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Matthew 22
We are in wedding season. A wedding is a wonderful event with a huge amount of planning. It is an honour to be invited. The parable we read of in Matthew chapter 22 is a scene of a wedding banquet. Wedding banquets in Jesus’ day were even more spectacular than Meg and Jonathan’s wedding! There is a similar account of this parable in Luke chapter 14.
In this parable Jesus is speaking the week in between His triumphant entry into Jerusalem and His crucifixion. Jesus is showing religious people how very privileged they are and what they must do with these privileges is crucial. Jesus is showing then and now that your religion will count for nothing, your response to Him is everything.
In Matthew chapter 22 the end verses are unique to this occasion. On first reading, you may be wondering why this ending is included. I am convinced that verses 11 to 13 are the key part to this parable in this context. Jesus wanted us to know the destiny of our eternal soul depends on the way we are dressed – not physically but spiritual clothing.
1.Rejecting the gospel is incredibly serious.
Many people will reject invitation of the gospel. In Jesus’ time, invitations were sent out long before a wedding. Nearer the date, a second invitation was sent out. April the 29th 2011 William and Kate got married. What an honour it would have been to have been invited. What could be more important than attending a royal wedding? Here, the king is putting on the party of all parties. The first invitation has gone out. Now has come the time to call them in (v.3). For hundreds of years the first invitation has been going out throughout the Old Testament, God telling His people. People wanted to be part of the Kingdom. Now comes the second invitation – but responses to the invite are met with indifference. They refused to come to a royal wedding feast!
Notice the patience of the king; He sends out more servants (v.4). He goes further and explains how incredible the banquet will be. It is all ready. Please come. We see a mixture of responses: some have no time for a feast (v5), others show indifference which turns to hatred (v6). God is so patient.
How many times have you heard the gospel? How many times has the invitation gone out and you still haven’t accepted, making excuses? It is possible you have become antagonistic and say, ‘How dare anyone tell me I’m a sinner!’ God wants you to be at the wedding feast. He wants to forgive your sin, to bring you into a living relationship with him through the Lord Jesus Christ, to have eternity in heaven.
Eventually, the King’s patience runs out (v7-8). Time is up. The King’s invitation won’t be sent out again. The implication for us is clear – do not play fast and loose with the gospel. Don’t assume you will have another opportunity to respond. Each time you respond to the invitation with excuses, one day you will reject the invitation for the last time, “Or he says,
“In a favourable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Now is the day of salvation.
2. The gospel invitation is wide and the banquet will be filled.
The king in this parable is relentless to bring in guests to his wedding feast. So is God in His pursuit of lost souls (v9). For the Jewish audience listening to Jesus at this time, it is clear others will be brought in if you don’t accept the invitation. The invitation will go out to the Gentiles.
The invitation has come to the Gentiles, it has come to Wales, “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.” (Matthew 28:18-19).
What is that great news for us today? The message of the gospel is for you and for me (Acts 10:34). God is not interested in your background, your family heritage, age or social standing. The gospel is open to all. God is interested in only one thing – your response to His Son.
We need to be encouraged in our evangelism (v10). Are we discouraged by the apathy that exists in our society to the gospel? Can we really expect people to respond positively to the Lord Jesus Christ? The first 6 verses remind us not to be surprised when people reject the gospel. But verses 10-11 give us encouragement. Get rid of preconceived ideas who is likely to respond.
The wedding feast will not begin until it is full. Jesus Christ won’t return until the last sinner has been saved. We need to invite people while we still can. The King has prepared the feast. All is ready. What are we doing? The sinner must be ready and willing. Heaven will be full to the brim – an everlasting wedding banquet, all praising and worshipping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The gospel is no less powerful than it has ever been. God is on the throne. We need to tell and invite people.
3. Entry is for those wearing the clothes that He provided.
This is a wonderful encouragement but a sober warning as well. Who will be at the banquet? We might think we know, but there will be some surprises (v11-13). In this parable there is a man without wedding clothes who is thrown out. What is going on? In the culture Jesus was speaking to the king wouldn’t just invite guests, he would also have provided garments for the wedding guests. The king would provide everything. Here, the king notices a man who’s come in his own garments – he doesn’t want the King’s garments. What arrogance. He is thrown out into the darkness.
There is an awesome invite coming, a wide invitation. But if you think you were going in your own clothes, think again. We are filthy. God’s standard for perfection is perfection. Not a single sin. We don’t even come close. The whole Bible is all about Jesus. Throughout the Old Testament God told his people he would make a way for sin to be dealt with.
As we hear about the wonderful place of heaven, we think we would like to be there. But the message of the gospel is Jesus Christ met the standard we failed to meet. There is not a single stain on him. He is innocent of any charge. Then He was put to death on a cross. He bears the punishment of all our sin. He puts on all the filthy garments and dies the death we deserve. He rose again, defeating death. Why? So that by trusting in Him you might be clothed in His righteousness so you can have a garment for the wedding banquet.
“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.”
(Isaiah 61:10).
Are you clothed in the righteousness of Jesus or are you hoping to get into heaven in your own clothes – through church attendance, chapel clothes? It is possible to deceive others here on earth – attending church, being a deacon or an elder, giving the impression of being a Christian but not trusting in the Saviour. Look at someone’s testimony, backed up by the life they live. The end of the parable reminds us there will be no deception on that final day.
Friends, listen. My intention is for all of us to come and marvel afresh at our own unworthiness. God has provided all that you need. Whether you have never trusted in Christ before, known Him for many years, or deceiving people, the answer is the same, “or in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:26-27).
Are you clothed in Jesus Christ this morning? A wonderful feast lies ahead. Don’t reject the invitation. Come to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins. If you have already received that, share, rejoice in the beauty of it.
Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch 