Matthew 22:1-14 - The Shocking Feast

Don't spurn your King! Put on the new clothes He's given you and come to the feast!

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Gospels: Week 9 — Christ’s authority and coming judgment

Matthew 22:1–14 (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.

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

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.’ 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.

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.’

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

Canons of Dordt

Article 8: The Serious Call of the Gospel

Nevertheless, all who are called through the gospel are called seriously.

For seriously and most genuinely God makes known in his Word what is

pleasing to him: that those who are called should come to him. Seriously

he also promises rest for their souls and eternal life to all who come to him

and believe.

Article 9: Human Responsibility for Rejecting the Gospel

The fact that many who are called through the ministry of the gospel do not

come and are not brought to conversion must not be blamed on the gospel,

nor on Christ, who is offered through the gospel, nor on God, who calls

them through the gospel and even bestows various gifts on them, but on

the people themselves who are called.

Summary

Remember what a parable is - a shocking story with a spiritual meaning. And Jesus' parable here in Matthew 22 has plenty of both shock value and spiritual insight.

The parable begins rather innocuously with a king - who clearly represents God the Father - sending His slaves - that is, prophets, apostles & preachers - to call those who had been invited to a wedding feast for his son - no mystery there as to who the son represents. But the plot thickens when the invitees were unwilling to come.

D.A. Carson writes, "They slight the king, whose invitation is both an honor and a command." So the king tries appealing to their appetites, telling them the dinner consisting of fattened oxen and livestock is ready. He follows up with a gentle command reminding them of His authority: come to the wedding feast.

But those invited thought they had better things to do. They went their way, one to his farm, another to his business. Then things got really ugly - they seized his slaves and mistreated and killed them. They weren't just blowing off an invitation, they were in outright rebellion.

So the king responded appropriately, as a king who seeks to protect his kingdom must. He sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.

  Dig Deeper  

It's at this point that Jesus amps up the shock value even higher. Having shown his justice to the invited nobles who'd rebelliously showed they were not worthy, the king now sends his slaves out to invite as many as you find. God wants His gospel invitation proclaimed loudly to anyone and everyone, both the evil and the good. This time, the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

But then a new problem gets presented: the king saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes. The king is conciliatory towards the man at first, calling him his friend. Perhaps the man was poor and didn't have the requisite attire, and the king could supply an outfit for him. But the man had no excuse. He didn't even beg for mercy. He was speechless. Like those who spurned their invitation, this man had no respect for his king.

The king's response was swift, furious and harsh - but also justified. The man was to be bound and thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. What Jesus wants us to understand here is that the kingdom of heaven has a serious dress code that will not and can not be relaxed. Perfect righteousness is a must.

In Revelation 7, John sees a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation... clothed in white robes. An angel explains to John that they were those who had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. They had the required righteousness, and it wasn't their own! It came from the bridegroom Himself!

You, along with everyone else, have been invited to an eternal feast that you don't deserve to attend. Don't let the busyness of your pursuits - farms and businesses - drag you into rebellion! None of your 'clothes' are good enough, but you've been given the spotlessly white wedding clothes such a feast requires through the blood of your Savior, the King's Son. So don't be found speechless before the king!

Jesus closes this shocking story with a shocking statement: many are called, but few are chosen. You can find increasing assurance of God's sovereign choice as you take off your filthy, sinful clothes and put on Christ.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the King, who calls many, but chooses few;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for calling you, and pray that you would grow in your assurance that He's chosen you as well as you respond to His gracious invitation;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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