The Garment of God's Grace, Matthew 22:1-14

Basic Rules for Reading a Parable:

1. Read it as a whole, not in parts.

(Unlike an allegory where every part of the story means something, parables are best understood as a whole and not by its parts)

2. There are usually two people or groups that are contrasted or opposed to one another.

(The tension between these two is central to the point of the parable)

3. The emphasis is on the end, not the beginning

4. There is one main point to the parable

(The point of a parable is directly related to its context, and aimed at those who are hearing it.)

With those rules in mind let’s read through our parable:

Matthew 22:1–14 (ESV)

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 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.” ’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 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. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 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.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Based on the rules for reading a parable this last moment between the King and the guest who wasn’t dressed properly is our focus. The entire parable builds to this exchange, and the last line of this parable clarifies Jesus intent in telling the story.

The title of our sermon is:

The Garment of God’s Grace

The man who attended the wedding feast without wearing the garments provided by the king is like the fig tree that didn’t have any fruit. He is like the leaders of the Jews who reject Christ.

He is standing at the wedding feast in his own garments rather than the ones given to those who were supposed to be there. He is like those Jesus mentions in Matthew 7:15–23 (ESV),

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

His garments are like the works that those in Matthew 7:22 said they did in the name of the Father. The one who does the will of the Father is the one who obeys by faith, not the one who hopes obedience will gain them grace.

This man in the last portion of our parable represents those who the kingdom is being taken away from. In Matthew 21:43 (ESV) Jesus said, “43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.”

Jesus made that statement to the Chief Priests and the elders of the people of God. He told two parables that make the point that God will judge Israel for rejecting the Messiah, Jesus told them that the kingdom of God will be taken away from them and given to someone else. Jesus claims the kingdom of God will be give to those who’s faith is expressed in belief and obedience to Him.

The Jewish leaders had expanded God’s law and required more than God of people. They had put a burden on the people of God that Christ came to deliver them from. The Jews had moved from depending on God to depending on their keeping of the law, or their own righteousness. They looked down on those who were ceremonially unclean, outcasts because of their sin, or unclean because they were Gentiles.

The Jewish leaders taught that to be acceptable in the Kingdom of God you had to keep the law. But, Jesus’ ministry and message were contradictory to the teaching of the Pharisees.

In fact, the entire gospel of Matthew reveals the truth that…

The kingdom of God is made up of those who have faith in Jesus Christ.

This truth is made by contrasting the faith of those the Jewish leaders deemed unclean or outcasts with the lack of faith of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, Chief Priests, and elders of Jerusalem.

Jesus heals, restores, and calls the unclean and outcasts because of their faith, while rebuking the leaders of the Jews for their lack of faith in Him.

In Matthew 8 Jesus heals an unclean leper, then He heals the servant of a Roman Centurion (Gentile). When speaking of the Gentile soldier Jesus said that, “He has not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.” The declaration of the faith of the enemy of the people of God was a scandalous claim to the ears of those who believed their efforts earned them a standing before God.

Again in Matthew 8 Jesus went into a graveyard and cast demons from Gentiles who were possessed.

In Matthew 9 Jesus healed a paralytic (whom people presumed was that way because of sin), and He publicly forgave him of his sins.

Again in Matthew 9 Jesus calls a tax collector to be his disciple. Wax collectors were outcasts for siding with the Romans and taking money from their own people. In this instance the outcast tax collector was Matthew, the writer of this gospel.

Later in Matthew 9 Jesus is on His way to heal the daughter of a synagogue official. But, when an unclean woman touches his robe and is healed Jesus stops. He turns to the woman and says to her, “Take courage; your faith has made you well.” After his exchange with the unclean woman a servant comes and tells the official that his daughter has died. Undeterred by this news Jesus goes to the house and brings her back to life and tells them to get her some food because she is hungry!

In Matthew 12 Jesus healed a man with a withered hand in the synagogue, and in the same moment made a man well and broke one of the manmade laws of the Pharisees.

Later in 12 Jesus casts a demon from a man who was born blind and mute.

These are all examples of how Matthew reveals the truth that the kingdom of God is made up of those who are unworthy and undeserving of the honor.

Like the guests who actually attended the wedding feast in the parable, the Kingdom of God is being taken away from one group and given to those who are producing the fruit of faith.

There is no other way into the kingdom of God than by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

The last line of the parable says, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

To help you see that this isn’t the way it read in one translation:

The KJV and NASB read exactly like the ESV.

The NIV and CSB read, “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

I want to point out that the way an English word is used in one passage is not the way it is used every other time it shows up in the Bible. The word “calling” is used in multiple ways in the Bible, in particular in the NT. The same word can be used for the general call or invitation of God and also for the particular call to an individual that results in salvation.

This parable teaches us that the kingdom of God is characterized by grace and comprised of those who have faith in Jesus Christ.

