The Great Wedding Feast

Introduction

In we have a very intense confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. It began on what we have called, through tradition, Palm Sunday. On that day Jesus entered the holy, city, Jerusalem, riding a donkey. As He entered the city, crowds began to cry out in jubilee, they laid coats and branches in front of Jesus, and they quoted . Whether they knew it or not, their words and action fulfilled prophecy of the coming king of Israel.

Others in Jerusalem did not know who it was that had arrived, so they asked the crowd who it was that had arrived. The crowds then informed them that it was the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee. Matthew immediately begins to describe how Jesus went into the temple and cleansed it of those who used it for their own personal gain. By clearing out the temple he fulfilled the role of a priest-judge. He recalled the prophet Isaiah’s words of “My house shall be a called a house of prayer.” In the first 13 verses of , we observe how Jesus fulfilled the 3 offices of prophet, priest, and king.

It is no wonder that the attention of every religious leader in Jerusalem was drawn towards Jesus because He was being exalted by the crowd into His rightful position as the promised Messiah. This exaltation affected the very epicenter of all religious and political life. After Jesus had entered the temple he was then confronted by the chief priests, the elders, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. At the end of the religious leaders’ challenge of Jesus, one will read the woes Jesus declared over Israel’s leaders for their rejection of Him.

In this sermon we will study where Jesus, through a parable, condemned Israel’s rejection of God’s call unto Himself and we will also observe Jesus’s declaration of God’s acceptance of Gentiles into the kingdom of heaven – specifically the time of the wedding feast also known as the millennial kingdom. It is my hope that through this study of God will use it to illuminate your hearts and minds to the truth of the seriousness of rejecting God, the gravity of God’s wrath, and the immense grace shown by God to a people who were outside of the covenant. This knowledge should reveal the character of God unto everyone here. This message ought to comfort the believer but it will either further harden the sinner in their sin or, as I hope, convict the sinner of their sin unto repentance.

The King’s Sending

In we read of a king who sent his slaves to call unto Himself all of those who were invited to the wedding feast of his son. In a we read of the first calling of those invited. We read,

Matthew 22:1–3 NASB95

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.

As we examine the Scriptures, we observe how the Lord had set His eyes on a specific people and brought them into covenant with Him. We observe how God looked upon the descendants of Abraham and made a nation out of them in which God Himself was their king. As the King of Israel, the Lord established a theocracy through the Law of Moses at Mount Sinai. God is recognized as the king of Israel mainly in the Psalms, but we also read in how Israel had rejected God as their king. They rejected God as their king when they demanded the prophet Samuel to anoint a king to rule over them as the Gentile nations had. This rejection of God warranted one of the most direct statements by God as having been the rightful king over Israel.

We read of the Lord’s response to Samuel concerning Israel’s rejection of Him as her king in ,

1 Samuel 8:7 NASB95

7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

Up until then, God was the king of Israel.

Even though the story of Israel’s rejection of God as their king in has many interesting parallels to the parable of Jesus, we will not concentrate on the types and the fulfillment of those types in the person of Jesus; instead we are simply establishing the biblical truth that God was the king who had sovereign rule over the nation of Israel and it is He who is represented as the king in the parable of .

When one appreciates the role and person of God in relation to Israel, he or she can only conclude that God as king was the sovereign ruler of Israel. As such, unto God was due homage, respect, and fear. His Law was worthy of obedience. Anything other than this would be counted as a criminal offense and an affront to the rightful rule of God.

As we return to the parable, we also observe the king’s invitation unto the wedding feast for his son. we take note of how the invitation unto the wedding feast represents fellowship between the king and His people through the son of the king. For us believers this simple description of what the parable is describing should move us emotionally, but for the sake of those who might not be believers allow me to describe. We read throughout Scripture of how God sent prophets to His people in their moments of sin and rebellion. We read how these prophets called the nation unto repentance so they would enjoy the blessings of the Mosaic Covenant.

