This week, we are looking at an event from history
where Jesus told a parable about a wedding invitation that reveals for us a
timeless truth about the kingdom of heaven. In the midst of this confrontation
with self-righteous religious people that Jesus told a parable that compared
the kingdom of heaven to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.
Jesus explained that those who were invited and had
accepted the invitation had changed their mind and were unwilling to come. The
king responded to their change of mind by sending out other slaves to remind
those who he had invited about the wedding feast. This second appeal revealed
how much that they king had already done for the guests. Yet, in spite of this second appeal, Jesus
explained that the king’s guests were still unwilling to come.
The guests were disregarding and neglecting the
commitment that they had previously made to the king by rejecting the
invitation. Instead of following through on their commitment, those were
invited proceeded to give a variety of excuses as to why they were not willing
to attend. Each of the excuses demonstrated that the invited guests had put
their own selfish concerns before their responsibility to the king. And in
doing so, they demonstrated that they cared more about themselves than the
king.
Jesus then explained that those who did not reject the
invitation due to selfishness responded to the king’s reminder by mistreating
and killing the king’s messengers. Not only did they reject the message of the
invitation, they rejected the messenger as well. Now this rejection would have
been considered nothing less than a slap in the face and a betrayal to the king
by those he invited.
Jesus explained that the king was enraged by the
rejection of his invitation. The king responded to the rejection by doing two
things. First, the king ordered his armies to go and punish those who had
rejected his invitation. You see, those who were invited were not worthy
because they refused to put into practice their professed acceptance to his
invitation. They originally accepted the king’s invitation to be present at the
wedding feast, but when push came to shove, they backed away from their
commitment to the king out of their own selfish concerns and commitments. And
because of their failure to practice what they had professed, they revealed
where their true allegiance was.
Second the king did commanded his servants to go to
the main highways and invite everyone that they could find to the feast. The
king responded to those who rejected his offer by extending his offer to
everyone. The king even invited those who did not seem to have any natural
status or advantages. But even though they may not have had status or
advantages, they were willing to come if invited and needed no second
invitation or reminder.
This would have been considered a gracious offer by
the king. Jesus then explained that the slaves responded by going out and
gathering together all that they could find, both good and bad, into the
wedding hall to the point that it was filled with guests. Now once the wedding
hall was filled with guests, then the feast can begin right? Not exactly, as we
see what happens next in Matthew 22:11-12:
"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.
Jesus explained that prior to the beginning of the
feast, the king came in to look over the wedding guests. And upon looking over
the guests, the king noticed a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. You
see, there are times when Julie and I go to a special occasion that requires that we dress in a way that is appropriate
for the occasion. And as much as I hate wearing a tie, there are times when
the occasion requires me to wear a tie. And because the occasion requires a
tie, I respond by changing my clothes so that I recognize and respect what the
occasion requires, and more importantly, the relationship that I have with the
person who invited me. To do anything less would be a sign that I did not
respect either the occasion or the relationship.
And in the same way, this man did not even take the
time to dress in a way that was appropriate for the occasion. He did not even
take the time to go home to change; instead he turned up in ordinary dirty
clothes which would be an insult to the host. Even though this man was offered
a gracious gift of being invited to the kings wedding, this newfound offer of
the invitation did not result in a change that would demonstrate that a new
relationship had been formed.
Jesus then explained that the king upon seeing the
guest confronted the guest and asked, “How did you come in here without wedding
clothes?” In other words, the king asked “why have you not responded to my
gracious invitation? Do you only want the free meal without doing what it takes
to be a part of the wedding ceremony?”
You see, by not wearing wedding clothes, the man was
demonstrating that he did not want to be rightly related to the king; the man
only selfishly wanted the privileges without the responsibilities that the
relationship would have required. Jesus then stated that the man was
speechless. Now this does not mean that the man had nothing to say, however.
This phrase, in the language that this was originally
written in, literally means that the man was prevented from responding. There
was nothing that he could say that could justify his behavior. This would be
very similar to when you are in an argument and reply “Ah, Don’t! You have
nothing to say that I want to hear! Shhh! Jesus then revealed what happened
next in verse 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.'
The king responded to this man’s selfish rejection of
the new relationship that he was invited to receive by commanding his servants
to bind him and throw him out of the feast into outer darkness; in that place
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The man was to be permanently removed from the king’s presence and was
sentenced by the king to experience the punishment that was due him as a result
of the rejection of the invitation that had been made. Jesus then concluded
this parable with a statement that reveals a timeless truth about the kingdom
of heaven in Matthew 22:14:
"For many
are called, but few are chosen."
And, it is here, in this simple statement that
concluded His parable that we see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about
the kingdom of heaven. And that timeless truth is this: while the kingdom of heaven is calling to all,
it is given to few. Like the king
in this parable, God is sending out an invitation to all of humanity to receive
the forgiveness of sin and enter into the relationship with God that we were
created for by believing, trusting and following His Son, Jesus Christ as Lord
and Leader.
Unfortunately, many people will respond to God’s
invitation by rejecting the invitation. Some reject the invitation as soon as
they receive it; they simply fill out the RSVP form and mark the spot “I am not
planning to attend”. Others respond to the invitation by filling out the RSVP
form and mark the spot “we will be attending”. Then, as the time draws near,
they disregard and neglect their commitment to instead focus on their own
lives. And, just like the chief priests and Pharisees who they represent in
this parable, they instead choose to commit to follow a religious centered life
that is based on a list of rules, instead of maintaining their commitment to
their relationship with God.
And there are others who do not want to change in
order to have the relationship that the invitation requires; they only and
selfishly want the privileges of the party without the responsibilities that
come with the relationship. And, as Jesus reveals in this parable, for all
three of these responses, the end result is the same; eternal separation from
the relationship with God that we were created for, but that was rejected in
hell.
Now, maybe you find yourself pushing back against
everything that I have said. If you are here and I have just described how you
are responding to what has been said, I just want to let you know that you
would not be the first, because, in the next verse, Matthew tells us that the
chief priests and Pharisees went and began to plot against Jesus. They began to
plot against Jesus because they knew where they fit in the parable. And many
times, religious people spend much more time plotting against men than they do
pondering about God.
So here is a question to consider: If you were to find
yourself in this parable as a character in this parable, which character would
you be? Or better yet, if those who were closest to you, who knew you best,
were to place you in this parable as a character in this parable, which
character would you be?
Would you find yourself in this parable as the one who
responded to the invitation by rejecting the invitation outright? Would you
find yourself in this parable as the one who responded to the invitation by filling
out the RSVP form and mark the spot “we will be attending”, only to disregard
and neglect their commitment to instead focus on their own lives? Would you
find yourself in this parable as the one who responded to the invitation by
selfishly wanting all the privileges but none of the responsibilities that the
invitation requires?
Because, the kingdom of heaven is calling to all, it
is given to few. The kingdom of heaven is only given to those who recognize the
nature of their selfishness and rebellion apart from God and who see their need
for forgiveness. The kingdom of heaven is only given to those who see the need
to change the trajectory of their lives that is moving away from God and
respond to God’s gracious invitation by believing, trusting, and following
Jesus as Lord and Leader.
So, how are you responding to God’s invitation? Because,
as we have discovered, while the kingdom of heaven is calling to all, it is
given to few…
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