1. Everyone in the kingdom is there by the grace of God

No human being deserves to enter into the kingdom of God. There isn’t enough good for you to do in this lifetime to make up for or cover over the stain of your sin.

When the king in the parable gives everyone who comes a garment to wear he equalizes the guests lists. Regardless of what you wore to the feast, it is covered up with the garment that he gave to everyone else who was there. The only one who stood out in the crowd was the one who wasn’t wearing the garment of the king.

This is in stark contrast to the way that the world works. In the world, and unfortunately in too many churches people stand out because we value what they bring to the table more than we value the table we have come too. When we come to the table of God our focus is to be on the one who invited us, not on what each of us brought to the party.

The only people who enter into the kingdom of God are those who enter by God’s grace and not works. He covers our garments with His grace as we enter so that He is the one who is glorified and everyone focuses on Him.

2. Everyone in the kingdom is there through faith in Jesus Christ

No one enters into the kingdom of God through any other means than by faith in Jesus Christ. No one is there against their will, which means everyone is there according to his or her will, but only because of their dependence on Jesus Christ.

According to His grace God grants the righteousness of Christ to all who have faith in Him. The Bible speaks of those who are saved being clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Isaiah 61:10 (ESV)

“10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

This is what Philippians 3:8–9 (ESV) means when Paul writes, “8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”

The garments the king gives to those who attend the wedding feast aim our attention to the righteousness of Christ that God graciously clothes us in when we trust in Christ.

The righteousness of Christ is the only basis for our entrance into the kingdom of God. If we are found like the man at the end of the parable, standing before God clothed in our unrighteousness we will be cast out as well.

If God was to ask you what reason or basis do you have to enter into His eternal kingdom? The only acceptable answer is Jesus. And by that answer you declare that your justification for receiving eternal life is grace through faith and the garment of Jesus’ righteousness that you wear.

3. Everyone in the kingdom is there because they heard the gospel and believed.

It’s true that many will be invited. It’s also true that not everyone invited will trust Christ and be saved. But, that truth doesn’t deter us from sharing the truth of the gospel from Tupelo to the ends of the earth.

For as it says in Romans 10:13–17 (ESV), 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Those who obey the gospel are the ones who have faith in Christ and follow Him.

No one will enter the kingdom without an invitation

No one will enter the kingdom without receiving the truth about Jesus and following Him.

Those who do not hear will not receive the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

The most shocking news to the hearers of this parable, and to those who hear it today is this:

God accepts sinners who are willing to accept His grace by faith in Jesus Christ.

The condition for salvation is the acceptance of God’s grace by faith in Jesus Christ. According to the Bible the kingdom of God will be made up of good and evil, jews and Gentiles, poor and rich, etc. God has promised to fill His kingdom with all nations and all peoples. The basis for entry into His kingdom is to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, and as Paul writes in Romans no one can believe if they do not hear, therefore we must take seriously the command of God to take the message of Christ to all people in all places.

4. Everyone in the kingdom is sent to spread the good news of Christ to everyone in the world.

Like the servants who were sent to the streets to gather guests for the feast, we have all been sent into our neighborhoods, city, county, etc to bring people to Jesus.

We are to invite the good and the bad, the rich and the poor to come to follow Jesus. It’s God’s desire that the wedding hall be filled with guests, and we are the ones who have been called to go and get them in the name of Jesus.

Acts 1:8 (ESV)

“8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

There’s really no justification for ignoring the mission of God. As Jesus says in John 20:21 (ESV) “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

The church that is saved by the grace of God is also sent to spread the same message it was saved by.

Landing the plane…

The kingdom of God is characterized by grace and comprised of those who have faith in Jesus Christ.

Is this you?

Is this us?

I pray that our church is known for the grace of God and our dependence on Him.

If we belong to God then the faith we profess will be expressed in our individual and our congregational obedience to His Word. I want to encourage you to take a minute and consider your way of life, and let the Lord reveal to you the changes that He is calling you to make to live according to His grace and by faith in Him.

Living by faith ultimately looks like being faithful. And being faithful looks like Jesus.

Last night as I worked back over this message I was reminded of the song we sing with our kids many nights before bed. It’s called “Grace that is greater than our sin”, but at the Armstrong house it’s called “Grace, grace.”

It goes like this:

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt, Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt

Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide; What can avail to wash it away? Look! There is flowing a crimson tide; Whiter than snow you may be today.

Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, Freely bestowed on all who believe, All who are longing to see His face, Will you this moment His grace receive?

What about you? Will you receive the grace of God by trusting Christ for your salvation? Will you wear the garment of God’s grace to the wedding feast?

Will you this moment receive the grace of God and be saved?

If so… confess your sin to God and ask Him for forgiveness, believe the truth of the gospel that Jesus is the Son of God, repent and turn from your sinful way of living to live for God and with the help of the Holy Spirit, surrender your life and your will to the authority of Jesus.

Come now and receive the grace of God… let’s pray.