The prophet Isaiah used similar imagery to Jesus’s parable in . We read,

Isaiah 25:6 NASB95

6 The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine.

Did you notice the wedding banquet imagery in that prophecy? Aged and refined wine such as the kind Jesus made during the wedding in Canaan in and choice pieces of meet with marrow as in this parable. Here the prophet is telling Israel of how the Lord will prepare a grand feast for all people and the best wine and food will be served – food and drink which foreshadows the joy and satisfaction in Jerusalem during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

These prophets foretold of the coming feast of God and throughout the many years of their prophetic ministries they called the people of Israel to repent so they could enjoy fellowship with the Lord. Not only did the prophets prophesy of a coming kingdom but they prophesied of a coming king who would be a descendant of David. The Psalms are filled with what are called messianic prophecies such as one of the most famous messianic psalms.

We read in parts of , , ,

Psalm 2:2–4 NASB95

2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.

Psalm 2:7 NASB95

7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

Psalm 2:12 NASB95

12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

These prophets were the ones who initially invited Israel to the feast of the Lord and it leads us to another fascinating point about this parable. In verse 3 Jesus said that the king’s slaves had gone out to call unto the king those who had been invited to the wedding. The Greek word for the phrase in verse 3 “had been invited” is important. The Greek word for this phrase, κεκλημένους, is in the perfect tense. This means that the invitation which was given in the past had a continuous effect or that it required further action from the invitees. In other words, the initial invitation by the prophets required a response from Israel. In the parable which we are studying, Jesus was clear what Israel’s response was.

We read in the last part of , “…and they were unwilling to come.”

[1] David Alan Black, Learn To Read New Testament Greek, 3rd ed (Nashville, TN: 2009), 75-76.

Matthew 22:3 NASB95

3 “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.

The unwillingness of the Jews to be in fellowship with their king was very heinous. First, we notice the election of God. There was nothing of more value in Israel in comparison to other nations. She was not a mighty nation or people. She was not richer than other nations. She had nothing in her that would have caused God to choose her over other nations.

The Lord said as much to Moses in ,

Deuteronomy 7:7–8 NASB95

7 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

So, we see that regarding national immanency, Israel despised her election. But not only did Israel despise her national immanency, but she despised the calling to fellowship with God. The rejection of God’s call to fellowship with Him had eternal consequences.

Jesus went on to describe the profoundness of Israel’s depravity in Where we read,

Matthew 4–6 NASB95

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. “Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell. “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. “Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’ “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 22:4–6 NASB95

4 “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.

Not only did the invitees express disinterest in the wedding feast prepared by the king, but there considered fellowship with God as something not worth their time. The affairs of life were of more importance to them than having fellowship with their king. Furthermore, other invitees in this parable did the unthinkable by taking the king’s slaves and killing them.

Here, through this parable, Jesus recalled the life and ministry of John the Baptist. Here Jesus even foretells of His own death. Furthermore, Jesus also foretold of how His own disciples would be treated by the Jews. The hatred for God and His Son Jesus Christ was evidenced by how the Jews killed the slaves of God who called out to the Jews who had been invited to the wedding feast which God had prepared. Of John the Baptist we read in of how Herod beheaded him because of how John called him and Herodias to repent of their illicit marriage.

We read in ,

Matthew 14:10–11 NASB95

10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

And why did John call Herod unto repentance? Because John was preparing the way for the Son of God who was offering the kingdom of God to Israel.

We read of John’s message of repentance in , ,

Matthew 3:7–8 NASB95

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

Matthew 3:1–3 NASB95

1 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’ ”

Matthew 3:7–8 NASB95

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

Matthew 3:1–3 NASB95

Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’ ”

Matthew 3:7–8 NASB95

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

Matthew 3:1–3 NASB95

Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’ ”

Matthew 3:7–8 NASB95

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

The message of John the Baptist was a call unto repentance so that Israel may enter the kingdom of heaven, but for those who loved their sin John’s ministry only served to fruther harden their hearts.

Matthew 3:7–8 NASB95

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;

Of the apostles we read of how they were also hated by the Jews. The Jews sought to kill the disciples of Jesus for their message of Jesus. In Scripture we read of Stephen who was killed by the Jews who had laid their robes at the feet of Paul prior to his conversion in . We also have many historical accounts of how the apostles suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Jews such as the brother of our Lord Jesus, James the Just. Eusebius wrote of James’s martyrdom to have occurred because James refused to listen to the Jews’ demand to renounce Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. As James stood atop of the temple, he cried out to the Jews during the Passover feast that Jesus sat at the right hand of the great Power and that His return was soon. Upon hearing James’s confession of Jesus, many in the crowd were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah and they cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” The Scribes and Pharisees met James the Just at the top of the temple and threw him down. They were surprised to see that James had not died from such great a fall so they began to stone him.

It was then that James prayed to the Father saying, “I entreat thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” It was then that one of the Jews took a club and struck James the Just, the brother of our Lord Jesus, and killed him.

This type of hatred for God has continued since the beginning of man’s history: from Cain and Abel to the most recent martyrs such as the Nigerian pastor, Lawan Andimi, who was seen singing praises unto Jesus in a video released by a Muslim extremist group. After the video was made public, they found the beheaded body of our brother in Jesus Christ in a forest – killed for his unrelenting message and adoration of Jesus. The Jews hated John the Baptist, the disciples, and even Jesus who had called out to Israel those who had been invited to fellowship with God by the prophets of old and they killed him.

The King’s Anger

In verses 1-6, we observed the two callings by the ministers of God unto the Jews to come and fellowship with God and we also observed the two rejections by the Jews. And now in verse 7 we observe the anger of God.

We read in ,

Matthew 22:7 NASB95

7 “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.

The response of the king in Jesus’s parable might appear to be extreme until we rightly understand that the king represents the Father. The Father who is the source of life was rejected by mortal men. Since the Jews despised the giver of life the Father gave them exactly what they desired – separation from the One who gives life.

It is here that we observe the sovereign rule of God over His creation. One might think that the only army God has is a celestial one comprised of heavenly hosts. However, we observe in Scripture that even earthly armies are described to be used by the Lord to fulfill His great and awesome purpose. When Israel had gone astray from the Lord the prophet Isaiah received a prophecy from the Lord concerning Israel’s judgment for their disobedience by sending the armies of Assyria against them.

We read of God using the armies of the world to judge Israel in

Isaiah 8:5–8 NASB95

5 Again the Lord spoke to me further, saying, 6 “Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; 7 “Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, Even the king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks. 8 “Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.

What this portion of Jesus’s parable tells us is that God takes sin seriously. Great judgment awaited those who rejected John the Baptist’s message of repentance. Great judgment awaited those who rejected theJesus’s message of the kingdom of heaven being near and that they should have showed fruit worthy of repentance. Great judgment awaited those who rejected the gospel message which the apostles of Jesus preached. Around 33 AD, our Lord was crucified and His disciples were dispersed beyond the walls of Jerusalem soon after the ascension of Jesus into heaven; and in 70 AD the Lord fulfilled the words of this parable when Titus of the Roman Empire marched his army towards Jerusalem. Titus camped to the northwest of the city and breached the first and second walls on the north side of the city in late May. In July, Titus ordered that a siege wall be built around the city so that no Jew could escape. This wall caused disease and hunger to break out in the city. On August 6, temple sacrifice ceased and shortly after on August 28, 70 AD Titus’s army marched into the temple and set it on fire. By late September the rest of the city was completely under Roman control with thousands upon thousands of Jews dead by the Roman sword, hunger, and disease. To commemorate this victory an arch was erected in Rome. And on that arch was engraved a depiction of Jews being transported to Rome as spoil of war. I myself saw and walked under this arch when I went to Rome with my daughter and I felt a tremendous sadness. Not because the Jews were mistreated (although that is horrible), but because their death was the direct result of their rejection of Jesus Christ.

The King’s Ingathering

[1] Thomas V. Brisco, Holman Bible Atlas (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 260-262.

If the parable were to have ended there we could easily have asked, “What then of the festival which God prepared? Did God make a mistake in preparing the wedding feast for a people who would reject the Lord?” Let me tell you that God has never made a mistake. The God who fashioned the stars is more than able to direct the events of history. God’s plan was unfolding just the way He decreed and even the great evil of the Jews was used to bring about the plan of God.

