Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Matthew 22:1-14)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ  (Php 1:2).  Amen.

An invitation can come in different ways—over the phone, in a text, through the mail  (the old-fashioned way).
An invitation can come for various things—a Friday fish fry, a Saturday date night, a Sunday movie matinee.
Those are usually a bit more laid back.  Maybe starting with, “Hey, do you want to …”
Then there are the big events.  Like weddings.  Then it is much more official—fancy script and necessary RSVPs.  (You have to know how many pieces of chicken and tubs of coleslaw to have.)  That is the picture that Jesus paints with another parable.  Come to God’s wedding feast—invited earnestly and dressed correctly.  We read from …

Matthew 22:1-14

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, our heavenly Bridegroom,
Weddings are a festive time.  The bride is beaming.  The groom is grinning.  People are celebrating and smiling as they eat food and enjoy themselves.
It is not surprising that Jesus used that setting to describe the kingdom of heaven—blessings of his rule in our hearts on earth and into eternity.  It is happy.  And God wants you to be there.  And so the call goes out …

Come to God’s Wedding Feast!
1.  Invited earnestly   (1-10)
2.  Dressed correctly  (11-14)

1.  Invited gladly   (1-10)
There is a name for them—those who show up to a wedding uninvited.  Crashers.  Apparently someone just drives by a banquet hall and decides to drop in for some free dining and funny dancing.  That is not us.  Come to God’s wedding feast—invited earnestly.
This is the third parable that Jesus relayed on Tuesday of Holy Week.  He had talked about two sons and some vineyard tenants  (Mt 21:28-44).  Now one more.  Matthew indicates as much:  “Jesus spoke to them again in parables”  (Mt 22:1).  It was an intense day of teaching—for friend and foe alike.  Both were there—some listening intently, others leering angrily.  Jesus takes the opportunity to share an illustration to instruct—an earthly event to make a spiritual point.
We are somewhat removed from royalty, minus what we read in an occasional article on the internet or on a magazine cover at the checkout about queen’s family in England.  But Jesus takes us to the realm of a ruler.  He wants us to put ourselves in that situation.  “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son”  (Mt 22:2).
It was a special occasion.  The king had made all the arrangements for his son’s wedding festivities.  Now “He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come”  (Mt 22:3).  They seemed to have known of the nuptials.  Maybe like we send out one of those “save the date” cards.  But this was their response to those commissioned by the king:  “But they refused to come”  (Mt 22:3).  One after another said, “No.”  They did not want to be there.
That didn’t deter the dignitary.  “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner:  My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready.  Come to the wedding banquet’”  (Mt 22:4).  He was intent on his invitation.  “Look, I am serious about this.”  This is no birthday party for a 5-year-old with pizza and cake.  (Not that that is a bad combo.)  He spared no expense and cut no corners.  There was nothing left to do.  They only had to show up.
In fact, there were two ugly reactions.  And it wasn’t that they couldn’t.  They wouldn’t—too disinterested or too destructive:
 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business”  (Mt 22:5).  There were other things for the farmer and entrepreneur, better things to occupy their time.  So they ignored the summons with indifference.
 “The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them”  (Mt 22:6).  Imagine doing that to the mailman.  There were severe insults along with serious harm, including loss of life.  Hostility is hardly a way to treat the messengers—those whom God has sent with the invitation, prophets of old or people of today.
Of course that snubbing from the guests didn’t sit well with the king.  How could it?  “The king was enraged.  He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city”  (Mt 22:7; cf. He 10:31).  Why?  The monarch explains:  “Those I invited did not deserve to come”  (Mt 22:8).  They were not worthy.  If we step away from the parable, it is not hard to look at history and see the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70—God’s judgment for the people turning their backs on God and his Son.  Recall that Jesus is speaking to the religious leaders of the day—the Pharisees, chief priests, and elders of the people.  They only wanted to kill Jesus.  And in three days from this conversation, they would carry that out as they called for his crucifixion.
Jesus wants us to look at this and learn from it.  The king did everything; the invitees did nothing.  And when all of the work was done, the earnest invite was sent.  Such is our heavenly Father.  And he calls us.
