judged.

God allowed it as judgment for rejecting His Son and murdering His servants.

Matthew 21:43 CSB

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.

God’s Wrath Is Just

Today, we are tempted to soften the image of divine judgment. But Jesus doesn't do that. This parable reminds us:

God’s grace is real — but so is His justice.

God is patient — but His patience has a limit.

Rejecting the Son is not just a minor offense — it is cosmic treason.

John 5:23 CSB

so that all people may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

So, the king does something really surprising…

The Invitation …To the Unexpected

After being rejected and insulted, the King declares that those who were invited are not worthy.

Not because of their moral failure, but because they refused to come (v. 3–5).

Matthew 22:8 CSB

“Then he told his servants, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.

They rejected grace. So,…

The King tells his servants:

Matthew 22:9 CSB

Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’

now the invitation opens wide — to the overlooked, the forgotten, the outsiders.

This is a picture of the gospel going out to the Gentiles, but more broadly, it is about God’s global invitation to anyone who will come.

The Kingdom isn’t for the proud and entitled — it’s for the humbled and grateful.

It’s not for those who think they deserve a seat — it’s for those shocked to find they’re invited at all.

The New Guest List: Both Evil and Good

Matthew 22:10 CSB

So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good.

That’s startling.

he King is not inviting only the morally upright — He is gathering anyone willing to come.

Sounds a lot like Jesus’ ministry doesn’t it?

Tax collectors like Matthew and Zacchaeus

Former prostitutes like Mary Magdalene

Criminals like the thief on the cross]

The demon-possessed, the unclean, the cast out

It also mirrors Paul’s reflection:

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 CSB

Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

This is the heart of the gospel:

The only qualification for the Kingdom is willingness to come.

There’s no vetting based on resume.

No discrimination by background.

No delay due to spiritual performance.

This is a scandal of grace — and it is glorious.

God’s Kingdom Will Be Filled

Matthew 22:10 CSB

The wedding banquet was filled with guests.

God’s mission will not fail.

The Son will be celebrated. The table will be full.

The joy of the Father will not be left empty. The rejection of some will not hinder the salvation of others.

John 6:37 CSB

Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out.

This is grace at work — God gathers people from every nation, every story, every sin background, and every social class.

The Kingdom is filled with surprises — people we’d never expect to see. But they are there because they came when the King called.

This is why evangelism matters. This is why the church must keep reaching out — to the highways, to the alleys, to the forgotten places.

Notice the role of the servants — they were sent. And they went. They didn’t argue. They didn’t screen the guests. They invited everyone.

Don’t ever assume someone is too far gone.

Don’t ever assume someone is too religious.

Don’t ever assume someone is too disinterested.

The invitation is for them — and for you.

If God’s grace has welcomed you, then you are now a servant of the King, sent to carry the same invitation forward.

The Invitation Demands a Response

There is still one more scene in this parable — it is probably the most sobering at all.

Matthew 22:11 CSB

When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding.

He came — but not on the King’s terms.

In the ancient world, wedding garments were often provided by the host — especially at royal banquets.

Refusing to wear the garment was a visible act of disrespect. It said, “I’ll come, but on my terms.”

This man accepted the invitation, but rejected the King’s expectations.

He wanted the benefits of the Kingdom without the transformation the Kingdom requires.

And the King sees right through it.

Matthew 22:12 CSB

So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’

He calls him “Friend” — a term expressing emotion, especially sympathy or sorrow … a grieving lament over someone who should have responded differently, but did not.

Matthew 22:12 CSB

The man was speechless.

The man has no answer. No excuse. He is speechless, because he is guilty.

He knew what was expected and ignored it.

The Garment: Clothed in Righteousness

What does this wedding garment represent?

Throughout Scripture, garments are symbolic of righteousness — not self-righteousness, but the righteousness that comes from God:

Isaiah 61:10 CSB

I rejoice greatly in the Lord, I exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a groom wears a turban and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Galatians 3:27 CSB

For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.

The wedding garment is about being clothed in Christ. It's a symbol of the new life given to those who believe: forgiven, washed, sanctified, transformed.

This man tried to participate in the Kingdom without being changed by the King.

He represents the religious hypocrite — the one who wants salvation without surrender, heaven without holiness, grace without obedience.

The Judgment: Cast Out of the Celebration

The King’s response is swift and severe:

Matthew 22:13 CSB

“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Hell is not only a place of pain — it is a place of exclusion.

‘The man is cast outside — while the celebration goes on inside.’

This is the final warning in the parable: It’s possible to be among the guests, but not belong to the Kingdom.

You can:

Be around the church

Know the language

Attend the gatherings

But still never be clothed in Christ

Look at how the parable ends:

Matthew 22:14 CSB

“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

The invitation goes out to all — but only those who come on God’s terms are truly accepted.

As We Close…

The end of the parable forces us to look inward.

Have you responded to the King’s invitation?

Have you come on His terms — not your own?

Are you clothed in the righteousness of Christ, or are you still wearing the rags of self-righteousness?

Isaiah said that our own righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). But Christ offers something much better.

You see, the kingdom is not about being good enough.

It’s not about being religious.

It’s not even about showing up a church.

It’s about being covered — not in self-effort or moral achivement — but in the righteousness only Christ can bring by His death.

The tragedy of this parable is not just that people refused the invitation, it’s that they refused joy, they refused grace, they refused to honor the son.

Don’t make that mistake.

The feast has been prepared. The invitation is still open. The king is still calling.

But a day will come when the doors are closed.

Revelation 19:9 CSB

Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!”