The Proclamation

Our sadness is mitigated by the following verses in which we observe the king’s proclamation to gather another people. We read in

Matthew 22:8–9 NASB95

8 “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’

The rejection of national Israel was for the salvation of many. There is profound knowledge to discover in how God saves and uses even the disbelief of sinners to bring about the salvation of God’s people. Let us read and there we will observe how God used Israel’s rejection of the kingdom for the good of the Gentiles,

Romans 11:8–11 NASB95

8 just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day.” 9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them. 10 “Let their eyes be darkened to see not, And bend their backs forever.” 11 I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.

The Ingathering

Although the Jews rejected John the Baptist and Jesus, they could not stop the purpose of God in saving the Gentiles. In fact, according to the previous passage we just read, their disobedience and their rejection of God’s invitation was planned by God. God gave them a spirit of stupor. God gave them eyes so they would not see. God gave them ears so they would not hear. It was God who furthered their hardness and unbelief – but it was not without a purpose. As Matthew and Paul tells us, it was for the good of the Gentiles.

We read of the king’s ingathering in ,

Matthew 22:10 NASB95

10 “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

Now, we need to be careful as we interpret this part of the parable. Were all the guests that were gathered at the wedding feast saved? If we were to casually read the parable, we could easily arrive at the false conclusion that all that were at the wedding feast were saved. However, that is not the case. The wedding feast is a picture of the millennial reign of Jesus on earth. The millennial reign is the 1,000 years in which Jesus will return to earth and take His rightful position on the throne of David in Jerusalem. From this throne Jesus will reign over all the nations. During this time the nations will bring their offerings to Jesus. It is during the reign of Jesus that the blessings of the Mosaic Covenant will be fulfilled. Those promises of blessings include a familiar text which many Christians misuse for themselves when it is about Israel.

We read in ,

Deuteronomy 28:13 NASB95

13 “The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully,

During this millennial reign of Christ in Jerusalem, all the covenants with Israel will be fulfilled and Israel will be the head of all nations.

You might ask, “John why does this matter?” Well if you pay close attention to verse 10, you will notice that Jesus said that the good and the evil were gathered for this feast. The saints of God, those who are born again, are never called evil in Scripture. But if we study that part of theology known as eschatology (which is a theological word for the study of the end times) you will know that many will survive the apocalyptic judgment of the earth and they will enter the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ. However, during this time in which Christ reigns on earth, those survivors of the tribulation will have children. The children of those survivors will still carry in them the curse of our father Adam and they will have need of being born again while living in the millennial kingdom.

We know this because we read of this time in ,

Isaiah 65:20 NASB95

20 “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed.

We see in this previous passage that there will still be death in the millennial kingdom of Christ. The only way this can be true is if sin still has a presence over those who are in the millennial kingdom and are without a glorified body. How do we know this?

Because Paul was clear in that,

Romans 6:23 NASB95

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Inspection

This understanding of how “evil” people will be allowed in the millennial kingdom brings us to the king’s inspection of the people in ,

Matthew 22:11–13 NASB95

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

In verses 11-13 we have in Jesus’s own words a description of how the unrighteousness will be dealt with. In verse 11, Jesus was clear that the king inspected those who were gathered by the slaves to attend the wedding feast. Upon inspection, he noticed that someone was not wearing the appropriate clothing for the event that was being held. If we were to go back into the parable, we will observe that nowhere in it did Jesus explain that the new group that was gathered was allowed to return to their homes to put on wedding clothes. Instead we are given the impression that the gathering was sudden or unexpected. Likewise, it is implied that if the people were not given the opportunity to go unto their homes to put on wedding clothes the guests were provided clothing. In other words, for this guest to not have worn the appropriate clothing for the wedding feast he had to have rejected the clothing that was offered him by the king. He had to have preferred his own clothing instead of the king’s clothing.

