Come to the Feast
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Come to the Feast
Come to the Feast
Yesterday, Gilbert
Father was martyred in Iran
Leads worship and teaches on video that is broadcast in all of Iran
Callers all the time that say
“I wish I had someone to worship with, to pray with, to listen with”
Don’t underestimate the Grace we have been shown to gather together in corporate worship
PRAYER
So Jesus has not moved on since the Fig tree.
We have seen throughout the book of Matthew that Christ has gotten into little skirmishes with the Pharisees and the Scribes, but up to this point, Jesus has refrained from going all out on them.
Now we know that Jesus does this because of timing.
But now His time has come. And Jesus is letting the Jewish leadership have it.
In movie vernacular, this is Jesus’ Scarface moment.
“SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND”
Jesus is picking a fight.
He is picking a fight that He knows will lead to His death.
We see even in the end of the passage from last week, that Christ has angered them enough that they want to arrest him, but are still afraid of the crowd. They still need some pushing.
So Jesus comes back in the text this week and He goes after them once again.
And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 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.” ’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 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.
Matthew 22:1-
So first, definitions
We have seen throughout the book of Matthew that Christ has gotten into little skirmishes with the Pharisees and the Scribes, but up to this point, Jesus has refrained from going all out on them.
Now we know that Jesus does this because of timing.
But now His time has come. And Jesus is letting the Jewish leadership have it.
In movie vernacular, this is Jesus’ Scarface moment.
“SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND”
Jesus is picking a fight.
He is picking a fight that He knows will lead to His death.
We see even in the end of the passage from last week, that Christ has angered them enough that they want to arrest him, but are still afraid of the crowd. They still need some pushing.
So Jesus comes back in the text this week and He goes after them once again.
King=Father
Son=Jesus
Servants=Prophets/Apostles
Those who were invited=Israel, particularly the leadership
We have to look at what “invite” meant in this context
There are no FB groups here, where we can set everything up, and be “interested” or list ourselves as “going”
There were no clocks in these days. Invitations did not come and say be here by such and such time.
There would be an initial invitation, letting you know of the event and that you were invited, and a secondary invitation, which would tell you it was time for the event.
So think Cinderella.
In Cinderella, the servant comes around and invites all of the “eligible maidens”
Then the servants would come back around and say “Ok, it’s time, lets go!”
And here in the parable, the servants go out to tell everyone it’s time for the marriage feast, and nobody comes.
So the King sends out some more servants and says, listen! The meal is ready, the table is set, we are all prepared, lets go!
And we see two reactions. Same heart, but different reactions
The first is the servants who paid no attention and went about their own business.
These people think that what they are engaged in is more important than the feast of the King. They are too busy to attend the King’s celebration. They are too busy for the king himself.
Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, “I’m late. I’m late for a very important date. No time to say ‘Hello, goodbye.’ I’m late, I’m late, I’m late.”
And it’s funny, because if anyone other than Jesus was telling the story, we might agree with the servants. Maybe they were busy! Isn’t it a good servant who takes care of what he has?
The problem is that they are exchanging the King’s presence for something lesser.
C.S. Lewis said,
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Then we see the second reaction
We see that there were those who seized the Kings servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
This is no mistake. They know these are the king’s servants and they take hold of them and kill them. And we can see in the prophet’s literature in the Old Testament how they were treated and killed.
But one thing we have to notice here is that the two reactions are treated as equal. One is more shameful, and one is more violent, but both are disqualifying.
The king says in verse 8, that those who were invited are not worthy. That includes both groups.
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
So then the King sends out his servants and says, go out to the main roads, and invite as many as you find.
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
We see this
And unfortunately, we have become so used to hearing that, that it doesn’t really sink in anymore.
I’m gonna go a little bapticostal here for a second
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 12:
You have been invited to the greatest celebration that has ever existed. ACT LIKE IT!
You were cold, dirty, homeless and out on the street, and one of God’s servants came up to you and said, come on, it’s time to go to the King’s palace.
You who were outside have been brought in.
You, whose heart was far from God, have been ushered into His presence by HIS GRACE AND HIS GRACE ALONE!
Don’t forget where you were when Jesus rescued you.
Don’t forget that your salvation is a miracle.
But the story isn’t done.
“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 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.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 22:11-
King=Father
Servants=Apostles
Attendants=Angels
Guests=Church
Garment=Good works resulting from Faith or Faith
This is a direct attack on the Pharisees and Scribes. Jesus in this final part of the parable is outright calling them false.
First thing we want to see is the wedding garment itself. Remember, the guests to this celebration were pulled off the streets.
These are not people who would have had wedding garments. It is more likely that the King provided the wedding garments to the guests, and this particular guest just refuses to wear it.
As to whether that garment is good works from faith or faith itself
John Calvin writes
“There is no point in arguing about the marriage garment, whether it is faith or a holy and godly life; for faith cannot be separated from good works and good works proceed only from faith. All Christ wants to say here is that we are called by the Lord under the condition that we be renewed in our spirits into His image, and therefore, if we are to remain always in His house, the old man with all his blemishes is to be cast off and we are to practice the new life so that our appearance may correspond to our honorable calling.”
