Sermon Tone Analysis

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.

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.

So then the King sends out his servants and says, go out to the main roads, and invite as many as you find.

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.”

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.

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.