This part of the parable had to have badly struck the Pharisees that were hearing Jesus teach. First, they heard from Jesus that Israel was itself rejected. Second, they heard that Gentiles were to be given preference over Israel. Now they are hearing this: that one’s own righteousness or works of righteousness is insufficient for having fellowship with God. Notice, I’m not saying that one should not have works of righteousness, what is being said is that one’s own righteous works are insufficient for the salvation of one’s own soul. Let us look at a very well-known event in human history to teach us about the inadequacy of our own works to appease the justice of God.

In , we read of the fall of man when our first parents disobeyed the Law of God by eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree Scripture tells us that their eyes had been opened and they had realized that they were naked. This awareness was the experience of guilt and shame – not because of their nakedness before each other, but because of their sinful act against God. How do I know this? Because we observe in of how Adam and Eve had made coverings for themselves and then out of fear they hid from the Lord when they heard Him.

We read in ,

Genesis 3:7–8 NASB95

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. 8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

When Adam finally revealed himself before the Lord, the Lord saw the coverings which Adam and his wife made for themselves. God observed Adam and Eve’s futile attempt to cover their sin and God judged their covering to have been unworthy. And what did the Lord God, King of the universe, do? He Himself provided a covering for them made of dead animals’ skins.

We read of this in ,

Genesis 3:21 NASB95

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

What is important for every single person here to understand is that those garments of skin which the Lord clothed Adam and Eve with are meant to tell you and me that we cannot cover our sin with our own works. Never in all eternity could we perform enough good works that would satisfy the wrath of a perfectly holy God. No, only by being clothed with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ who alone is the only perfect man can one have fellowship with this Holy God. And that is the point of this parable. The only way of having fellowship with God is through His Son Jesus Christ. In Paul’s corrective letter to the Galatians he wrote of this. His audience came to know Jesus through one of Paul’s missionary journeys. However, the Galatians had fallen to the lies of the Jews that they had to submit themselves to the ceremonial laws of the Mosaic Law (such as circumcision) in order to be saved. Paul needed to remind this young church that they had not been saved by the Law and that they were not obligated to keep the Law for their salvation.

In we have Paul’s reminder that it was through faith and not the Law that they had become children of God. We read,

Galatians 3:24–27 NASB95

24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

The Chosen

This parable has such a rich teaching already, but Jesus had to insert one more thing into this parable. And it is a good thing that He did because the right question which should be asked after close analysis is this: If clothing myself as Adam and Eve and the Pharisees is not sufficient nor pleasing to God yet I am supposed to clothe myself with Christ how can I do that which I am unable to do?

What was implicit in verse 13 is clear in . We read,

Matthew 22:14 NASB95

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

In keeping with the context of this parable, the means by which the many were called was through the slaves of the king and not the king himself. In other words, this was an external calling by those who proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of heaven. This is important to note because there is a difference between the external call of the gospel and the internal call from God. As we have seen in this parable the external calling made by the ministers of the gospel is not always effective unto the salvation of those who hear it. In fact, the rejection of the external calling is experienced by any faithful believer who shares the gospel with others. Many have and will continue to reject our presentation of the gospel while few will respond positively to it.

The internal calling of the Holy Spirit is always effective. We read of this effective or effectual calling in passages where Jesus taught that His sheep would hear His voice and follow Him. We read in ,

John 10:26–28 NASB95

26 “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. 27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

What a beautiful thing it is to have the Holy Spirit make real the voice of Jesus. When the sinner has been given ears to hear the sweet voice of the Great Shepherd, he is sure to answer. When the sinner is given eyes to behold the beauty of Jesus and His righteousness, he is sure to take off the old self and put on Jesus Christ.

And the reason why some do answer the calling of Jesus is because, as Jesus said, they, who are few, are chosen. Paul made this clear in when he wrote,

Romans 8:29–30 NASB95

29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Let us, therefore, be found to have Christ Jesus and His righteousness as our clothing. While the internal calling of the Holy Spirit is effective it has pleased God to use the external proclamation of the gospel as the means by which Jesus calls out to His people. And today if you would answer the calling you will be given the assurance that you were called. We who have answered the calling of Jesus can testify that we have been chosen out of darkness and into the glorious light of God. My plea to all is simple, answer the call to this great wedding feast. For in it we will have the eternal blessing of being in fellowship with God. Let us pray.