It is important to remember that our relationship with him is not dependent on what we do.  That is an easy trap to fall into.  When we get an invite to someone’s house for dinner, the thought almost immediately crosses our minds:  “What do I bring?”.  This is not like a potluck where we sign up to bring the pickles or jello, a hotdish or hotdogs.  The invitation to the regal feast is based on the call of the King, not on what we bring.  It is not “believe in Jesus and _____ .”  (Fill in the blank—be a good person or live a certain way.)  It is only, “Come to the wedding banquet”  (Mt 22:4).  Jesus has paid for it all with his holy blood shed on the cross and his perfect life lived in our place.
And while we recognize that there will always be ill will against God, we don’t want to be too distracted by this or that—too busy or too bored or too beat—to be in worship or in the Word.  Others can always come up with some reasons.  We can create certain excuses.  But this is where and that is when the Lord leads us and feeds us, refreshing and restoring our souls  (Ps 23:2,3).  Come to God’s wedding feast—invited earnestly by God.
But there was a party planned.  No sense in wasting good food.  The king continued:  “The wedding banquet is ready. …  Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find”  (Mt 22:8,9).  And that is what happened.  “So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests”  (Mt 22:10).  It didn’t matter if they were outwardly decent or not.  The invitation was meant for everyone.  No exceptions or exclusions.
As we look at ourselves, there are often more bad days than good ones.  That is why it is critical to go back to the call.  God invites us earnestly.  And in Jesus, he offers only what is best.  It is no shock that Isaiah uses the idea of a banquet with only the richest of fare.  And notice what he provides.
 “He will swallow up death forever”  (Is 25:8).  It is like when we eat.  When we gulp it down, it is gone.  Jesus has done that with death—with his death.  He defeated it  (1 Co 15:54).  And he came back to life to assure of eternal life  (Jn 11:25,26; Ro 4:25).
 “The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth”  (Is 25:8).  When Jesus returns to bring us to heaven, all that causes the water to run from our eyes down our faces will be removed—no more suffering, no more sin  (Re 21:4).
And we join Isaiah in shouting:  “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us.  This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation”  (Is 25:9).  Or we hear the encouragement of the apostle Paul:  “Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!”  (Php 4:4).  Or with the confidence of King David singing about his Good Shepherd:  “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”  (Ps 23:6).  Come to God’s wedding feast.  He invites you earnestly.
2.  Dressed correctly  (11-14)
If you are going to crash a wedding, you might want to blend in.  If men are wearing suits, you shouldn’t show up in shorts.  If gals are formal dresses, you don’t want to sport yoga pants.  (But what do I know about fashion?)  It is better to look similar.  Come to God’s wedding feast—dressed correctly.
The king wanted to mix and mingle.  But something was startling to him.  “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes”  (Mt 22:11).  It is one thing to be invited to a black-tie event.  It is another to have the host provide the tux.  And then you put on a Hawaiian shirt.  That would be an insult, wouldn’t it?
And that is why the king addressed him:  “‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’”  (Mt 25:12).  There was no explanation.  “The man was speechless”  (Mt 22:12).  It was as if he had a muzzle on his mouth.
There was swift and immediate action.  “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’”  (Mt 22:13).  Hell is real—a place of torment.  Jesus knew that because he endured it on the cross so that we wouldn’t have to.  The pain of rejecting Jesus is intense and eternal.
Jesus concludes with that summary statement:  “For many are invited  [or “called”], but few are chosen”  (Mt 22:14).  What about you and me?  Yes.  He calls us—regardless of our background.  He selects us—in spite of our sins.   He clothes us.  We are worthy of that invitation in Christ.  We don’t have to wonder what to wear.  At your baptism and mine, he covered us with Christ’s righteousness  (Ga 3:27)—washed clean with guilt wiped away.  We are “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”  (Ga 3:26)—sons and daughters of the King, heirs of heaven, where we will feast forever  (Re 19:9).  We are blessed.  Come to God’s wedding feast.  He dresses you correctly.
You have given and gotten invitations for supper.  That is exciting—no matter if it is fast food or fine food.  (Maybe I just like to eat.)  Not much compares to the joy of a wedding banquet.  God requests our presence.  Come to God’s wedding feast!  He invites us earnestly and dresses us correctly.  It is from him and for us.  Thank you, God, for the call and the clothes.  Amen.

The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus  (Php 4:7).  Amen.


October 29, 2017