There is no separating faith from the holy life that comes from faith.
The second thing we see in this section is that the man is rendered speechless when caught. He offers no defense. He knows his disobedience and his guilt.
This man with no wedding garment is guilty of the same crime that those who ignored the servants were. He disregarded the King.
The difference is what?
The difference is that he LOOKED like he heeded the call.
He SEEMED to be faithful.
but his HEART was the same.
This again, is a rebuke of the Scribes and Pharisees. They appear to be serving God and upholding the law. But their heart is far from Him. They love themselves, they love power, they love being admired, they don’t love God. Because if they loved God, they would recognize Jesus and follow Him.
“Many are called, but few are chosen”
The same word here for called is the word used in the beginning of the parable when the servants call those who were invited.
If we were to retranslate the verse, it would say “Many appear to accept the invitation, but few remain to the end”.
This verse is summing up the parable.
But this parable is not just an inditement of the Pharisees and Scribes. It is a warning to us as well.
Just this week, a popular Christian author and pastor, who if I mentioned his name most of us in here would recognize it, came out and admitted he was in the process of “deconstructing” his faith. He said the biblical term would be “falling away”.
This was a man who sold thousands of books. Pastored a church for many years. And yet, this week, he said, “If I define a Christian the way I have always defined a Christian, I am not one”.
Christianity is the process of following Jesus. That isn’t a one day thing. Or a season of life thing. It’s a lifelong process.
In this parable, Jesus warns us that even those who look like they are faithful may not end up that way. But this is not a new teaching from Jesus
Parable of the Sower
If you are leaning on what you have done in the past, the book of Jonah warns you that you could be in danger!
Parable of the Sower
As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
And obviously, the easiest picture of this is right there with Jesus the whole time.
Judas was a disciple. He held the money for the group. He followed Jesus, he listened to all of Jesus’ teachings. He looked to be faithful. But in the end, he betrays Christ and takes his own life.
And let me tell you the tendency we all have.
We all have the tendency to think, wow, I can’t imagine being like those people.
But we must, because this serves as a warning to ALL of us.
Lost in Space tv show, Robot B9 “DANGER! WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!”
Our lives are our warning system to our hearts.
Is your life leading you away from the Word? DANGER
Is your life leading you away from the Church? DANGER
Are you a different person in public and another in private? DANGER
We must, as James says, work out our faith with fear and trembling.
But I want to leave you this morning with some encouragement
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
Son=Jesus
Servants=Prophets/Apostles
Those who were invited=Israel, particularly the leadership
Servants=Apostles
Attendants=Angels
Guests=Church
Garment=Good works resulting from Faith or Faith
“There is no point in arguing about the marriage garment, whether it is faith or a holy and godly life; for faith cannot be separated from good works and good works proceed only from faith. All Christ wants to say here is that we are called by the Lord under the condition that we be renewed in our spirits into His image, and therefore, if we are to remain always in His house, the old man with all his blemishes is to be cast off and we are to practice the new life so that our appearance may correspond to our honorable calling.”
The same word here for called is the word used in the beginning of the parable when the servants call those who were invited.
And the word chosen here is also not referring to God’s Sovereignty in choosing His people.
If we were to retranslate the verse, it would say “Many appear to accept the invitation, but few remain to the end”.
Some of you have been a believer only for a year. Others of you have been believers for 5, 10, 20 years. Some of you have believed for longer. Yet you all sit here under the same command. Run. The. Race.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
If I walk into Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University, I don’t have to wonder “Which one of you is terrible at basketball?” Because the Answer is all of them.
If I walk into the Dean Dome at Carolina, I don’t have to wonder who is playing the game. I don’t have to figure out who is the crowd and who is the team. The team is playing the game. The team is running the race.
How can you be sure that you are still in the faith? Run the race.
Are you a new Christian? Run the Race.
Have you spent your life in the faith? Run the Race.
Run the race. Run hard.
Some of you are young. You are dealing with life directions and decisions and how to be faithful in it all. You need to know that you will stumble at times. You are going to trip and fall. Get up and run. Don’t stop running the race.
Some of you are in the middle. You are dealing with not being as young as you used to be. There may be children to deal with. Parents who need care. Your life is busy and you are trying to balance it all in faithfulness. You need to know that you cannot pass along what you do not have. You may not be running as fast as you used to, because you are weighted down. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. It’s not about speed. It’s about faithfulness.
Some of you have more days behind you than in front of you. You have the tendency to look at what God did instead of what He is doing. You may not be sure what faithfulness towards the end looks like. You need to know that God isn’t done with you until that last breath. Run HARD. Run through the finish line. Pass along what God has taught you. Resolve to finish the race bringing as many with you as you can. Finish well.
God began the work, and He will finish it. So let us concentrate on the race, and let us concentrate on faithfulness. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, let us run with Him until we see His face.